Padres select shortstop Xavier Edwards with the 38th pick of the 2018 draft

With the 38th pick of the 2018 MLB draft, the Padres have selected shortstop Xavier Edwards from Coconut Creek, Florida. The 5’10”, 155lb middle infielder sports a 70-80 grade speed tool on the 20-to-80 scale and is described as having “wiry strength” by John Sickels in his piece over on MinorLeagueBall. He’s a switch hitter who has a stroke that is compact and direct with some loft, suggesting he’s more than a Dee Gordon punchless-and-Judy type of hitter. On the surface he sounds like more of an Everth Cabrera type, minus the domestic abuse, PEDs, and drug charges. His reflexes and instincts at shortstop rate out well, while his arm may move him over to the keystone position. The Padres are clearly looking at raw tools here, as Edwards has the fast-twitch kind of circuitry that would make him right at home on a DSL team. (That’s a joke, I noticed today that the Padres’ DSL team lists like eight SS’s and a 3B as their entire infielder corps.)

Like first-rounder Ryan Weathers, Edwards is committed to Vanderbilt. Maybe Preller’s scouts are shadowing the Vandy recruiters. Maybe someone in the org has a beef with Vandy’s athletic director. Either way, it’s interesting that the first two picks the Padres made are kids with commitments to the same school. For what it’s worth, this slot has a value of $1,878,300.

The next selection for the Padres will be pick #74, the Competitive Balance Round B selection acquired from the Twins along with Phil Hughes recently.