Padres look to continue Draft success 

Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

Today is Draft day in Major League Baseball... a day that Padres General Manager A.J. Preller likens to Christmas morning.

“It’s a ton of fun,” Preller said Sunday as he and Padres Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Conner discussed the 2019 selection of college and high school players.

And while the baseball draft isn’t viewed as sharply under the microscope as the NFL and NBA drafts, it has long-range consequences.

It might be five or six years before the Padres can truly elevate the strength of this year’s draft.

“One thing we know,” Conner said at the end of Sunday’s pre-draft discussion. “Every draft produces Major League players and send players to the All-Star Game.”

But many of those players wind up coming from the lower round -- which is why every pick over the three days of the draft can have impact.

What do we know about this year’s crop of players? Very little. Teams keep their boards under close guard.

There do seem to be more bats at the top of this year’s draft. And the consensus is that the top 12 to 15 players have solid shots at Major League careers. Quality depth at the top.

“Overall, this draft probably has more pitching depth,” said Conner. “But a lot of position players have sparked interest... more arms when it all unfolds, bats at the top.”

In each of the first four drafts under the control of Preller and Conner, the Padres have taken pitchers with their first pick -- with the past three drafts producing such pitchers as first-round picks MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Weathers and Cal Quantrill plus Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi, Nick Margevicius and Trey Wingenter.

The Padres haven’t selected a position player with their top pick since shortstop Trea Turner in 2014 and Hunter Renfroe in 2013.

Will the Padres select a position player with their first pick in 2019? We’ll know tonight.

But Conner believes the Padres will have a productive draft because he believes in the Padres process. Most of the personnel in the Padres draft room have been there since Preller overhauled the scouting department when he signed on.

“It’s easier any time you have group that stays together for a long time,” said Conner. “This is the best room we’ve had so far. There is a comfort level and open dialogues in the room. The credit goes to scouts. They’ve done a really good job looking at players as individuals, the skills and makeup.”

The key thing to remember about the baseball draft is that an All-Star could be found in the last round.

“You try to find gems late,” said Conner. “Much of that comes from the preparation done throughout the year. We have a very good feel for the ballplayers on our board. We take a lot of pride in our process. It’s evolved over the past five years.”

“The work is done,” said Preller of the Draft. “But there is still a lot of discussion in the room. There’s a lot of strategy.”

Preller, who loves watching the back end of the draft unfold, sees the draft as one of the key moments of the season.

“Draft day is at the top,” said Preller. “You are adding 40 players and setting out on a course for the next five years. We’re very prepared and you always feel good when you are prepared. We’ll put organization in a good spot. The Draft is a marker of the season just like the trading deadline.”

Information compiled for this Draft is used long after the final player is selected Wednesday. “Scouting reports from the draft are used for years in discussions about player acquisition decisions,” said Preller.

As for Preller’s role the next three days: “Kick back and relax,” said the general manager.

Sure.