Looking into the Padres Top 5 Picks and Unsigned Top 20 Picks

July 5, 2019 Eric General, MiLB, MLB Draft, NL West, Padres 0

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Is it too early to look at the results of the first few professional games for the Top 5 Padres Draft picks? Probably. Are we about to do just that? Absolutely.

1. CJ Abrams
#6 Overall
Blessed Trinity, Roswell, GA
Age: 18
AZL Padres 1

We are 13 games into CJ’s professional career and his batting average (mostly) keeps dropping. After going 4-for-4 in his first game with one home run he’s continued to get a hit in every single game and as of July 5th sits at .467. No one could ask for a better start. The speedy youngster has shown signs of developing power but right now he’s more of a contact bat. A very solid contact hitter with great speed is a very good foundation. It is unknown whether he will stick at shortstop but so far the Padres organization has not played with any other positions.

2. Joshua Mears
#48 Overall
Federal Way, WA
Age: 18
AZL Padres 1

Another 18-year-old out of high school, Mears went 2-for-4 in his first game. He’s been 7 for his last 42 since then with zero home runs, but he was drafted for his raw power. A lot of his game is raw at this point but he’s athletic and well-built at 6’3, 230 lbs so there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about his future.


3. Logan Driscoll
#73 Overall
George Mason
Age: 21
Tri-City Dust Devils

Logan was named Baseball America’s Atlantic 10 Preseason Player of the Year in February. He’s been effective but not remarkable in his first four games, recording hits in three of them. He’s been charged with one passed ball already though and has started one game in right field, where he played all 9 innings. Whether that’s an early indicator that he may not stick at catcher or simply a way to reduce his grind while getting him at-bats has yet to be seen, but he has an above average arm and has thrown out one runner attempting to steal thus far.

4. Hudson Head
#84 Overall
Churchill, San Antonio, TX
Age: 18
AZL Padres 1

Hudson has only five games under his belt but he’s gone 6-for-18 in those 5 games. At 6’1, 180 lbs. he’s still something of a lanky kid, but he gained about 15 pounds in the last year alone. His speed and arm give him a chance to stick as a center fielder. He was a late-emerging prospect and it’s possible to see his rapid development continue.

5. Matt Brash
#113 Overall
Niagara
Age: 21
Fort Wayne TinCaps

Brash only has 4.1 professional innings under his belt and those are across two levels. He’s given up one run on three hits, while striking out five. In his final year in college he held hitters to a .194 batting average while striking out a remarkable 121 hitters in 85.1 innings. It’s a little harder to find scouting information on him, due to his Canadian origins, but he’s already at Fort Wayne which means that will change quickly.

Unsigned Draft Picks

The Padres still have four players from the first 20 rounds who have not signed. There’s still a bit of time before the July 12, 5 PM Deadline though.

11th Round – 323rd Overall – Mason Feole: As a 4-year Junior you’d expect Mason will wind up signing. However, he recently retweeted a tweet describing the system as broken and when you combine that with that fact that he was ranked 163rd in the the MLB.com Draft Tracker, but taken 323rd you have to wonder if he is considering other options.

14th Round – 413rd Overall – Bodi Rascon

15th Round – 443rd Overall – Andre Tarver

17th Round – 503rd Overall – Jared Alvarez-Lopez

All three of these players are coming out of high school and it will be interesting to see whether or not they ultimately sign. Andrew Dean and Chris Givin, who were drafted in the 18th and 19th rounds both accepted measly $5,000 signing bonuses while the 13th rounder, Brandon Komar, and the 16th Rounder, Robert Briley, both reeled in $125,000. There is a lot of room for negotiation and I feel that the Padres will not find any of these three signing for less than ,000. Especially when you consider that they gave the 20th round pick, Deacon Medders $80,000 and the 21st round pick, Jack Stronach, $100,000. And those were 4-year college players who did not need to be lured from commitments and a chance at a higher draft position in the future.

Bodi Rason is committed to Oklahoma State.

Andre Tarver is a two-sport player with a baseball commitment to Mississippi State, but he’s been receiving football offers as well.

Jared Alvarez-Lopez is committed to McNeese State University and has stated his intent to enroll there despite the draft, but he has acknowledged he will be listening to what the Padres offer.

 

 

Eric

Eric Killian is an Army Officer who covered the San Diego Padres for Prospects1500 when the site initially launched, but has since moved over to the Houston Astros. He is a longtime baseball fan and collector whose collecting inspired him to learn all he can about up-and-coming players. Follow him on Twitter @USKillian or @BaseBallDayRCs for strictly card collecting content.

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