Padres 1st Rd Pick: Ryan Weathers

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Before we dive into the selection, lets hear it from the Mad Scientist himself on the Padres' draft philosophy.



Throw a tantrum if you want about the Padres not selecting Matthew Liberatore or Carter Stewart, but you must assume that the Padres were following their philosophy and they got the guy they wanted. AJ has always said their scouting method isn't exactly in line with everyone else out there. I call grabbing the 2018 Gatorade National Player of the Year  at good value and then using that recouped value towards future rounds (including their next selection - Xavier Edwards) a success.

Get to know Ryan Weathers. LHP, Loretto High School (Tenn.)

Weathers is 6'2" and 210 lbs. with a fastball in the low 90s that can touch 95-96 mph. He has excellent command of his changeup for his age with a plus curve. Along with his actual abilities he has an  Xfactor; his father was a MLB pitcher for 19 years. David Weathers has prepared his son for his future in a department that has been deemed "90% of sports": the mental side of the game. Hear it from Ryan himself, from an interview with SB Nation:
What’s your biggest strength as a pitcher? (SB Nation)
Ryan: My mind for the game. My dad taught me the ins and outs of baseball and usually there’s not a situation you can throw at me because he’s prepped me mentally for all that stuff. For that I’m grateful for because as a pitcher it’s all about your mental game as much as your ability. Most of your game is above your shoulders, that’s what you need to have as a pitcher. My dad has worked that tool in me and I’ve been able to use and abuse it for good.
The kid is an athlete. Not only was his vigorous on the mound in his high school career, posting over 400 K's, he was also exceptional with the bat in his hand. He played any position his team needed, including the OF and 1B. His head coach at Lorreto HS, Gary Lahm, went on the record proclaiming "even though he's left handed, I'm sure he could play shortstop, third and catch. He's a kid that's all in."

On his player profile, Weathers' "MLB Player Comparison" is Jon Lester according to MLB.com. The Vanderbilt commit is expected to sign slightly lower than his slot value ($5,226,500) and has future grades of 55 across the board on the 20/80 scale. That projects as a 3rd/4th starter according to Fangraphs. There is a belief that Weathers may have the highest floor of all the high school pitchers in the draft.

His senior season, he had better numbers than Mackenzie Gore, The Padres 2017 first round pick (3rd overall). Weathers had stats in his senior season that your created player in PS4's MLB The Show couldn't match: he had an ERA of 0.09 in 76 innings while striking out 148 batters.

“He’s a guy we’re very excited to select, a lot of time and effort went into scouting him.” Preller said. "We think is one of the best high school pitchers in the country this year and another premium lefty that we add to our system.”

Reaction from a Non-Padres Contributor

 From Jim Callis (MLB.com)
He is one of the two best left-handers in this Draft, along with Phoenix high schooler Matthew Liberatore. Weathers has solid pitches -- a riding 90-95 mph fastball, a hard curveball and an advanced changeup. The son of 19-year big leaguer David Weathers, Ryan has a good delivery, repeats it well and has deceptive athleticism.
Here's Al Leiter's take from the broadcast last night:


Here's a video of him simply devastating both Japan and South Korea at the U-18 Baseball World  Cup for Team USA.



In that tournament he pitched 9.2 innings, giving up zero runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 12. I really like how he pin points a two strike high/outside fastball to right handed hitters at the 0:08 and 0:20 second marks, and then vs lefties at 0:28. Then you see him mix in his curve, which produced an oh shit swing from the left handed batter at the 0:37 mark and then an oh shit non swing at 1:16. Even the naive observer can tell that that curve is tough for lefties to pick up.

Best Tweet about the pick from Padres Twitter:

No-Brainer, well done Chris.


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