Padres draft remarkably well, yet their most productive picks often flourish elsewhere. Discover how their top talent eludes San Diego.
In a recent Bleacher Report article from Kerry Miller, the San Diego Padres came fourth in a list ranking the best-drafting MLB teams since 2010. Specifically, the article covers the success of teams’ first-round draft picks over the past 15 years.
The rankings were based on the average MLB WAR for each signed first-round pick. The Padres trailed only the Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros, with their first-round picks' average WAR being 6.37.
The biggest draft hit the Padres have seen in the first round since 2010 has been none other than shortstop Trae Turner. San Diego selected Turner with the 13th overall selection out of North Carolina State University in 2014. Unfortunately for Padres fans, Turner never got to play in a Padres uniform, let alone spend any meaningful time in the farm system.
He was traded as a “player to be named later” in a blockbuster three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals in the 2014 offseason. Turner ended up with the Nationals after the deal, allowing San Diego to land outfielder Wil Meyers from the Rays. Meyers wound up accumulating 12.5 WAR over eight seasons in San Diego, a far cry from what the Padres could have had if Turner hadn’t been included in the trade.
With Washington, Turner tallied a total WAR of 22.3 in seven seasons, playing an important role in the Nationals’ 2019 World Series-winning team. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the 2023 season on a massive 11-year, $300 million contract. In his three seasons with the Phils, Turner has put up a slash line of .287/.337/.461 with an OPS+ of 117.
Turner wound up as the most successful first-round pick by the Padres since 2014, but the club unfortunately didn’t get to see the fruits of its great selection. Still, the Padres have been able to see some of their first-round selections play positive baseball in their own uniforms. Players like Jackson Merrill and Hunter Renfroe have been contributors to the Padres organization over the years.
Most of their productive former first-round selections, however, have seen their success come on different teams. Eric Lauer, Cal Quantrill, Zach Eflin, MacKenzie Gore, Travis Jankowski, and CJ Abrams have joined Turner in finding success with other organizations across the MLB.
Though they haven’t reaped all of the rewards of excellent drafting over the last 15 years, it's comforting to know that the Padres are one of baseball’s most effective drafting organizations, providing them more value to compete with baseball’s best.