The San Diego Padres are on the hunt for impact talent in the 2026 MLB draft. With industry concerns over a certain right-handed arm in the Padres’ reach for the second year in a row, could San Diego bring in one of the most pro-ready arms in the draft?

Last season, San Diego had an opportunity to take a college arm in Arkansas’ Gage Wood at pick no. 25.

Instead, the team selected left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, who possessed some of the highest physical upside and some of the best left-handed velocity in the entire draft. Philadelphia went on to take Wood with the 26th pick in the Draft, and the former Razorbacks starter has made it all the way to Double-A despite injury concerns.

Wood’s former teammate at Arkansas finds himself in a very similar situation

. Gabe Gaeckle came into the college baseball season as one of the premier arms of the evaluation cycle, ranked as the No. 40 Draft prospect by Over-Slot and in the high-20s by MLB Pipeline at the start of the season. The appeal for teams with the 6-foot right-hander really does speak for itself, but in case you haven’t heard, here’s the rundown. 

High speed look at the FF-SL from RHP Gabe Gaeckle (@RazorbackBSB)… @PG_Draft https://t.co/Fh2f76Nq0N pic.twitter.com/qhZcm97JTK

— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) April 15, 2026

Gaeckle’s career at Arkansas has been something of a roller coaster, to say the least. The right-hander possesses some of the best pure stuff in the class, as his fastball posted an absurd 122 Stuff+ metric in his first start against Oklahoma State. His slider and curveball both posted Stuff+ marks over 120, which is rare for Major League talent, and his curveball just missed the mark (albeit with a 118 Stuff+).

Despite the insane stuff grades, Gaeckle has not spent the full season in the Razorbacks’ rotation (unlike fellow Arkansas draft-eligible arm Hunter Dietz). Gaeckle opened the season with six strong starts, striking out 38 and walking 11 in 31.1 innings from February to mid-March. His next two starts were far from ideal, as he issued eight walks to three strikeouts in 5.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs. 

Does @RazorbackBSB’s Gabe Gaeckle have the most polished arsenal in college baseball?

FB 122 Stuff+ | SL 122 Stuff+ | CB 121 Stuff+ | CH 118 Stuff+

Here are his 9 Ks vs OSU on Friday⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bnGjLmJbAd

— Paradigm Player Development (@ParadigmPDS) February 16, 2026

This rough stretch saw the right-hander get moved to the bullpen, as his usually 95-96 mph fastball did not have the same life it carried early in the season. Gaeckle made seven relief appearances between April 7 and April 25, and the results were mixed. While he was charged with six earned runs on 14 hits in seven appearances, Gaeckle’s strikeouts came back. In 11 innings, the right-hander struck out 14 against six walks.

The results were enough for the Razorbacks to bring him back into the rotation for the final stretch, where he pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 14 innings to close out the regular season. He struck out 16 while walking just six over his final three starts. With Arkansas set to play their first game in the SEC Tournament on May 20, Gaeckle is a possibility to either appear in relief or start the ensuing game should the No. 7-ranked Razorbacks defeat the winner of South Carolina/Tennessee. 

Could be the start of a new normal for Gabe Gaeckle.

The righty pitched multiple times this weekend and preserved the lead for the Hogs
pic.twitter.com/jW3aTS6CRB

— Jake McKeever (@CBCJakeMck) April 12, 2026

So what’s causing the so-called industry divide surrounding the right-hander? It’s quite a simple answer: his inconsistent track record as a starter. Gaeckle has the stuff to be one of the most dominant pitchers in the college ranks, as his four-pitch mix and elite stuff is more than enough to carry him to success despite lacking a prototypical build. However, with his size comes concerns about a lack of deception from his low release point. Gaeckle gets plenty of carry on his fastball, especially coming from a lower vertical approach angle.

His release height of 5.3 feet is the same as that of Payton Tolle or Nathan Eovaldi. Despite this, Gaeckle has at times struggled to locate the fastball, which diminishes the in-zone effectiveness of the rest of his arsenal. In his seven-game relief stint, the right-hander’s in-zone swing-and-miss rates were down compared to his 2025 bullpen stint. Coming out of the regular season, outlets debated where he lands on the board; Over-Slot places the right-hander at No. 51 on their draft big board, while MLB Pipeline dropped him down to No. 86. 

An extended look at RHP Gabe Gaeckle (@RazorbackBSB)… @PG_Draft https://t.co/AWiEqugPyw pic.twitter.com/VZWT8FxgWM

— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) April 17, 2026

MLB Pipeline’s player comparison for Gaeckle is someone like Spencer Strider, and Strider’s peak is a good portrayal of how dominant Gaeckle has the potential to be if everything goes right. Gaeckle also produces a close to flat vertical approach angle with a high-rise fastball and buckling slider, which does reinforce some of the comparisons to Strider. Strider was also a player with relief risk and injury concerns coming into the draft. In Gaeckle’s case, the concerns are not as blaring as they were with Strider (who was taken 126th overall in 2020), but the floor vs. ceiling debate remains.

Gaeckle’s stuff is more than excellent, but is it better than a more physically imposing arm like Steele Murdock, Jackson Flora, or does it carry the same outlier metrics like Tennessee’s Tegan Kuhns? Other evaluators wonder whether he will be able to command the baseball enough to stick as a starting pitcher at the professional level. Gaeckle has the upside to be a top-half of the rotation starting pitcher when he is on, which does raise his ceiling. However, how feasible is it for an organization to keep him as a starter long-term? The right-hander did post a 6.69 ERA as a starter in 2025, and in 50.2 innings as a starter in 2026, Gaeckle had a more palatable 4.26 ERA (4.95 FIP). 

Despite the concerns, the Padres’ system has been able to help arms in this middle ground find their role. Tucker Musgrove entered the Padres system as a two-way player who bounced between starting and relieving in college, and after recovering from Tommy John surgery, he has emerged as one of the up-and-coming late-inning relief prospects in the system. Carson Montgomery was in a similar pre-draft scenario, but after his return from Tommy John, San Diego is developing him into a full-time starter; the early results for the right-hander have been promising in High-A (1.33 ERA, 2:1 K:BB ratio in six starts). Even Adam Mazur could make for a good comparison here; the former Iowa Royal was taken in the second-round back in 2022, and reports characterized him as a live arm still leaning to harness his stuff. Mazur performed well in the Padres’ minor league system before a rocky landing in MLB with the Padres in 2024. Gaeckle falls into this category of arm, as he has the stuff to be an elite starter, but also the concerns about reliability in said role. 

Now, as for where he could fall on the draft board, it is very soon to tell. Gaeckle does not throw as many strikes consistently as his former teammate Gage Wood, who went in the first round in 2025. However, Gaeckle’s stuff possesses similar upside, regardless of the role. His extension is above-average for a player of his size (6.3 feet of extension), and his low release point gives his fastball late life to miss bats. The right-hander is currently projected as a mid-2nd to late 3rd-round pick, but when he comes off the board will depend on a team’s faith in his ability to start and their player development department’s ability to develop him in such a role.

A good performance in the SEC tournament (or even the College World Series, should Arkansas get there) could rebuild his stock into a late first-round selection. It would be a shock to see the Padres take Gaeckle in the first round, mostly because they haven’t selected a college pitcher in the first round since the duo of Cal Quantrill and Eric Lauer in 2016. If Gaeckle falls into the second round, San Diego picking him at No. 60 overall (their second round slot) is certainly in play. 

Despite concerns over his long-term feasibility as a starting pitcher, Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle possesses some of the most pro-ready stuff in the 2026 MLB draft. If he remains on the board for the Padres within the first two rounds, he is worthy of consideration for the team’s player development and scouting personnel. Should his stuff pan out in this system, the Padres could be in for a developmental masterclass to dispel the narratives surrounding the organization’s pitching development

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.