The Padres are heading into the 2026 MLB Draft with 21 picks and the No. 21 overall selection, giving A.J. Preller and his front office another shot to restock a farm system that rarely stays stocked for long.
San Diego’s draft starts Saturday, July 11, with the first four rounds, then continues Sunday, July 12 with Rounds 5 through 20. The Padres will make five picks on the first day, including an extra selection after the fourth round.
That added pick came at No. 134 overall as compensation after Dylan Cease turned down San Diego’s qualifying offer and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. Because the Padres were over the competitive balance tax threshold last season, the pick lands after the fourth round. It also adds bonus-pool money, which only increases the club’s flexibility.
Here’s the full slate of Padres picks:
Round 1, Pick No. 21
Round 2, Pick No. 60
Round 3, Pick No. 97
Round 4, Pick No. 124
Compensation pick, Pick No. 134
Round 5, Pick No. 157
Round 6, Pick No. 186
Round 7, Pick No. 215
Round 8, Pick No. 245
Round 9, Pick No. 275
Round 10, Pick No. 305
Rounds 11-20: One selection in each round
The bigger question is less about volume than direction. San Diego has taken high school players with its first-round pick in nine straight drafts, including prep left-handers Kash Mayfield and Kruz Schoolcraft over the last two years. Another high school selection would make it 10 in a row.
The Padres say all four paths are still on the table - college hitters, college pitchers, high school hitters and high school pitchers. But the pattern is hard to ignore. This is a club that has consistently trusted its scouts to identify teenage talent before the rest of the industry fully catches up.
That strategy comes with obvious risk. High school players need more projection, more patience and more development.
The Padres have never seemed bothered by that part. This is, after all, an organization led by Preller, where risk is part of the package.
With nearly $9.5 million to work with, San Diego has options. It can take the best player available at No. 21, go under slot and shift money to a later pick, or use the compensation selection to swing at another expensive, high-upside player.
What it should not do is draft strictly for short-term need. Those needs change constantly, usually because Preller has made another trade. The Padres need talent that holds value, whether that player ends up in Petco Park or gets packaged in a future deal.
That’s the reality in San Diego: these picks are not only about building the next roster. Some of them are also about creating the next trade chip. And if the Padres are going to keep cycling through prospects while chasing big-league help, they’ll need another strong draft class to keep the machine running.
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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 🡒]