Which Padres’ Prospects are Untouchable & Which are Attainable?
Credit: MiLB
It was very difficult making this list, as the Padres are still in the process of stock-piling prospects for the coming-out party in a few years.
Even though the team wants to collect all the young players they can, the Padres will not be opposed to moving a few of them in a trade that makes sense.
Enyel De Los Santos being moved to the Phillies for one year of Freddy Galvis is proof of that. Though the team will probably not compete in 2018 for a playoff spot, they are slowly transitioning towards a competitive ball club. It will take time and it is a slow process, but the bus has been turned around and the franchise is finally headed in the correct direction.
The following six come to mind as players that could be dealt.
Prospects Available
Naylor is an obvious choice here as the Padres are committed to Wil Myers at first and are also presently flirting with Eric Hosmer. He was acquired from the Marlins and has advanced through the Padre system relatively well for his age. At 20, he is still very young. Naylor struggled a bit in Double-A, but still held his own with the bat hitting .250 in 156 at bats. The first baseman has some conditioning issues, but is an excellent athlete and NOT a below average runner. Naylor has some value and could be an intriguing DH option for an American League team. He could possibly fit with an NL team as well, depending if they have a first base opening or not.
The left-handed hitting Allen produced a .849 OPS last year in Lake Elsinore. He slugged 22 homers and hit .283 for the Storm. Excellent numbers for a catcher, but he continues to worry scouts with his inability to catch-and-throw. The left-handed hitter has legit power and a very nice hit tool, but might have to move off the catching position. He has value for an AL team long-term, as he would be an awesome DH. Allen is 23 and has yet to play in Double-A, so his value isn’t exactly sky-high right now. With Hedges on the team and Campusano, Homza and Hunt drafted this season, Allen is expendable behind the plate in the right deal.
I absolute hate having him on this list, but hear me out. In a draft that brought the Padres Cal Quantrill and Eric Lauer, Lucchesi has outperformed them so far. His value is tremendous right now and one could argue that he has passed Lauer and maybe Quantrill in terms of worth. Luchessi is older than the two other hurlers and perhaps his extra year of knowledge is what is making him shine so brightly. There are so many potential names for the Padres to have in their starting rotation in the future. If Preller feels that Lucchesi’s value is a bit over inflated, he could be shipped off in a deal that makes sense for the Friars. I’m just throwing it out there.
I don’t know if a team would want to take on a pitcher with an arm injury, but Espinoza’s value will never be any lower than it is now. He is still only 19 and, if healthy, would be in the argument for the Padres top prospect. I still feel like the Padres have long-term plans for Espinoza, but if a deal comes along that cannot be passed up then he most certainly could be made available. He will miss most if not all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Tools. Tools. Tools. Gettys is blessed in so many aspects of the game. He has light-tower home run power, runs like a gazelle in the outfield and has a cannon for an arm. He also has a horribly bad approach at the plate and needs to change virtually everything about his swing. Gettys is 22 and could still turn into a viable major leaguer in time. He has many issues though. However, his five-tool ability is very appealing to scouts. With so many youngsters coming up around him, Gettys could be a decent selection for a team looking for a project and a player the Padres could very easily move on from.
As the Hosmer talks heat up, players like Jose Pirela, Alex Dickerson and Travis Jankowski are directly hurt. Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe will play every day for the Padres. If the team signs Hosmer, Myers goes to left and there goes the lion share of the playing time. Franchy Cordero is an interesting player. The 23-year-old former shortstop has made the move to the outfield successfully. He has a plus left-handed power stroke and excellent speed. He has done virtually all you can do at the minor league level and is ready for major league service time now. If Hosmer is added, Cordero will be shopped. His value is decent right now and a re-building team (without a crowded outfield) could surely give him at bats on a daily basis.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
Franchy should not be traded. His ceiling is too high. Sell Pinela or Renfoe. Put Pinela at 2B if his defense warrants it. Cordoro has loud tools. Platoon him with Pirela in LF. I believe in him. Would hate to see him develop and play against us. Do not trade this man!
I honestly believe the system has enough depth for yelich without surrending gore, urias, tatis or qauntrill. I’m not entirely sold on morejon or Espinoza either. I think those 2 plus maybe ona, Gettys, Potts should get it done. Any of the highly rated Latin guys I think would be good for miami considering their demographic down in Miami.
Due to depth in the farm I believe would shouldn’t give up anybody in our top 10. Hosmer seems best bet ( no prospects need) and yelich seems like a luxury ( top 10 prospect need).
I would rather include Renfroe in a trade over Cordero, Franchy strikes out a lot like Renfroe but he is three years younger and has more skills than Renfroe, besides power. Franchy could be like a Yelich, and if they go after Yelich I’d rather have a Yelich, Margot, Cordero OF, than Yelich, Margot, Renfroe. I also agree with Dustin hopefully they would take a L.Allen or Quantrill instead of any of the untouchables you mentioned.
If Miami insists on Tatis, Gore or Baez, the Padres should just hang up the phone. Three names that didn’t make either list but could intrigue the Marlins are Quantrill, Lauer and L. Allen. It would be great if the Padres could get Yelich for none of the guys on your “untouchable” list, but that seems a little far fetched.
There is going to be/should be a long list of teams going after Yelich and it is going to take a very good offer to get him. The only way I see any team not having to give up top tier talent is if they take on Chen or Prado’s contract. It wouldn’t bother me at all to take on Chen’s contract to keep the prospect talent going back down. And lets be honest, Balsley has worked his magic with lesser talents than Chen. Chen may even be a decent trade piece when Balsley is done with him.
Another angle, is now that Britton has been injured, Brad Hand’s stock has got to be at an all time high. The Padres could in theory, deal someone from your untouchable list, (not Tatis, Gore or Baez) and have them replaced by new untouchables from a Hand trade. Balsley is always able to cobble together a bullpen, so even by dealing Hand, he should be able to put out a decent pen.
Brining in both Hosmer and Yelich would solve a couple of issues. Balancing the lineup and getting some leadership on the team for all of the young guys we hope to ascend to San Diego over the next few years. If nothing else, we Padre fans have lots to talk about this winter and it’s nice that the names we are talking about aren’t the dumpster dives we are used to hearing about. As usual, nice article James.