#Padres Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Conners' thoughts on each of the prospects selected tonight: pic.twitter.com/vsaqADmtwD
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 12, 2020Entering Day 2 of the draft, the Padres had the 45th, 80th, 109th and 139th pick. They started off with drafting OF Owen Caissie out of Notre Dame Catholic SS in Ontario, Canada in the second round. Caissie has a good frame standing at 6'4" 190lbs with incredible upside. Entering the draft he was ranked as the 75th best player in MLB's top 200 prospects for the 2020 draft. Caissie, a Michigan recruit, has the tools to fit the right field profile very well, starting with his plus raw power. He has legit pop from the left side of the plate, with the ability to drive the ball to all fields. Some scouts have questioned his bat path, leading to some concerns about his ability to get to that power, but he has shown the ability to make adjustments in the past. He's at least an above-average runner, one who gets to plus once underway. Caissie also has played a corner outfield spot for the Canadian junior national team.
#Padres Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Conner on Owen Caissie's traits: pic.twitter.com/9xz1QnbN5C
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 12, 2020So much to love with Canada’s top 2020 prospect and @umichbaseball commit Owen Caissie.Long, lean, easy juice in the bat, barrel feel, mashes the gaps. pic.twitter.com/wEsrgzKcsL
— ------------ ---------- (@GeorgeHalim_) March 11, 2020In the 3rd round, the Padres took a risk drafting RHP Cole Wilcox with the 80th overall pick in the draft out of Georgia. Ranked as the 23rd best player in the draft according to MLB's top 200 list, the Padres got a steal with Wilcox in the 3rd round. Remember that risk I was talking about? A potential reason why Wilcox fell to the Padres where he did might be to the inability to sign Wilcox. He turns 21 within 45 days of the MLB draft so he was eligable to enter. The 2020 season was his sophomore season and since the NCAA is granting another year of eligibility, he can return to Georgia as a sophomore. This gives Wilcox all the leverage in terms of negotiating a contract that he wants. If the Padres are able to sign him, they got the steal of the draft grabbing a first round talent in the third round. He opened his first college season in Georgia's bullpen and moved into the weekend rotation for the final month. Wilcox has some of the best pure stuff in the Draft. His fastball usually ranges from 92-97 mph and can reach 100 with some sink and armside run. Both of his mid-80s secondary pitches show signs of becoming plus offerings, with his fading changeup a tick more reliable than his power slider. Though Wilcox is athletic and has a strong, durable frame, he comes with starter-versus-reliever questions. Scouts don't love his delivery, which features a low elbow and a long arm stroke that allows hitters to track the ball well out of his hand. His fastball has a history of getting hit harder than it should and he sometimes struggles to provide quality strikes.
#Padres Mark Conners on Cole Wilcox's improvements and his level of confidence in signing him: pic.twitter.com/bzkFRXxcbM
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 12, 2020We had Cole Wilcox as the 11th-best pitcher in the draft class.He goes No. 80 to the Padres.Now we'll see if they can sign him.Here were our pitcher rankings:https://t.co/ol4B7r057P pic.twitter.com/K7X5F4RreH
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 11, 2020In the 4th round, the Padres went with RHP out of Troy University in Levi Thomas. He is the only player the Padres drafted under the height of 6' coming in at 5'11" 185lbs. Undrafted as a sophomore-eligible in 2019, Thomas helped his cause this spring by logging a 0.39 ERA with a 42/6 K/BB ratio in 23 innings over four starts, including a gem in which he blanked No. 1 Florida for six innings. He features high spin rates on his four-seam fastball, getting swings and misses up in the strike zone with his 88-94 mph heater and generating good depth on his breaker. There's deception in his slingy delivery but it doesn't prevent him from throwing strikes.
ICYMI: Levi Thomas recorded 14 strikeouts on Friday night......in FIVE innings --#NCAABaseball | @TroyTrojansBSB pic.twitter.com/q08CK7o3NA
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) February 18, 2020Padres finished their Thursday by selecting LHP Jagger Haynes out of West Columbus HS in North Carolina. The 17 year-old stands in at 6'4" 170lbs and is a commitment to the University of North Carolina. In his last full season as a junior in high school he posted a 4-1. In 23 games, Haynes had a 2.35 ERA with four saves. He finished with a .393 batting average with 33 hits, 20 runs scored, and 18 RBIs.
#Padres AJ Preller asked about balancing players who may take longer to develop vs. helping the big league club sooner based on where franchise is in building a championship team: pic.twitter.com/tHqA5PPyBK
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 12, 2020#Padres GM AJ Preller on potentially signing undrafted players and how the next few days will play out: pic.twitter.com/MsUB2mQ6EW
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 12, 2020