San Diego Padres Possible Pick at Six: Riley Greene

Hagerty High School outfielder Riley Greene could be an option for the San Diego Padres with their #6 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

The San Diego Padres, home to the current number one overall farm system in baseball, are about to get richer.

With the sixth overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, a farm system full of talent is on the verge of potentially adding another impact player.

This six or seven-piece series will take an in-depth look at who the Padres could select with the sixth overall pick in the draft. These are not predictions, but instead just breaking down some potential options that may or may not be available when San Diego is on the clock.

Many scouts consider Florida high schooler Riley Greene as the best high school hitter in this entire draft. The Padres have done their fair share of work on Greene, as Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs reported on the East Village Times podcast that General Manager A.J. Preller had been spotted at one of Greene’s high school games this year.

He stands at a lean and athletic 6’1″ that should fill out nicely once he gets into a professional weight lifting program.

Greene’s calling card is quite obvious, as almost nobody doubts his ability to hit at the next level. He has a smooth and simple swing that does not have a lot of moving parts in it. Greene’s advanced knowledge of the strike zone as an 18-year-old is rather impressive, and you have to assume that this will only improve as he becomes more experienced. He stays inside the baseball well and makes consistent hard contact, while mostly spraying line drives and living in the gaps.

Riley Greene

Class: High School Senior

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 191 pounds

Bats/Throws: L/L

His frame alone suggests that he has some solid raw power and Greene has started to elevate the baseball as of late, especially to his pull side. This may become a problem at some point if he starts to become pull happy, but Greene’s advanced feel for what he is doing at the plate should lead him to make an adjustment.

Greene is a solid athlete that has improved his overall run tool and defensive abilities this spring. He has some experience on the mound with his fastball topping out at 89 mph, showing that there is some livelihood in his arm. Scouts have his arm currently graded at a 45, which would suggest below-average, but his ability to throw that hard off a mound suggests that there is another gear for him to tap into in regards to his arm. Greene projects as a corner outfielder moving forward because he is simply just an average defensive player.

The Padres have selected a high school player with their first-round pick each of the last two years, which in itself could be an indication that Greene could be the pick here if he falls. His high upside has to be attractive to the team, as Greene could truly be the best hitter out of this entire draft class when it’s all said and done With the Padres moving closer to contention, they have to be thinking about taking a player that could impact the major league product sooner rather than later and Greene’s advanced hit tool could make his ascension through the minor leagues a quick one.

Diego Solares

Diego works at Prep Baseball Report as an Area Scout in Illinois and Missouri. He graduated this spring with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and played four years of college baseball, logging nearly 50 innings of work in a relief role. Diego hopes to work in an MLB front office one day and has been a Padres fan since he was six years old.