Welcome to the 2017 MLB Draft, Gaslamp Ball style. This will be A.J. Preller’s 3rd draft with the Padres and his first where he isn’t missing a 1st round pick or has extra 1st round picks. Instead it will be marked as his highest draft pick to date at #3 overall. Picking #3 overall brings back some bad memories of the 2009 draft where the Padres saw San Diegan Stephen Strasburg go #1 overall and took eventual bust Donavan Tate. In that draft it was widely known beforehand that Strasburg would go #1 and Dustin Ackley would go #2. This year there is no such certainly.

The players mentioned as candidates for the top picks include: HS RHP/SS Hunter Greene, Louisville LHP/1B Brendan McKay, Vanderbilt RHP Kyle Wright, HS LHP MacKenzie Gore and HS SS/OF Royce Lewis. Most draft pundits agree that Greene appears to be the top talent in the draft, but it’s been over 20 years since a high school pitcher (most prefer Greene’s pitching to his hitting) has been taken with the top pick. The Twins have the top pick and may be wary for just that aforementioned reason. It’s possible both the Twins and Reds might be more comfortable selecting someone other than Greene and the Padres would be waiting to pounce. It’s also very possible that one of them takes Greene and the other take Wright or McKay and the Padres will be be looking to select one of the other high schoolers. The Padres will then select again later tonight with the 3rd pick in the 2nd round (39th overall) and with a Competitive Balance Round B pick (69th overall).

Who would you like to see taken? Who might you want the Padres to pass on? Do you think the Padres will get something good after the first round? How nice is it to pick 69th? Let’s get the discussion going as the first round and second rounds go down tonight.

Live Updates

MLB Draft 2017 Day 1: How and where to watch

Round 1

• Padres select MacKenzie Gore with the 3rd overall pick
• Draft profile by John Sickels
• Pre-draft Q&A with Chris Cotillo

Round 2

• Padres select Luis Campusano-Bracero with the 39th overall pick
• Draft profile by John Sickels

Competitive Balance Round B

• Padres select Blake Hunt with the 69th overall pick