Padres Select The Citadel C Bryan Altman in 41st Round of 2010 MLB Draft

And we’re finally in the homestretch of the Padres draft, with the final ten picks.

The second in a three-round series of college senior catchers in the Padres draft, Bryan Altman, 22, is the opposite of 40th rounder Justin Echevarria.

While Echevarria is a defense-first, catch-and-throw guy with almost no pop, Altman is a very solid offensive player who hit .343/.405/.581 as a senior, but isn’t a particularly smooth receiver and only threw out 8 of 47 attempted basestealers (17.02%).

He does have experience at other positions, and could play first, third, or even second or the outfield if asked. His 15 steals this year are a testament to his speed and athleticism.

The Padres do need some depth at catcher, and Altman looks like he can hit, but the defense is a major question mark. Hopefully he can improve and stay behind the plate, but at the least, the Padres got a polished college hitter athletic enough to play several positions–not easy to find this late in the draft.