Former Padres Top Prospect Gets Top Four Rank In MLBs Newest Prospect Rankings

Revisiting the Mason Miller, Leo De Vries Trade With Miller entering his first full season in San Diego and De Vries being ranked highly in MLBs Prospect Pipeline

Mar 1, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; A general view of the batting helmets belonging to a member of the San Diego Padres for a spring training game with the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix. es | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Former Padres international signing Leo De Vries has risen to No. 4 on MLB’s updated Top 100 prospects list.

The shortstop was signed out of the Dominican Republic for $4.2 million in 2024 before being traded to the Athletics last July in a deal centered around closer Mason Miller.

At just 19 years old, De Vries is widely regarded as one of the most complete young athletes in the minor leagues. He carries 55-plus grades across all offensive scouting categories and is a switch hitter, drawing natural comparisons to Francisco Lindor.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller ultimately decided to move De Vries due in part to the temptation of acquiring a superstar reliever in Miller, but also because De Vries’ appeared to be slipping. In more than 300 plate appearances for Single-A Fort Wayne last season, De Vries posted a .245/.357/.410 slash line - numbers that raised minor questions about his trajectory.

Those concerns faded quickly after the trade.

De Vries made his Double-A debut with Midland and immediately locked in, slashing .281/.359/.551 with five home runs in 103 plate appearances. Producing at that level against more advanced competition was enough to reestablish his status as one of baseball’s most promising prospects.

From San Diego’s perspective, the early returns have been strong as well.

Miller delivered everything the Padres could have hoped for after joining the bullpen last season. He logged 23 1/3 innings with a 0.77 ERA, a 1.12 FIP, 10 holds and a ridiculous 45 strikeouts. He also stepped up in the postseason, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs.

With De Vries still at least a year away from reaching the majors and Miller under team control through 2029, this trade cannot be evaluated after just one season. The two players will remain linked as both fan bases track how each performs with his new organization.

If the Padres ultimately “win” the deal, the result will have to be measured at the team level, not solely by Miller’s dominance. With his 99th percentile velocities, consistent health and dominant results, there's no question that he’ll be a top reliever for the next decade.

What remains unknown is whether Preller’s aggressive, win-now approach that unraveled the farm system will translate into World Series appearances.

Miller will be locking down games in San Diego for years to come, but without deep postseason runs, it will be difficult to watch as De Vries inevitably develops into baseball’s next great infielder.