John Sickel on Padres Draft
San Diego Padres: It always helps to have extra picks, and with three supplemental first-rounders the Padres had a chance to make a big splash. They chose one intriguing college outfielder, speedy Stony Brook product Travis Jankowski, but the biggest impact could come from three highly-promising high school arms: Max Fried (LHP, California HS), Zach Eflin (RHP, Florida HS), and Walker Weickel (RHP, Florida HS). Fried is the best of the group, but both right-handers were first round candidates a couple of months ago. This was followed by a pair of college bats: Jeremy Baltz (OF, St. John's) and Dane Phillips (C, Oklahoma City University) in the second round. Both of those guys have a chance to be major league regulars, at least projecting as role players with solid bats. Third round choice Fernando Perez (3B, Central Arizona JC) hit well in a wooden-bat JC league at age 18, while another JC talent, OF Maallex Smith (5th round, Santa Fe JC) provides blazing speed. They also got the best name in the draft: Goose Kallunki, a 3B-1B from Utah Valley State, in the 27th round. Overall, I like this class a lot.



