Stabbing in the dark about which 2018 Padres draftees might be Dust Devils
There’s no guarantee where, exactly, the players drafted by the Padres will end up in their huge farm system, but a likely destination for a handful of them will be the Tri-City Dust Devils.
But which ones?
In a few weeks, we’ll know. But we don’t know now, and here we are in the middle of this Medium post not knowing the future so we might as well continue, right?
Based on past season precedence, this year’s Dust Devils roster will likely get set in the next week or so and then a few updates will be made as draft signings get completed and shuffling happens between.
The 2016 opening Dust Devils roster actually featured quite a few 2016 draftees, including Joey Lucchesi, currently making us proud as the first pitcher from the 2016 draft class in the bigs and sporting a super-nice 9.13 K/9 through a handful of slick starts. Alongside fourth-rounder Lucchesi, the 2016 Dust Devils also featured Padres’ picks from rounds 5, 6, 9, 21, 22, 23, 27, 31, 33, and 35.
But, in contrast to 2016’s team, the announced 2017 opening roster did not include any of the Padres’ 2017 draft class.
Digging deeper, “opening roster” doesn’t mean a whole lot. By the end of last season, the players from the 2017 draft who played for the Dust Devils were scattered mostly in later rounds: Aaron Leasher (LHP, Round 6), Nick Margevicius (LHP, Round 7), Alex Cunningham (RHP, Round 9), Fred Schlichtholz (LHP, Round 13), Tom Cosgrove (LHP, Round 12), Greg Lambert (CF, Round 21), Robbie Podorsky (LF, Round 25), Jalen Washington (C, Round 29), Chandler Seagle (C, Round 30), Tyler Benson (OF, Round 31), and Matthew Batten (2B, Round 32).
In general, it seems the Padres fill the Dust Devils roster with a slew of players predominantly from the previous year draft, international free agency, with the rest filled out from past drafts and undrafted free agents. I wrote here about what a Short Season Single-A affiliate is and what sorts of players might get rostered on it.
Let’s guess—shall we?
Building off the thinking in that post, here are my guesses as to who among this year’s Padres draft class might end up on the Dust Devils roster. We’ll see how right I am in a few days. (Of course, all of this is assuming the Padres are able to sign all of these picks, and there’s always the possibility they won’t.)
So what are the odds we’ll get to have some first day blue chippers buzzing around the Tri this summer?
#7 RHP Ryan Weathers? No
I’m pretty sure we won’t see the #7 draft pick here. As a highly prized prep talent, he’ll be sent to one of the Padres’ rookie ball teams.
#38 SS Xavier Edwards? No
Bummer. Another high schooler. Odds are we won’t get to see him either.
#74 OF Grant Little? Maybe
Hey! This 21 year old from Texas Tech is looking a little more promising. Get it? You do, I’m sure. But in case you missed it, I was making a pun out of his name. I’m going to hedge my bet and say there are good odds we see him in the Dust Devils outfield in a few weeks, but he’s only a sophomore, so it’s possible he gets sent to rookie ball.
And how about day two?
The first two days of the Padres’ 2017 draft class day two draft class featured more prep talent, which probably explains why
In contrast to 2017, the Padres loaded up on a lot more college players, and most of them juniors and seniors.
Round 3: SS Owen Miller? Yes
He’s predicted to move from shortstop. Maybe the Dust Devils starting third baseman this year?
Round 4: RHP Dylan Coleman? Yes
Strong bet we’ll see him.
Round 5: RF Dwanya Williams-Sutton? Yes
Oh yes please. Hoping to see him send some balls over the freeway.
Round 6: LHP Alexuan Vega? No
High school kid.
Round 7: CF Jawuan Harris? No
Gaslamp Ball said: “He was suspended for violating team rules three times in his (4th year) junior season, so there may be makeup concerns, but those have been publicly dismissed as maturation issues that he should outgrow.” Seems like the org might prefer to keep in rookie camp to start.
Round 8: RHP Steven Wilson? Yes
Santa Clara University senior. Strong bet he’ll be rostered.
Round 9: 2B Luke Becker? Yes
Another senior. Same here.
Round 10: RHP Jose Quezada? Yes
Relievers are pitchers too.
Based on past track record, it looks like most of day two’s draftees have a good chance of ending up playing for the Dust Devils this year.
Once the Dust Devils announce their opening roster, I’ll write some more in-depth looks at each of the players from the team, including any who will be joining the Dust Devils from the first two days of the draft. Should be fun.
