San Diego Padres: The 5 worst draft picks of the 2000s

The San Diego Padres typically don’t make the best selections in the annual MLB draft. Though they have made some great picks, they’ve made several bad ones that weren’t worthwhile.

The Padres have invested a lot of money in some draft picks that didn’t end up playing in MLB at all. Other players played very short careers that didn’t go far.

These five players stand out as the worst Padres draft picks of the 2000s.

2001 — Padres select Jake Gautreau in Round 1, Pick 14

Jake Gautreau was drafted by the Padres in 2001 in the first round as a third baseman with a $1.875 million bonus. He was drafted from Tulane University. However, he never played an MLB game.

He played his last minor league season in 2007 at the Triple-A level. Throughout his minor league career, he hit .255/.326/.426 for an OPS of .752. He seemed to show promising potential at the beginning of his career in the minors, but he lost steam toward the end.

During his first ever minor league season in 2001 at the High-A level, he hit .309/.389/.517 for an OPS of .906. In his last season at Triple-A, he hit .226/.250/.363 for an OPS of .613. Despite not having a career in MLB, he stuck with baseball and helps develop young prospects.

Gautreau is now a D1 assistant baseball coach at Mississippi State University.

2005 — Padres select Cesar Carrillo in Round 1, Pick 18

Cesar Carrillo was the first-round pick for the Padres in 2005. He was drafted from the University of Miami as a right-handed pitcher with a $1.55 million bonus. The Padres invested a lot of money in him, but he didn’t last long in MLB.

Carrillo played just three games in 2009. He started all three games before going back to the minors. He played in the minors until 2019 and didn’t have the best career. His numbers were extremely inconsistent. Over the entirety of his minor league career, he pitched an earned-run average of 5.50, batting average against of .285 and WHIP of 1.52.

He also hasn’t played consistently. The most games he has played in one season was 27, but he’s only played 20 or more games in five seasons. He, unfortunately, didn’t do much for the franchise.

2006 — Padres select Matt Antonelli in Round 1, Pick 17

Matt Antonelli was drafted by the Padres in 2006 in the first round from Wake Forest University. He was drafted as a third baseman with a $1.575 million bonus. His MLB career was short-lived through only one season.

He played in San Diego in 2008 and didn’t stand out. Over 57 at-bats, he hit .193/.292/.281 for an OPS of .573. After, he played in the minors for a few seasons until 2013. In the minors, he hit .258/.368/.395 for an OPS of .763.

At the end of 2010, Antonelli was granted free agency and was signed and released by a few teams without success in coming back into MLB.

He, unfortunately, appeared to lose steam after 2007. He played decent in the majors, but showed a lot more potential prior. In 2007, he had his best season and hit .307/.404/.491 for an OPS of .895. After that, he produced an OPS of less than .700 during all but one season.

2012 — Padres select Walker Weickel in Round 1, Pick 55

Walker Weickel was selected by the Padres in the first round as a right-handed pitcher with a $2 million bonus. He was drafted out of Olympia High School in Orlando, Fla. Unfortunately, he never played at a level higher than Double-A.

Over his minor league career, Weickel pitched an ERA of 4.68, BAA of .267 and WHIP of 1.42. He didn’t have great results in the minors and played less than 25 games each season, excluding his final season in 2019.

Weickel seemingly had more success in high school. According to Max Preps, he was 6-4 with an ERA of 2.94 and a mid-90s fastball his junior year. He also played internationally and won the Junior Pan Am Championship.

He wasn’t able to repeat his success in the minor leagues. He played his best season in 2017 with an ERA of 3.01, BAA of .221 and WHIP of 1.00. This was uncommon considering his best ERA prior was 4.38, but he also finished two seasons above 5.00.