Padres draft son of Rockies GM O'Dowd

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres selected Dartmouth catcher Chris O'Dowd, the son of Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd, in the 25th round of the First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.

"He's a baseball player," said Padres vice president and assistant general manager for personnel Chad MacDonald. "He's an athletic catcher with some upside, and he's hit before. He had a little bit of a down year this year but we still believe in him. We're happy to have him."

O'Dowd was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America selection in 2010. The switch-hitter hit .384 that year with a .664 slugging percentage. A first-team All-New England pick as a sophomore, O'Dowd hit .300 with a .417 on-base percentage over his final 17 games in 2012. He also led the team in stolen bases with eight.

The Cherry Hills Village, Colo., native boasts a .315 career batting average, .408 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage in three seasons at Dartmouth. He is one of three catchers in the Padres' 2012 Draft haul, joining Oklahoma City University backstop Dane Phillips, who was taken 70th overall, and Puerto Rican high schooler Christian Munoz, a Bethune-Cookman commit.