Padres' AJ Preller Isn't Worried About Farm System Ranking Among MLB's Worst

The San Diego Padres’ farm system is considered by many MLB insiders to be one of the worst in the league. 

What were once blockbuster trades for Juan Soto and Blake Snell have since diminished the Padres’ minor league talent pool. San Diego traded six prospects to the Washington Nationals for Soto in 2022 and traded five prospects to the Tampa Bays Rays in exchange for Snell in 2020.

Now, the Padres are left with neither Soto nor Snell, and a weakened farm system. But this is not an unfamiliar road for San Diego.

“We’ve been down this path a couple times,” Padres GM A.J. Preller said to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders.

Preller emphasized the importance of focusing on how the front office can help the team in the present moment. This means making big moves during every MLB Draft, international signing period, and trade opportunities, even if it means sacrificing top prospects. 

“It’s always big, every single year. You can’t take a draft off. You can’t take an international signing period off,” Preller said. “I think you look up and you talk about sustainability for an organization, it’s a direct line to what you’re able to do year in year out.”

Although the Padres' farm system is not up to par with other MLB teams, Preller and the San Diego organization still feel confident about the players they have. Preller is hopeful that the farm system will develop and improve this season.

“We feel good about what we have. You always want more. You always want guys to perform and develop,” Preller said.

“But internally, just similar to what we talked about three or four years ago and then again a couple years ago, we know that there’s some guys that are going to be really good big league players," Preller said. "Now it’s a matter of them getting more reps.”

“I think we’ll start to see that this year at the minor league level,” Preller added.

Shortstop Leodalis DeVries and catcher Ethan Salas are San Diego's best prospects, but there are plenty of other talented players hoping to make a name for themselves sooner or later.

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