MLB’s list of Top 100 prospects came out last week, and it’s easy to be skeptical about the validity of some of the names that are on it. The baseball prospect game is a crapshoot, after all, and it’s impossible to know who’ll make it and who won’t.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some validity to the list. Jeffrey Lutz of MLB.com did up a list of teams and how many players they have who started their careers as Top 100 players, and for the San Diego Padres the names are especially noteworthy. (Rank listed in parentheses.)
Fernando Tatis, right fielder (15)
Tatis was the highest-rated prospect of the four Padres on this list, and he’s more than justified his presence on it. He’s finished in the top-10 for MVP voting in three of the past five seasons, and he’s the lone remaining Padre whose big contract can be justified. Oh, and he also added another Gold Glove award to his trophy case last year.
Manny Machado (34)
Machado, too, has justified his presence on this list, and perhaps the most impressive thing for him is that the 33-year-old third baseman is entering his 15th season of almost-exclusively high production. He hit 27 home runs in 2025, a number he has reached in 10 straight seasons if you eliminate the shortened pandemic year from the equation. Machado reached 30 doubles for the ninth time and 95 RBIs for the seventh time, and his Hall of Fame resume is becoming increasingly impeccable with each passing season.
Jackson Merrill (59)
Merrill belongs on this list, but injuries have made it tough to evaluate his true value early in his career. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in the MVP race in 2024, and he did manage to show out during the Padres stretch run last year. He's got all the tools to rise up, and San Diego needs Merrill to become a star. This season will go a long way toward verifying or discounting his presence on this list.
Mason Miller, reliever (60)
Relievers are perhaps the biggest crapshoot of all on the Top 100 list, but the Padres scored big with Miller, a midseason trade acquisition who made their strong bullpen even better. At this point he looks like the exception to the reliever rule, i.e., a flamethrower who can post great numbers for years to come, especially if he eventually steps into the closer role.