Pitching, pitching, pitching for Friars on Day 2

San Diego selects only one position player out of 8 picks

June 10th, 2016

SAN DIEGO -- The theme for the Padres on Day 2 of the 2016 Draft was pitching. They used each of their first seven selections Friday on hurlers, before going with a college second baseman to finish off the day.

"Honestly, they were the best players available," Padres scouting director Mark Conner said of the seven pitchers. "There were a lot of good position players out there, but when we lined up our board and looked at all the factors, as we made each one of those picks, it just happened to be that we had a pitcher over the position players. And those guys were the ones that we decided to select."

The Padres were the busiest team in baseball on Day 1, and they got right back into the action Friday for rounds 3-10 --- focusing mostly on high-upside arms. Track every pick from the Draft.

The Draft concludes on Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 9 a.m. PT. Here's a breakdown of Friday's selections:

:: Complete 2016 Draft coverage ::

Round 3 (85th overall), Mason Thompson, RHP, Round Rock High School (Texas)

The Padres opened the second day of the Draft in a similar manner to the way they opened the first. Like No. 8 overall selection Cal Quantrill, right-hander Mason Thompson underwent Tommy John surgery last March, and was projected much higher on Draft boards before the injury.

Thompson hardly pitched this spring, but he held several workouts for scouts, and evidently the Padres came away impressed. The 6-foot-6 Thompson possessed a mid-90s fastball pre-surgery, which could potentially gain a couple ticks going forward. He also throws a curveball and a changeup.

It remains unclear whether Thompson will honor his commitment to the University of Texas, and he appears to be an over-slot value. But the Padres, who have the third-biggest pool allotment in the Majors, have plenty of money available to mix and match after their five selections on Day 1 -- some of whom could sign for under their slot value.

"It seems like he pitches with very little effort," said John Carter, Thompson's coach at Round Rock High School, also the alma mater of John and Jordan Danks. "He's very mechanical. His mechanics are very sound, and what he really is, is a heck of an athlete."

Round 4 (114th overall), Joey Lucchesi, LHP, Southeast Missouri State

Like first-round pick Eric Lauer out of Kent State, Lucchesi rewrote some of his school's record books. He led NCAA Division I with 149 strikeouts in 2016 and holds the Southeast Missouri State all-time whiff record.

Lucchesi became the first player to win Ohio Valley Conference pitcher of the year in back-to-back seasons, and after he wasn't drafted in 2015, Lucchesi saw his stock skyrocket because of a brilliant senior year in which he went 10-5 with a 2.19 ERA in leading the Redhawks to the NCAA tournament.

"He's got some funkiness to him that makes him very difficult for hitters to pick up the ball and see him well out of the hand," said former big league outfielder Steve Bieser, Lucchesi's college skipper. "... He's a guy that has two above-average offspeed pitches that he can throw in just about any count, [his changeup and his curveball]."

Round 5 (144th overall), Lake Bachar, RHP, UW-Whitewater

Following high school, Bachar made the decision to play football at Wisconsin Whitewater -- and he had plenty of success there, winning consecutive NCAA Division III national titles as the team's kicker and punter.

He didn't play baseball during his freshman season, but when he returned to the diamond, he flourished, and it quickly became clear that baseball was Bachar's path to success. In two seasons with the Warhawks, he posted a 2.41 ERA and demonstrated some serious control with 149 strikeouts to just 29 walks.

Bachar's fastball sits in the low-90s, and he commands an above-average curveball and slider, both of which he uses as out pitches.

Round 6 (174th overall), Will Stillman, RHP, Wofford

The Padres drafted their third straight college arm, this time taking a right-handed reliever in Stillman, who was very impressive in the Cape Cod League in 2014-15, where he recorded 24 K's in 16 1/3 innings. Stillman posted some middling numbers in his junior and senior seasons, but the strikeouts never wavered, and he finished with an average of 14.5 SO/9 over four years.

Round 7 (204th overall), Dan Dallas, LHP, Canisius High School (New York)

There aren't many players who did more late rising on Draft boards than Dallas, whose fastball jumped from the mid-80s to the low-90s during his senior season in high school. Not coincidentally, Dallas went 10-0 with a 0.15 ERA in 2016. Dallas also boasts a big league relative: He's the cousin of D-backs first baseman and perennial MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt.

Round 8 (234th overall), Benjamin Sheckler, LHP, Cornerstone University

The Padres went with pitching once again in the eighth round, taking the lanky left-hander Sheckler, who stands 6-foot-8. Scheckler tossed a pair of no-hitters during his senior season of high school, where he was also an all-state basketball player in Sparta, Mich.

Sheckler focused mainly on basketball growing up, and 2016 marked his first season playing baseball exclusively. The Padres feel as though he'll need to make a few adjustments to simplify his delivery, but his fastball sits in the low 90s, and according to Conner, "it plays up a tick."

Round 9 (264th overall), Jesse Scholtens, RHP, Wright State University

In March, Scholtens became the first pitcher in Wright State history to record a perfect game, blanking Dayton with a 12-K performance -- and doing so while sporting a throwback mustache. Precisely three months later, the Padres selected Scholtens (10-1, 2.95 ERA in his senior year) in the ninth round -- making him their eighth consecutive pitcher taken and their 10th in 12 selections.

Round 10 (294th overall), Boomer White, 2B, Texas A&M

The Friars finally broke their string of pitchers with White, who became the Padres' only position player selected on Friday. A right-handed hitter, White batted .398 for Texas A&M this season en route to being named SEC Player of the Year. He sat out during the 2015 season after transferring from TCU, where he batted .315 in 2014. Coincidentally, the Aggies and Horned Frogs will square off in the Super Regional this weekend.