Going Bananas: Thoughts on the Padres and the Draft Deadline

When 2010 first round draft pick (9th overall) Karsten Whitson failed to sign by the August 15th deadline, the Padres Front Office tried to assuage fan anger by presenting a half-glass-full scenario:

1. Whitson went back on his word that he would sign when initially drafted.


2.  The Padres would receive a compensation pick in the 2011 draft.

This didn't make me feel much better. The Padres have no choice but to build through the draft in order to be competitvie. How do I know this? Because all ownership and the front office ever does is speak to this talking point. Yet they failed to get Karsten Whitson to sign.*

What of the 2011 comp pick? Who cares. How could we even be certain that this future player would be signed? What if the pick ended in another non-signing?

Fast forward to 2011...

The Padres signed that comp pick. His name is Corey Spangenberg, selected 10th overall, and he has been performing well during his brief tenure as a Padre. But it should be noted that Spangenberg should really be viewed as a player drafted in 2010 as he is the replacement for the Whitson snafu.

This brings us to Joe Ross.

Joe Ross is the real San Diego Padres 1st round draft pick, a RHP chosen 25th overall, and unsigned as of 11:00 AM on August 15th. There are others who are unsigned as well. Here are the big four:

1. Joe Ross RHP (25th)


2. Michael Kelly RHP (48th)


3. Brett Austin C (54th)


4. Austin Hedges C (82nd)

What should fans expect from the Padres Front Office as it relates to the 2011 draft? Fans have reason to expect a lot.

We are constantly told that there is only one viable way for the Padres franchise to compete. It is not via free agency. It is through the draft where players can be obtained inexpensively relative to the market, and then developed and controlled through their least expensive service years. But if this is the message that is being conveyed (at all times I might add), and the Padres fail to sign the high ceiling players who are drafted each year then what are we to think as fans? If the Padres experience failure this afternoon does it become reasonable to throw our hands up in the air and say to all those who will listen, "What on earth is the point of following this baseball team!!!!!"

Failure Defined

Joe Ross must be signed. He is a high upside arm who can help fans forget the Karsten Whitson non-signing. But more importantly, he is a 1st rounder. These are players who must be signed and I'm comfortable in assigning a failing grade to Jeff Moorad if Ross is not a Padre by day's end.

For me to assign a passing grade I think fans need to see three out of the four players above signed today. I am willing to see that one failed signing be Austin Hedges who has a strong commitment to UCLA. I forgot where I read/heard it but someone recently suggested that you should always draft one "un-signable" kid and then sign him. I think Hedges is that guy. The only reason he slid to 82nd was because teams felt there would be dollar issues with him. If the Padres failed to get him into the organization I would be content with giving them a pat on the back and I'd applaud them for the effort.

So for me it's three out of four. If the Padres get all four of the picks signed then I'm about as happy as a fan can be who's following a 54-68 team. But I can live with three out of four.

But what if the Padres get two or less of these high upside players signed by the 12:00 AM EST deadline? At that ominous deadline time I will most definitely be going f*cking bananas with screams of, "What's the point!!!???"  

I will also have to begin asking serious questions as to how Jeffrey Moorad was ever allowed to purchase a MLB franchise.... and I'll also be contacting my season ticket representative.


*I know. I know. This was all on Whitson for getting bad advice. Whatever. Mistakes like these can't be made by a team like the Padres. It's far too costly.