A.J. Preller and the Padres made their usual kind of bet in the 2026 MLB Draft: big, loud and impossible to miss.
San Diego used its first-round pick on Coleman Borthwick, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound right-hander from South Walton High School in Florida. He is the first high school right-handed pitcher selected in the draft, and he fits right into the Padres’ recent appetite for size, power and projection.
Borthwick already brings a 93-95 mph fastball, and he has touched the upper 90s. The pitch has life at the top of the zone, and he has shown he can command it rather than just let it fly and hope for the best. His slider also gives evaluators something to dream on, sitting in the mid-80s and pairing with the fastball in a way that suggests real starter potential.
There’s more here than just mound work, too. Borthwick drew some of the same kind of attention as Padres 2025 first-rounder Kruz Schoolcraft because both players could hit and pitch at the high school level. Borthwick hit .300 for Team USA at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan, so this was not simply a case of a pitcher occasionally helping himself at the plate.
His performance for Team USA turned heads in a bigger way on the mound. He threw 10 scoreless innings and was named tournament MVP. He also stood out at events like the East Coast Pro Showcase, and the more scouts saw him, the clearer it became that his future was on the mound.
That’s the kind of profile San Diego keeps chasing. The Padres see the ingredients of a workhorse starter, and they also see the kind of high-upside arm that can matter in more than one way. With the way Preller handles prospect capital, Borthwick could end up being valuable either as a pitcher in San Diego or as a trade piece down the line.
For now, though, the Padres have added one of the biggest arms in the draft and the first prep right-hander off the board.
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The Twins Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan are among the most notable names tied to San Diego, which is enough to signal the kind of move the Padres are at least exploring. Whether Preller actually pulls the trigger is another matter, but the idea of the Padres circling premium talent this early is a reminder that they could be one of the more aggressive buyers before the deadline arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Sent A Frustrating Message With This Roster Decision
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Jackson Merrill Just Reopened A Painful Padres What-If
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For the Padres, the sting is amplified by where the lineup sits at the moment. The club has been battling through one of the weakest offensive profiles in baseball, and Woods rise only sharpens the contrast between what was moved and what was left behind. Merrills perspective matters here because he knows Wood well, and watching a former teammate thrive elsewhere has a way of keeping the old trade debate alive a little longer. [Read more 🡒]