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The San Diego Padres are in the midst of a difficult stretch where they are playing around .500 baseball. It is still too early to tell if the Padres will be buyers or sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline. Over the last few years, they have been buyers. General manager A.J. Preller is notorious for making blockbuster trades but has been very quiet this season.
If the Friars play well during July and become buyers, here are four prospects that the Padres should avoid trading at all costs.
- Leo De Vries
- Kash Mayfield
- Humberto Cruz
- Boston Bateman
These four players are all in the top five of the Padres' top-30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Despite being 45-39 entering Wednesday, San Diego is not in a playoff picture, 0.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team should avoid going all out by trading any prospect in the top five. Ethan Salas could be an exception.
Leo De Vries
Leo De Vries is the Padres' No. 1 prospect. He should be untouchable. The future shortstop is due to make his debut in 2027 and is currently playing in High-A Fort Wayne. De Vries and Salas were both No. 1 international prospects in back-to-back years. Preller managed to lock up both. De Vries is just 18 years old, and his progression should not be rushed. One day, he will be the team's everyday shortstop.
De Vries is hitting .246 with five homers and 35 RBIs in 64 games in Fort Wayne, according to MLB Pipeline.
Kash Mayfield
Kash Mayfield was the first player taken by the Padres in the 2024 MLB Draft. The first-round pick is playing in Single-A Lake Elsinore with an ETA of 2028. Mayfield is the team's No. 3 prospect and top pitcher in the system. As a southpaw, Mayfield has elite offspeed stuff with a great changeup. The former two-time Gatorade Player of the Year winner in Oklahoma is 6-foot-4 with all the tools to be a great major league pitcher. San Diego should not let go of this player, especially not with the name Kash.
Mayfield has 46 strikeouts in 26.0 innings this season, according to MLB Pipeline.
Humberto Cruz
The Padres' No. 3, 4, and 5 players in the system are all pitchers, and Humberto Cruz is the second highest at No. 4. Cruz is just 18 years old with an ETA of 2029. He is a prospect in the works, but clearly has a ton of upside, or he wouldn't be ranked where he is. Cruz has nasty stuff and can touch 97 with his fastball already. Preller had to go out of his way to sign Cruz, so it should go without saying that Preller isn't ready to get rid of him anytime soon.
Cruz is struggling this season but just got promoted to Single-A Lake Elsinore, where he has four strikeouts in 3.0 innings.
Boston Bateman
The final prospect that should be untouchable for the Padres is another southpaw, Boston Bateman. Bateman is a 6-foot-8 pitcher with great movement. He would remind a lot of Padres fans of Chris Young, who was a touring 6-foot-10 right-hander for the Padres and the current President of the Texas Rangers.
Bateman is only 19 years old with an ETA of 2028, same as Mayfield. Those two pitchers, who are both in the rotation in Lake Elsinore, have a chance to progress together and become great major league talents for San Diego.
Bateman has a 3.45 ERA in 56 innings with 63 K's.
The MLB Trade Deadline is approaching. The Padres could make a big mistake by trading any four of these prospects.
