Padres Select Juco OF Houston Slemp in 10th Round of 2010 MLB Draft

The Padres finished off their top ten with Eastern Oklahoma St JC outfielder Houston Slemp, giving the team five pitchers and five position players in their first ten selections this June.

Slemp, 22, is the oldest position player selected by San Diego in their first ten rounds, and the second-oldest player of the first ten overall.

A standout safety in high school football, Slemp brings good athleticism to the diamond.

A redshirt sophomore, Slemp had an outstanding 2010, batting .410/.475/.820 with 18 homers in just 58 games. Slemp stole 26 bases in 28 attempts and was even hit by 15 pitches.

He only walked 14 times, so Slemp is going to need to work on his discipline somewhat in pro ball. He’s a bit raw defensively, but his athleticism should allow him to be a solid defender in an outfield corner.

Slemp only struck out 31 times, so his power doesn’t seem to come at the expense of contact much. His .410 average bears that out.

An interesting and likely very signable pick for the Padres here to close out the first ten rounds. Of the first ten picks overall, I find this to be a pretty solid draft. The only pick I really question is Chris Bisson in the fourth round, but hey, if the other nine wind up great, I sure as hell won’t complain. Signability might be an issue for some of them, but we’ll see how it plays out.