San Diego Padres Select Alex Conover In Fourth Round (No. 134) of 2026 MLB Draft

[Steve Drumwright]

With their final pick on the first day of the 2026 MLB Draft, the San Diego Padres got their first power bat.

That came in the form of Oklahoma State junior outfielder Alex Conover, who was taken with a compensation pick in the fourth round, the 134th overall selection. The Friars received this pick as a result of the qualifying offer given to right-handed starter Dylan Cease, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for seven years and $210 million in free agency. The 134th pick has a $563,900 bonus slot.

Another left-handed bat, the 6-foot-4, 202-pound Conover slashed .357/.476/.625 at Oklahoma State with 14 homers, 37 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.

All of his tools were given a 50-grade on the 20-80 scouting scale by MLB Pipeline.

He made huge strides in cutting his chase rate from 2025 to 2026, going from 26% down to 19%. He rarely swings and misses when the ball is in the zone and does go gap-to-gap. One drawback is he does tend to hit too many groundballs. Conover also has solid speed but played mostly left field at Oklahoma State, though he did see action in center. His arm is rather average, which probably leaves him in left with first base also a possibility.

As a minor bonus, he did catch in high school.

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