The San Diego Padres have a thing for drafting high school pitchers in the first round and continued that trend with RHP Coleman Borthwick.
With the 21st pick of the first round in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, the San Diego Padres selected right-handed pitcher Coleman Borthwick from South Walton High School in Florida.
Pitching was among San Diego’s positional needs within the farm system, especially when you consider how thin the starting rotation has been all season long. Although this draft isn’t viewed as one that is strong for pitchers, the Padres may have gotten their hands on one of the best in the class.
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, he is similar in size to Pittsburgh Pirates ace right-hander and National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, so he has that going for him at the very least coming out of high school.
“…Borthwick is one of the top prep pitchers in the draft, already possessing a major league body and a fastball that was up to 98 mph,” ESPN’s David Schoenfield wrote Saturday.
The Auburn commit was a two-way player for his high school and even drew comparisons to Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley for his athleticism, but many scouts believe his future is as a pitcher.
“Borthwick has the size, pitch mix and makeup to be a future workhorse starter near the top of a big-league rotation one day,” MLB scouts have said. “While he’ll sit 93-95 mph mostly with his fastball, he’s shown the ability to get the heater up to 97-98 mph with good life up in the zone and to both sides of the plate.”
According to scouts, while his delivery can be out of sorts at times, he’s effective in all four quadrants of the strike zone and shows traits of a top of the rotation guy as he matures.
Schoenfield points out that this was a total Padres pick, as general manager A.J. Preller has shown a tendency to draft high-upside pitchers out of high school in the first round in recent years.
“Last year, it was Kruz Schoolcraft; in 2024, it was Kash Mayfield; in 2022, Dylan Lesko and Robby Snelling (and MacKenzie Gore and Ryan Weathers before that).”
Schoolcraft is San Diego’s No. 2 prospect and Mayfield is No. 4, but Lesko hasn’t panned out just yet and Snelling is with the Miami Marlins organization now. Gore is a household name and was traded in the Juan Soto trade while Weathers is making a name for himself in the New York Yankees starting rotation.
It’s a solid track record, especially if we see Schoolcraft and Mayfield turn out to be something. Keep an eye on Borthwick, who is only 18-years-old.
