At first glance, the San Diego Padres projected starting five certainly doesn’t jump off the page at you. But this combination of proven names and budding stars has a ceiling that not many other MLB franchises can reach.
If the cards all fall the right way, the Padres could start to see their stable of young arms start to pay dividends sooner than expected. This would be a huge win for a team that is stuck in the middle of a major rebuilding phase.
The more young, controllable (and cheap) players the San Diego Padres can develop, the less ownership will need to spend on free agents to shore up any major deficiencies the team may have in the future.