Billy Mock

With the 2025 MLB Draft in the books, it's time to take a look at the back half of the Padres' draft class and discuss what these players are bringing into the system. Round 11, 340th overall: Truitt Madonna, C, Ballard HS (WA) Madonna is a 6'3" 215 215-pound high school catcher from Washington, where he was one of the top players in the state this spring. Madonna has some of the best raw power in this year's prep class, but there are some question marks in the hit tool that weren't addressed this spring against the lower-tier competition in the Pacific Northwest. He played 12 games in the Draft League this summer against some college prospects, hitting two home runs with an .872 OPS. He's an athletic catcher with some tools to stick behind the plate, but needs some polish defensively at the next level. Round 12, 370th overall: George Bilecki, OF, Lewis University A Division-2 product originally from Chicago, Bilecki was committed to Arizona State for his senior year before getting the call from San Diego. The left-handed hitter is an athletic 6'2", 195 pounds with plenty of tools. He plays a solid center field where he can stick around for a while, and also moves well on the bases as he stole 19 bags this spring. He has a healthy combination of hits and power at the plate, as evidenced by his .359 batting average and 24 home runs for Lewis this year. Round 13, 400th overall: Dylan Grego, SS, Ball State A mid-major junior shortstop, Grego played his way to an Arkansas commitment for his senior year, but may have played too well to return to college baseball. A 6'1" 195-pound switch-hitter, Grego improved his hit tool this spring, increasing his batting average from .242 to .376. He also tapped into a lot more power, hitting a career-high 14 home runs. While he has played shortstop for the majority of his college career, he's more likely to jump around multiple infield spots as an average defender. Round 14, 430th overall: Clay Edmondson, RHP, UNC Asheville Edmondson is a 22-year-old redshirt junior committed to Tennessee for his senior year. One of the more unique arms in the draft class, Edmondson is a 6'2" 195 195-pound sidearm pitcher that is nearly throwing from a submarine arm-slot. He threw 81 and 2/3 innings across 13 starts with a 2.20 ERA and 87 strikeouts this spring. Round 15, 460th overall: Ryan Reed, LHP, Pittsburgh A weekend starter for the Pittsburgh Panthers this spring, Reed has a strong left-handed starter's frame at 6'5", 230 pounds. He threw 73 and 2/3 innings across 14 starts as a junior, posting a 5.00 ERA with 67 strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA in ACC conference play. The command has flashed above-average, so you're betting on the frame and feel to pitch here. Round 16, 490th overall: Cardell Thibodeaux, OF, Southern University Thibodeaux is an undersized outfielder, standing in at just 5'8", 175 pounds at 21 years old, but managed to pack a lot of production into his bat this spring. A Louisiana native, the left-handed hitter posted a 1.369 OPS just a year after having a .590 OPS with UL Monroe. He carried that momentum into the Draft League this summer, hitting three home runs with a 1.411 OPS across 12 games. Thibodeaux is also an above-average athlete with range that projects in either left or center field, depending on his eventual arm strength. Round 17, 520th overall: Tyler Schmitt, RHP, Illinois Originally a Division-3 product from Madison, Wisconsin, Schmitt was a weekend starter for Illinois this spring, where he delivered 80 and 2/3 innings across 15 starts with a 4.80 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Still 20 years old, Schmitt is a projectable 6'3", 200 pounds. He throws a low-90s fastball, a low to mid-70s sweeper, and a low-80s changeup that flashes as his best pitch. The command has a long way to go, but you're betting on the projection and the present feel for a changeup. Round 18, 550th overall: Landry Jurecka, RHP, Queens University of Charlotte A 22-year-old senior, Jurecka, is one of several college seniors selected by the Padres in this draft. He's a 6'2" 205 205-pound native of Arkansas. In 84 innings across 15 games and 10 starts this spring, Jurecka posted a 3.21 ERA with 88 strikeouts and two complete games as well. The right-hander is your typical mid-major starter without stuff that jumps off the page, but has a high floor due to his durability, above-average command, and established track record. Round 19, 580th overall: Jonathan Vastine, SS, Vanderbilt A 5'11" 174 174-pound left-handed hitting senior, Vastine is known for his combination of speed and defense. He plays an excellent shortstop, along with plenty of speed on the bases, but doesn't produce much offensively. He showed a little bit of power upside in his junior year at Vanderbilt, where he hit ten home runs with a .918 OPS, but upon his return to campus for his senior year, he regressed to being a below-average bat. His athletic upside and glove work should keep him around in the organization for a bit. Round 20, 610th overall: Luke Cantwell, 1B, Pittsburgh A left-handed hitting first baseman, Cantwell comes in a bit smaller for a primary college first baseman at 6'0", 200 pounds as a senior. The bat doesn't quite play as your typical first baseman, but he does have an advanced approach with solid contact skills that leave some production to dream on. He walked 55 times to just 39 strikeouts this spring, but only hit six home runs in 55 games. He'll probably have to show some defensive value away from first base to stick around. View full article

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. View full article

The Padres selected Ty Harvey, a high school catcher out of Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Harvey is a Florida State commit. The high school catching demographic is one of, if not the riskiest, demographics to draft from, as they are particularly difficult to project. Regardless, Harvey was one of the top high school catchers on the board due to his power projection at the plate as well as his advanced defense behind the plate. While he does have some of the best raw power in the prep class this year, there appear to be some holes in the swing as MLB Pipeline's description of Harvey states, "others have seen him pull the ball hard but struggle with pitches down in the zone because of a stiff setup." The good news is that he has displayed above-average bat-to-ball skills for a power hitter his age, so that should help him tap into his power at the next level. Harvey is big for a catcher, standing in at 6'2" and 215 pounds with even more projection in his frame. However, it looks like he'll have a good shot at remaining behind the plate. MLB Pipeline states that, "Harvey has every chance to stick behind the plate, with good hands and solid receiving skills. He moves well, especially for his size." View full rumor

Michael Salina, a 21-year-old junior from St. Bonaventure, has made school history as the highest draft pick to come from there. Salina came from the high school ranks in New York before opening his college career with George Mason as a reliever in his freshman year. He transferred to St. Bonaventure for his sophomore year, where he made 12 starts, posting a 4.78 ERA while striking out 64 in 58 1/3 innings. Salina's draft stock took a hit this spring after he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery after just four starts. Prior to the injury, he owned a 4.15 ERA while striking out 35.1% of the batters he had faced. His fastball stands out as the carrying tool as it sat in the mid to high-90s with great extension, and even reached as high as 102 mph. He throws a hard slider with two-plane movement to complement the slider, which profiles really well in a big league bullpen. While he has shown some success as a starter at the college level, the likely scenario is that he ends up in a relief role as a potential high-leverage option following his recovery. View full rumor

5. Humberto Cruz, RHP, Complex League Signed alongside Leo De Vries in the 2024 international signing class, Humberto Cruz joined the Padres shortly after turning 17. A Mexican native, Cruz got a quick taste of professional baseball in Mexico, where he pitched for Diablos Rojos del Mexico at the ripe age of 16 before signing with the Padres for $750,000 in February of 2024. He only appeared in a two-game stint in the Arizona Complex League last year, and he has also opened his 2025 campaign there. Standing at 6'1" and 170 pounds at 18 years old, Cruz is a very projectable athlete with plenty of arm talent. He has seen a significant jump in velocity since entering the system, now running his fastball up into the high 90s. What separates him from the rest of the teenagers throwing high-90s fastballs is his ability to locate it well, along with his secondaries. The fastball has a more pronounced sinker shape, with significant arm-side run that gets in on right-handed hitters. His low-80s changeup is another plus offering that produces a lot of fade and works well off the fastball because of his command of the pitch. When it comes to breaking pitches, Cruz just throws a tight slider that has flashed above-average results, but still has some work to do. He can probably benefit from the addition of another breaking offering at some point, but the advanced command of the strike zone along with two-plus pitches is certainly a good start for the 18-year-old. 4. Boston Bateman, LHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore The Padres certainly surprised some folks by taking another left-handed prep pitcher following their selection of Kash Mayfield in the 2024 class. However, the Padres were sold on Bateman as they signed him for nearly a million dollars over the slot value to get him in their system as the 52nd overall pick. Bateman was a product of Adolfo Camarillo High School in California, where he was committed to LSU. Bateman is 19 years old, turning 20 in September, and is pitching alongside Mayfield in the Low-A league. The first thing that stands out for Bateman is the physical profile. He stands at 6'8" and 240 pounds, but moves surprisingly well for his size. The delivery is a pretty easy operation, as there isn't any added arm action, but he does create some deception with his arm slot and slight cross-fire action, while getting plenty of extension due to his long levers. In terms of delivery and physical profile, he draws similarities to Garrett Crochet. As for the pitch mix, Bateman features a fastball, curveball, and a changeup. The fastball sits comfortably in the mid-90s and has topped out at 98 mph. The curveball is his premier secondary offering and his best pitch, but he has also started working on a hard slider. The changeup is fringy, but it will complete his arsenal if he develops a feel for it. 3. Kash Mayfield, LHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore The Padres continued their long-standing tradition of selecting prep talents with their first-round picks last year by selecting Kash Mayfield 25th overall in July. Mayfield was a standout at Elk City High School in Oklahoma, where he won back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Oklahoma in both his junior and senior seasons. Having turned 20 earlier this year, Mayfield was a bit older for his draft class, but that wasn't going to stop the Padres from selecting him in the first round and signing him away from his Oklahoma State commitment. Mayfield is getting his first taste of professional baseball in 2025, where he's starting games in Low-A. Standing at 6'4" and 200 pounds, Mayfield has the ideal starter's frame along with the tools to make him a potential front-line starter in the future. It's a very effortless and repeatable delivery for the lefty that allows him to find the strike zone with ease. The command for Mayfield is advanced for a pitcher his age, which lays a solid foundation for future success. As for the arsenal, it's a fastball, slider, changeup mix, with each offering flashing above-average to plus results. The fastball sits in the low to mid-90s, but has topped out at 97 mph. His low-80s changeup was one of the best offspeed pitches in the 2024 draft class, featuring plenty of drop and fade. He has some work to do with his upper-70s slider in terms of pitch shape, but it plays up due to his ability to locate it well. 2. Ethan Salas, C, Double-A San Antonio Ethan Salas is a product of the 2023 international signing class, where he was the top-ranked prospect in his class. Signed out of Venezuela, Salas is a native of Florida but relocated to Venezuela so the Padres could sign him at a younger age. In his first season in San Diego's system, the Padres were not hesitant to put him in front of higher-level competition as he was catching games in Double-A at just the age of 16. He turns 19 in June, making him one of the youngest players in Double-A at the moment. He certainly has baseball in his blood, as his father, grandfather, and uncle all played Minor League Baseball. Additionally, his younger brother, Andrew, was signed by the Marlins in this year's international signing class. The calling card for Salas, and most of his value to this point in his professional career, has been his defense behind the plate. He's arguably the best defensive catcher in Minor League Baseball, and some evaluators have gone so far as to say they have never seen a catcher as advanced as Salas at his age. The arm is more than strong enough to limit the run game, while his accuracy has improved a lot since joining the professional ranks. He's an excellent mover behind the plate, too, which has made him one of the top blockers in the game. Offensively, it's been a roller-coaster ride for Salas, but there's a lot to like about the swing and approach, as well as some power he continues to flash as he has gotten older. As long as he can hit enough, the glove will carry him to San Diego. 1. Leo De Vries, SS, High-A Fort Wayne Leo De Vries is an 18-year-old shortstop signed out of the Dominican Republic in the 2024 international free agent signing class. The switch-hitting standout was the top-ranked player in the class a year ago and is already excelling in High-A, where he is the youngest player in the Midwest League. He doesn't turn 19 until the conclusion of the regular season, which only speaks to his high ceiling, considering the level of success he has already found at the lower levels of the minor leagues. De Vries is the embodiment of the five-tool player. At the plate, it's an excellent combination of hit and power from both sides, with more of his power coming from the right side. It's a comfortable 60-grade hit tool and a 55-grade power tool, as he makes consistent hard contact to all fields with plenty of pull-side power. As he grows into his 6'1" frame, he's expected to tap into more of that juice. It's a "passive-aggressive" approach as he keeps his sights in the zone, which leads to plenty of walks, but there is some swing and miss, which has yielded roughly league-average strikeout and contact rates. If he struggles at the plate, he has other tools in his tool bag to keep his profile afloat. He's a plus defender at shortstop, with plenty of feel to stick there long-term, along with an above-average arm. On the base paths, he's not expected to steal 30+ bases, but certainly has the athleticism to get around and provide value in that manner as well. See the rest of our Padres' top prospects ranking: Padres Top 20: #20-16 Padres Top 20: #15-11 Padres Top 20: #10-6 View full article

The Padres have some solid depth at the top end of their farm, and Henry Baez is one of the many arms that has become a staple within it. Baez has spent plenty of time in the Padres minor league system, where he has developed into one of their most consistent pitching prospects. He joined the organization in 2019 as part of the international signing class out of the Dominican Republic at just the age of 16. Due to COVID, he didn't debut with the organization until 2021 at the Dominican Summer League as an 18-year-old. Since then, he has had a pretty steady rise through the system to where he finds himself now, at Double-A San Antonio at the age of 22. A strong 2024 campaign in which he threw 100+ innings for the first time in his career between High-A Fort Wayne and San Antonio earned him the Padres Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. A year later, he ranks ninth on Padres Mission's top 20 prospects and 12th on MLB Pipeline's Padres top 30 prospects. Baez made five starts in the month of May for the San Antonio Missions, three of which were scoreless outings. His first start of the month was a four-inning outing in which he surrendered four runs while striking out just two, but he followed that up with a four-start stretch in which he allowed just one run. In those four starts, Baez posted a 0.43 ERA and a 1.80 ERA for the full month. His best outing of the stretch came on May 22nd against the Wichita Wind Surge, a start in which he delivered 5 2/3 scoreless innings for San Antonio while allowing just three hits and one walk on six strikeouts. Baez's ERA in the month of May ranked third among all Texas League pitchers and all qualified Padres Minor League pitchers. On the entire season, his 2.45 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP rank within the top ten among Padres MiLB pitchers with at least 20 innings. He hasn't filled up the stat sheet with strikeouts, as he posted a pedestrian 18.0% strikeout rate in the month of May, but more so finds his success through limiting hard contact. He's consistently posting groundball rates above 50 percent — in total, he has a 54.3% groundball rate this year. That mark ranks 21st among the 296 qualified pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball this year. Baez features a well-rounded arsenal, and while no pitch is elite by any means, it's a pitch mix that he has great feel for. The velocity on his fastball has steadily climbed since he joined the Padres and currently sits anywhere from the low to mid-90s. His secondaries consist of a high-70s slurve-slider and a mid-80s split-change. The changeup is his put-away pitch (as it earns the most whiffs), while the slider is more of a pitch to keep hitters off balance and induce swings out of the zone. Baez's combination of his ability to pitch deeper into games along with an arsenal of pitches tailored to suppress opposing lineups has made him a starter the Padres have targeted as a future back-end rotation option at the big league level. While he just had an impressive month of May, this isn't a new thing for Baez, so keep an eye on him to continue producing at a high level as advances towards the big league roster. View full article

20. Jagger Haynes, LHP, Double-A San Antonio Despite entering San Diego's system back in 2020, Haynes is still a relatively new addition to the pitching pipeline. Haynes was a prep standout for West Columbus High School in North Carolina, where he was selected in the fifth round by the Padres as the 139th overall pick in the draft. However, Haynes didn't make his professional debut until 2023, having undergone Tommy John surgery and experienced a number of setbacks. Fortunately for the lefty, 2024 was his first full season in the minors, logging 110 and 2/3 innings across 22 starts at High-A. A bit undersized for a starter, Haynes only stands in at 6'3" and 170 pounds. However, he has shown he can stick as a starter after a fully healthy 2024. It's a three-pitch mix for Haynes: a fastball, slider, and changeup. His fastball lost a tick in velocity after his bout with injuries, sitting in the low-90s and topping out at 94 mph. It produces a lot of arm-side movement but is more dependent on its ability to limit hard contact than generating whiffs to find success. The slider is his premier offering, sitting in the low-80s with a gyro shape and a lot of drop that can get whiffs out of the zone or be dropped into the zone for a strike. The changeup is another secondary pitch that can induce a lot of whiffs, but he needs to command it better to neutralize right-handed hitters. Despite missing his first two seasons of pro ball, Haynes is still on pace as a 22-year-old in Double-A, so he still has plenty of time to develop into a back-end big league starter. 19. Tyson Neighbors, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne Tyson Neighbors is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who pitches exclusively out of the bullpen. He was selected by the Padres in the fourth round of last year's draft as the 118th overall pick out of Kansas State University. It's rare that a reliever is selected within the first five rounds of the draft, but that wouldn't stop the Padres from landing him at slightly below the slot value for $600,000. Neighbors was regarded as the top reliever in the 2024 draft class, and he has done a good job of proving that thus far, as he has allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings out of the bullpen in High-A in 2025. Standing in at 6'2" and 220 pounds, Neighbors has a strong frame that allows him to really generate a lot of power down the mound. The fastball has typically sat in the mid-90s, but has more recently been living in the upper-90s, earning a lot of whiffs, especially up in the zone. The slider and curveball are both plus offerings as well. The slider sits in the mid-80s and is an excellent put-away pitch, while the curveball is another breaking pitch he can lean on. Given he's pitching in one to two inning stints, he's typically relying on just the fastball and the slider, both of which have yielded excellent results. It's rare that a minor league reliever has three plus offerings, so there's a lot to like about Neighbors moving forward as a potential high-leverage reliever. The command is average to above-average for a reliever of his caliber as well, considering the amount of hitters he strikes out already. 18. Omar Cruz, LHP, Triple-A El Paso Despite being 26 years old, Omar Cruz is a newer addition to the farm in San Diego. Cruz was actually signed by the Padres as an international free agent out of Mexico at the age of 18. After two seasons in the lower levels of the minors, Cruz was shipped off to Pittsburgh as part of a package in a three-team trade that yielded the Padres Joe Musgrove from the Pirates. After three seasons in Pittsburgh's organization, Cruz became eligible in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, which led to a reunion between Cruz and the Padres. After spending seven seasons in the minors, Cruz made his MLB debut early in 2025 in a two-game stint out of the bullpen. Cruz worked exclusively as a starter through 2021 before transitioning to the bullpen full-time in 2022, where he appears to remain for the remainder of his big league career. He's primarily a two-pitch pitcher, featuring a low-90s fastball and an excellent changeup as his primary put-away pitch. The changeup works in the high 70s to low 80s and is one of the better off-speed pitches in Minor League Baseball. He sells it very well off the fastball and earns plenty of whiffs with it. However, the arsenal is heavily dependent on its success, as there isn't anything special about the fastball, and he lacks a feel for a breaking pitch. He can certainly serve as a valuable mid-leverage platoon reliever at the next level. 17. Romeo Sanabria, 1B, Double-A San Antonio Romeo Sanabria, the 23-year-old first baseman, was an 18th-round selection to the Padres in the 2022 draft. As a JUCO talent coming from Indian River State College in Florida, Sanabria signed for just $50,000, but has paved a way for himself in San Diego's system. He's currently in Double-A, where he closed out a 2024 campaign in which he advanced three levels of the minors from Low-A to Double-A. Sanabria was the top-qualified hitter in the organization in 2024, according to his 132 wRC+ in 546 plate appearances. For a left-handed hitting first baseman, you would like to see a lot more power in Sanabria's profile. Still, he certainly hits enough to continue earning opportunities as an 18th-round pick. He possesses above-average plate discipline skills, as well as above-average contact metrics across pitch types, setting a high floor for his bat. The bat will have to carry him, though, as it has done thus far, due to his limited defensive and base running ability, which definitely puts a cap on how good of a prospect he can be. He does enough to hold his own as a defender at first base, but the lack of athleticism won't allow him to shift over to a more valuable position, making the need for more juice in the bat a lot more important. 16. Ryan Bergert, RHP, Triple-A El Paso Ryan Bergert is a 25-year-old pitcher in his fourth full season of professional baseball with the Padres. A product of the University of West Virginia, Bergert was selected by the Padres in the sixth round of the 2021 draft despite missing his entire Junior year due to undergoing Tommy John surgery. He recently made his MLB debut with the Padres in a four-game stint out of the bullpen, but has had a pretty steady rise through the system as a starter. Dating back to 2022, his first full season with San Diego, Bergert has made at least 20 starts in three straight seasons. As for his outlook as a big league pitcher, Bergert will likely settle into either a back-end rotation spot or a long relief role. He has started throughout his professional career, but lacks the high-end stuff of a high-leverage reliever or front-line starter. However, he does have the tools to provide value to a big league pitching staff. He has been injury-free for the most part since his Tommy John surgery in college, and also has plenty of experience pitching through lineups multiple times in a start. The arsenal for Bergert consists of a mid-90s fastball that plays up due to his arm slot but is fairly dependent on his ability to command it well. He has two breaking offerings: a sweeping slider and a tighter slider that plays more like a cutter. He has also flashed a changeup, but it needs significant improvement to round out his arsenal as a big league starter who can stick. View full article