Padres Draft Toledo QB In The 40th Round

No, that headline is not a typo – the Padres drafted the Toledo Rockets starting quarterback. It is not strange to see a quarterback play a little minor league baseball. Brandon Weeden, a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns spent some time in the minors, as did former Florida State and Carolina Panthers quarterback Chris Weinke.

Terrance Owens had no idea he was on the Padres radar, until he was contacted by the Padres, and drafted as a left-handed pitcher. In an article in the Toledo Blade, Owens expressed his shock – and reiterated that he has no desire to exchange reading defenses for reading signs from a catcher.

The Padres were apprently intrigued by Owens’ powerful left arm. Owens has played 19 games for Toledo, throwing 31 touchdowns to just 8 interceptions, and completed an impressive 72% of his passes last season.

Owens has not played baseball since his freshman year, so it seems the Padres were trying to find a needle in a China-sized haystack. In various blogs around the Internet, the Padres got hammered for such a strange selection.

This selection does not really bother me, however. The Padres wasted a 40th-round pick on Owens, and many players drafted that late do not sign. When you factor in the percentage of 40th round picks that actually make it to the big leagues, it is a long shot that anyone drafted in the 40th round graduates A-ball. Owens will never sign with the Padres, but it an interesting story. Should the Padres have drafted an actual baseball player, instead of taking a flier on a quarterback?