​Minor league baseball entered the All-Star break with multiple members of the San Diego Padres’ prospect list struggling through the 2026 season. The two players from the system named to the All-Star Futures Game, catcher Ethan Salas and LHP Kash Mayfield, are arguably the only two to have a consistently good first half of the season.There have been some excellent performances by certain individuals, but the overall problem with the season so far is the lack of consistency. Salas and Mayfield have been the only players to be somewhat consistent.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo be fair, RHP Miguel Mendez was very good before injury disrupted his flow, and he hasn’t been the same since his return off the injured list. He is the No. 4 ranked player in the system and was a breakout last year.Several members of the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm had tremendous starts to their first full professional seasons. So much success that they were promoted to High-A Fort Wayne at the end of the first half of the season. Since those promotions, the players have all battled to find their footing at the next level. This is not necessarily a concerning development; adjustment to new levels can sometimes take a few weeks.A couple of members of the top ten list, No. 8 OF Kale Fountain and No. 6 C Ty Harvey, have lost all or most of their season to injury as well. Both were off to tremendous starts before those injuries occurred.Last year’s first-round draft pick, LHP Kruz Schoolcraft, has struggled with command in his first professional season. He has recently gone into the fifth inning in a start for the first time and has had some good performances, which are usually followed by a short start with command issues. It is too soon to determine how the 6-foot-8, 245-pound teenager will develop as he matures.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith the lack of good performances and consistency from the minor league prospects, the Padres farm system remains the lowest-ranked system in MLB. Projection doesn’t count when the players in question don’t perform to confirm those expectations. The organization is approaching the August trade deadline with a decision regarding buying or selling for the major league team. The farm system provides little help beyond Salas and Mayfield if they decide to try to improve the Padres.Salas started the game as the designated hitter. He was hitting seventh in the lineup and singled in his first at-bat in the second inning. His second appearance, in the fourth inning, resulted in a walk.LHP Mayfield entered the game in the fifth inning with Salas switching to catcher for his inning of work. Things did not go well for Mayfield or Salas in the inning. Mayfield’s pitches were consistent with his performance with Fort Wayne in that he featured his low to mid-90’s four-seam fastball, a low to mid-90’s sinker, and a slider. Things started fine with a groundout to the first hitter, and then he walked the next batter. Af