Padres' young talent shines on back fields

PEORIA, ARIZ. Padres fans are going to have to be patient. The big league team this year could be a disaster. The San Diego rotation is the last refuge for veterans such as Jered Weaver, trying to get one more big league shot. The lineup features Wil Myers, some promising rookies and a whole lot of questions.

- J.J. Cooper

The Padres are a better bet for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft than they are for a .500 record in 2017.

But far away from San Diego, the Padres have a whole lot of impatient prospects.

On the minor league back fields this spring, the organization has assembled an experiment that’s never been attempted before. The Padres spent more on international amateurs in the past year (roughly $80 million including overage penalties) than they will spend on their big league roster in 2017. Add in the $13.4 million San Diego spent in the draft and that total dwarfs the projected major league payroll of roughly $60 million—more than $30 million of which goes to players like Matt Kemp, James Shields and Melvin Upton, who are no longer on the roster.

The spending spree just might pay off. Scouts seeing the Padres youngsters this spring have raved about their combination of tools and advanced skills. They look much more advanced than typical 16- or 17-year-olds.

Field Of Teens

For even the top international prospects, the path from July 2 to prominence is supposed to be a long one.

But 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Luis Almanzar isn’t taking it slow. He saw significant time with the Padres’ high Class A group at spring training, where he played against players three, four and five years older than him—and he has looked like one of the better players in those games.