San Diego Padres Decade In Review (2020-2030)

April 10, 2020 Alex Sanchez General, MiLB, NL West, Padres 0

2019 Bowman Draft Chrome CJ Abrams, 2018 Bowman High Tek MacKenzie Gore autograph, and 2019 Bowman Draft Hudson Head Sparkle Refractor. Cards from Scott Greene, @Scotty_Ballgame on Twitter
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I had planned on doing a basic predictions piece for the Padres farm system for the 2020 season. But with the unknown future of the minor leagues for this year, it seems smart to hold off on that for now. However, I was reading the Sports Illustrated Baseball preview and they had a prediction for the 2030 season for each team. This got me thinking that it would be a lot of fun to look into my crystal ball that I bought on Amazon (along with milk and $7 a roll toilet paper) and make some crazy predictions for some of the top prospects in the system. So if you would, play along. It’s 2030 and let’s look back at the last decade of San Diego Padres baseball.

Padres Team Performance (2020-2030)

Average wins per season – 94

The Padres started the decade off very strongly, thanks to prime Tatis Jr. and Machado to go along with the young pitching prospects that debuted in 2021. The overtook the Dodgers for the West title in 2022 and would rattle off three straight division titles before settling for two Wild Card performances in 2026 and 2027. The last three years of the decade saw the team struggle to get to .500, but in 2030 it seems like the team is on the upswing once again.

World Series Titles – 1

The Padres made it to the World Series three times over the course of the ’20s, winning their first and only title in 2024. They also reached the World Series in 2023 and 2027. The 2024 season saw the team reach 101 wins and sweep the Braves in the NLCS before defeating the Chicago White Sox in five games. The World Series MVP was MacKenzie Gore, who went 2-0 with only 2 runs allowed in his two starts. Fernando Tatis Jr. cemented his status as a top 5 player in the game with a huge Game 5 home run that put the Padres on top for good.

2024 Lineup

  1. CJ Abrams – 2b
  2. Hudson Head – CF
  3. Fernando Tatis Jr. SS
  4. Manny Machado – 3b
  5. Trent Grisham – RF
  6. Eric Hosmer – 1b
  7. Luis Campusano/Francisco Mejia – C
  8. Taylor Trammell – LF
  9. Hudson Potts – DH

Pitching Staff

  1. MacKenzie Gore
  2. Chris Paddack
  3. Luis Patino
  4. Aaron Nola
  5. Reggie Lawson

Notable Players

MacKenzie Gore – The left-hander debuted late in 2020 and never left the rotation once in the next ten years. Remarkably healthy, Gore won two Cy Young awards and finished second in MVP voting in 2025. His best season was in 2024 when he took home his first Cy Young, finishing 22-4 with a 2.22 ERA to go along with 229 strikeouts in 211 innings. The undisputed ace of the team, Gore has been consistently great as his ERA has never been above 4.00 in his time in San Diego. The team signed him to an 8-year deal in 2022 to ensure he stayed in San Diego for the long haul.

Luis Patino – It took a little while to overcome some durability issues with Patino as he flashed brilliance early in his career only to have multiple stints on the injury list. As he reached his late 20’s, however, Patino has been able to stay healthy and helped the Padres the World Series in 2027, his last year before leaving in free agency. In that year he posted a 2.05 ERA, with 195 strikeouts in 168 innings, on his way to 16-2 mark. The right-hander would never top 200 innings in a season for the decade, but the results he posted when he was on the hill were electric.

CJ Abrams – With Tatis at short, the Padres quickly moved Abrams to the keystone position for good in 2021. Abrams came up quickly after that, debuting in September of 2021, before taking over full time in 2022. He won the Rookie of the Year that year, hitting .322, with 12 home runs and 42 stolen bases. By the end of the year, he had taken over the leadoff spot from Tatis and would stay there for the next 5 seasons. Although he never topped 15 home runs in his first 4 years, Abrams did everything else extremely well, earning two Gold Gloves and scored over 100 runs in 6 straight seasons. By 2027 the speed had started to dissipate, but a change to Abrams swing allowed him to tap into his power and from there he started a Jose Altuve-type power boost, topping out at 29 home runs in 2028.

Taylor Trammell – Trammell enjoyed one good season in 2024, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 28 bases. However, Trammell largely struggled in his time in San Diego and was part of a trade-deadline in 2025 move that sent Trammell, Ismael Mena, and Junior Perez to the Rangers in exchange for Nick Solak and Tyler Phillips. Trammell enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in Texas for a year, but ultimately Trammell never amounted to his massive potential.

Luis Campusano – The Padres took their time with Campusano, who struggled in 2020 before figuring things out in 2021 and making his debut in 2022. Once up, he was part of a platoon with Francisco Mejia for a few years, before taking over full time once Mejia left in free agency. Always solid, but never a star, Campusano turned in a few 2.0 WAR seasons. His heavy workload from 2025-2028 led to a steep decline and is now bouncing around organizations as the 2030 season comes to an end.

Hudson Head – The Padres 2019 third-round pick, Head exploded on to the scene with his debut in 2022. He started his career by hitting home runs in his first three games and ended up with 22 long balls in his rookie year. Although he struggled at the end of the season, losing out on the Rookie of the Year to teammate CJ Abrams, Head slotted into the number two spot in the lineup for the next eight years. In 2024 Head enjoyed his best season, hitting .329 with 22 home runs, 32 stolen bases and won a Gold Glove in center field. He finished with 5 or more WAR in 6 seasons, providing value all over the diamond.

Jake Cronenworth – What a remarkable story Cronenworth ended up being. In 2020 Cronenworth made his debut on July 25th as a pinch hitter and blasted a home run. If that wasn’t enough, Croneneworth came in the next inning and struck out the side to earn a hold becoming the first player in baseball history to accomplish this feat. It was a sign of things to come. Cronenworth lengthened the bullpen and bench by providing value with his bat and his arm. For six years, the two-way player would come in as a defensive replacement (Machado’s defense declined sharply into his 30’s) and then pitch an inning or two with his 95+ mph cutter. A versatile weapon for the Friars, fans came to adore the former Ray, even when he stopped pitching in 2027.

Hudson Potts – What a strange career for Potts. After a long development time in the minors, Potts finally debuted in 2024 taking over for Eric Hosmer at first. He would tear up major league pitching for 3 months and he hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break. Pitchers, however, made adjustments and Potts could never replicate his results. He was out of baseball by 2026, with a career .203 batting average.

Reginald Preciado – Preciado was traded in 2022 when the Padres were looking to bolster their pitching staff (injuries to Paddack and Patino really hurt). Preciado was a consensus top-20 prospect at the time, but the allure of acquiring Aaron Nola was too much to pass up. Nola was okay in his short stint with the team, but Preciado went on to be a perennial All-Star for the Phillies, making this deal one of A.J. Preller’s worst.

Reggie Lawson – After his Tommy John Surgery in 2020, many fans gave up on Lawson. In 2023 Lawson made his debut and proved to be extremely healthy for his time in San Diego. He never posted a truly elite season, but Lawson was a great #4 starter for the Padres and even reached 15 wins in 2026. He posted back-to-back seasons of 225 innings proving that his injuries were a thing of the past.

Logan Driscoll – Driscoll makes the list because of his toughness. Labeled as the first “goon” in MLB history, Driscoll will always be remembered for his brawl with Dodgers stud Dustin May. After being hit in back-to-back at bats, Driscoll charged the mound and laid a beating on Gingergaard. He was taken off the field clutching May’s hat his hand and yelling profanities towards the Dodger fans. He would basically be a back-up to Campusano, but he provided thump off the bench and even hit a walk-off home run to send the Padres to their second-ever World Series appearance in 2023.

 

Conclusion

The Padres have a bright future in front of them. Of course, this could turn out a million different ways, but this is one possible scenario in which I think Padres fans would be happy to accept. There is a load of other prospects that could make a huge impact, but these are the ones that I think will be the most notable. I hope this crazy article brings a smile to your face and that you are staying safe. Baseball we need you!

 

Alex Sanchez

My goal is to provide an unique perspective when it comes to baseball so that readers can have the information and insight, as well as a bold and progressive analysis. I trust the analytics, but I also trust my eyes when I see the player perform on the field. I don’t want to regurgitate the same, old information but rather I want to give my opinion that is based on research and well-developed thought. Baseball is a game on intricacies and delicate balances and I want to explore every facet that I can. Here on Prospects1500 I will give you the inside scoop on the prospects so that you get to know who they are before everyone else. I won’t always be right, but I can promise my logic and dedication will be sound. Feel free to reach out to discuss and debate and let’s get to prospecting!

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