July 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nThe 18-year-old was the first high school right-hander drafted this year and marked the third straight year that the Padres have drafted a high school arm.<\/p>\n
Borthwick, ranked No. 43 in the draft class by MLB.com, is committed to Auburn. He was a two-way prospect in high school, but the Padres drafted him as a pitcher.<\/p>\n
The Padres haven\u2019t used their first pick of a draft on a college player since selecting Cal Quantrill eighth overall in 2016.<\/p>\n
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Borthwick was named the 2025-26 Gatorade Florida Baseball Player of the Year. He led South Walton High School to a state title, posting an 0.21 ERA while striking out 121 batters against seven walks in 65 \u2154 innings. He also slugged nine homers and posted a 1.498 OPS as the team\u2019s third baseman.<\/p>\n
The Padres have four more picks today, including a compensation pick (No. 134) for losing Dylan Cease to free agency after making him a qualifying offer after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
Read about Saturday\u2019s draftees as they come in below:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
ROUND 1<\/p>\n
RHP Coleman Borthwick<\/p>\n
School: South Walton High (Fla.)
\nOverall: 21
\nRecommended slot value: $4.22 million
\nAge: 18
\nBats \/ Throws: Right \/ Right
\nHeight \/ Weight: 6-foot-6 \/ 245 pounds
\nCollege commitment: Auburn
\nRanked No. 25 by Baseball America: \u201cHe\u2019s the top-ranked high school righthander in the class thanks to his physicality, pure stuff and standout athleticism that leads to impressive control and command. Borthwick\u2019s delivery is a bit unusual because of his size, but he has an efficient and quick arm action that he repeats well from a low three-quarters slot. Borthwick overpowers high school hitters with a fastball that was up to 98 mph during the 2025 showcase circuit and touched 100 during his senior season at South Walton High, where his father Nick is the head coach. He throws an overpowering fastball that\u2019s regularly in the mid 90s and has double-plus potential thanks to its velocity and his low arm slot. Borthwick\u2019s go-to secondary is a mid-80s slider that, like his fastball, has unusual power for a high school pitcher. It\u2019s a snappy breaking ball with late two-plane action that regularly looked like a plus pitch during the summer, though scouts thought it was a bit more inconsistent in the spring. He has a mid-80s changeup that he rarely uses, but it could become an average third piece with more reps.\u201d
\nRanked No. 43 by MLB.com: \u201cBorthwick has the size, pitch mix and makeup to be a future workhorse starter near the top of a big league rotation one day. While he\u2019ll sit 93-95 mph mostly with his fastball, he\u2019s shown the ability to get the heater up to 97-98 mph with good life up in the zone and to both sides of the plate. His best secondary offering is a hard 84-85 mph slider that can flash plus and miss a ton of bats. He has a really good feel for spin, though at times he can try to do too much. There\u2019s some feel for a changeup with some fading action, but he doesn\u2019t use it much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
==<\/p>\n
ROUND 2<\/p>\n
SS Elliot Lascelles<\/p>\n
School: Upper Canada College HS (Ontario)
\nOverall: 60
\nRecommended slot value: $1.56 million
\nAge: 18
\nBats \/ Throws: Left \/ Right
\nHeight \/ Weight: 6-foot-1 \/ 181 pounds
\nCollege commitment: Yale
\nNotes from the Padres\u2019 war room: \u201cOutstanding performance vs. pro-level arms, elite bat-to-ball skills and above-average athleticism in \u2026 projectable frame.\u201d
\nRanked No. 118 by Baseball America: \u201cHe has a lean, still-projectable frame, at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and uses a balanced and compact swing. He sets up with an even, crouched stance and takes his hands directly to the ball with few moving components and a line-drive oriented swing. Lascelles has shown impressive feel for the zone throughout his prep career. He doesn\u2019t chase much, and when he does swing he makes a ton of contact and does a nice job using the middle of the field from gap to gap. He looks like a hitter who will hit for average, walk at a solid clip and be difficult to strike out, though he might never be the biggest power hitter. He has the frame to suggest average raw power at physical maturity, though getting to 20-plus home run power in games might require an approach shift. Lascelles is a plus runner with a quick first step who has the actions to stick at shortstop. He\u2019s a fluid mover with middle infield actions and solid-average arm strength that should allow him to stick at the position.\u201d
\nRanked No. 158 by MLB.com: \u201cThe left-handed swinging Lascelles has pretty much hit wherever he\u2019s been. This spring was no different, when he hit a combined .389 with four extra-base hits in 54 at-bats against Minor League arms. It\u2019s a little bit of an unorthodox setup at the plate, with his elbows far apart and a steep bat path when he swings, but he routinely sends line drives up the middle with a left- to-right-center field approach. He doesn\u2019t always get into his legs, leading to some questions about how much power he\u2019ll have. Lascelles also runs track for his high school and he\u2019s a borderline plus runner who knows how to steal a base. The jury is out whether he can stick at shortstop long term, with work to be done on his first step and range and an average-ish arm that might be better suited for second base. It\u2019s the bat that teams will be buying.\u201d<\/p>\n
==<\/p>\n
ROUND 3<\/p>\n
RHP Ryan Lynch<\/p>\n
School: North Carolina
\nOverall: 97
\nRecommended slot value: $808,100
\nAge: 21 (Sophomore)
\nBats \/ Throws: Right \/ Right
\nHeight \/ Weight: 6-foot-3 \/ 215 pounds
\n2026 stats: 5-4, 4.21 ERA, 89 strikeouts, 36 walks, 1.40 WHIP, 98 \u2153 IP (19 games, 18 starts)
\nNotes from the Padres\u2019 war room: \u201cBig, physical body, plus sinker\/slider combo and up to 99 with the fastball.\u201d
\nRanked No. 94 by Baseball America: \u201cLynch looks like a big league pitcher. He does an excellent job getting down the mound with a sidearm slot that creates a unique look for hitters, with above-average extension and a release point that\u2019s consistently under five feet. It\u2019s not smoke-and-mirrors stuff, either. Lynch averages 95 mph and will touch 99 with a running fastball that he throws about 70% of the time. It\u2019s a pitch that drives plenty of ground balls\u2014he has a 51% career groundball rate\u2014but might never be a significant miss pitch. For empty swings Lynch goes to a mid-80s sweeping slider that has power, high pure spin rates and more than 10 inches of gloveside break. It\u2019s an effective pitch against righties, but Lynch is still trying to figure out a secondary for right-on-left matchups. He was a two-pitch pitcher as a reliever, but has used an upper-80s changeup more often in 2026 as a starter.\u201d
\nRanked No. 98 by MLB.com: \u201cHe has been more steady than spectacular in a full-time rotation role this spring and scouts aren\u2019t sold on him as a starter. Lynch\u2019s best pitch is a power sinker that sits at 94-96 mph and tops out at 98 with plenty of horizontal action, making it difficult to lift. His slider operates at 83-85 mph with both depth and sweep, sometimes breaking so much that it\u2019s tough to control or induce chases with it, and it has been much more hittable as he has worked longer stints. He has developed an upper-80s changeup but struggles to throw it for strikes and it gets whacked when he does. Lynch has a strong 6-foot-3 frame built for rotation work, and the extension and low release height in his delivery create plenty of deception. He\u2019s throwing more strikes this year as a starter, though he still needs to refine his command. He was dynamic coming out of the bullpen last year and has closer upside if he returns to that role.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t