2025 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

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.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
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.

2024 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

Surprise surprise, the Padres picked a high schooler in the first round, only the eighth consecutive year they've done so. That's a string that includes MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, and Jackson Merrill, while Dylan Lesko and Dillon Head could still turn into impact players in the future albeit with new teams. Not only that, but they in fact began the draft with three straight preps and of the $11 million they spent on 21 draftees, $8.5 million went to four preps. To afford it, much of the rest of the class was money-saving senior signs, including just $90,000 spent in rounds 6-10 combined. Interestingly, while many teams emphasize age with high schoolers, the Padres did the opposite and all four preps will be 19 years old before the end of the regular season. Lastly, I'll note that Kash Mayfield, Boston Bateman, Cobb Hightower, Tyson Neighbors, Kavares Tears, and Kale Fountain is an elite group of baseball names.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-25: LHP Kash Mayfield, Elk City HS [OK] {video}
Slot value: $3.44 million. Signing bonus: $3.44 million.
My rank: #21. MLB Pipeline: #30. Baseball America: #25.
Kash Mayfield represents the eighth consecutive high schooler taken in the first round for San Diego, and he's a good one – dare I say the top high school pitcher in the country? That's how he ranked on my board, anyways. Hailing from the small town of Elk City in western Oklahoma, Mayfield has among the most well rounded profiles you'll see from a prep. Having experienced a velocity bump this spring, he sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has touched 98 with some riding life. The breaking ball hasn't found its true identity yet, though he's sharpened it up a bit this spring and it could become and above average slider in time. Lastly, Mayfield shows an above average changeup that is flashing plus more often with excellent fade, giving him a big league three pitch mix. The 6'4" lefty generates it all with an effortless, balanced, buttery smooth delivery that enables him to simultaneously show plus command of all three pitches. A solid athlete, he extends down the mound well too, putting a little extra hop on his stuff. Besides the average feel for spin, the only real drawback in this profile is his age, as he turned 19 back in February and was really the age of a college freshman. Still, he's every bit as polished as you'd hope for (and more) from a college freshman and he's touching the upper 90's from the left side, so the age really isn't too much of an issue. While the lack of a plus breaking ball (for now) may hold him back from true ace upside, he looks like a serious #2/#3 starter with a high floor. The Padres were able to pull him away from an Oklahoma State commitment for slot value, which is a nice get.

2-52: LHP Boston Bateman, Adolfo Camarillo HS [CA] {video}
Slot value: $1.76 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($737,500 above slot value).
My rank: #87. MLB Pipeline: #57. Baseball America: #77.
Make that two high school pitchers in a row for the Padres, who stayed in Southern California to grab Boston Bateman. Initially committed to LSU, it wasn't cheap to keep him in the Golden State as the Padres spent $2.5 million, roughly the value of the #37 pick, to divert him. Bateman's size and long flowing hair stand out first, as "Sasquatch" comes in listed at a cool 6'8", 240 pounds. He pumps in low 90's fastballs and gets up to 97, albeit with average life. His feel for spin is a real separator, with his big, deep curveball showing plus and he can locate it to boot. That left handed feel for spin makes him similar to fellow Padres prospect Robby Snelling in that specific regard, though they're otherwise different pitchers. Bateman technically has a changeup, but it's too firm and undeveloped. Already a big guy, he utilizes a long delivery in which he turns his hips back towards second base before unfurling his long limbs towards the plate. That delivery has hampered his command in the past, though he has learned to repeat it better and is approaching average command. The Padres are buying the size, handedness, arm strength, and feel for spin, with the hopes that they can develop a third pitch while holding his command together. Lastly, the Ventura County native is well-regarded for his makeup and work ethic, which of course is always a plus.

3-88: SS Cobb Hightower, East Rowan HS [NC] {video}
Slot value: $852,300. Signing bonus: $852,300.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Continuing with the high school theme, the Padres grabbed Cobb Hightower in the third round, which by the way is an elite baseball name. Hightower flew up draft boards late, late enough that he wasn't picked up by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, though he did come in at #174 on Future Stars Series. There isn't a ton of information or video out there, but we'll do our best. Hightower isn't huge, but he still has a fairly projectable frame with broad shoulders and room to fill out. Using a bit of a scissor load, he has twitchy hands that help produce bat speed and the potential for average power if he learns to elevate and turn on the ball more down the road. It's more of a line drive approach for now, one that has worked quite well for him as he has handled himself admirably against high school pitching. The UNC commit is also a plus runner, which gives him a shot to play shortstop as he's also shown solid feel for the position. Like Kash Mayfield, age is a major drawback here as Hightower turned 19 back in March, making him one of the oldest players available from the high school demographic and a full year older than many of his classmates.

4-118: RHP Tyson Neighbors, Kansas State {video}
Slot value: $612,900. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($12,900 below slot value).
My rank: #123. MLB Pipeline: #95. Baseball America: #102.
After three preps, the Padres finally went to the college ranks and grabbed Tyson Neighbors, a reliever with fire breathing stuff. After barely pitching as a freshman, he broke out as a sophomore in 2023 as one of the best relievers in the country, posting a 1.85 ERA and a 46.7% strikeout rate across 48.2 innings. However, he took a bit of a step back in 2024 as his ERA more than doubled, his strikeout rate dropped 10% down to 36.5%, and his walk rate increased from 8.7% to 11.4%. The stuff, however, is still truly explosive. It's a mid 90's fastball that can touch as high as 99, and while he doesn't get much extension in his over the top delivery, he puts elite riding action on the pitch to make it play up even further. Taking command out of the question, it might be a 70 grade pitch. He can work more or less cut on it without losing effectiveness, and he also rips off a pair of show-stealing breaking balls. Both are power offerings that stand out for both velocity and late movement, and both miss bats in bunches. His command ticked back in 2024 which forced him into hitters' counts and he didn't get as many chases as perhaps he would have liked, and that will be something to watch moving forward. College relievers, even those with electric stuff like Neighbors, have a poor track record in the minors and can't be counted on to be "low risk, quick movers" like in the past, with "can't miss" names like Durbin Feltman, Holden Powell, and Burl Carraway coming to mind. Neighbors is sturdily built at 6'2", 220, but with some effort and head whack in his delivery as well as the inconsistent command and lack of a changeup, it's hard to see him transitioning into the rotation. The North Texas native will look to break the college reliever curse and move quickly towards the majors.

4C-134: OF Kavares Tears, Tennessee {video}
Slot value: $525,200. Signing bonus: $525,200.
My rank: #86. MLB Pipeline: #66. Baseball America: #83.
I may have him ranked lower than MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, but Kavares Tears is nothing short of a steal here after the fourth round. It's not a perfect profile by any means, but Tears can do things to a baseball that most others cannot. He came out of nowhere, too. Tears did not play as a freshman in 2022, then picked up just 66 plate appearances as a sophomore in 2023 before breaking out in a huge way in 2024, powering the Vols to a National Championship. It all starts with the power. Tears isn't huge at a listed 6', 200 pounds, but he produces tremendous torque with his left handed swing to produce elite exit velocities indicative of plus-plus raw power. The swing is more geared towards line drives, so he "only" hit 20 home runs in 2024, but he doesn't have to elevate it much to get it out. The Tennessee native has reasonably patient approach and walked over 15% of the time in 2024, but for now the bat to ball is below average. There's some bat wrap in the load and he struggles to make consistent contact both inside and outside the zone, and while he's made some progress against breaking balls, contact will be a question in pro ball. The Padres are buying Tears' hellacious operation at the plate and will hope to clean up the swing just enough to help him tap his power consistently in games. After he hit .301/.405/.641 in SEC play this year, the Padres have good reason to believe they can do so. Tears is a solid runner with a plus arm and could be an above average right fielder in San Diego. He's a bit old for the class, turning 22 at the end of August.

5-151: 3B Kale Fountain, Norris HS [NE] {video}
Slot value: $444,200. Signing bonus: $1.7 million ($1.26 million above slot value).
My rank: #108. MLB Pipeline: #121. Baseball America: #129.
The Padres couldn't help themselves after three straight college players (I skipped 4C-135 pick Clark Candiotti, who signed well below slot value) and went back to the high school ranks to give Kale Fountain a massive overslot bonus. Indeed, the $1.7 million bonus was between the values of the #53 and #54 picks, diverting away from an LSU commitment. Between early picks out of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, the Padres are really filling in the Plains, too. Fountain, like Tears, is known for his power. Standing 6'5", he's a much bigger guy and his power comes from the tremendous leverage he creates with his long limbs.  His size and strength help that power come naturally, too, enabling him to focus a bit more on contact while still effortlessly blasting balls out to all fields. Also like Tears, Fountain also comes with a bit of swing and miss. His right handed stroke can get uphill and he was inconsistent on the summer showcase circuit, so San Diego will need to close some holes in his swing to help him tap his power consistently in games. The Lincoln-area native has a cannon arm at third base and is a reasonably good athlete at this point, so he has a shot to play third base at the next level. To do so, he'll have to quicken up his transfer a bit and maintain his present bounce, as any slowing down with age may force him over to first base. Continuing the trend here, he's old for the class and will be 19 a month after the draft. The Padres have a pretty special talent here if they can find a way to get the most out of him.

10-300: 3B Jack Costello, San Diego {video}
Slot value: $181,800. Signing bonus: $10,000 ($171,800 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Jack Costello marks the first of three Padres draftees from the Southern California college ranks and the only one to play in San Diego County. He grew up in the northwestern Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley and attended Chaminade College Prep HS in LA's West Hills neighborhood, then headed south to play four years at the University of San Diego. Already extremely old for an incoming freshman in the 2020-2021 school year, he turned 23 in May and signed for a nominal bonus. Since hitting .338 as a freshman in 2021, Costello hasn't posted eye-popping numbers for the Toreros with more steady consistency than flair. He shows some decent power in the box and gets to it by effectively elevating the ball, while his above average bat to ball skills put him in a bit of contrast with some other Padres picks. He's a contact-first, solid all-around hitter whose advanced game should transition seamlessly from the WCC to pro ball. He's seen time at third base and left field in San Diego and doesn't bring much speed to the table. It's a bench bat projection who could work his way up to the bigs if he shows enough impact in games.

14-420: C Brendan Durfee, UC Santa Barbara {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Brendan Durfee gives the Padres another Southern Californian. A native of Monrovia about fifteen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, he attended St. Francis High School in nearby La Cañada Flintridge then began his college career at Division III Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. After three seasons with the Kingsmen, he transferred further west to UC Santa Barbara and put on a show as a senior despite missing a month with an injury. He's another high contact type, with a keen eye at the plate that helps him recognize and do damage against all pitch types around the zone. Standing 6'4", he's well built and has some power, making for a well-rounded offensive profile. As a left handed hitting catcher with a shot to stick behind the plate if he can get just a little more nimble back there, that's a very nice profile. He turned 23 shortly after the draft and profiles as a bat-first backup catcher.

17-510: SS Ryan Jackson, Southern California {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $100,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Completing the Southern California trio is Ryan Jackson, who grew up in the inland Bay Area suburb of Brentwood before heading east to Nevada. After barely playing as a freshman in 2021, he hit .344 as a sophomore to earn a transfer opportunity at USC, where he has spent the past two seasons. He's a high contact bat that has always hit everywhere he's gone, including an impressive .292/.427/.375 run through the Cape in 2023 with far more walks (17) than strikeouts (8). Undersized at 5'10", he's a gap to gap hitter who will never reach average power, but he's got enough thump to produce plenty of doubles and a few triples. He's seen time at both middle infield positions and has a chance to work his way up as a contact hitting utility infielder.

2023 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

Lacking a second and a fifth round pick after signing Xander Bogaerts didn't stop the Padres from going all in on high schoolers yet again, plucking six preps including with five of their six largest signing bonuses. It was a bit of an old school class, focusing more on speed, defense, and command than on electric stuff or big power. Starting with Dillon Head, a hit over power speedster, continuing with J.D. Gonzalez, a glove-first catcher, and also including command-oriented preps like Blake Dickerson, Dane Lais, and Adler Cecil, with much more projection than present stuff. Overall, the Padres saved money early and found themselves more than $600,000 below slot after seven rounds, then spread that money around to numerous overslot bonuses in rounds 8-13.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-25: OF Dillon Head, Homewood Flossmoor HS [IL] {video}
Slot value: $3.17 million. Signing bonus: $2.8 million ($365,400 below slot value).
My rank: #40. MLB Pipeline: #27. Baseball America: #34. Prospects Live: #36.
The Padres never shy away from preps early in the draft, and stayed true to form with one of the more exciting talents in the draft in Dillon Head. Head stands out first for his plus-plus speed, earning top of the scale grades from some evaluators that makes him a menace on the basepaths. He also shows strong bat to ball skills and rarely swings and misses, giving him ample opportunity to show off that speed in games. Over the summer, he was viewed more in the second round range than the first because of questions over his potential impact, but he came out looking stronger in 2023 and showed more ability to drive the ball to the pull side, now looking like he could reach double digit home runs in time. It's still very much a hit over power profile and always will be. If there's one more piece to nitpick about his bat, it's that he can pull off balls on the outer half trying to turn on them and with his skill set, he'd be better served using the whole field a little bit better. Still, it's a true leadoff profile with the chance for high on-base percentages and high stolen base totals. Defensively, the Chicago-area product could become a plus defender in center field with his speed and feel for reading the ball off the bat. With increased physicality has also come some nice arm strength. It's a very well-rounded profile for a prep, especially as a left handed hitter. He signed away from a Clemson commitment for well below slot value, giving the Padres the chance to spread some bonus money around.

3-96: C J.D. Gonzalez, Anita Otero Hernandez HS [PR] {video}
Slot value: $698,600. Signing bonus: $550,000 ($148,600 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #213. Baseball America: #214. Prospects Live: #250.
The Padres made Jandaniel "J.D." Gonzalez the first player drafted out of Puerto Rico this year (and second Puerto Rican overall after Sabin Ceballos), taking him a little earlier than some expected and giving him a slightly under slot bonus to buy him away from an Indiana State commitment. Gonzalez is a glove-first catcher that stands out first and foremost for a plus arm behind the plate, gunning down runners no matter where the pitch is thrown. Beyond that, he's a strong defender overall that moves well behind the plate with a sturdy but not bulky 6', 180 pound frame. He'll stick back there, which is something not many prep catchers can guarantee, especially if they can hit. Gonzalez's bat is not as proven as his glove, but he shows off good power from an uppercut left handed swing, especially to the pull side. The swing can get a little long and disjointed at times, so the Padres will want to clean that up a little bit and get him more direct to the ball so he can tap his power in games. It's hard to call this a high upside play because it's not as if his exit velocities are other-worldly, but the offensive bar is much lower for catchers, especially strong defenders like him, and any kind of offensive impact would be a real boon to the profile. To top it off, Gonzalez is very young for the class, not turning 18 until October. That only makes him the second youngest prominent catching prospect in the system behind the famous Ethan Salas, who only just turned 17 in June and is already in Low A.

4-128: OF Homer Bush, Grand Canyon {video}
Slot value: $511,600. Signing bonus: $511,600.
My rank: #99. MLB Pipeline: #94. Baseball America: #84. Prospects Live: #82.
Homer Bush is a really interesting prospect that could develop in a number of directions for the Padres. The son of former Yankees, Blue Jays, and briefly Marlins second baseman Homer Bush, the younger Homer has gotten better and better every year at Grand Canyon University. After barely playing as a freshman in 2021, he took on a larger role as a sophomore in 2022 before breaking out in 2023, slashing .370/.478/.500 with a pair of home runs, 25 stolen bases, and a 27/38 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games. He has an extremely projectable frame at 6'3" that looks like it could add a ton of strength, but for now, he's much more of a line drive/slash hitter than a slugger. With a short, choppy right handed swing designed to put the ball in play, he can get to balls all over and outside the zone with little swing and miss, in fact running a strikeout rate below 10% in 2023. With that choppy swing comes very little present game power, with just four career home runs and a 90th percentile exit velocity below 100 that puts him among the lowest of all early round draft picks. In terms of discipline, Bush is an aggressive hitter that is confident chasing pitches he thinks he can work with, but it's controlled aggression and he still ran a solid 10.4% walk rate in the Cape Cod League last year and 13.1% at Grand Canyon this year. The Padres will have to decide what they value here, as he could potentially hit for significantly more power as he fills out if they help him swing with more loft and intent, accepting some swing and miss along the way. That's probably the way they'll go, but his current slasher mentality has worked so far and it pairs well with his plus speed. That speed also helps the DFW native in the outfield, where he has a chance to be a plus defender in center field with a strong arm. In his first pro game in the Arizona Complex League, he went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

6-191: 2B Jay Beshears, Duke {video}
Slot value: $287,700. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($37,700 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #191.
Jay Beshears began his career at Northwestern, where he parlayed a strong sophomore campaign into the opportunity to transfer to Duke, where he then slashed .330/.435/.584 with 15 home runs and a 45/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games in 2023. There is no standout tool here, but Beshears has a very solid all around offensive profile. He's big and strong at 6'4", 215 pounds, and has the ability to do damage against all pitch types while keeping his strikeout rates reasonable. He shows above average power and especially likes to turn on the ball and pull it down the left field line, though he can shorten up and go the other way if he needs to. The whole offensive profile is continually trending in the right direction and could continue to tick up in pro ball, where his power will play with wood, and he has a shot to be a 15-20 home run bat with solid on-base percentages if all goes well. The glove is a little less clear, as he has appeared all over the diamond but doesn't necessarily look above average anywhere. The Padres drafted him as a second baseman and will look to get a bat-first product there, but he may ultimately move to the outfield. In his first pro game in the ACL, he walked and struck out twice in his three plate appearances.

8-251: RHP Kannon Kemp, Weatherford HS [TX] {video}
Slot value: $188,800. Signing bonus: $625,000 ($436,200 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #209. Baseball America: #383. Prospects Live: #272.
After saving money in the early rounds, the Padres finally began to spend it in the eighth round, giving Kannon Kemp early fourth round money to buy him away from an Oklahoma commitment. They're mostly buying the raw arm talent, but Kemp has been trending in the right direction in a lot of ways and the Padres want to get in on the ground floor. The North Texas native presently sits in the low 90's, touching 95 at his best with running action. His slider is inconsistent but shows flashes of becoming a quality breaking ball with late bite, looking above average on its best days already. He also shows a changeup and a curveball a little less frequently, but they're there. The 6'6" righty is extremely physical and will almost certainly continue to add velocity in pro ball as he streamlines his delivery, which features extremely short arm action that may be holding him back a little. Similarly, his command has been trending in the right direction and now looks average, which is great for a kid with his size and arm strength at this age. Kemp is a little bit on the older side for the class and has a ways to go in his development, but the Padres are confident they can keep him moving in the right direction and get him there.

11-341: RHP Carson Montgomery, Florida State {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($50,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #163. MLB Pipeline: #211. Baseball America: #172. Prospects Live: #293.
Carson Montgomery represents one of the more interesting cases in the class. He was one of the better prep pitchers in the 2020 class and ranked as the top incoming freshman in all of college baseball when he reached campus at Florida State that fall, but unfortunately never put it together for the Seminoles. In three years in Tallahassee, he ran a 5.60 ERA and put up his worst year yet in 2023, with a 7.00 ERA and a 42/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 45 innings. Moving to the Cape Cod League to take one more shot at improving his draft stock this summer, he ran an 8.25 ERA and walked more than he struck out. So where does he stand now? The Orlando-area native has plenty of arm talent, running his fastball up to 98 at its best albeit with inconsistent velocity and generic movement. His slider is his best pitch, flashing plus with hard vertical bite, and that's the main thing that keeps me interested. He can work that slider into a cutter and is also continuing to refine his changeup, but the entire package is very inconsistent and he struggles to land all of his pitches for strikes. The 6'3" righty has a very athletic, projectable frame and has slowly refined his delivery, though he still struggles to repeat it and it includes a double leg lift as he breaks towards the plate. San Diego will need to completely overhaul the profile, taking the good (size, projectability, arm strength, feel for spin) while separating out the bad (lack of fastball deception/movement, inconsistent stuff, below average command). Montgomery is very young for a college junior and still won't turn 21 until August, giving the Padres a little extra time to sharpen things up. There's a nice ceiling here in this reclamation project but it will take serious work to get there.

12-371: LHP Blake Dickerson, Ocean Lakes HS [VA] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $500,000 ($350,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #129. MLB Pipeline: #158. Baseball America: #197. Prospects Live: #159.
For the second time in three years, Virginia Tech watched a blue chip pitching recruit make it through days one and two of the draft only to be scooped up by a West Coast team for a large over slot bonus on day three. While Mason Albright is throwing well in the Angels system, Blake Dickerson joins the Padres after signing for late fourth round money here in the twelfth round. He's a big, tall, projectable lefty that has a chance to develop into a real horse in the rotation. The stuff is a little light for now, with his fastball sitting around 90, usually a tick above, and only topping out around 93. He showcases a solid slider that could develop into a sneaky above average pitch, while his changeup has steadily come along as well. He won't blow you away, but he has a free and easy delivery featuring very little effort and as such he can fill up the strike zone with above average command uncommon for high schoolers. As the 6'6" Virginia Beach native learns to channel his size and power a little better, it's easy to see the stuff continuing to tick up while maintaining that command. That definitely will need to happen, though, because at this point the stuff is a little light for the higher levels.

13-401: RHP Dane Lais, Oregon City HS [OR] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $350,000 ($200,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
The Padres went above slot one more time to grab Dane Lais, who profiles a bit like a right handed Blake Dickerson. Lais has seen his stuff tick up and now sits in the low 90's, touching 93 like Dickerson. His slider has taken a step forward and has the makings of an average offering, perhaps above average in time, while he has continued to show good feel for a changeup to round out a three pitch mix. Like Dickerson, he has a free and easy delivery that promises more velocity as he begins to throw with more intent, and he fills up the strike zone well for his age. The 6'4" righty is plenty projectable and could become a very solid back-end starter as he fills out. He's also fairly young for the class to boot. Committed to Oregon State, Lais instead signed with the Padres for early sixth round money.

19-581: LHP Adler Cecil, Temecula Valley HS [CA] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
The Padres couldn't help themselves, needing one more high schooler to round out their draft. They went way, way off the beaten path with this one, grabbing Adler Cecil who like Dane Lais was not ranked on any major boards but in this case didn't even secure a college commitment until late in the process. Cecil is a local kid out of Temecula Valley High School, in the southwestern corner of Riverside County just up I-15 from San Diego. He was headed to San Diego anyways with a commitment to Palomar College in San Marcos, so the Padres just pulled him a little farther down 15 to PETCO Park to sign his contract. Cecil is rail thin at a listed 6'4", 160 pounds, and didn't turn 18 until May putting him on the younger side for the class. The stuff is not there yet, with his fastball sitting in the low to mid 80's as of the fall before touching 92 in the spring, while his curveball is big and slow and his changeup seems to be coming along nicely. Cecil will need to add at least thirty or forty pounds in pro ball, so you know the Padres will be stuffing him full of steaks and protein shakes, and from there they're betting big that the velocity will come along with the physicality. Cecil also shows some sneaky good spin on his stuff, giving San Diego even more to work with. This is about as "sleeper" as it gets.

2022 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

The Padres went all in on pitching early, grabbing who they likely see as the two best high school arms in the entire class with their first two picks in Dylan Lesko and Robby Snelling. After grabbing a college arm in Adam Mazur in the second round, they bet big again with a fourth consecutive arm in Henry Williams, who like Lesko is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. The bats in this class were a little more diverse in terms of skill sets, between the excellent hit tools of Nathan Martorella, Jakob Marsee, Nick Vogt, and Graham Pauley and the big time power of Lamar King Jr. and Griffin Doersching. It's a uniquely Padres class with all the high upside high school talent, hoping to give a jolt to a system that lost a boatload of talent just a few weeks later in the Juan Soto trade.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-15: RHP Dylan Lesko, Buford HS [GA]. My rank: #11.
Slot value: $4.09 million. Signing bonus: $3.9 million ($185,000 below slot value).
The Padres started off this draft with a bang, grabbing the guy who for much of the spring was considered the best pitcher in the class, period. Dylan Lesko has been one of the most famous names in the 2022 high school class for a few years now, and he pitched like it this spring to seemingly cement himself in the top ten picks (well, as cemented as a high school right hander can be). Unfortunately, he went down with Tommy John surgery in April, and there were some points where it looked like he might make it to campus at Vanderbilt. The Padres ensured that would not happen by taking him fifteenth overall, so he was still the first high school pitcher drafted, and surprisingly got him to sign slightly below slot value. Lesko is an extremely well rounded pitcher with few weaknesses. He sits in the mid 90's with his fastball, getting into the upper 90's more and more regularly. He adds two breaking balls in a curveball and a slider, though he throws the curveball more and while it isn't quite a plus pitch yet, its big spin rates and strong shape help it project to be a plus pitch in time. The Atlanta-area native finishes off his arsenal with a plus-plus changeup that is his best pitch right now, diving down out of the zone when he throws it low and still showing good fading action when he misses up. All together, the 6'2" righty has projection remaining and should continue add power to his already nasty stuff, and he's a very good mover on the mound that gets good extension and repeats his delivery well. He hits his spots consistently and has every chance to become an ace, with a high likelihood that he's at least a mid-rotation starter.

CBA-39: LHP Robby Snelling, McQueen HS [NV]. My rank: #43.
Slot value: $2 million. Signing bonus: $3 million ($995,500 above slot value).
Robby Snelling had plenty of interest throughout the back half of the first round, but as prep pitchers tend to do, he slid down the board to the Padres in the competitive balance round and signed for a million dollars above slot value, roughly the value of the 24th pick. Considered more of a third or fourth round guy entering the season, Snelling had an extremely loud spring and rocketed up boards, with some considering him possibly the best lefty in the class. He didn't rank quite that high on my list, but it's a very loud profile. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball and has gotten up to 96 this spring, getting some ride on the pitch as well. His bread and butter is his curveball, a plus pitch that dives across the zone late and has missed a ton of bats. There's some aptitude for a changeup, but it's all about the fastball and really the curveball for now. The 6'3" lefty comes across his body to create tough angle on his pitches, going right after hitters and filling up the strike zone well. He commands his curveball extremely well for a high school pitcher, something that really stands out to me when I watch him pitch and should help him rack up strikeouts in pro ball. The Reno native is also a very good athlete, packing a ton of strength into that 6'3" frame and getting down the mound well, though he doesn't have a ton of projection left. He had been committed to LSU but will now have a chance to push through the system.

2-53: RHP Adam Mazur, Iowa. My rank: #55.
Slot value: $1.44 million. Signing bonus: $1.25 million ($190,600 below slot value).
Adam Mazur has a fun profile and has been a steady riser for some time now. He originally enrolled at South Dakota State, but pitched very well in the Cape Cod League last summer (1.55 ERA, 34/6 K/BB in 29 IP) and transferred to a data-driven Iowa program this spring. The results were strong, as after holding a 5.50 ERA over two years in Brookings, he dropped it to 3.07 in Iowa City along with a 98/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 93.2 innings. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has been up to 97, getting nice hop on the pitch. His nasty, plus slider has deep bite and functions as his main out pitch, while he also adds a curveball and changeup that look like big league pitches as well. The 6'4" righty still has projection remaining and is steadily learning to repeat his delivery better, leading to improved command throughout his time in college, and he even got better in that regard throughout the 2022 season to the point where it's now average. He has an uptempo delivery, but because of his projection, deep arsenal, and improving mechanics/command, he projects well as a #2 or #3 starter. Really my only qualm with the profile is a bit of a lower 26.1% strikeout rate this spring despite pitching for a progressive program, but otherwise it's an increasingly complete profile here.

3-91: RHP Henry Williams, Duke. My rank: #115.
Slot value: $680,400. Signing bonus: $800,000 ($119,600 above slot value).
Henry Williams is another injured pitcher the Padres are taking a chance on, but he has much less track record and requires much more projection than Dylan Lesko despite being two years older. Williams made just one appearance for Duke in the shortened 2020 season then showed well in 2021, posting a 3.65 ERA and a 45/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 innings while missing some time with injuries. He showed extremely well in fall practice, but again went down with arm soreness and in December, that turned into Tommy John surgery. That said, this is how you get a potential ace for just $800,000. The Connecticut native sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but he was up to 95 in the fall as the velocity slowly crept up. He's flashed some plus sliders at times, though it needs more consistency, and there is some feel for a changeup. You're buying the projection here, as Williams is a 6'5" beanpole with a ton of room to fill out and he's very young for a college junior to boot, not turning 21 until September. He's extremely athletic on the mound, with a very loose delivery that lends itself well to throwing strikes, and he puts high spin rates on all his stuff that give it extra hop and projection. This is the kind of profile that takes off if things break right. Now Tommy John aside, there are still massive durability questions here, as Williams will have gone through his three years of college throwing 0.2, 37, and zero innings, respectively, all before missing time yet again before his Tommy John. He needs to get a lot stronger to stick in the rotation, which could also mean his stuff takes a massive step forward as he fills out. The Padres are fully bought into that happening, and I'll be very interested to follow along.

4-120: C Lamar King Jr., Calvert Hall HS [MD]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $502,800. Signing bonus: $502,800.
The Padres finally picked a position player here with their fifth pick, going for an upside play in Lamar King Jr. King is the son of former NFL defensive end Lamar King, and he looks like an NFL player's son with a big, strong, 6'3" frame. That strength helps generate above average raw power that could become plus in time as he irons out his swing, as he has a fairly stiff operation for now that might cost him some pop. You help him get his arms extended more consistently, and he could end up sending the ball impressive distances. His power is ahead of his hit tool for now, but he does take pretty good at bats and recognizes pitches fairly well. I think with more refinement in the Padres system, the Baltimore-area native has a chance to get to a fringe average or even an average hit tool. He's a solid defender behind the plate and moves very well for his size, helping him use that big frame block balls in the dirt. High school catchers are notoriously difficult to develop and King has a lot of work to do, but the upside here is a starting catcher that can blast 20+ home runs a year and that's worth a $500,000 gamble. King was in a great position, as he could have attended the catching factory that is Georgia Tech.

5-150: 1B Nathan Martorella, California. My rank: #192.
Slot value: $375,500. Signing bonus: $325,000 ($50,500 below slot value).
Nathan Martorella brings a little bit of an unusual profile as a hit-over-power first baseman, but it's an interesting one. He didn't hit much over his first two seasons at Cal, but broke out in 2022 to slash .333/.424/.553 with eleven home runs and a 29/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games. He takes short, simple hacks in the batters box with the goal of spraying hard line drives around the field, rarely looking to do too much. With a stocky build at 6'1", 225 pounds, he translates his compact strength into a high frequency of hard hit balls, finding the barrel extremely consistently with a keen eye at the plate and a very patient approach. Martorella a first baseman only, so the pressure will be on his bat. The power isn't quite where you want it for a first baseman, but given his knack for barreling the ball and hitting it hard, he could tap average power if he begins to lift the ball more. The Salinas (Monterey County) native could move relatively quickly through a thinned out Padres system, with a ceiling of 15-20 home runs a year and high on-base percentages. So far through five games in the Arizona Complex League, Martorella has two singles and two walks.

7-210: OF Nick Vogt, UC Santa Barbara. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $224,300. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($24,300 below slot value).
Nick Vogt gives the Padres another Californian as a guy who can contribute in a lot of ways even if he doesn't have a true carrying tool. After performing poorly over his first two seasons at UC Santa Barbara, like Nathan Martorella he broke out in 2022 to slash .317/.405/.541 with seven home runs and a 39/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 games. He has long arms and uses them to spray hard line drives around the field with regularity, with enough raw power in the tank to leave the yard when he gets those arms extended. He's a disciplined hitter that makes a lot of contact, helping him get on base at better than a .400 clip this spring. The Central Valley native out of Davis is also a solid runner that has a chance to stick in center field, which would dramatically increase his value as a potential fourth outfielder. Whether he reaches that ceiling hinges on his ability to handle breaking balls, as multiple sources noted that he was a much better hitter against high velocity fastballs than quality breaking balls. If he can, this is a very productive fourth outfield profile. He is hitless through his first six at bats in the Arizona Complex League.

8-240: 1B Griffin Doersching, Oklahoma State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $180,900. Signing bonus: $25,000 ($155,900 below slot value).
At just $25,000, this pick has a chance to be one of the best bargains of the draft. That tends to happen when you're nearly 24 on draft day, older than guys like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Doersching played four years at Northern Kentucky, where he bashed 47 home runs in 161 career games and slashed .316/.488/.772 as a senior, then transferred to Oklahoma State this spring and continued to rake to the tune of a .296/.407/.673 slash line, 15 home runs, and a 51/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 games. He has absolutely massive raw power, as evidenced by this allegedly 513 foot home run against Texas Tech that left the stadium over the scoreboard. It's effortless power, too, as the 6'4", 250 pound hulk of a human being just flings the barrel at the ball with a simple, direct swing, and the ball just jumps off his bat like he loaded it with TNT. He does come with swing and miss concerns, running a 26.3% strikeout rate in 2022 that was well up from the 16.1% mark he put together in his senior year at NKU against weaker competition. Even though he rarely swings out of his shoes, he still has below average bat to ball skills and regularly chases, so the transition to pro ball will be a steep one. Given that I'm writing this on his 24th birthday (HBD Griffin), he doesn't have much time to figure it out. He's limited to first base defensively, so he'll have to tap that power in pro ball to move up. With his power, tattoos, and long blonde hair, the Milwaukee-area product can quickly become one of the Padres' more recognizable prospects and could become a power hitting platoon bat in the near future. He's already off to a hot start in the Arizona Complex League (albeit where he is much older than his competition), slashing .400/.538/.800 with just two strikeouts through five games.

11-330: RHP Isaiah Lowe, Combine Academy [NC]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $400,000 ($275,000 against bonus pool).
The Padres made one more big splurge to open up day three, signing Isaiah Lowe away from a Wake Forest commitment for fifth round money. Lowe showed scattered command and inconsistent stuff over the summer, but was a much more complete pitcher this spring. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball and tops out around 94, adding a sweeping slider that looks above average at its best as well as an improving changeup that could also be an above average pitch. The 6'1" righty has a strong lower half and gets deep into his glutes during his delivery, putting flat plane on his fastball while also aiding in the shape of his slider, which relies more on horizontal movement than vertical movement. After regularly coming off line and losing his arm slot over the summer, he repeated his delivery better this spring and showed better command because of it, giving him the chance to stick as a starter. The North Carolina native is extremely old for a high schooler, having turned 19 back in May, but the Padres were more than happy with his progress this spring and think he can catch up quickly. There is not a ton of projection in his frame, though he could stand to add a few ticks to his fastball which is currently average velocity-wise. If he can get more consistently 92-94 than the 90-91 he sits now, that flat plane could really make it play up.

12-360: LHP Austin Krob, Texas Christian. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
Austin Krob spent a year at Kirkwood JC in Iowa before transferring to TCU in 2020, then showed well over his first two years in Fort Worth and looked like a mid day two pick. Instead, he opted to bet on himself and returned to campus for his senior season, which unfortunately did not go quite as planned as he finished with a 5.12 ERA and a 45/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 31.2 innings, missing a month and a half with injury. Krob ran a solid 31% strikeout rate in 2022, but figures to be more of a crafty lefty that should fit somewhere between a back-end starter and a long reliever in pro ball. His fastball sits in the low 90's, touching 95, while his sweeping slider is his best pitch and helps him miss bats. He also adds in an average curveball and an above average changeup, though his stuff wasn't always at its crispest this spring as he battled those injuries. The 6'3" lefty comes from a low three quarters slot that helps his stuff play east-west, giving hitters and especially left handed hitters a unique look that can make for a very difficult at bat when he's locating. The command has looked above average at times, and if he can hold that, he has a chance to reach his ceiling as a back-end starter. If not, or if he doesn't prove durable enough to handle 150+ innings a year, his stuff could tick up in relief and he could ditch the curveball to focus on his best pitches.

2021 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

The Padres stayed on brand with this draft, picking up two high school position players (both Maryland natives) with their first two picks. Some around the industry are a bit surprised by this draft, with first rounder Jackson Merrill being a bit of an unknown and second rounder James Wood (who earned $800K more) coming off a rough spring. Indeed, it will probably be boom or bust between these two kids, who could make AJ Preller look either really smart or foolhardy in a few years. After spending $4.4 million on those two kids, the Padres moved to the college ranks to save some money, picking up three consecutive pitchers who are already 22 or older, and really leaning on college players the rest of the way out. Kevin Kopps is of course the most interesting pick as the 24 year old Golden Spikes winner, while my favorite could end up being Ryan Bergert if he comes back healthy from Tommy John surgery.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-27: SS Jackson Merrill, Severna Park HS [MD]. My rank: #72.
This pick surprised many outside the industry, as Jackson Merrill was ranked #79 on MLB Pipeline and #102 on Baseball America. He was ranked #72 on my board and this will be a money saving pick, but don't think this was a reach. Merrill was a true pop-up prospect this spring, coming out for his senior season with a changed body and the results followed and then some. In addition to hitting for significantly more power than he has in the past, the Annapolis-area product also hit everything in sight, getting really nice leverage and loft from his now-6'2" frame and getting to that power consistently. He projects to stay on the right side of the infield with a strong arm, and given that the Padres are drafting him here in the first round, they probably think he'll be at least an average defender at shortstop. That remains to be seen, as does his ability to hit against higher-level pitching, as his bat is pretty untested against advanced competition. Merrill is committed to Kentucky but signed for $1.8 million, which was about $770,000 below the slot value of $2.57 million and about the value of the 41st pick.

2-62: OF James Wood, IMG Academy [FL]. My rank: #36.
I don't think I realized how tough of a spring James Wood had until after the draft, hence the high ranking. Wood, like Merrill, is from Maryland, but he transferred down to the IMG Academy in Florida to build his draft stock, which ultimately did not happen this spring. At his best over the summer, the 6'6" slugger showed massive raw power from the left side of the plate to go along with a patient approach that earned him comparisons to Zac Veen from last year's class. In fact, heading into the spring, many thought he had a chance to be drafted in the same range (Veen went ninth overall to the Rockies). The power was still there this spring, but Wood swung and missed significantly more often than scouts wanted to see, raising questions as to whether he could tap his power against pro pitching. He's a big guy with long legs and long arms and he starts with his hands low, something which wasn't an issue over the summer but could have contributed to making things difficult in 2021. Wood tweaked his setup at times as well, but to no avail. The Padres are buying into his massive upside here in the second round, and his presently above average speed also gives him an additional way to impact the game. He signed for $2.6 million, which was more than double the slot value of $1.1 million and in fact more than what Merrill signed for. $2.6 million would be roughly slot value for the 27th pick.

CBB-71: LHP Robert Gasser, Houston. My rank: #81.
Robert Gasser has had a meteoric rise to stardom after a winding road to get there. A Sacramento-area native, he began his career at New Mexico, moved on to Delta College back in California, then to the University of Houston, where he got knocked around in brief action in 2020. Things were different right from the start in 2021, however, after he followed strong starts against Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to match Tigers comp pick and Longhorn ace Ty Madden pitch for pitch in his third start. By the end of the season, Gasser had a 2.63 ERA and a strong 105/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 85.2 innings, including double digit strikeout performances against Texas State, Oklahoma, Memphis, and Tulane. He's a 6'1" lefty with a fastball that has ticked into the low 90's, touching 96, working in an above average slider that dives across the plate and a fading changeup. Gasser doesn't have pinpoint command but he locates his pitches well to both sides of the plate, and his low arm slot and crossfire action put some deception on his pitches. It's not the world's highest ceiling, but he has a chance to work his way up as a back-end starter, with a fallback option as a left handed reliever that can combine power stuff with a little bit of funk. Despite already having turned 22, he signed for full slot value at $884,200.

3-99: RHP Kevin Kopps, Arkansas. My rank: #188.
If you follow college baseball, you know all about Kevin Kopps. If you don't then you have a lot to catch up on. Kopps, like Gasser, has taken a long road to stardom, redshirting his freshman year in 2016 before serving as a solid if unspectacular reliever for Arkansas during his middle seasons (3.24 ERA, 86/30 K/BB in 86 IP). Those numbers were sandwiched around Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2018 season, then Kopps struggled to an 8.18 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. Returning in 2021 for his redshirt-redshirt senior season, the switch flipped on. The Houston-area native went 12-1 with a 0.90 ERA and a 131/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 89.2 innings, running a strikeout rate near 40% against some of the best competition in college baseball. Despite often throwing three or four innings per relief appearance, he didn't allow more than one run in any single game until his last one of the season, in which he made his very first start of the season against a red hot NC State team on short rest and allowed three over eight innings in what ended up being Arkansas' final game. The 2021 Golden Spikes winner harkens back to Mariano Rivera a bit with his tendency to work off one pitch – a cutter/slider hybrid that can move along the spectrum. Kopps has legitimate 80 grade feel for the pitch, showing the ability to tighten it up, allow it to break with more depth at other times, and locating it with precision to all four quadrants of the zone. Flip on any one of his appearances this season and you would see very disciplined SEC hitters flailing at it, rarely putting good swings on the pitch. The 6' righty also shows a low 90's fastball that functions as average and a below average curve and changeup, but the cutter/slider is his bread and butter. Despite throwing seventeen innings in just two weeks during the NCAA Tournament (and allowing just three runs while striking out nineteen), Kopps almost certainly profiles as a reliever in pro ball due to his lack of a second above average pitch, but he says he prefers the "chaos" of relief work anyways as opposed to getting into a routine as a starter. Already 24 years old, he was the second oldest player taken in the entire draft behind White Sox seventh rounder Theo Denlinger (25), but he likely won't pitch in the majors this year due to his heavy workload in Fayetteville. Once the Padres get him rested up and on their throwing program, though, he could be up pretty quickly in 2022. Slot value is $587,400, but I doubt his bonus will come close to that.

4-129: LHP Jackson Wolf, West Virginia. Unranked.
Another pick, another senior sign. Jackson Wolf, unlike Gasser or Kopps, was a well-known name for the 2020 class after posting a 1.05 ERA and a 27/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.2 innings in the shortened season, but he went undrafted and returned to Morgantown. This year, he did everything that was expected of him, posting a 3.03 ERA and a 104/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 89 innings, but it wasn't quite an Andrew Abbott-esque or Matt Mikulski-esque performance to increase his stock significantly. He's a 6'7" lefty, which will immediately grab your attention, and he fills up the strike zone with three pitches. Wolf's fastball sits around 90, a slight tick above where it was last year, and can scrape the mid 90's at its best, but it plays up due to his excellent extension that really does make a difference. His slider is slurvy and his changeup is average at best, but the three pitches work well off each other and he's proven durable so far. He throws strikes, but it's not pinpoint command – just enough to make it all work. If the Columbus-area native is to remain a starter, he'll need to tighten up his offspeed pitches, but he more likely profiles as a reliever who can run that fastball up another tick or two and hopefully sharpen that slider. Slot value is $438,700, but I don't think he gets close to that.

5-160: 2B Max Ferguson, Tennessee. My rank: #179.
It was a tough season for Max Ferguson. A high school classmate of Alabama and now Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (a year older), in addition to Florida star and likely high 2022 pick Hunter Barco (a year younger), he had an unremarkable freshman season but slashed .333/.462/.524 in the shortened 2020 season, leading to some optimism that he could be a high pick in 2021. Instead, the Jacksonville native ended up at .253/.378/.461 with twelve home runs and a 71/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 67 games with a hitter-friendly home park, albeit against a tough SEC schedule. So what happened? Ferguson is a skinny kid at a listed 6'1", 180 pounds, and in that strong 2020 season he was noted as a strong contact hitter who might not hit for much impact in pro ball. So in 2021, he tried to show that impact by yanking home runs to the pull side and lifting the ball, and it worked to a degree with a strong .208 ISO (SLG - AVG), but it also came with an elevated 22.8% strikeout rate (up from 15% over his first two seasons). For a hitter who didn't quite sell the power, that's a tough look, and he'll likely need to go back to being hit over power in pro ball if he wants to succeed. The good news is Ferguson is a great athlete who shows strong bat to ball skills and barrel control when he's not trying to do too much, and with proper development he should be able to work his way back towards being a high on-base guy who can steal you a few bags (he has 28 in 114 career games at Tennessee). He fits at second base due to a below average arm, but could have the speed to handle center field. To me, it's a utility profile. He signed for full slot value at $324,100.

6-190: RHP Ryan Bergert, West Virginia. Unranked.
Four players were drafted out of West Virginia this year, and all four were pitchers going to NL West rivals – I didn't mention them in the Dodgers writeup, but Madison Jeffrey and Adam Tulloch went in the 15th and 17th rounds, respectively, to Los Angeles, while San Diego grabbed Jackson Wolf in the fourth and Ryan Bergert here in the sixth. I tabbed Bergert as a sleeper heading into the season, but unfortunately, he blew out his elbow and didn't pitch at all. Over his first two years in Morgantown, though, he was phenomenal – 2.30 ERA, 68/19 K/BB in 58.2 innings. His fastball sits in the low 90's, getting up to 94-95 at best, and playing up due to high spin rates. He also shows an inconsistent curveball that doesn't always have the finish he would like, but which should be an above average pitch with a bit more development, as well as an average slider. The 6'1" righty doesn't have much of a changeup this point, which will be a point of development in pro ball, and his command is average. He'll have to work his way back first, but once healthy, some tweaks here and there could make him a very solid rotation option. It's always hard to peg injured pitchers' signing bonus demands, and slot value sits at $251,100 here.

18-550: LHP Gage Jump, JSerra Catholic HS [CA]. My rank: #20.
With James Wood signing for $1.5 million above slot value, it's hard to see Gage Jump signing here, especially when he seemed dead set on heading to UCLA anyways. Jump, in my opinion, was the second best high school pitcher in the class behind only Jackson Jobe, who went third overall to the Tigers. He's an undersized lefty at 5'11", sitting in the low 90's with his fastball and getting up to 94-95. That fastball plays way up because he gets great extension, a low release, and high spin rates from that smaller frame, putting exceptional ride on the ball and missing plenty of bats. His top to bottom curveball plays extremely well off his fastball, and he adds an above average slider as well. Jump is a competitor that fills up the strike zone consistently, earning comps to a left handed Jack Leiter, and he could find himself in a similar position after three years in Westwood. He attended high school not far from San Diego, just an hour or so north of PETCO in San Juan Capistrano.

20-610: RHP Chase Burns, Beech HS [TN]. My rank: #84.
This is another one that almost certainly won't sign. Chase Burns is one of the hardest throwers in the prep class, touching triple digits with his fastball and usually sitting in the mid 90's, and it gets exceptional spin and ride (like Jump, but faster) that make it a plus-plus pitch when it's located. Burns also adds an inconsistent curve that flashes plus 12-6 movement at its best, and his slider is a bit shorter but flashes plus as well with late bite. His changeup is inconsistent as well, but has its moments. The problem here is that his delivery is somewhat rigid, which combined with the poor history of hard throwing high schoolers, makes it a very scary profile. I would like to see the Nashville-area native head to Tennessee, which it looks like is going to happen, to prove his durability as a starting pitcher before jumping on board. If he does hold up over three years in Knoxville, we're looking at a huge ceiling for the 6'4" righty.

Unpacking the San Diego Padres Trade Deadline

Acquired: RHP Mike Clevinger, RHP Trevor Rosenthal, RHP Taylor Williams, RHP Austin Adams, RHP Dan Altavilla, 1B Mitch Moreland, C Austin Nola, C Jason Castro, OF Greg Allen, and a PTBNL

Traded: 3B Ty France, OF Josh Naylor, OF Edward Olivares, C Austin Hedges, C Luis Torrens, RHP Cal Quantrill, RHP Andres Muñoz, RHP Gerardo Reyes, minor leaguers OF Taylor Trammell, OF Jeisson Rosario, SS Gabriel Arias, SS Owen Miller, 3B Hudson Potts, LHP Joey Cantillo, and two PTBNL's* (one PTBNL reported to be minor league RHP Matt Brash)

First off, wow. The Padres picked up an impact starting pitcher, four relievers, two catchers, a power bat, an extra outfielder, and a bonus PTBNL, only one of whom is a rental. And all it cost them was a set of 16 players, half of whom have major league experience. My two immediate takeaways: the Padres overpaid on a lot of these deals, but I commend them for doing so. In baseball, if you're not moving forward, you're going backwards, and they need to move forward if they want to catch the Dodgers and compete with the heavy hitters of the National League for years to come. In that sense, overpaying to get the job done was better than doing nothing at all. Even though 26 (!) players changed hands here, they still hung onto big name young arms like MacKenzie Gore, Luis Patiño, Ryan Weathers, and Cole Wilcox and young bats like Luis Campusano, CJ Abrams, Robert Hassell, and Hudson Head. I'd call that a win.

Obviously, I'm much more excited to talk about the prospects than the big leaguers, but let's run through the new Padres real quick.

New Bats

The most apparent upgrade here is swapping out Austin Hedges and Luis Torrens for Austin Nola and Jason Castro. Hedges and Torrens were hitting a combined .176/.266/.338 with three home runs in 36 games, while the new Nola/Castro combination comes in slashing .267/.355/.480 with seven home runs in 47 games. That's huge. While swapping out Hedges' steady glove for Nola's might sting a little bit, Nola has also played every other position but pitcher, shortstop, and center field over the last two seasons, giving San Diego a ton of flexibility to move him around the field and potentially give Castro more at bats. Mitch Moreland won't force Eric Hosmer off of first base, but he and his .328/.430/.746 bat will be a huge upgrade over the injured Tommy Pham (.207/.316/.293), Josh Naylor (.278/.316/.417), and Abraham Almonte (.111/.200/.111), who the Padres have been using in that spot. I think this transforms a top-heavy offense led primarily by Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, Wil Myers, and Jake Cronenworth into a much more formidable, more balanced group that can try to keep up with the Dodgers. Lastly, Greg Allen is just a career .239/.295/.344 hitter, but his 94th percentile sprint speed makes him the fastest player on the team and, as a bonus, he grew up in San Diego, attending Hilltop High School in Chula Vista as well as San Diego State University.

New Arms

Clearly, Mike Clevinger is the headliner. Since the start of the 2017 season, he's 39-19 with a 2.97 ERA and a 534/175 strikeout to walk ratio across 470.1 innings – those are ace-caliber numbers. Additionally, the 29 year old is under contract through 2022 and should be affordable at that. Throw him in with Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, Luis Patiño, and MacKenzie Gore, and the Padres have a legitimate rotation from top to bottom going forward (plus Zach Davies for 2021). Now, the bullpen. The fearsome trio of Kirby Yates, Emilio Pagan, and Craig Stammen combined for a 2.37 ERA over 212.2 innings in 2019, but that's jumped all the way to a 7.56 ERA in 33.1 innings this year. So, the Padres brought in four new relievers to counter that, especially given that Yates likely won't pitch the rest of the regular season. None of the four are necessarily stars, but Trevor Rosenthal, Dan Altavilla, Austin Adams, and Taylor Williams bring in some depth to help get them over the hump while those guys get back on track. Plus aside from Rosenthal, the other three are all under team control through 2023.

The Indians Haul

In trading Mike Clevinger, the Indians picked up easily the most capital from the Padres. Starting with the big leaguers, Cal Quantrill (age 25) has proven serviceable as both a starter and a reliever, and he'll have a chance to take over Clevinger's spot in the Cleveland rotation. The Ontario native fits the Indians mold as a polished strike thrower who can pitch well off his changeup, though the rest of his arsenal is pretty ordinary and he can be hittable when he misses in the zone. Moving forward, he'll probably be a back-end starter for Cleveland, though the Indians always have a host of starting pitchers coming up through their system which could force him out. He holds a 4.79 ERA and a 107/34 K/BB in 120.1 innings for his career. Josh Naylor (age 23) will join his younger brother Bo, who spent 2019 at Class A Lake County. Naylor is a bit younger and comes with more upside than Quantrill, and as a career .253/.315/.405 hitter with nine home runs in 112 games, he already has a little bit of track record under his belt at 23 years old. He controls the strike zone well with a solid 21% career strikeout rate, though while he shows some thump in his bat, it may not be enough to start full time with his first base/corner outfield profile. As a left handed hitter who has also shown the ability to hit same-sided pitching, he increases his base value as a bench bat and could fill in left, right, first base, or DH. At peak, we could see 20-25 home runs a year, but I think he'll be more in the teens. Then there's Austin Hedges (age 28), who is just a career .199/.257/.359 hitter, but it's not like Roberto Perez (.214/.304/.368) or Sandy Leon (.217/.284/.328) are much better. Now, the Indians have three top defensive catchers who can't hit, but while Leon is a free agent after the season, Hedges and Perez are both under contract through 2022. Those two should bridge the time until Bo Naylor works his way up.

Now onto the minor leaguers, which I prefer to talk about anyways. I'm extremely excited to see Joey Cantillo (age 20) in the Indians system, where he could really take off. He dominated A ball to the tune of a 2.26 ERA and a 144/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 111.2 innings in 2019, showing improved stuff across the board as he filled out his 6'4" frame. The stuff is decent, with a fastball around 90, a good changeup, and a huge downer curveball with tremendous depth but not a ton of velocity, but everything plays up because he gets great deception in his delivery and locates his pitches extremely well. That's exactly the kind of pitcher the Indians tend to do really well with, and I could really see him coming out a legitimate impact pitcher. Keep an eye on this one. Moving on, Owen Miller (age 23) is a sleeper type who has slashed .307/.367/.441 with 17 home runs over 205 games so far in his minor league career. He has exceptional natural feel to hit that helped him race from Illinois State to AA in less than a year, and while he doesn't hit for a ton of power, his ability to find the barrel consistently makes that moderate power up significantly. With Francisco Lindor looking like he'll be leaving Cleveland and no long term solution at second base, the middle infield is wide open and I could see Miller becoming a full time starter either at second base or shortstop in the near future. Coming up behind him is Gabriel Arias (age 20), who broke out with a .302/.339/.470 line and 17 home runs in High A in 2019. He has always been talented and the big breakout just confirms what evaluators already knew. Arias is an explosive hitter from the right side that put up those gaudy numbers against much older competition, but at this point, he's also very aggressive and will need to tone down his approach as he matures. Given his age, that's not overly concerning. What he did as a teenager in High A was impressive enough, and he's a great defender that could become Cleveland's shortstop of the future if he continues to progress. The youth and the glove give his plate discipline plenty of slack to catch up.

New Mariners

The most established player heading to the other end of I-5 is Ty France (age 26), a San Diego State product who was off to a hot .309/.377/.491 start over 20 games in 2020. He's not a huge guy at 5'11", but he has great feel for the barrel that enables him to make consistent hard contact and tap some power when he gets into one. Even though he's just 89 games into his MLB career, he's already appeared at first base, second base, third base, and even pitcher, bringing plenty of versatility to fill in in multiple roles or even sneak into a starting spot if Evan White, Shed Long, or Kyle Seager gets hurt. There's not much coming up through the system that would seem to threaten his playing time, either, and he's under team control for a long time. Definitely a nice depth add. Luis Torrens (age 24) hasn't made a ton of noise just yet, slashing .176/.256/.223 over 70 career games, but with Austin Nola leaving town, he'll have plenty of opportunity to try. Torrens has a classic backup catcher profile, with very strong plate discipline helping him tap some moderate power from the right side. At 24 years old, I'm not sure how much more he'll grow into, but he's been steadily hitting for more impact in the minors and he has a chance to hit for just enough in the majors to justify regular playing time, especially with his solid glove. He'll likely help bridge the gap until Cal Raleigh is ready. Andres Muñoz (age 21) is a really interesting one. The 6'2", 240 pound righty has a triple digit fastball that has touched as high as 104, and while his command is far from pinpoint, he's not wild either and is generally around the zone. He drops in a good, vertical slider, and the two pitches enabled him to post a 3.91 ERA and a 30/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 innings in 2019 at just 20 years old, though he's sitting out 2020 with Tommy John surgery. Once he comes back, Muñoz just needs to sharpen his command a little bit to become a legitimate late inning arm. Given his age, that's certainly possible, making him a really interesting one to watch in the Mariners' bullpen. Lastly, the one true prospect in this deal was Taylor Trammell (age 22), the well-known prospect who was previously involved in the Trevor Bauer/Yasiel Puig deal of 2019. His stock faded a bit with a so-so 2019 season in AA (.234/.340/.349, 10 HR), but there's still a lot to like in this buy-low prospect. He has really nice raw power that he taps naturally, and a patient approach has enabled him to handle advanced pitching throughout his career. Throw in above average speed, and he can really impact the game in a lot of ways. The 2019 season showed that he still has work to do in proving he can generate impact against top level pitching, though he was just 21 at the time. The Mariners are betting that additional development time will prove that to just be a blip on the radar, and that his work ethic, athleticism, and patient approach will come together for an all-around contributor at the major league level. Either way, we should see him in Seattle by 2021 at the latest.

Two New Red Sox Bats

In return for power bat Mitch Moreland, the Red Sox are bringing on two new minor league bats in Hudson Potts (age 21) and Jeisson Rosario (age 20). Potts is a power bat that crushed 56 home runs, 86 doubles, and six triples in 364 minor league games from 2017-2019. The Padres loved his power and pushed him aggressively, sending him to full season ball at 18 years old in 2017 and to High A and even AA as a 19 year old in 2018. He spent his age-20 season at AA again in 2019 and slashed .227/.290/.406 with 16 home runs in 107 games, a mixed bag of numbers given his age. The Red Sox look at how young he has been relative to his competition and think his plate discipline with a bit of acclimation, and while his power isn't quite of the standard of Bobby Dalbec or Triston Casas, he's a better defender at third base who could stick there. However, with the presence of Rafael Devers in addition to Dalbec and Casas, he'll really have to earn that playing time. Rosario, meanwhile, hit just .242/.372/.314 over 120 games at High A last year, but he was also just 19 years old. The first thing that jumps off the page with Rosario is his patience, walking in 16.6% of his plate appearances last year despite his youth. He consistently works counts to hunt his pitch, though to this point, he hasn't hit for much impact with just 57 extra base hits over 289 games for his career. His approach is very contact-oriented, but he's very athletic and packs some lean strength into his 6'1" frame, so the Red Sox could tinker with his approach to tap some more power. At just 20 years old, he has plenty of time to experiment with different approaches to hitting, and his advanced plate discipline helps in that regard as well. He's a strong defender that should stick in center field, which also buys his bat more slack, so he's a high probability big leaguer in some capacity. If he can learn to generate more impact at the plate, he has a chance to start as a guy with 10-15 home runs a year and strong on-base percentages, though without significant gains in his power output, he's probably more of a fourth outfielder.

The Rest

I'll start with Edward Olivares (age 24) here. He's a huge get for the Royals after signing Trevor Rosenthal to a minor league contract, bringing a multitude of ways to impact the game. He hit .283/.349/.453 with 18 home runs and 35 stolen bases across 127 games in AA last year, and he's gotten his feet wet a bit in 13 games with the Padres (albeit at .176/.222/.294). There's no one carrying tool to Olivares' game, but he brings loose, easy power from a rangy 6'2" frame in addition to good feel for the barrel and nice speed as well. His aggressive approach will limit his on-base percentages in the majors, though his game fits well in that big Kansas City outfield and he has a chance to get lots of playing time pretty quickly. His ability to handle center field could bump Whit Merrifield to second base and Nicky Lopez down to the bench, and he also provides a controllable option to gradually take over for Alex Gordon slowly approaches retirement. Though he's not quite as fast, he should hit for more impact than Nick Heath, and with guys like Khalil Lee, Kyle Isbel, and Brewer Hicklen also working their way up, the future of the Royals outfield looks to be in a much more solid place. I don't necessarily see Olivares turning into a star, but he could be a 10-15 home run bat whose speed and defense helps him hold down regular playing time. Moving back to the West Coast, the Angels are picking up a power bullpen arm in Gerardo Reyes (age 27) in exchange for Jason Castro. Already 27, he's yet to do much at the major league level with a 7.62 ERA and a 38/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 innings last year, but the stuff is there for him to succeed. His fastball sits in the upper 90's and it isn't straight, either, with his lower arm angle putting great running and sinking action on it. He throws a short, tight slider that sneaks below bats and induces plenty of whiffs. He does a good job of filling up the strike zone but he struggles to hit individual spots, and going forward his success will likely hinge on that command. If he can tunnel his fastball and slider off each other, he has serious late inning potential. The Angels will try to get him there, but at 27 years old, he's not the youngest kid out there. And lastly, Matt Brash (age 22) isn't officially a Mariner just yet, but he's reported to be the player to be named later in the Taylor Williams deal. He was the Padres' fourth round pick out of Niagara University in 2019, then struck out eight over 5.1 innings (one earned run) in his pro debut that year. He looks like a reliever to the naked eye, showing a low 90's fastball that can creep up to 95 to go with a good changeup and a pair of decent breaking balls, all coming from a jerky delivery. However, Brash's pitch metrics are supposedly very good, and he has consistently performed at a high level everywhere he's gone. Additionally, he was showing a smoother delivery in 2020 in spring training, and he looks much more like a starting pitcher at this point. Brash probably profiles as a back-end starter, depending on the development of his offspeed stuff.

2020 Draft Review: San Diego Padres

1-8: OF Robert Hassell III, Independence HS (TN)
CBA-34: RHP Justin Lange, Llano HS (TX)
2-45: OF Owen Caissie, Notre Dame HS (ON)
3-80: RHP Cole Wilcox, Georgia
4-109: RHP Levi Thomas, Troy
5-139: LHP Jagger Haynes, West Columbus HS (NC)

A year ago, the Padres became the first team ever to hand out a $3 million signing bonus in the third round, drawing high school outfielder Hudson Head away from an Oklahoma commitment with first round money. This year, they broke their own record by giving Cole Wilcox $3.3 million in the same round, and that defined their draft class even more so than first rounder Robert Hassell. That meant htey had to go under slot for each of their other five picks, and they did so in typical Padres fashion by four high schoolers. Did it work out for them? In order to figure that out, I'd pretend Wilcox was the competitive balance pick and "bump" Justin Lange and Owen Caissie down a round, making Lange the "second round" pick and Caissie the "third round" pick. In that case, I think they came away with a solid class, though it comes with a lot of risk. Robert Hassell is about as low risk as it gets for a high schooler but it's still an under slot high schooler in the top ten. Lange and Caissie are extreme boom/bust types even by high school standards, as is fifth rounder and deep sleeper Jagger Haynes. Wilcox is still kind of boom/bust for a college pitcher, especially given his massive signing bonus, leaving Levi Thomas as the only true "safe bet" type in the fourth round. It's an interesting class for sure, with a ton of upside if things work out.
Full index of team reviews here.

1-8: OF Robert Hassell III, Independence HS, TN (my rank: 17)
As you can tell by my ranking, there are quite a few players I would have taken ahead of Hassell at this point in the draft, but that's more an endorsement of the immense talent in this class than it is an indictment of Hassell's talent. It also helps that the Padres got him significantly under slot. Coming out of the Nashville area, he has the best hit tool in the prep class, showing the ability to make hard contact against even the best pitching he faced. He can be a little bit streaky at times, but for the most part, he has simply dominated his competition. Hassell brings an extremely professional approach to the plate, easily identifying fastballs from breaking balls and balls from strikes, and his clean, smooth left handed swing enables him to execute hard contact all over the field. He's hit over power and will likely always be that way, as he's pretty skinny at 6'2" and doesn't look like he'll be able to add a ton of bulk. There were times over the summer when he tried to tap into more power, but that often came at the expense of his prodigious hit tool, and scouts believe he'll be best off allowing his home runs to come naturally. I think there is a chance he could hit 20+ home runs a year in the majors at his ceiling, but I think he's more likely to fall in the 10-20 range and derive his value from very high on-base percentages. He's a good runner who makes all the plays in the outfield, and he'll likely end up either a decent/playable center fielder or an above average right fielder. With an August birthday, he's a bit old for the class, but the Padres don't seem to mind that. He's been compared to Mariners star prospect Jarred Kelenic, who had a very similar profile out of high school and who was also old for his class, though Kelenic has a bit more power and Hassell is a bit faster. The top recruit in another loaded Vanderbilt class, he instead signed with the Padres for $4.3 million, which was about $880,000 below slot value. Pre-draft profile here.

CBA-34: RHP Justin Lange, Llano HS, TX (my rank: 68)
There's something I have to get out of the way first, and it's going to pain some Spanish speaking or Spanish-familiar Padres fans out in San Diego, but it's not pronounced "yawn-oh" like it's supposed to be. Llano, Texas is instead said like "LAN-oh," rhyming with "piano." Sorry about that. Anyways, Justin Lange is all about projection. He's a 6'4" right hander from the small town of Llano in the heart of Texas, and most importantly, he can touch 100 miles per hour. A year ago, he was sitting in the low 90's with his fastball and looked like he needed to go to school to fill out, but his velocity has shot up since then and he was sitting comfortably in the mid to upper 90's this spring. And it's not as if he suddenly started throwing as hard as he could – the velocity comes very easily, as his loose arm cranks it up with a pretty natural motion. Now, how well he repeats that delivery is another question. I'm going to repeat the language I used in his pre-draft profile in saying that he's really just "flinging" the ball. His arm works extremely naturally at these high speeds, but in the end, he's really just letting it all fly and flinging the baseball in the general direction of the plate. He has well below average command at this point, and the Padres will have their work cut out for them in streamlining his delivery and getting his arm moving in the same, repeatable slot every pitch. They'll also have to help develop his secondaries, as his slider can flash solid average but is typically more of a fringy pitch, and it's been known to miss the zone by feet rather than inches. There's a changeup as well, but it's also well below average. Right now, the Padres are buying his three big plusses: size, velocity, and naturally loose arm. Everything else will have to be crafted, and that includes refining his delivery, bringing some depth out of his slider, and building up his changeup. It's a really interesting upside play that also carries extreme risk. Lange signed away from his Dallas Baptist commitment for $2 million, which was about $150,000 below slot. Pre-draft profile here.

2-45: OF Owen Caissie, Notre Dame HS, ON (my rank: 123)
The third straight high schooler to start off this draft, Owen Caissie probably has more in common with Justin Lange than he does with fellow prep outfielder Robert Hassell. Hailing from the Toronto area, he was also the first Canadian selected this year. He's a big dude at 6'4", with plenty of projection in his sturdy frame that could have him looking like a beast in a few years. He channels his strength into big raw power that plays as above average right now, but he should grow into true plus power pretty easily given the projection in his frame. On the flip side, though, he hasn't been as consistent with his hit tool, showing a significant amount of swing and miss in his game. Pessimists see the high bust-risk associated with strikeout-prone prep hitters and might be turned off by Caissie. However, optimists see a swing that doesn't put the barrel in the zone for very long and think some simple mechanical tweaks could get him up to an average or better hit tool. Given that he's also young for the class, just turning 18 a few days before I released this article here in July, he has more time to iron out that tool and it has been shown that age matters for high schoolers. An above average runner with a plus arm, he will probably slow down a little bit as he matures, and profiles as an above average right fielder down the line. There is extremely high risk associated with this pick, but the reward is very high as well and Caissie could develop into a 30 home run bat. Committed to Michigan, he instead signed with the Padres for $1.2 million, which was about $450,000 below slot.

3-80: RHP Cole Wilcox, Georgia (my rank: 22)
The Padres saved about $1.48 million in bonus pool space by going under slot in each of the first three rounds, and that enabled them to give Cole Wilcox $3.3 million, which was halfway between the slot values at picks #19 and #20, more than quadruple his own slot value, and just a million shy of what they gave Robert Hassell at eighth overall. Wilcox was a big name coming out of Heritage High School in northwestern Georgia in 2018 and could have easily gone in the first round if signable, but he was dead set on attending Georgia for school. Two years later, his stock was in a very similar place in the mid to late first round, but signability was again a factor and that knocked him down to the third round. The Padres are ecstatic to pick him up after he showed huge statistical progress from his freshman year (4.07 ERA, 64/38 K/BB in 59.2 IP) to his draft-eligible sophomore year (1.57 ERA, 32/2 K/BB in 23 IP), and while he didn't have to go up against the SEC this year, he did put up seven shutout innings with eleven strikeouts and no walks against a solid Georgia Tech lineup on February 29th.  He's a really big 6'5" right hander who is still growing into his body a bit, and he comes with equally big stuff. The fastball sits in the mid 90's and can reach as high as 98 with some run and sink, and he adds in two offspeed pitches in a slider and a changeup. The slider can be inconsistent, but it's usually at least average at worst and can flash plus when he really snaps it down. The changeup, meanwhile, is more consistently above average and gets great sink, and together he has three pitches that have a good chance to be true plus. In the past, he's had a hard time repeating his delivery consistently and that impacted his ability to throw strikes. He showed some modest improvement in that regard in 2020, and while his control (ability to throw strikes in general) is still well ahead of his command (ability to hit spots within the zone), he's better than he used to be, when he showed neither. As Wilcox continues to grow into his huge frame, I think his youth is a big positive in his profile, as his July birthday makes him old for a sophomore but younger than most of the juniors he went up against in the draft process. With three great pitches and improving command, Wilcox has a chance to be an impact starting pitcher for the Padres down the line, or a high level reliever if he never gets that command fully figured out. The $3.3 million signing bonus was more than $2.5 million above slot value in the third round but the Padres made it work. Pre-draft profile here.

4-109: RHP Levi Thomas, Troy (unranked)
Here is an interesting money saver. Levi Thomas was part of the same Cullman High School rotation and graduating class as 2017 Reds third rounder Jacob Heatherly, but he headed across Alabama to attend Troy for school. After a strong freshman season (1.96 ERA, 56/16 K/BB) and a solid sophomore year (4.24 ERA, 87/31 K/BB), he broke out with a huge start to his junior campaign with a 0.39 ERA, a 0.65 WHIP, and a 42/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 innings. He doesn't have the world's loudest stuff, but he absolutely demolished the Northern Kentucky and Louisiana Tech lineups (11 shutout innings, 25 K's, 3 baserunners) and continued to hold his own against #1 Florida and a stronger Michigan State lineup (12 IP, 1 ER, 17 K's) nonetheless. He's a dogged competitor that will do anything to get you out, something Pitching Ninja captured in this Twitter thread. Stuff-wise, his fastball sits in the low 90's but gets great spin rates that enable it to play much faster than its velocity, and he adds a good slider that can flash above average at times. He shows solid average command, but his willingness to attack the zone and challenge hitters makes that aspect of his game play up as well. On the shorter side at 5'11", Thomas will need to prove he's durable enough to start, and he'll also have to work on improving a fringy changeup. If he's forced to the bullpen, his fastball and slider could tick up and his mentality would fit great. Given how deep this system is, I think there is more of a chance of that happening than not and I'm very interested to see what he could do in that role. Thomas' $80,000 signing bonus was $453,000 below slot.

5-139: LHP Jagger Haynes, West Columbus HS, NC (unranked)
The Padres have some history with prep lefties from Columbus County in rural southeastern North Carolina – MacKenzie Gore grew up in Whiteville, just twenty minutes down the road from where Haynes went to high school in Cerro Gordo. He's a very projectable 6'3" lefty that sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds in a good breaking ball from an athletic, loose delivery. Right now, there are a lot of moving parts with long arm action that will need to be cleaned up a bit, but they key is the looseness and the Padres don't think they'll have a problem with that. He adds a solid breaking ball and a relatively advanced changeup for a high school pitcher, and with a September birthday, he was the youngest pitcher selected in the entire draft. There are a lot of rough edges to refine here, but San Diego is extremely high on this kid and they're envisioning an impact starting pitcher down the line. He's a nice sleeper to watch here at the end of the draft. Committed to UNC, Haynes instead signed for $300,000, which was $98,000 below slot.

Undrafted: C Adam Kerner, San Diego (unranked)
The Padres spent all six picks on players east of the Rocky Mountains, but in the undrafted free agent market, they came back home and signed Adam Kerner out of the University of San Diego. A product of Oaks Christian High School up in Thousand Oaks, he is a glove-first catcher who will definitely stick. A good athlete, he moves really well back there and shows a plus arm, giving him a very high baseline of value in a world where good catchers are scarce. He's an okay hitter who has slashed .305/.379/.472 with ten home runs and a 72/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 career games for the Toreros, showing a solid average hit tool and a little bit of sneaky power, though he doesn't draw a lot of walks. It's probably a little bit light to start, even with his glove, but it's a really nice backup profile, especially in the UDFA market.

Undrafted: RHP Chase Walter, Western Carolina (unranked)
Walter is an absolute mountain of a man, standing at a listed 6'7" and 260 pounds. The Atlanta-area native spent his college career in the starting rotation for Western Carolina, where he has missed a ton of bats (212 K's in 195.1 IP) but also missed the strike zone just as frequently (116 walks in same span). For that reason, he probably fits better in the bullpen in pro ball, especially in a deep Padres system, but he'll still be a project. Walter sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has touched 96 as a starter, adding in a hard slider that misses plenty of bats. Bumping him to the bullpen could help him focus on improving his command a bit more and also see that fastball tick up to the mid 90's more consistently, which plays well below average right now. Even getting up to fringe-average could make him a very useful bullpen arm.