Expert Blatantly Disrespects Padres in Homegrown Talent Rankings

Out of 30 teams, the Padres are 30th on this list

Your San Diego Padres are one of the best teams in the league this season. Many pundits, experts, and fans believe they'll hoist their first-ever commissioner's trophy this fall. They have everything you need to win a title, and it will be fun to see them try to accomplish that goal. 

There are many ways to build yourself into a championship contender, and one way is through the draft. Drafting players and turning them into legit MLB players is one of the ways to be great for years to come. Over the years, your Padres have done the opposite and traded away their homegrown talent for superstar talent. Still, the Padres have great homegrown talents but were blatantly disrespected by MLB columnist for Bleacher Report Joel Reuter putting the Friars' homegrown talent dead last at 30. 

30. San Diego Padres 

Ever since he was hired as general manager late in the 2014 season, A.J. Preller has not been shy about trading the San Diego Padres' top prospects in an attempt to field a World Series contender, and as a result there is very little in the way of homegrown impact talent on the 40-man roster.

Trea Turner and Max Fried headline a long list of current MLB standouts who were traded while they were prospects in the San Diego system, and last summer's Juan Soto blockbuster deal is sure to add a few more names to the scroll.

New rankings just dropped 💪 @JoelReuterBR pic.twitter.com/UpYZdgUJrD

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 6, 2023

Reuter went on to list San Diego's top-5 homegrown talents. That list goes catcher Luis Campusano, left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers, a pair of right-handed pitchers in Steven Wilson and Reiss Knehr, and infielder Matthew Batten. 

Now, I wonder if Reuter is trolling or not, but to think the Frairs have the worst homegrown talent must be a joke. Campusano has been killing it in the minor leagues, slashing .301/.369/.472 with a .841 OPS. Weathers is already making up for his one performance in 2022, going five innings in his first start in 2023 and allowing five hits, two runs, and striking out two batters. 

Trading away your top young guys doesn't make a good case for the argument, but putting them as the worst in the league is just flat-out wrong. 

However, if trading young prospects leads to superstars, wins, and championships, I'm sure Padre fans are okay with coming in last in this department.