San Diego Padres: Three first baseman to target in 2020 MLB Draft

With Eric Hosmer facing three player options in his final three seasons, it would be smart for the San Diego Padres to have a backup plan.

Signed to a lucrative eight-year, $144 million contract after the 2017 season, Eric Hosmer was entering uncharted territory with the San Diego Padres for the first time in career. Coming off a career year, Kansas City was the only team that Hosmer had known since they took him with the third overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft.

His first two seasons with the Friars couldn’t have been more disappointing. He accounted for a combined 1.2 WAR, which was the lowest since his rookie and sophomore campaigns. Hosmer grounded into an alarmingly high number of groundballs, and while his stats last year – 22 home runs and 99 RBI – look impressive on paper, he leaves a lot to be desired defensively.

He’s technically under contract through the 2025 season, but his final three years consist of three player options, each at $13 million per year. It’s a substantial decrease from the $20 million he’ll be making per year until then. However, at age 33, it’s unlikely that another team is going to give him more, so I wouldn’t expect him to opt-out.

That said, if he continues at this pace, don’t be surprised if the Padres work out a bad contract for bad contract trade with another team. But it also presents the predicament that they have next to nothing in the farm system at first base. Wil Myers is capable of playing the position and did so prior to Hosmer’s arrival.

But he’s been the subject of trade rumors as well and is only under contract through the 2022 season with a club option in 2023. The Padres are almost guaranteed to decline that and could be left searching for answers. That said, first base is a position that general manager AJ Preller should focus on in June’s draft.

Niko Kavadas, Notre Dame

Niko Kavadas started 38 games as a true freshman at Notre Dame and saw playing time 47 games. He posted a .299/.409/.445 line with five home runs and 20 RBI over that time frame and spent the summer in the Northwest Woods League.

There he played in 57 games, which is rare for a summer league, and posted an .877 OPS with five home runs and 30 RBI with nearly the same strikeout-to-walk ratio as his freshman year. As noted, it’s encouraging for me to see players who can play well in wood-bat leagues, so Kavadas checks all the boxes.

Returning to campus for his sophomore year, Kavadas posted a .274/.390/.517 line with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, and 43 RBI to along with a 55-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Health is not a concern for him as both he and fellow infielder, Jared Miller, were the only two to play all 54 games.

Despite his success the previous summer, Kavadas played in the Cape Cod League, smacking a league-high nine home runs in 40 games. Prior to the shutdown, he posted a 1.006 OPS in 13 games and already had seven home runs on the year.

His defense at first base is above-average and is extremely athletic for a guy who is already 6-foot-2, 230 pounds.

Jacob Teter, Florida Southern

While Baseball America has Jacob Teter ranked as the 172nd prospect in this draft class, he has the potential to be one of the best-kept secrets. At 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, Jacob Teter is an already slightly smaller version of Derrek Lee.

The Melbourne, Florida native played in 57 games as a true freshman and posted a .350/.413/.575 line with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, and 54 RBI. He, too, displayed tremendous patience for how young he was, with a 36-to-36 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In his sophomore year, Teter posted a .316/.417/.471 line with eight doubles, seven home runs, and 51 RBI. He also took more walks than strikeouts while playing perfect defense at first base. Like most, Teter participated in the Cape Cod League after his sophomore year, where he posted a .292/.356/.373 line with five doubles, two home runs, and 31 RBI in 42 games.

In an abbreviated season, he was on track to post his best numbers yet. Through 22 games, Teter had a .329/.485/.618 line with seven home runs and 18 RBI. He’s a strong left-handed bat and became just the fifth player from Florida Southern to earn SSC baseball Freshman of the Year honors.