It took three days to complete, but the Major League draft ended on Thursday with the Padres scouting department smiling.
"I really like the power arms we took," said Padres scouting director Bill Gayton. "We got some wonderful athletes, like our first-round pick, outfielder Donovan Tate. We also picked some outstanding power pitchers."
It wasn't long after the last player was selected that the Padres started talking about the next step, signing their draft choices. They fully expect that signing Tate, who has Scott Boras as his agent, will be a protracted negotiation.
"Dealing with Scott makes it interesting," Gayton said. "I have a good relationship with his group, but friends and business are two different things. Signing Tate could take a while."
The Padres selected 20 players on the third and final day of the draft. Their first pick on the last day was San Diego State right-hander Jonathan Berger, who was 4-5 for the Aztecs this season with an earned run average of 5.32.
In three days, the Padres drafted 50 players: 26 position players and 24 pitchers. Just seven of the draftees were high school players, led by Tate. The balance were college players.
