Padres look to continue success in signing top int'l prospects

This story was excerpted from the Padres Beat newsletter, which was written by MLB Pipeline's Jesse Borek. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s often said that the third time's the charm. No one would proclaim signing Ethan Salas in 2023 and Leodalis De Vries in ’24 as anything less than stellar outcomes, but Roki Sasaki is not only the jewel of the 2025 international class, he’s arguably the most hyped international prospect ever available at the start of a signing period.

The Padres are in the mix. Sasaki has reportedly spoken with the club and there are a whole host of reasons that San Diego could be his future home.

Whether or not the club is able to land the No. 1 prospect for a third year running remains to be seen. But ultimately, that they’re even in the conversation again is a testament to the overwhelming amount of high-level work San Diego has done on the international market under vice president of amateur and international scouting Chris Kemp in the past decade.

Few international prospects have received the levels of fanfare that Salas did out of the gate. He ascended as high as MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 overall prospect en route to debuting at Double-A in 2023 as a 17-year-old. He’s undoubtedly not only the club’s catcher of the future, but also quite nearly their catcher of the present.

Salas, who was in Major League camp last spring, was described by High-A Fort Wayne and Arizona Fall League teammate Harry Gustin as “a mastermind behind the plate” in October. He caught Yu Darvish this summer at Fort Wayne during his rehab stint, and the fact that it’s at least within the realm of possibility he makes his big league debut in 2025 is a testament to his all-around skill set and how advanced he is at a young age. It’s why you invest a premium in the No. 1 player in a given class.

The same can be said for De Vries. Playing this past summer for Single-A Lake Elsinore at the same age as most high school seniors, MLB Pipeline’s No. 28 overall prospect went on a tear over his final 36 games (10 homers, .989 OPS) before a right shoulder injury sustained on a diving defensive attempt ended his year early. He returned less than two months later and rewrote multiple Fall League records, including becoming the youngest player to homer on the circuit since Bryce Harper in 2010.

No member of Padres brass got to see De Vries’ growth more prominently in 2024 than Lake Elsinore manager Lukas Ray, who said of the shortstop in June: “If you come to the games and you watch him in person, you know he's the best player on the field every night. And if you come to our pregame, you know how hard he works, how much he’s getting better."

For all of the (much-deserved) hoopla about landing the No. 1 international prospect, the Padres have also efficiently scored with less-heralded members of their classes: right-hander Humberto Cruz, the club’s No. 5 prospect, was tabbed by MLB Pipeline as a potential breakout candidate in 2025 after signing for $750,000 out of Mexico last February. Twelve of the club’s current Top 30 prospects joined pro ball via the international market, with Salas, De Vries, Cruz and right-handers Henry Baez (No. 7) and Victor Lizarraga (No. 9) all landing in the top 10.

But the proverbial belle of the ball on Jan. 15 is always the player in the No. 1 slot. Due to caps on pool money, all 30 clubs realistically have a chance each year; and after two straight runs at the top of the heap, the Padres are hoping to channel blink-182 frontman and San Diego super fan Tom DeLonge, striking “one more time.”