Padres have been smarter, savvier under A.J. Preller
It took a while, but A.J. Preller — entering his 11th spring training with the Padres — has established San Diego as one of the National League’s smarter franchises.
Don’t take it only from me. Take it from the Major League Baseball executives.
Front-office folks surveyed by MLB.com this winter have voted the small-market Padres as the best franchise at tapping into international amateur markets, a key aspect to Preller’s team-building model. The Padres surpassed even the Dodgers, who finished second.
The execs gave Preller good grades in other areas, too.
Reputed scouting expertise in Latin America helped Preller get the job as the Padres’ top team-builder in 2014.
For years now, other teams have been keen to trade for Padres minor leaguers whom Preller and staff signed as teenagers from other countries. Such players helped Preller get frontline starting pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Dylan Cease, plus offensive star Juan Soto.
Two international teenagers the Padres have retained, shortstop Leodalis De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas, each 18, now stand among baseball’s top prospects as rated by several media outlets.
Which team does the best job of drafting?
Of finding and developing sleeper prospects?
The Padres, in the same poll of MLB front offices, finished fourth and tied for fourth among the 15 National League clubs.
So in three underlying areas of team-building, the Padres are judged as no worse than fourth in a league that awards six playoff berths every year.
Before Padres pitchers and catchers report to Peoria, Ariz., let’s maintain a high-altitude view of Preller’s pursuit of the franchise’s first World Series trophy.
What’s the first realistic goal the Padres try to attain every season? It’s to land one of three wild-card spots sought by the other 11 teams that don’t win their divisional race.
Again, don’t take it only from me.
Listen to Preller, who has acknowledged that surpassing the Dodgers in the annual 162-game race isn’t very realistic, so it’s best to focus on the wild card.
