For the 10th straight draft, the San Diego Padres took a prep athlete in the first round of the MLB draft, with six of those previous picks also being pitchers. RHP Coleman Borthwick, 18, out of South Walton High School in Florida, will join LHP Kash Mayfield and LHP Kruz Schoolcraft in the Padres system as teenage gambles in the draft.
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After choosing a prep shortstop in the second round, the Padres finished day one with college players, a right-handed pitcher, a catcher, and an outfielder.
In his Zoom conference with the media after the first day of the draft, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was joined by scouting director Chris Kemp to discuss their thinking with their first five picks and detail how they will be worked into the system.
First round pick Borthwick, in a zoom conference with the media after his selection, detailed his thinking on how he will achieve his goal of being a major league pitcher for the Padres.
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“Velocity is great – it’s a great thing to have. But the thing that’s going to get you to the big leagues – is being a competitor, learning to throw strikes while being durable.
“My two-seam is an A-plus. That’s one of my plus-plus pitches that I love to use. It gets early, week contact, nobody can really barrel it, and it’s a pitch I can throw wherever I want. I can pretty much put all my pitches wherever I want, and that’s something that kind of separates me.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/videos/coleman-borthwick-being-drafted-21st-224956280.html
The big right hander has already committed to signing and his first-round slot guarantees him $4,224,700. Don’t be surprised to see him on a roster in the near future.
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Day 2 of Padres draft
Day 2 of the draft was covered live on MLB.com as well as the MLB app, with Jonathon Mayo and Jim Callis providing commentary on the draftees with their computers and notes in front of them. This is the first draft with live commentary during the second day, and it allowed some information on players that might not have a lot available on scouting sites.
Over the 16 players selected by the Padres on day 2 of the draft, 14 were college level and two were prep athletes. A somewhat surprising development for a team that normally values young talent with high upside. Signing prep athletes away from their college commitments can be expensive so it appears the Padres focused on college players to save poll money for the more costly signs.
Rounds 5-10
The Padres drafted No. 157 in the 5th round and chose Kansas St. RHP James Guyette, 21, who is unranked by MLB.com.
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Callis gave a quick scouting report on the 6-foot-3, 215-pound power arm that highlighted his 92-94 mph sinking fastball that peaks at 97 mph and a low-80s slider. He also has a quality, low-80s changeup that misses barrels. In 79.1 innings, he had 105 strikeouts to 35 walks in 16 games/15 starts.
In the 6th round, pick No. 186, the Padres drafted Arizona St. righty-hitting shortstop Nu’u Contrades. The 23-year-old had a .366/.434/.762 batting line with 21 homers and 61 RBI in his senior year. A compact 5-foot-10 and 180-pound, Contrades is ranked No. 251 by Baseball America and No. 225 by MLB.com.
Always a fly-ball hitter, his power numbers climbed this past season. He is a free-swinger who had 28 strikeouts in 228 plate appearances over the season. A solid runner, Contrades can also play second base and third base. MLB rates him as a better second baseman going forward, but he has versatility.
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The Padres drafted infielder Joe Tiroly, 21, out of Virginia St. in the 7th round with pick No. 215. At 6-f00t and 200 pounds, Tiroly played both second and third base with a .319/.408/.576 batting line while hitting 16 homers with 66 RBI.
Not a speedy runner, Tiroly had a foot injury for a good part of the early season and played through using a boot between games. The right-handed hitter could profile better as a third baseman going forward, but would need to maintain a power stroke.
For the 8th round and pick No. 245, the Padres selected LHP Sean Fitzpatrick out of Arizona St. The 23-year-old, 6-foot, 175-pound reliever features a 90-93 mph fastball and has swing-and-miss in his game. He is not ranked in the draft boards, and the Padres draft room provided the evaluation to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Pick No. 275, in the 9th round, was LHP Benjamin Stubbs out of Troy University. The 22-year-old reliever features a low-90s fastball and showcases swing-and-miss ability per the Padres draft room (Jeff Sanders’ draft report).
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The 10th round pick, at No. 305, is catcher Augie Lopez out of USC. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-handed hitting sophomore punched a .278/.364/.590 line with 19 homers and 57 RBI.
Rounds 11-20
After the 10th round the slot system is complete. The assigned values for those picks equals the Padres bonus pool. If they don’t use the total allowed for the slot, then that money can be used to pay another player.
Paying above slot can be used to lure a player away from a college commitment. Teams can negotiate contracts with picks in the 11-20 rounds but the top allowed is $150,000. Any overage of that amount is applied to the bonus pool for the team. Any money saved in the first ten rounds can be used to pay a player in the lower rounds.
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Round 11, pick No. 335, is first baseman Chris McHugh out of North Carolina St. The right-handed hitting infielder, 6-foot-3 and 215-pound, played first base, DH, and left field for NC St.
Round 12, pick No. 365 is LHP Rob Evans, 22, out of the University of Miami. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound starter pitched in 16 games/15 starts over 87.2 innings with a 10-3 record and 3.29 ERA with 98 strikeouts to 31 walks.
Round 13, pick No. 395 is outfielder Michael Smith Jr., out of Dayton (Ohio). At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds the right-handed hitter totaled a .332/.502/.588 line with 10 homers and 56 RBI with 43 strikeouts and 47 walks. He also stole 38 bases in 53 games and 261 plate appearances.
Round 14, pick No. 425 is RHP Ty Brachill out of High Point University (N.C.). In 15 starts he posted an 11-2 record with a 3.59 ERA, 81 strikeouts, 24 walks in 90.1 innings.
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Round 15, pick No. 455 is shortstop Ryan Kucherak out of Northwestern. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound infielder bats right handed and has solid power and plus speed. He hit .295/.390/.521 with 10 homers and 39 RBI with 59 strikeouts and 27 walks in 51 games and 224 plate appearances.
Round 16, pick No. 485 is RHP Albert Roblez out of Oregon State. Only 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, the reliever has a 2-1 record and 1.50 ERA with 14 saves and 53 strikeouts to 13 walks in 24 games and 30 IP.
Round 17, pick No. 515 is RHP Denton Lord. Another prep pitcher out of the same school as first round pick Coleman Borthwick, the 18-year-old is another towering power pitcher. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, the starter is ranked No. 133 by Baseball America and No. 80 by MLB.com. He has a commitment to Mississippi State and is not considered signable. It is not unusual for a team to take a flyer on a player late in the draft if they think they have a chance to use their bonus money to tempt the player to sign with a team.
Lord features a high-90s fastball with heavy sink as well as a high-70s curve that is working toward a plus pitch. He has a changeup that he hasn’t needed to use much at the high school level.
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Round 18, pick No. 575 is LHP Chris Downs out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds the Padres show their penchant for drafting a lot of very large pitchers into the organization. He profiles as a back-end reliever but has a 5.71 ERA with two saves in 58.1 IP with 56 strikeouts and 22 walks.
Round 20, pick No. 605 is outfielder Ezekiel Zion out of Campo Verde High School in Arizona. The right handed bat is committed to South Montana CC and is 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds at 18-years-old. He is the second prep player drafted by the Padres on Day 2. Their draft class totaled four prep players and 16 college players.
As is the case in years past, the Padres will be active in signing undrafted free agents and it usually begins the same day as the ending of the draft. There is a UDFA tracker on Baseball America’s website that will list all the players signed that are hoping to begin their professional careers.
