The Padres lacked a second round pick this year after signing Nick Pivetta, but nothing will get between A.J. Preller and scooping up all of the high school prospects he desired. Given the lack of capital, that meant dumping nearly their entire bonus pool into three prep prospects, with third rounder Ryan Wideman ($650K) and fourth rounder Michael Salina ($572K) representing the only college picks to make over $150K in bonus money. When it came to the team's $6.6 million bonus pool (third lowest in the league), in the end it came out to $5.7 million for the three preps and just $1.2 million for the seven college picks in the first ten rounds (where the bonus pool applies), including the bonus pool overage. It goes without saying that this class is a bit of a gamble and could produce anywhere from multiple stars to just about nothing for the Padres. I will add that between Kruz Schoolcraft, Kerrington Cross, Truitt Madonna, Cardell Thibodaux, and Landry Jurecka this class is not short on unique names.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-25: LHP Kruz Schoolcraft, Sunset HS [OR]
Slot value: $3.61 million. Signing bonus: $3.61 million.
My rank: #22. MLB Pipeline: #19. Baseball America: #21.
Like clockwork, the Padres targeted one of the highest upside high school prospects on the board by roping in Kruz Schoolcraft, who beyond having an extremely cool name is also a great prospect. A hulking 6'8", 230 pound two-way player, there are many parallels to a pair of recent first round picks in Jac Caglianone and Bryce Eldridge but the Padres will use Schoolcraft on the mound. He has been a regular on the showcase circuit for a long time and had originally been a member of the class of 2026, but he reclassified to 2025 so that he could graduate with his age group. The Portland native throws a low to mid 90's fastball that reaches 98 with cutting action, overpowering hitters with even more velocity likely in the tank as he matures. His slider shows hard bite and looks above average, while his firm changeup sinks like a rock and gives him a third at least above average pitch. A towering presence on the mound, Schoolcraft works downhill and creates tough angle and plane on the ball, making for an uncomfortable at bat especially for left handed hitters. Everything he throws is hard and mostly moves glove side, so at some point he could benefit from finding a softer touch in some places and perhaps something to tail to the arm side. While he's huge and throws very hard, he's a great athlete for his size and scouts, especially in San Diego, are confident that he can learn to repeat his delivery better and better. For now, the 6'8" lefty can get off line as he throws across his delivery and lose the strike zone, but it is nothing to be overly concerned about and he'll likely iron it out. Additionally, his velocity did dip into the low 90's later in the season, so building up the 18 year old's durability will be a priority as well. He'll be a pitcher-only in pro ball, but Schoolcraft could have also been a top two-rounds pick as a hitter with massive raw power from the left side. He tapped that power regularly in showcase settings and was comfortable facing high end pitching. Though nobody is going to mistake him for a speedster or a defensive whiz, scouts were impressed with his actions around first base and he could have made a solid right fielder as well. His slot value signing bonus will keep him from attending Tennessee.
3-99: OF Ryan Wideman, Western Kentucky
Slot value: $773,100. Signing bonus: $650,000 ($123,100 below slot value).
My rank: #102. MLB Pipeline: #146. Baseball America: #81.
Ryan Wideman is a really fun get for the Padres in the third round, and at more than $100,000 below slot value, it's really nice value. He played two years at Georgia Highlands JC and absolutely blistered Georgia JuCo competition to the tune of a .423/.488/.724 slash line over a 115 game sample, then transferred to Western Kentucky for his junior season. Had he not signed with San Diego, he would have headed back closer to home at Clemson for his senior season. At WKU, he continued to torch opposing pitchers and hit .398/.466/.652, pushing himself here into the top one hundred picks. Wideman is an absolute toolshed. Standing 6'5", he deploys a whippy right handed swing liberally to produce plus raw power and send baseballs out to all fields. It's more of a line drive approach and the power plays down a touch in games because he is extremely aggressive and often chases out of the zone, but when he gets his pitch, the ball can get out in a hurry. He has pretty solid bat to ball despite the long levers, so cleaning up that approach could do wonders for his offensive projection. The Padres likely have 20+ home run upside if they can do so. A plus-plus runner, he has stolen 93 bases over the past two seasons (124 games), though his success rate did drop from an absurd 94% at Georgia Highlands to 79% at WKU as he averaged nearly a stolen base attempt per game. That speed also helps him in center field, where he can make up for fringier jumps and routes to make highlight reel plays and chase balls down in the gaps. Overall, it's a somewhat raw profile for a college player but one that has tons of upside if San Diego can help him add polish.
4-130: RHP Michael Salina, St. Bonaventure
Slot value: $571,500. Signing bonus: $571,500.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #210. Baseball America: #294.
Back in the college ranks, the Padres are chasing upside yet again in the flamethrowing Michael Salina. He began his career at George Mason, where he got some work out of the bullpen as a freshman, then transferred back closer to home at St. Bonaventure and joined the Bonnies' rotation to moderate success. He came out firing in 2025 including back to back dominant starts against Morehead State and Middle Tennessee State, but wound up hurt after four starts and ultimately had Tommy John surgery from which he is currently recovering. Salina's fastball sits in the low to mid 90's, reaching the upper 90's in starts but he has been clocked as high as 102 in short stints. He shows an inconsistent slider that can get too firm at times, but his best ones look like above average breaks with late bite. He also shows a similarly inconsistent changeup, though it can get good fade. Unlike many fireballers, Salina stays around the zone pretty well and owns a very reasonably 8.7% walk rate over his two years in Olean. The Rochester-area product also has an athletic delivery that creates good extension and really makes the fastball jump on hitters regardless of its velocity, making for a very difficult at bat. If he can get more consistent with his secondary stuff, hold his command together as he has already done so far, and most importantly get healthy, he has real mid-rotation starting pitcher upside. If any of those falter, the fallback is as a fireballing upper 90's reliever that lives mostly off his fastball and deploys his slider to keep hitters off balance. He won't pitch in 2025 but should be back mid-2026.
5-160: C Ty Harvey, Inspiration HS [FL]
Slot value: $426,600. Signing bonus: $1.5 million ($1.07 million above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #153. Baseball America: #234.
The Padres didn't have a second round pick, but that didn't stop them from giving Ty Harvey second round money (roughly the #61 overall pick value) to sign away from a Florida State commitment. While prep catchers, especially those that hit right handed, have been among the riskiest demographics in the draft, the Padres are convicted that they have found one here that will buck the trend. Harvey possesses plus raw power from the right side, already giving him a leg up at a position desperate for offense. His crouched stance and tight, level right handed swing help him make more contact and use the whole field, though they do cause his power to play down a little bit in games so the Padres will want to unlock that a little bit more. He's a big showcase performer that draws varying views from scouts on whether his approach will play at the next level, but those highest on him have seen him use the whole field effectively and take professional at bats against top pitching. Behind the plate, he's a smooth framer with an athletic 6'2", though his arm strength is closer to average. The Florida native should stick behind the plate, and if it all clicks he could provide 25-30 home runs annually. It's really, really hard to find catchers who can hit, and Harvey may be one of them.
10-310: SS Justin DeCriscio, North Carolina State
Slot value: $187,600. Signing bonus: $15,000 ($172,600 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
For their fifth and final money-saving senior sign, the Padres took their first Californian in Justin DeCriscio. He grew up in Orange and attended powerhouse Orange Lutheran, then actually began his career at the University of San Diego. He hit over .300 for the Toreros in both his sophomore and junior seasons, then transferred across the country to NC State for his senior year in 2025. Listed at just 5'10", 160 pounds, DeCriscio is a glove-first guy who projects as a utility infielder at best. He can really pick it at shortstop with smooth glovework and plenty of arm, giving him the opportunity to play anywhere on the infield if needed. At the plate, it's a contact-oriented approach that led to just a 9.5% strikeout rate for the Wolfpack, representing an above average hit tool. There isn't much power to speak of, though he can ambush pitchers who come in on him and turn on the ball for home runs to the pull side. He probably tops out around 5-10 a year and at 22 years old, he may not get too much stronger. He should move quickly as a high contact shortstop that could be a bench option for a few years.
11-340: C Truitt Madonna, Ballard HS [WA]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $654,000 ($504,00 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Not satisfied with one powerful right handed hitting prep catcher, the Padres grabbed a second by taking half a million from their bonus pool to lure Truitt Madonna away from a UCLA commitment. That bonus represents fourth round money, roughly the slot value for the #116 pick, and was the third largest bonus the Padres gave out this year. He stands out for potentially plus power from an extremely physical 6'3" frame, with a swing more geared to tap it than Ty Harvey. The swing can get a bit grooved and he has struggled with swing and miss against top competition in the past, but a strong run through the MLB Draft League in the weeks leading up to the draft (.279/.360/.512, 2 HR, 26% K in 12 games) gave San Diego the conviction that he could work through it. As was said with Harvey, any offense from a catcher is a bonus and Madonna has serious power upside. Behind the plate, the Seattle native is a better athlete than most catchers, especially at his size, and should take well to pro instruction. Again, right handed hitting prep catchers are an extremely risky demographic and it is unlikely that both Harvey and Madonna work out, but between the two of them, San Diego could get one thumper behind the plate in several years.
14-430: RHP Clay Edmondson, UNC Asheville
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Whether he reaches the majors or not, this is a fun one. Clay Edmondson pitched one season at Guilford Tech JC near his hometown in North Carolina, then transferred to UNC Asheville and jumped right into the rotation in 2023. After missing most of 2024 with injuries, he returned for a masterful 2025 in which he was named Big South Pitcher of the Year with a 2.20 ERA and an 87/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.2 innings. After the season, he committed to Tennessee as leverage but he signed here for the late-draft standard of $150,000. Edmondson comes from a low sidearm slot, so low that you could even call it submarine if you wanted to be generous. His low 90's fastball comes with a ton of run and sink to the point where it mimics some pitchers' changeups, falling away from left handed hitters or diving in on righties. His slider sweeps in the opposite direction with short, deceptive break, playing extremely well off the fastball. The changeup is a tertiary pitch that he doesn't use as much. The 6'2" righty is on the skinnier side and when you pair that with the low sidearm delivery, he likely profiles as a reliever even with his solid command. In shorter stints, he could see a tick more power on the stuff and potentially miss bats in bunches while giving hitters fits by hitting spots with two pitches diving in opposite directions. Though he's a senior, he only turned 22 in June and is on the younger side for a senior sign.
19-580: SS Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $50,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Jonathan Vastine has been known to scouts for a long time now. A highly regarded prep prospect at Bartow High School in Central Florida, he was my #208 prospect in the 2021 draft class but chose to attend Vanderbilt instead. After serving in a reserve role as a freshman, he became the Commodores' starting shortstop as a sophomore and never looked back. Popping back up on my 2024 board, he improved six spots to #202 but again chose to return to school. Having not taken much of step forward since joining the everyday lineup two years ago, he ultimately fell to the nineteenth round in 2025 and he'll head to the Padres' system. Vastine is a glove-first prospect with the actions, arm, and instincts to play shortstop in the big leagues even if he's not an explosive mover. That helps him profile as a utility infielder who can more than hold his own at virtually any position but catcher, first base (he's only 5'11") or center field on a big league roster. He showed well in the Cape Cod League back in 2023 (.323/.420/.430) but ultimately his offensive production has been more good than great in Nashville. There's some whip to his left handed swing that gives him fringy power when he turns on the ball, enough to keep pitchers honest in pro ball. Long lauded as a professional hitter, he finished his four year Vanderbilt career with an elevated 27.2% strikeout rate that never came down, expanding the zone a bit more often than hoped and often coming up empty. He has long showed the ability to play to his competition and that bodes well considering said competition will get better in pro ball, and the Padres think his high baseball IQ will carry him to a reserve role on a big league bench. He'll be 23 in October.
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