2026 San Diego Padres MLB Draft Day 1 Thread

[Steve Drumwright]

The weekend has arrived where the San Diego Padres will begin to add new faces to the organization through the amateur draft. In the last two years, the Padres added high school left-handers Kash Mayfield (2024) and Kruz Schoolcraft (2025). They currently rank as the No. 2 and No. 5 prospects on Padres Mission's Top 20 list.

The Friars have drafted a high school player with each of their last nine first-round picks under A.J. Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations and general manager.

The draft begins with the first four rounds Saturday, then finishing Sunday with Rounds 5 through 20. TV coverage begins at 10 a.m. PT on NBC and Peacock, with it switching to MLB.com, MLB Network, MLB.tv and MLB+ at 11:30 a.m. Sunday’s telecast begins at 8:30 a.m. PT on MLB.com, MLB.tv and MLB+.

This year, the Padres have the 21st selection of the first round. That will be one of five picks the Friars make on the first day. In addition to one pick in each round, they also have a compensation selection for making a qualifying offer to right-hander Dylan Cease, who ended up signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. Because of the size of the contract (seven years, $210 million) and with the Padres being a competitive-balance tax payor, they received an extra fourth-round pick (No. 134).

That also gives the Padres extra money to work with in their draft pool. The Padres’ pool this year is $9,479,000. While there are slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, teams can sign players for any amount as long as it fits into their pool. Deals are often made with certain players in order to redistribute money to another player. Teams can spend up to 5% more than their draft pool without incurring a penalty. No team has ever spent more than 5% in the 14 years this rule has been in place. Last year, 20 of 30 teams surpassed their bonus pool.

Here are the slot values for each of the Padres’ picks:

• First round (21st pick): $4,224,700
• Second round (60th): $1,561,000
• Third round (97th): $808,100
• Fourth round (124th): $620,300
• Fourth round (comp, 134th): $563,900
• Fifth round (157th): $449,500
• Sixth round (186th): $350,100
• Seventh round (215th): $276,400
• Eighth round (245th): $226,300
• Ninth round (275th): $205,000
• 10th round (305th): $193,700

Players drafted in the 11th through 20th rounds do not technically have a slot value, although they are soft-capped at $150,000 without counting toward the bonus pool. Any amount above $150,000 will go against the cap. That amount also applies to undrafted free agents. Draft picks have until July 27 at 2 p.m. PT to sign.

Who should the Padres take with their top pick? Do they stick with a high school player or change it up with a college star?

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