San Diego Padres 2025 MLB Draft Rounds 6-10 Recap: Padres Round Up College Seniors

[Billy Mock]

Round 6, 190th overall: Jaxon Dalena, RHP, Shippensburg University

The Padres selected Dalena as the oldest player drafted at the time of his selection. He's a 23-year-old fifth-year senior from the Division II ranks. He made 14 starts for the Shippensburg Raiders this year, throwing to the tune of a 3.36 ERA over 83 innings. Dalena also pitched in the MLB Draft League this summer, striking out 21 batters in 24 and 2/3 innings with a 3,65 ERA.

At 6'3" and 210 pounds, Dalena stands out as an athletic mover on the mound with a repeatable delivery. He has some quick, deceptive arm action and runs his fastball up to 97 mph, which he pairs with a mid-80s slider that features a lot of sweep.

Round 7, 220th overall: Kerrington Cross, 3B, Cincinnati

Kerrington Cross is the second college position player selected by the Padres this year. Cross is another fifth-year senior who recently turned 23. He had a big year for the Bearcats as he won the Big 12 Player of the Year award behind a .396/.526/.647 slash line and 12 home runs. 

A little undersized for a corner infielder at his age, Cross still stands out as a potential power threat at the next level. He has power to all fields, and his swing tailored for loft certainly helps him access his game power. The hit tool has shown enough promise that you have to feel good about him potentially reaching his offensive ceiling if given the right platform to do so. There's enough athleticism here for him to potentially stick on the dirt as an average defender. 

Round 8, 250th overall: Jamie Hitt, LHP, Oklahoma

Hitt is yet another fifth-year senior drafted by the Padres, and turned 23 a week ago. Hitt spent his first two years with Texas Tech primarily as a reliever before transferring to Oklahoma for his junior year. He transitioned into a starter role for his draft year but ended up returning to campus and transitioning back into the bullpen, where he stuck as a high-leverage reliever. In 28 appearances out of the bullpen this year, Hitt logged a 3.82 ERA and struck out 35 batters. Hitt is another pitcher that appeared in the MLB Draft League this summer, so it looks like the Padres had quite the presence there. 

Round 9, 280th overall: Will Koger, RHP, Arizona State

While he's not a fifth year, Koger is yet another college senior taken off the board by the Padres. Koger spent three seasons at Louisville before transferring to Arizona State, where he served as a full-time reliever. That's now two full-time relievers taken by the Padres within the first ten picks - a pretty rare thing to see in the draft. 

Kroger may have logged an 8.10 ERA in his college career as a reliever, but he is an obvious project for the Padres. These college seniors, especially the relievers, are very cost-effective and low-risk. And sometimes, all it takes is one tweak to the profile to turn them into an effective option at the next level. He's primarily a fastball/slider pitcher with his fastball working in the mid-90s and his slider in the mid-80s. 

Round 10, 310th overall: Justin Decriscio, SS, North Carolina State

The Padres stick with the theme of college seniors to close out the first half of the draft by taking Justin Decriscio out of North Carolina State. Decriscio spent his first three years of college ball at the University of San Diego, where his bat never took the necessary strides to earn any significant consideration in the draft. However, his bat finally broke out a bit in his senior year in front of better competition in the ACC. The development of the bat was important, as he already had an elite glove at shortstop. Decriscio hit a career-high eight home runs for the Wolfpack this year on his way to an .883 OPS.

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