The History of the Padres First Round Picks in This Century

2014

With the 13th overall pick the Padres drafted the speedy Trea Turner. Buuuuut as you know, they traded him away. The big piece in the trade was Wil Myers which ended up being an 11-player, three-team trade. Here’s how the trade went down:

Padres receive:
Wil Myers, OF – from TB
Ryan Hanigan, C – from TB
Gerardo Reyes, RHP – from TB
Jose Castillo, LHP – from TB

Nationals receive:
Joe Ross, RHP –  from SD)
Player to be named (Trea Turner, SS) – from SD

Rays receive:
Steven Souza, OF – from WSH
Rene Rivera, C – from SD
Jake Bauers, 1B – from SD
Burch Smith, RHP – from SD
Travis Ott, LHP – from WSH

Wil Myers has grown into a leader on the team and is now essentially the face of San Diego sports and the Padres at just 26. His first season in San Diego fell short after he missed half of the season with an injury. That injury made it his third straight season in the majors that was cut short due to injury, so many began to speculate that Myers might end up a bust.

Then came the 2016 season. He smashed the first half of the season and even represented the Padres as they hosted the 2016 All-Star game. He finished the season as the only player in the National League to hit 28 home runs and steal 28 bases.

So far this season he is slashing .278/.323/.529 with 11 home runs, 27 RBIs and four stolen bases. He has had some real struggles on the defensive side, but this is only his second season at first base and there is still time for him to grow as the team’s struggles continue.

Trea Turner on the other hand, has had a pretty successful career himself. But this is about what the Padres have gotten from their draft choices in the first round. So if you want to see how he’s doing, click here.

Gerardo Reyes is currently 24-years old and playing for the Padres high-A affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm. This season he has appeared in 16 games where he holds a 1-0 record and 0.37 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. At 24 years old, and having never played above high-A, there is little chance he will ever see a major league field. BUT, who knows what can happen if he continues to pitch the way he has early on this season. Here’s to some hope for an underdog story for a leftover piece in a three-team trade.

Jose Castillo is a 21-year old left-hander also pitching for the Lake Elsinore Storm. This season he has appeared in 16 games where he holds a 1-2 record with a 4.64 ERA. In 21.1 innings he has given up 11 earned runs but has also sat down 19 batters by way of the strikeout. At just 21, there is definitely room for improvement and high hopes that Castillo can maybe someday be used as another trade piece.

Ryan Hanigan did not stay in the organization for a single day, as he was traded the same day as the trade mentioned above, but he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for third baseman Wil Middlebrooks.

Wil Middlebrooks played in one decent season for the Padres in 2015. He hit nine home runs and drove in 29 RBIs while slashing .212/.241/.361. Middlebrooks was part of AJ Preller’s plan to make an immediate impact at the MLB level with fellow teammates Derek Norris, Justin Upton, and Wil Myers amongst others. However, he failed to live up to expectations and was granted free agency following the 2015 season.

That puts an end to the loop of trades that followed first round draft choice Trea Turner.

2013

One of the Padres more successful first round draft choices in recent years, the Padres drafted Hunter Renfroe with the 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Hunter Renfroe is in the middle of his first full season with the Padres since being drafted in ’13. He had a very impressive opening to his career; he hit 4 home runs and racked up 14 RBIs in just 11 games for the Padres in 2016. He also became the first player to hit a bomb on top of the Western Metal Supply Co. building during a game!

The kid is a work in progress, as he has struggled with his patience at the plate much many other Padre prospects. More recently, however, he has been successful in drawing walks and lowering his strikeouts. He played in 17 games before drawing his first walk and went 11 more before walking again. During that timespan, he struck out 32 times.

In his last 11 games, he has managed to walk 11 times and has struck out just nine times. He also mashed three of his eight home runs during those 11 games.

Hunter Renfroe is turning out to be one of the better power hitters in the Padres lineup. His strong arm also allows him to mow runners down from the outfield and crush balls out of parks. It is going to be fun watching Renfroe grow into one of the leagues premier power-punching outfielders.

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Derek Cluff

Derek is a 22-year-old out of Lemon Grove, California. A burning passion for San Diego sports led him to pursue an opportunity to write and share about what’s going on with the teams in America’s Finest City. A young and aspiring sports journalist looking to grow his knowledge and expand his experience at any opportunity.