Karsten Whitson
The MLB Draft is an event that most Padres fans have learned to become more wary of than excited for. With nearly a decade of failed first-round draft picks, the organization has struggled to build from within and the results have been evident on the field in recent years.
But with a new owner and front office staff, the Padres were ready to try out their new draft philosophies for 2010.
“When I got here, I talked a lot about scouting and player development,” General Manager Jed Hoyer said on Monday night. “I thought that in order for the Padres to be successful, we have to do a great job in the draft.”
The outcome was Karsten Whitson, a 6’4” right-handed pitcher from Chipley, Florida. Whitson is a polished high school pitcher who boasts a mid-90s fastball, a nasty slider, and the beginnings of a changeup. He is a top of the rotation type talent who posses definite “swing and miss” stuff – he struck out 123 batters in just 55 innings pitched during his senior season.
Coming into the draft, Whitson was rated as the consensus number two high school pitcher available behind Texas flamethrower Jameson Taillon – who went second overall to the Pirates – but the Padres had them ranked almost even on their draft board.
“They were neck and neck,” Director of Scouting Jaron Madison said Monday. “Those are the two premier right-handed high school pitchers in the country and we’re fortunate that we were able to get one of them.”
“I’d put his fastball up against anyone’s in the draft this year as far as quality,” added Jason McLeod, the Padres Assistant GM.
As with any top draft pick out of high school, signability is always a concern. Because the players have the option to follow through on their commitment to college, they have more leverage in the bonus negotiations. But with Whitson, the Padres brass were both excited to see how eager he was to play professional baseball, and to become a Padre.
“His dream is to play here in Petco Park; we’ve talked to him about that,” Madison said. “He had the opportunity to pitch here with [the Aflac All American Game], and it’s something that he really enjoyed.”
Of course, as the Padres are all too familiar with, the old baseball adage TINSTAAPP (There is no such thing as a pitching prospect) always seems to ring true when it comes to top picks from San Diego.
“Karsten became a guy for us – really about midway through the spring – who we felt could be a potential pick for us at number nine,” McLeod acknowledged. “Knowing the inherent risks of high school pitching in the draft, especially taking a high school pitcher up that high, there were a lot of questions that we had to have answered.
“Karsten answered a lot of those questions for us both on and off the field.”
Last year’s ninth overall pick was also a high school pitcher by the name of Jacob Turner. Turner was selected by the Detroit Tigers, and signed a Major League deal for $5.5 million and a $4.7 million signing bonus – a record for a high schooler. While Whitson is not expected to demand near that much, the Padres definitely showed they weren’t afraid to commit an over-slot amount for the second consecutive year.
Whitson is not a Padre yet. He is still unsigned.