Padres Draft Pick Makes Debut on MLB Top 100 Prospects List

Padres pitching prospect Kruz Schoolcraft has officially made MLB’s top 100 prospect list heading into the 2026 season.

Coming in at No. 88, the left-handed arm is San Diego’s only representative on the list. Schoolcraft earned the ranking despite having just one professional appearance under his belt.

The 2025 first-round pick (25th overall) is already emerging as one of the steals of the draft. His immediate rise stems from unparalleled physical traits that, at just 18 years old, he’ll have plenty of time to harness before reaching the big leagues.

Schoolcraft stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 230 pounds, and he won’t turn 19 until March 18. He features a 60-grade fastball that reaches 99 mph - incredible velocity for a teenager. His go-to pitch, however, is the 60-grade changeup that he pairs the heater. He already has the ability to sell it as a fastball out of the hand, and with a 10-mph dropoff, hitters are consistently left off balance.

He also mixes in a 50-grade slider that still needs refinement but shows MLB-level break. Sliders are historically easier for left-handers to develop, and having an established fastball-changeup combination is an encouraging sign. It shouldn’t take long for the Padres’ development staff to help improve the breaking ball to match the rest of his arsenal.

Schoolcraft will open 2026 with Lake Elsinore in what will be his first full season as a professional. In his lone appearance last year, he threw 1.2 innings, allowing two runs with four strikeouts.

Given his physical traits, a strong start to this season would allow him to rise quickly through the system. The strikeout potential is massive, and if he can maintain a strikeout rate around 25%, his reputation will continue to grow. With solid production, he could push into the top 50 prospects and earn a promotion to Double-A later this year.

One interesting element of Schoolcraft’s draft profile is that he was technically selected as a two-way prospect. Part of that potential came from his plus-70 raw power as a physically imposing first baseman, but the Padres have chosen to develop him exclusively as a pitcher, allowing him to focus on what he does best: racking up strikeouts.

General manager A.J. Preller signed him for more than $3.5 million in the draft, and the investment already appears to be worthwhile. His rapid rise from a high school athlete at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon, to a cornerstone of San Diego’s farm system is an encouraging sign for the organization.

For a rotation desperately in need of left-handed starters, the only downside is that Schoolcraft won’t be suiting up for the Padres in 2026.