After making a pair of high-upside high school players their first and second round draftees, the Padres went back to the war room and took a different route in Round 3. 

With the 97th pick in the 2026 MLB draft, the Padres took their first pitcher of the draft, selecting right-hander Ryan Lynch from the University of North Carolina.

Welcome to San Diego, Ryan!

With the 97th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, we have selected RHP Ryan Lynch from North Carolina (NC). pic.twitter.com/leYJgAVVAA

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 11, 2026

The Padres’ first college player selected in the draft, right-hander Ryan Lynch, had a breakout campaign in Chapel Hill. The right-hander out of Moorestown, New Jersey, spent his draft-eligible season in the Tar Heels’ rotation after impressing in three playoff starts in 2025. The results for Lynch this season were mixed, as the stuff outpaced the results. Lynch posted a 4.21 ERA in 98.1 innings this season, striking out 89 batters while walking 36. Those numbers equate to a 20.3% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate, respectively. 2026 was Lynch’s first season as a full-time starting pitcher, so there were growing pains as he grew accustomed to the larger workload. 

Ryan Lynch sets the side down in order in the fourth with a pair of K’s.

MLB’s No. 60 Draft prospect finished with 6 strikeouts over 5 frames for North Carolina.

(?: @DiamondHeels)pic.twitter.com/4cmkTFd99P

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 14, 2026

The Padres (and other MLB teams) believed more in the stuff coming out of his hand as opposed to the numbers on paper. Lynch’s fastball is rather interesting when looking at the numbers. The heater has been able to reach 98-100 at times, especially in shorter spurts, and as a starter, he was averaging 94-96 mph. Due to both a lower-than-average release height and his seam orientation, the fastball gets plenty of horizontal movement, classifying it as a power sinker. Lynch’s slider grades out as his best pitch at this point, and that’s no discredit to his fastball.

The right-hander’s slider has both sweep and depth, as it has flashed considerable horizontal tilt this spring. Some scouts and evaluators note that the pitch has become more hittable the more hitters see it, and its movement can at times make it hard to locate. There’s also a changeup in Lynch’s arsenal, which sits in the mid-80s and sequences well off the fastball. If there was something to be worried about with Lynch right away, it would be that he departed his final start of the season with what appeared to be an oblique injury. Given the aggressive nature of his pitching motion, this could be something to keep in mind in the future, or it very well could be a one-off. Only the doctors would know. 

“I tried to do it but…. I’m trying. I can try to finish this batter, but I felt it in warm ups. I can’t… I tried”

Ryan Lynch comes out of the game to what appears an oblique injury. Caden Glauber is in the game. pic.twitter.com/tCNo6EYaXi

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 21, 2026

Projecting what Lynch can be at the next level is tough, especially since he has only had one full season as a starting pitcher. There are signs of a No. 2-4 starter in what Lynch did last season, especially with his power sinker and heavy ground-ball approach. While he visually reminds me of former Padres right-hander Reiss Knehr, his stuff carries his profile and projectability more than Knehr’s did back when he was drafted. Lynch has the upside to become a starting pitcher long term, with the ceiling of a Logan Webb sort of arm. His delivery is reminiscent of Rays right-hander Kevin Kelly, and he falls squarely into the “start until you can’t start” category of arms.

If Lynch winds up as a relief pitcher down the line (either to fast-track him to the majors or for other reasons), he very well could be a dominant setup man (or potentially a closer) if the fastball velocity regularly sits in the high-90s. 

On the pitching side, North Carolina righty Ryan Lynch really stuck out. If his stuff were any more wicked, the ball would be green. pic.twitter.com/ycPk245V3g

— Josh Norris ? (@jnorris427) July 4, 2025

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.