While the San Diego Padres have used a number of prospects packaged in trades of late in order to bolster their big league roster, the organization still has some highly-touted young players in the farm system.
But prospects are suspect until they prove themselves at the major league level. However, in order to reach those heights, one has perform well enough in the minors. Several Padres prospects have found success this season, but a handful of have struggled mightily.
We know guys like Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas are highly covered, but which San Diego prospects have seen their stock plummet in 2024?
Alek Jacob, Padres pitching prospect
Alek Jacob made quite a name for himself after the Padres picked him up in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Jacob soared through the Friars’ farm system and even made a brief appearance in the big leagues last season. The right-hander struck out five and walked just one in three shutout appearances out of the Padres bullpen in 2023.
But Jacob has seen quite the downturn in 2024. The 26-year-old had a cup of coffee with the big league club this season, but for the most part has been down at Triple-A El Paso. Command has long been Jacob’s calling card, but that hasn’t been the case this season. After posting a walk rate of 7.5% or better at every stop throughout his minor league career, Jacob’s 12.2% walk rate this season is rather concerning.
Jacob is on the Padres 40-man roster and has plenty of talent, but his 6.16 ERA and .293 batting average against are not encouraging. With minor league options remaining, it’s unlikely the Friars will non-tender Jacob this offseason, but his overall numbers are an issue and raise questions about his role moving forward.
Ryan Bergert, Padres pitching prospect
Ryan Bergert joined the Padres organization in 2021 after he was drafted in the sixth round out of West Virginia. Berget underwent Tommy John surgery prior to that year’s draft and got in very little work that season.
But after putting up solid numbers in his first year back, Bergert had a fantastic showing in 2023. The right-hander made 20 starts and struck out nearly 30% of the batters he faced while posting an impressive 2.73 ERA and 3.11 FIP.
But Bergert has taken a step back this season. The former Mountaineer is 2-9 in 22 starts at Double-A. Bergert has a 4.89 ERA and just 83 punchouts in 92 innings of work. Bergert’s strikeout rate has dropped over eight points and his batting average against ticked up quite a bit to .260 this season. Though he’s had some meaningful moments this season, his stock has taken a bit of a hit.
Austin Krob, Padres pitching prospect
Nearly 25 years old, Austin Krob still has another year before the Padres need to worry about adding him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. That said, seeing his ERA jump from 3.03 to 4.43 after making the move to Double-A is not what AJ Preller and the Friars’ front office wanted.
Krob is a lefty, so he’ll get a longer leash than most other pitching prospects. And while the walks and home runs per nine innings pitched are virtually the same as last season, the strikeouts are down.
But the biggest issue for Krob might be his splits. The southpaw has reverse splits against left-handed hitters: lefties are hitting .365/.420/.409 against Krob this season. That’s not necessarily what you want from your left-hander.
