For now, the Padres begin 2026 with one top-100 prospect, as ranked by Baseball America.

For now?

Yes. Because prospect rankings are a snapshot in time and having just one top-100 prospect — catcher Ethan Salas, down from No. 31 to No. 90 after essentially losing the year to a back injury — is the product of yet another year of A.J. Preller’s tendencies to use his farm system to sustain playoff pushes.

The other top-100 prospect at this time last year, shortstop Leo De Vries, now at No. 12, was the centerpiece of the deal last July to bring closer Mason Miller to San Diego with three-plus years of control. The other former Padres on Baseball America’s latest update are left-hander Robby Snelling (41), outfielder Owen Caissie (43) and right-hander Jarlin Susana (68), used to acquire left-hander Tanner Scott (2024), Yu Darvish (2020) and Juan Soto (2022), respectively.

Moving the likes of those guys — and so many more — was supposed to make it hard for the Padres to be buyers at trade deadlines, but Preller continues to find a way, mostly because, again, prospect lists are a snapshot in time and the start of another year means another year for new names to emerge as top prospects.

While Salas is the only top-100 prospect in the system, the organization’s top-30 in Baseball America’s forthcoming Prospect Handbook is a good place to start looking at who could be the next risers.

A snapshot of that list includes five prospects from the 2025 draft class — left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, catcher Ty Harvey, outfielder Ryan Wideman, right-hander Michael Salina and catcher Truitt Madonna — who’ll get their first significant playing time as pros this year:

1   |   C Ethan Salas
2   |   LHP Kruz Schoolcraft
3   |   LHP Kash Mayfield
4   |   RHP Miguel Mendez
5   |   SS Jorge Quintana
6   |   RHP Humberto Cruz
7   |   C Ty Harvey
8   |   OF Ryan Wideman
9   |   RHP Bradgley Rodriguez
10 |   1B/3B Kale Fountain
11 |   LHP Jagger Haynes
12 |   RHP Tucker Musgrove
13 |   OF Braedon Karpathios
14 |   C Lamar King Jr.
15 |   1B Romeo Sanabria
16 |   RHP Michael Salina
17 |   C Truitt Madonna
18 |   RHP Lan-Hong Su
19 |   OF Kavares Tears
20 |   RHP Kannon Kemp
21 |   SS Jhoan De La Cruz
22 |   3B Deivid Coronil
23 |   RHP Garrett Hawkins
24 |   LHP Luis Gutierrez
25 |   RHP Bryan Balzer
26 |   OF Tirso Ornelas
27 |   RHP Francis Peña
28 |   LHP Carlos Alvarez
29 |   3B Rosman Verdugo
30 |   RHP Victor Lizarraga

As for Salas, he’s still 19 years old and still looking to get his career on track after signing for $5.6 million as the top prospect from the 2023 international signing window. He played just 10 games last year at Double-A San Antonio (.188/.325/.219) before back trouble sidelined him the rest of the season.

Here is Baseball America’s latest skinny on Salas:

“Salas enters 2026 at just 19 years old, but injuries and ineffectiveness at the plate have taken some of the shine away since his precocious pro debut that included MLB at-bats during a spring training game at just 16 years old. While his bat has lagged, Salas’ advanced defensive skills are still prominent and a healthy season could reignite some of his prospect spark.”