15 of the worst draft picks of recent Padres history

Since he was hired in San Diego in 2014, Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller has been at the helm for ten drafts. While he has made some fantastic draft picks, he has also made some that never turned out as expected. Let's take a look at 15 of the worst draft picks of the A.J. Preller era.

2015: Austin Smith, 2nd Round Pick, No. 51 overall

Austin Smith was a pitcher drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2015 draft. Despite being the Padres highest pick in the draft, Smith never panned out. He had a 5.20 ERA through six seasons in the minors, and never advanced as high as Double-A.

2015: Jacob Nix, 3rd Round Pick, No. 86 overall

The Padres third round pick in 2015 did reach the major leagues, but had one of the worst nine-game stretches of any player and never made it back. Nix started nine games for the Padres in 2018, pitching to 7.02 ERA in 42 innings. He was out of the Padres' organization by 2020.

2016: Hudson Potts, 1st Round Pick, No. 24 overall

Potts was one of three first round draft picks the Padres took in 2016, and was the only one who did not reach the major league level. Between the Padres and Red Sox organizations, he spent five years in Double-A, where he was a .209 hitter.

2016: Michael Reed, 2nd Round Pick, No. 48 overall

Reed spent four years in the Padres' organization and never made it past Double-A. In eight years of minor-league baseball, he posted a career .314 OBP and .390 slugging.

2017: Luis Campusano, 2nd Round Pick, No. 39 overall

There was once a time when Campusano was considered to be the Padres' future catcher. He was a highly rated prospect after being drafted as a 19-year-old in the second round. So far, the 26-year-old has been nothing but a bust. The Padres still seem to believe he could turn out to be a good player, as they continue to give him chances at the big league level.

In parts of six seasons, he has slashed .247/.299/.382, good for an OPS+ of 90. He's accumulated -0.2 bWAR throughout his big league career, which appears to be going nowhere. If he does stick at a big league level, it will be as nothing more than a backup catcher.

2017: Blake Hunt, 2nd Round Pick, No. 69 overall

The Padres took two catchers in the second round of the 2017 draft, and neither have panned out. Hunt has bounced around from the Padres to the Rays to where he currently plays in the Mariners minor-league system. He has a career .704 OPS in the minor leagues, which explains why he has yet to earn a big league callup.

2018: Grant Little, 2nd Round Pick, No. 74 overall

In college at Texas Tech, Little had a tremendous senior year when he drove in 77 runs and finished with a 1.104 OPS. He never recaptured that magic in the Padres' system. Little never reached Double-A, and was out of the minor leagues by 2022.

2019: Joshua Mears, 2nd Round Pick, No. 48 overall

Mears, now 24, is still hanging around in the Padres' system. Maybe he will amount to something eventually. Probably not, based on his .174 batting average in Double-A. He has shown decent power, with a career .444 slugging percentage in the minor leagues.

2019: Hudson Head, 3rd Round Pick, No. 84 overall

Hudson Head was traded from the Padres to the Pirates in part of the Joe Musgrove trade, so to the Padres, he has been valuable enough simply for who he helped them bring in. However, for the Pirates, he has been a disappointment. At the time of the trade, Head was the Padres No. 7 prospect, but he has yet to reach the big leagues in Pittsburgh.

2019: Chris Lincoln, 5th Round Pick, No. 143 overall

Lincoln, a UC Santa Barbara relief pitcher, felt like a reach in the fifth round. He never reached the majors and is currently out of baseball.

2020: Justin Lange, 1st Round Pick, No. 34 overall

Another draft pick who was traded, Lange was not a complete waste for the Padres. He was traded for Luke Voit, who gave the Padres a decent 82 games in 2022. However, Lange never panned out at a major league level. He struggled in the Yankees system, and is now out of baseball.

2020: Levi Thomas, 4th Round Pick, No. 109 overall

Thomas started only four games for the University of Troy in 2020, but he had a 0.39 ERA in those four starts. That catapulted him into the fourth round of the 2020 draft, but unfortunately for Thomas, he could never find that level again. He was a career 5.09 ERA pitcher in two seasons of minor league baseball and is now out of the league.

2021: Lucas Dunn, 8th Round Pick, No. 250 overall

Dunn spent four years in the Padres minor league system and had a .695 OPS across those four years. He's now out of the organization.

2021: Colton Bender, 10th Round Pick, No. 310 overall

Bender was cast aside by the Padres after hitting .167 at High-A Fort Wayne in 2024. He just got picked up by the Phillies Double-A affiliate, and has yet to record a hit this season.

2022: Dylan Lesko, 1st Round Pick, No. 15 overall

To be fair, it is probably too early to call Lesko a bust. He's another one of the Padres' top picks who was traded before reaching the majors. Injuries have held him back, but Lesko will need to perform better than he has if he wants to make a name for himself. So far in High-A, he has a 7.11 ERA. However, at 21 years old, he could still develop into a solid pitcher.