Kruz Schoolcraft made a big impression during Padres camp this spring, but outside of that, things haven’t gone well for the 19-year-old Oregon native.

He made one start last season for the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2025, lasting just 1.2 innings allowing two earned runs and three walks. One good sign in that brief stat line? Schoolcraft recorded 5 outs in that abbreviated start, and all but one came via the strikeout.

Schoolcraft returned to the Storm in 2026, but this time, he had fallen out of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects, down from #88 in 2025. The growing pains have continued this season. Schoolcraft has made 16 starts, going 2-5 with a 6.03 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. He’s allowed more than a hit an inning with 64, but on the flipside of that, he has just as many strikeouts with 63 Ks on the season. He’s also allowed a lot of free passes this season, which has ballooned his WHIP close to 2.00. Opponents are seeing him well, hitting close to .300 off of him.

The numbers tell the story of an inexperienced pitcher. He was a two-way player in high school, so he has very limited experience with the routines and workload of a full-time pitcher. Schoolcraft is very raw. His current MLB ETA appears to be 2029, but I’d venture to say it could be a little longer.

The San Diego Padres find themselves in a tough spot. The season has not gone the way they’d hoped. They thought they had a team that could compete with the mighty Dodgers, and despite being one of baseball’s hottest team in April, going 15-3 during one 18-game stretch, the Padres currently find themselves at 50-52 and the games back of the final Wild Card spot. Three games don’t sound like much, but there are currently four teams in between them and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who currently occupy that last spot, and that team who dominated April seems like a distant memory.

The Padres have been below average in nearly every category. Their offensive core is aging. Fernando Tatis Jr. appears to be regressing, and Jackson Merrill is hitting .224 They are trending towards being sellers at the August 3rd deadline, and by the time this is published, we’ll know if the big fish like Mason Miller is still in a Padres uniform.

In terms of having help on the farm, the Padres have plenty of prospects, but the immediate future does look at bit bleak. Of their Top 30 prospects only two of them are in Triple-A, and 21 of the Top 30, including Schoolcraft, are in High-A, A, or Rookie ball. Help may be coming, but it’s still a LONG way off…