2025 Padres prospects news and notes

[Padres]

Colson Montgomery's nutty last few weeks have made for a lot of postgame interviews, to the point where it feels like he has a scheduled conversation with the White Sox beat more often than not. That's just what happens when you slug .624 after the All-Star break.

"I enjoy talking to all you guys," Montgomery said. "I like talking to a lot of people. I’m curious on what you guys think...sometimes."

But after the black box that was his early-season retreat to Arizona, repeated success has provided a better window into what the 23-year-old is thinking at the plate. In Pittsburgh, Montgomery revealed that experimenting through a host of different stances and setups with hitting director Ryan Fuller eventually laid bare a straightforward takeaway: that he sees and identifies spin best the more he stays tall in the batter's box.

Maybe striking out on a low-and-away knuckle curve in his first at-bat, and then receiving four in a row from Jack Flaherty in his third helped cue Montgomery to stay with the breaker for a go-ahead two-run single Tuesday night. Or maybe he just got a bender that stayed up in the zone after the other three were pure chase pitches.

But Montgomery's progression up to this point has already driven home that not only is player development not linear, but the night might be darkest before the dawn.

As Montgomery switched to a torpedo bat after the All-Star break, Fuller theorized that pushing the meat of the barrel closer to his hands would initiate a more compact swing path subconsciously, and hopefully drive out any urge to cast his hands out and get out and around the baseball. Fresh off ripping another bullet drive into the right field seats, Montgomery indicated that finding cues to keep him compact was the first item on the checklist when he started working with Fuller in Arizona.

"It was Day 1, first thing we kind of went to," Montgomery said. "We wanted to practice trying to keep the ball kind of low to the ground, line drives and things like that. Some of my cues in the cage, I’m trying to hit a low line drive to the shortstop, keeps me tighter to the ball. Not really a normal home run swing. I feel like a lot of the hitters can tell you if they tried doing home run swings, it’s probably not going to work."

That project further serves as a possible explanation for why Montgomery has taken to the new bat so quickly. After the initial early-season furor about torpedo bats, many players who tried it but chose to stand pat cited the difference in weight distribution feeling foreign and uncomfortable. For Montgomery, it provided what he was already looking for.

“Once I got it, I felt it was pretty natural," Montgomery said. "When I had to use a normal bat, I felt like there was too much weight at the end. It kind of made me out and around and pull-happy, I guess. When I have a Torpedo in my hand, I guess, I feel tight to the ball and can let the ball track a little bit more and I can whip it to the zone faster.

"It’s a trick on your brain. If you say that you are comfortable with some bat, you are going to be comfortable with it.”

https://soxmachine.com/2025/08/colson-m ... ded-swings

[Padres]

Spoiler alert: Heading into the weekend, Jeral Perez had been the front-runner for the next Fortnight's Finest honor on Tuesday, because he'd finally flipped the switch after a season full of fits and starts at Winston-Salem.

He came into Friday's game against Asheville hitting .387/.459/.645 with two homers, two doubles and more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) over his last nine games.

And he built upon it with his first three plate appearances on Friday, homering in his first trip ...

... and then singling his next two times up. But he attempted a steal of second after reaching in the bottom of the fourth, and ended up leaving the game due this awkward slide/fall that had him grabbing his left hip.

Perez will in all likelihood still get the nod, because that's now a .441/.500/.765 line over his last 10 games. Hopefully it doesn't come with terrible news attached.

https://soxmachine.com/2025/08/white-so ... ral_thread

[Padres]

47) Troy Melton - RHP - DET

The Good
A plus fastball and a quintet of other offerings gives Melton the versatility to be a mid-rotation starter. He has a solid feel for each of his pitches and locates them well. His splitter may be his best offering when it is all said and done.

The Bad
Melton lacks a feel for spin which leaves his breaking balls as average offerings at best.

79) Colson Montgomery - SS - CWS

The Good
Elite bat speed and plus defense are an excellent foundation for any SS prospect.

The Bad
His combination of chase and putrid contact rates (particularly outside the zone) will likely prevent Montgomery from being a consistent force.

97) Marco Dinges - C - MIL

The Good
Dinges has an ideal upward swing plane to make the most of his plus bat speed. He consistently hits the ball hard and fortifies his profile with smart swing decisions. He continues to look the part behind the plate and has posted elite pop times.

The Bad
The contact rates greatly suffer against secondaries, and he will likely have negligible speed.

Honourable Mentions:

Advanced Sluggers:

Jacob Reimer – NYM – 3B

Jacob Melton – HOU – OF

https://tjstats.ca/p/mlb-top-100-prospe ... dium=email

[Padres]

High-A
Hot

Jeral Perez, 3B, Chicago White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): .429 (15-35), 8 R, 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, SB.

Season Stats (High-A): .240/.311/.444, 19 HR, 9 SB.

A key prospect in the deal that shipped Michael Kopech to the Dodgers, Perez looked like he might be stalling out in High-A earlier in the season, showing pop but lacking consistency at the plate. The bat came alive during the second half, with Perez turning into the Sally League’s hottest hitter during the month of August. There is some natural contact ability and plus raw power in the profile, but Perez will need to continue to improve the quality of contact if he’s to carve out a future role in the White Sox lineup.

Complex
Not

Wilfri De La Cruz, SS, Baltimore Orioles (Rookie DSL Orioles Orange): .176 (3-17), 3 R, 5 RBI, 7 BB, 4 K, 2 SB.

Season Stats (Rookie): .265/.463/.410, 0 HR, 13 SB.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... he-majors/

[Padres]

Jacob Melton | HOU OF

Melton shows up as the Astros top prospect, but failed to make the top 100. That sounds like a problem for the Astros system in general if they don’t even have anyone in that top 100! With 65/65 Raw Power and 55/5 Speed scouting grades, I’m already curious if he could potentially provide a nice power/speed mix.

Recalled last week on Monday, Melton has started five of seven games in center field, with one of those two non-starts coming against a left-handed starter. As a lefty, he’ll likely serve on the strong side of a platoon. Injury has limited him to just 104 Triple-A PAs this season, but he did record 443 PAs between Double-A and Triple-A last year.

Last year, he showed some power with a .173 ISO, but even more speed with 30 steals to just four caught stealings. This year in a much smaller sample size, he pushed his walk rate to a career best at Triple-A, while reducing his SwStk% into single digits for the first time. That’s a real nice pair of improvements. He also posted another 113+ maxEV, mid-double digit HR/FB rate, and an ISO that jumped above .200. His steals pace was a bit off, with just six, but a full season would have netted him around 18 home runs and 36 steals, which is intriguing.

The projection systems think he’ll kill your average, but he doesn’t whiff or strikeout too frequently, so it’s not a given. I also wouldn’t worry too much about batting average over the small sample that is the rest of the season. Go speculate here for a touch of power and some speed.

https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/speculate ... t-callups/

Kyle Karros | COL 3B

Wait, the Rockies recalled a prospect and are actually playing him regularly?! Wait, no, Karros just sat yesterday so Orlando Arcia could start. Rockies gonna Rockie. Eric Karros’ son was actually ranked just 16th amongst Rockies prospects this year and even more surprising is he made his debut this season despite us slapping him with an ETA of 2027! So he blew past his promotion expectation. Like Beavers, his scouting grades do not look like one of an appealing fantasy option. But hey, I’m always interested in any prospect that gets regular at-bats with the Rockies, as Coors Field could make mediocre prospects look good.

Between Double-A and Triple-A this year, Karros displayed excellent plate discipline, with a double digit walk rate and sub-20% strikeout rate. It’s a continuation of strong discipline, which should boost his value in OBP leagues.

Like Beavers, he also posted a pristine batted ball profile, though it was tilted more toward grounders than fly balls. Karros was able to find more holes than Beavers, as he posted a .364 BABIP and has enjoyed a history of inflated BABIP marks. The good news is that Coors Field inflates BABIP, so he could continue to be a BABIP monster, which should translate to both batting average and OBP.

You might assume that a corner infielder who is the son of Eric Karros, a player with 284 career home runs, including five 30-homer seasons, would own some serious power potential. You would be wrong. He posted just a 9.7% HR/FB rate in the minors this year and was at just 12.9% at High-A last year. He did post a 40% HardHit%, which is actually slightly higher than Beavers, but with a maxEV of only 108 MPH. It would be hard to hit a lot of homers with such a mediocre maxEV, unless he was quite adept at hitting barrels.

Since he also hasn’t been much of a fly ball guy, he hit just six home runs this year, which paced for around 12ish. That’s now what you would expect from a corner guy, but his size and plate discipline suggest to me that a power spike could eventually be in his future.

Instead of power, Karros actually owns speed. He stole one more base than he hit home runs, so he could be the rare third baseman reaching double digit home runs and steals. Overall, it actually makes him sneakily valuable if you remember his batting average could be a positive as well. The stats delivered might differ from what you would expect from a third baseman, but there is total value here assuming he doesn’t continue to get benched for Arcia.

https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/mclean-ba ... our-oh-my/

[Padres]

11. Jacob Reimer, 3B, Mets

Team: Double-A Binghamton (Eastern)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .471/.571/1.059 (8-for-17) 4 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB

The Scoop: It’s easy to think that the Binghamton club was gutted by the promotions of Jett Williams, Cason Benge and Jonah Tong to Triple-A, but thanks to hitters like Reimer and the arrival of A.J. Ewing, the Rumble Ponies keep rolling along and are now 78-40. Reimer is hitting .308/.410/.569 this month while bouncing between first and third base. Binghamton needed a big bat to take over when Benge left for Syracuse. Reimer is doing a very solid impression so far. (JJ)

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories ... cf60d89619

[Padres]

Jacob Reimer, 3B, New York Mets, 21, AA

Reimer started the year as hot as any prospect in High-A Brooklyn, but jumped off the bandwagon quickly as he was just okay to start his Double-A career. Blasting a home run and triple on Sunday, Reimer now has four home runs and eight extra-base hits in his last ten games.

Reimer has always had good contact skills and approach. He has run a contact rate at 78 percent or higher in every season of his career to this point. He has a strong 6’0” frame and has always had respectable exit velocities. This year, the exit velocities have taken a jump, as have the launch angles, leading to 16 home runs.

The ground ball rate has improved by 13 percentage points this year, and Reimer is pulling 50 percent of batted balls. The breakout is legit as Reimer has sustained success all season and has an .874 OPS with 48 extra base hits and 14 stolen bases.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://el ... r2xZB7jytO

[Padres]

You can call Brooks Baldwin a lot of things -- left fielder, third baseman, Riley -- but he's not a conformist. He's returned from Triple-A Charlotte committed to sit deeper in his crouch, and is finishing off the best offensive month of his big league career (.305/.359/.542 in 20 games). Moreover, he opened the season trying a taller setup as he worked to stave off last year's issues with pulling off the ball, and found it didn't fit for him.
Baldwin in April
Baldwin in August

"I went back to something very similar to what I had always done; very similar to what I did in high school and basically what I did in college, something I'm more comfortable with," Baldwin said of his deeper crouch. "For me, it keeps my head a little bit more still. I'm still able to use my length on the upper half, but still stay connected to the ground and use my legs a little bit more."

Baldwin says it feels like the new setup makes him better suited to resist efforts to get him to expand on pitches above the strike zone, but the data makes it more of a feeling. Due to his essential nature, Baldwin being comfortable at the plate usually involves more swinging. His chase rate since being recalled at the start of July would be a top-10 mark in the sport (and it's only been higher in August), but his contact rate is up too.

Absent traditional indicators of better swing decisions, Baldwin argues that simply seeing the ball more clearly is making him better positioned to make things happen. His exit velocity (91.1 mph, up from 89., barrel rate (13.9 percent, up from 6.3), hard-hit rate (44.4 percent, up from 38.5) and even average launch angle (20.4 degrees, up from 10) all speak to someone driving the ball in the air with authority more frequently.

"I'm a little wider than I was to start the year, a lot lower, but I'm still getting basically to the same position I was at contact," Baldwin said. "It's individualized per person but that's just how my body works. Kind of spread out and stable with everything rather than trying to use more movement. I feel like when I cut down on movement, I'm able to use my hands more and the power just comes by itself."

https://soxmachine.com/2025/08/white-so ... interfered

[Padres]

Gavin Cross, OF, Kansas City Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): .333 (15-45), 14 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, 6 SB.

Season Stats (Double-A): .235/.292/.413, 16 HR, 20 SB.

The ninth-overall selection in 2022, Cross looked like the steal of the draft after his initial performance where he slashed .312/.437/.633 across two low levels. Since that time, he’s failed to replicate that success, spending part of the past three seasons in the Texas League. However, there might have been a corner turned in Cross’ development. He’s been Northwest Arkansas’ hottest hitter in the second half, hitting .301 with eight home runs since July 1st. Cross will be 25 to start the season next year, making 2026 make-or-break for him as a prospect.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... is-flores/

Dante Nori, OF, Phillies (High-A Jersey Shore): 4-4, 2B, BB, 4 SB.

In a few years, Nori may wrap up a stolen-base title by the start of September. The fleet-footed first-round pick from 2024 has shown ideal leadoff capabilities, with a low-whiff, high-walk profile and what should be a 50-steal season.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... o-polanco/

[Padres]

When Troy Melton was first featured here at FanGraphs in August 2023, he was described as a “Tigers Pitching Prospect on the Rise.” Then with High-A West Michigan and in his first full professional season, the 2022 fourth-rounder out of San Diego State University was climbing the rankings thanks largely to a firm fastball and plus command. As Eric Longenhagen put it, “His fastball’s impact alone should be enough to make him a good big league reliever even if his secondary stuff doesn’t develop.”

Two years later, the 24-year-old right-hander was ranked the fifth-best prospect in the Tigers system and 70th overall in our 2025 updated Top 100 list. His ascent has landed him in Motown, and a markedly improved repertoire is a big reason why. Moreover, he has been one of the team’s most effective pitchers since his late-July arrival. Over 10 appearances — seven out of the bullpen and three as a starter — Melton has logged a 2.25 ERA and a 3.66 FIP over 32 innings.

An argument could be made that Melton is currently the second-best starting pitcher on the Tigers roster — behind only Tarik Skubal — even though he isn’t getting an opportunity to show it. The AL Central leaders are primarily using the rookie as a reliever, the reasons being twofold: The 107 1/3 innings he’s thrown between the minors and majors are already a career high, and Detroit would rather use him more than just every fifth day. According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, manager A.J. Hinch said, “It’s an advantage to have Troy Melton available more often, even if it’s just in shorter bursts.”

Hinch went on to say that the Tigers “may start him down the road this season,” and results suggest that could be a good idea. Over the past six weeks, the foursome of Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Charlie Morton, and Chris Paddack has registered ERAs ranging from 4.66 to 5.81. Meanwhile, Melton’s mark over his three starts, covering 17 innings, is 3.18. Prior to his call-up, the youngster fashioned a 2.72 ERA and a 32.4% strikeout rate across 18 games (16 starts) with Triple-A Toledo.

Which brings us to his evolution as a pitcher. Two years after talking with him down on the farm, I caught up to Melton to ask what has changed. How does he differ from when he was taking the mound in the Midwest League?

“I’m the same person, for sure,” Melton told me at Comerica Park in the penultimate week of August. “Pitching-wise, though, there is a big difference between High-A and here. Even from Triple-A and here. Getting more consistent with execution is the biggest thing. There have been some new grips and pitches, but executing more often has been my main goal.”

The mention of new grips and pitches was right up my alley, so I proceeded to ask Melton about the adjustments he’s made to his repertoire.

“In High-A, I didn’t have a curveball at all; I was using a big sweeper as that sort of pitch,” he said. “So, I changed from sweeper to curveball — this was in the offseason going into 2024 — just a traditional knuckle-curveball right over the horseshoe. Initially it was supposed to be a pitch to get into counts with something other than the fastball, but it has turned into a pitch where I can get swing-and-miss, and even strikeouts.”

Interestingly, the curveball has been Melton’s least-used pitch as a Tiger; he’s throwing it just 5.1% of the time. More impactful has been his slider. Whereas he used to throw a sweeper and a cutter, the former is now “a true slider.”

“I throw it harder now,” Melton explained. “When my slider was more of a sweeper it was around 81-82 [mph], and now it averages 86ish. It is depthier, around negative two or negative three on the charts, and with less horizontal.

“The cutter has been a lot firmer this year, as well,” he added. “When we talked before, I was probably throwing it 86-87 on average, and now it’s 90-91 with shorter movement. It’s more a fastball than it was. Before, it had been kind of like a weird hybrid breaking ball. It was a good pitch, but not a great pitch. Now I’m in a better spot where it’s a little bit harder with a little tighter movement.”

Per Stacast, Melton’s slider and cutter usage has been 25.2% and 10.4%, respectively. And then there is his new fastball. Along with a 96.9-mph four-seamer, which he is throwing at a 36.9% clip, Melton is mixing in 95.4-mph sinkers at 15.3%.

“Metrically, the two isn’t the prettiest pitch in the world,” he admitted. “I do throw some good ones, but it’s more that it’s not just four-seam, four-seam, four-seam all the time. I can change their eyes and make it harder for them to gear up for just one. It’s more of a two-seam than a sinker, but I call it a sinker just for my brain when I’m throwing it.”

Whether or not the Detroit brain trust chooses to use Melton as a starter down the stretch could very well impact the team’s fortunes. The Tigers may have the division locked up, but with a .500 record since the beginning of July and six losses in their last eight games, they no longer have a firm grasp on the top seed in the American League. These September games are going to be meaningful.

For now, the Tigers appear to be staying the course with their rotation, and that could prove to be the wise move. Maybe it is beneficial to have Melton available to pitch more often than he would as a starter, and it makes some sense that the Tigers have faith in Flaherty and Mize. Flaherty has an bloated 4.66 ERA over the last two months, but his peripherals (3.03 FIP, 3.37 xFIP) suggest he’s been a better pitcher than that, and Mize was an All-Star this season for his excellent first half. If they turn things around over these next few weeks, they could join Skubal to form a daunting postseason rotation trio. In that case, Melton could be more useful as a reliable reliever than as the fourth man in the rotation, even though deadline additions Morton and Paddack look to be cooked. But if things don’t break Detroit’s way with Flaherty and Mize, it’s fair to wonder whether the team has a starter other than Skubal that it can trust more than Melton.

Either way, thanks to some key adjustments, Melton is emerging as an important piece for the Tigers at precisely the right time — even if it’s unclear what specific role he will fill down the stretch and in the playoffs.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/troy-melton ... t-starter/

[Padres]

Fernando Perez, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Some other pitching prospects in the organization get more ink, but Perez is quietly putting together a stellar season and planting his flag as one of the top arms in the system. The stuff is solid, but he lacks a true swing-and-miss offering. Instead, Perez stays off barrels with his excellent command and deceptive delivery. While he might not have the upside of Trey Yesavage or Johnny King, Perez does profile as a useful back of the rotation starter.

Aiden May, RHP, Miami Marlins (Low-A Jupiter): 5 ⅓ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... h-voitage/

Marco Dinges, C, Brewers:

Dinges' maximum-effort swing generates plenty of bat speed and has translated into a .300/.415/.502 line with 11 homers in 72 games between two Class A stops. His catching is a work in progress but he does have a strong arm.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/breakout- ... e-coverage

Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Ben Kudrna has been promoted to Triple-A Omaha after making 20 appearances (19 starts) at Double-A Nashville this season. The Royals' seventh-ranked prospect posted a 4.21 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 15.7 percent K-BB% with the Sounds, but had pitched much better as of late. The former second-rounder recorded a 1.71 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and a 17.4 percent K-BB% over his last six starts (31 2/3 innings pitched). The 6-foot-3 righty doesn't have eye-popping strikeout numbers like so many starters these days, but he showed improved command this season. He'll look to carry that momentum to Triple-A, then hopefully on into an MLB debut next year, although he's not necessarily a stash candidate in dynasty leagues.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/be ... elemetry=1