Padres draft picks

[HollywoodLeo]

The Padres had 4 picks in the 1st round/1st round comp

LHP Max Fried, Harvard-West Lake HS, CA

Projectable left-handers are always a hot commodity and Fried is one of the best in this Draft class.Fried has a good three-pitch mix and knows how to use it. His fastball sits comfortably in the 90-91 mph range, but he can reach back for 93-94 mph when he needs to. His fastball has good natural sink and he'll also throw a cutter. He's got a Major League average curve that he can throw for strikes at any point in the count and his changeup should be above average, with good deception and late sink.Occasionally, Fried doesn't get on top of his curve, so it can get a bit slurvy, but that's easily correctable. With very good command and well-above-average mound presence, it's easy to see why some think Fried might be one of the early southpaws to come off the board in June.

[HollywoodLeo]

LHP Zach Eflin, Hagerty HS, FL

Few players -- and no high school pitchers -- had more helium than Eflin leading up to the Draft. The Florida high schooler's name has been cropping up in first-round conversations thanks to a combination of stuff and pitchability not often found in prepsters. His fastball sits comfortably in the low-90s, but he can touch 94-95 mph on occasion. Above-average movement makes it an even better offering. His changeup might be a plus pitch, something not seen typically with young arms, but he has an advanced feel for it. His breaking ball is a bit slurvy, but if he can add some velocity to it, it should give him a third above-average or better pitch. He throws all three pitches for strikes with a good downhill plane coming from an ideal pitcher's body. That, plus terrific mound presence and instincts all add up to Eflin hearing his name at some point during the Draft's opening night.

[HollywoodLeo]

OF Travis Jankowski, SUNY Stony Brook, NY

If teams are looking for a top-of-the-order catalyst with speed, then they might head to Stony Brook, N.Y., in droves this spring.That's what Jankowski has to offer. He has excellent hitting skills, showing the ability to spray line drives to all fields, albeit without much power. He's got above-average to plus speed and combining that with good reads and jumps on the basepaths, he's a big-time basestealing threat. His speed helps him on defense as well, where he has outstanding range to go along with very good instincts in center field. His arm is playable in center and his accuracy makes up for average arm strength.Jankowski knows who he is as a player, a very aggressive speedster who knows how to bunt, get on base and wreak havoc with his legs. Teams looking for a basher will look elsewhere, but Jankowski's tools will definitely get a long look as June approaches.

[HollywoodLeo]

RHP Walker Weickel, Olympia HS, FL

Weickel is a tall and athletic right-hander who might not have the best pure stuff among the prep class in 2012, but his combination of stuff and pitchability should put him high on many Draft boards.The Florida high schooler has a fastball that tops out at 94 mph and sits in the 90-91 mph range on most days. It has above-average cut and sink. He throws his 12-to-6 curve for strikes to both sides of the plate. He's got a better changeup than many pitchers at his stage of development, with good deception.Weickel's curve currently lacks the velocity it will need at the next level and his delivery will appear stiff at times, but the strengths easily outweigh the weaknesses. It's for that reason he has the chance to be the second Florida prep pitcher to go off the board, following Lance McCullers.

[HollywoodLeo]

Putting a lot of faith in high school pitchers in the early rounds.

That's not a statement of good or bad faith, just an observation.