More from the NL West, this time the Padres.
San Diego Padres Draft Review
1) Karsten Whitson, RHP, Florida HS: Can't knock this pick; he was the second-best high school pitcher in this year's class in my opinion.
2) Jedd Gyorko, 2B, West Virginia University: Very solid hitter in all respects, main question is where he fits with the glove, but he's great value here in a draft short on hitting.
3) Zach Cates, RHP, Northeast Texas Community College: Has hit 97 MPH at his peak, also has a decent curveball and changeup, athletic, needs to refine his command. Excellent junior college pick.
4) Chris Bisson, 2B, University of Kentucky: Runs well, good defender up the middle, solid track record as a college hitter. Solid in this spot.
5) Rico Noel, OF, Coastal Carolina University: Speedy, outstanding defense, hit well in college but power might not translate into the pros.
6) John Barbato, RHP, Florida HS: Second or third round talent with low-90s fastball, decent curve, and clean mechanics. Dropped here due to University of Florida commitment. A great pick if he will sign.
7) A.J. Vanegas, RHP, California HS: Similar to Barbato: good stuff, young, good feel for pitching, but fell in the draft due to college, in his case Stanford.
8) Jose Dore, OF, Florida HS: Solid high school outfielder with a good bat and power potential, fell here due to injury problems and Florida State commitment.
9) Josh Spence, LHP, Arizona State University: Successful finesse lefty missed entire season with elbow problems. If he signs and rehabs, he might be a nice bargain basement talent. Big "if" though.
10) Houston Slemp, OF, Eastern Oklahoma State JC: Interesting power/speed production at the JC level, looks like a very nice sleeper pick to me.
FOUR OTHERS OF NOTE: 11-Brian Guinn, SS, UC-Berkeley; 13-Miguel Pena, LHP, San Jacinto JC; 21-Connor Powers, 1B, Mississippi State; 29-Mykal Stokes, OF; Orange Coast CC.
COMMENT: I like this draft. Whitson is a winner at the top, and Gyorko, Cates, Bisson, and Noel make a nice run of college players with a good balance of talents. If they can sign two of the Barbato/Vanegas/Dore trio, this would be a very strong class indeed. Slemp looks like he could be very good. Overall I think the Padres did quite well. Hopefully they did their homework signability in the middle rounds.
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