The San Diego Padres have made some interesting decisions during the MLB draft in recent years. They’ve typically selected high school players with their first pick, and MLB.com has noticed this trend, suggesting that they’ll do the same.
MLB.com recently predicted that the Padres would select Xavier Neyens, a third baseman out of Mount Vernon, Washington.
“Given that the Padres almost always take a high school player with their first pick, it’s easy to assign one here, with any of the ones taken just ahead of them possibly in play, along with other bats like Josh Hammond,” they wrote.
It remains uncertain what the Padres are exactly looking for during the MLB draft.
Suggesting that a player will have the opportunity to play in the show nearly instantly is unfair, whether it’s a high school or college player.
However, the Padres once had one of the better farm systems in baseball, and there’s reason to believe that they need to return to that point.
Whether it be to make a trade for a player like Juan Soto again or for other reasons, the Padres can be better on that front.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Selecting Neyens in the first round would be a wise decision, as he hit .478 with two home runs at the 17u WWBA Perfect Game event last year, according to the service.
He’s committed to Oregon State, which could make it challenging to persuade him to reconsider his commitment. Neyens played for the 16u/17u USA NTDP.
Neyens is the fourth-ranked overall player in the 2025 high school class, with many suggesting that he possesses massive power in his left-handed bat.
If he can eventually replace somebody like Xander Bogaerts, that’d be ideal for San Diego.
