(Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
AJ Preller is the frontrunner for Executive of the Year heading into the 2021 season. But for that to happen, this Padres ball club he assembled will have to live up to the tremendous hype.
This winter, San Diego walked a tight rope between going all-in and building a postseason favorite and casting an eye toward the future with a loaded farm system. Although the team traded 15 of the 30 prospects ranked as the organization’s best a year ago – they held onto their top names – all while adding the likes of Mike Clevinger, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.