The Padres and third-rounder Cole Wilcox are in agreement on a $3.3MM signing bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (on Twitter). With the deal, Wilcox, a right-hander out of the University of Georgia, receives a record bonus for a third-round pick and absolutely shatters his slot value of $767,800.
Entering the draft, Wilcox was widely regarded as a potential first-round talent, but as a draft-eligible sophomore, he had some leverage working in his favor. Concerns over signability might’ve caused some clubs to pass, and the fact that Wilcox’s eventual bonus aligns closely with what would’ve been Top 20 slot money illustrates the difficulties other teams may have had in hammering out a deal. The Padres signed top pick Robert Hassell III nearly $900K under-slot, though, and they also “saved” $450K on third-rounder Owen Caissie and fourth-rounder Levi Weaver alike.
Wilcox, 20, ranked inside the draft’s 25 best prospects in the opinion of The Athletic’s Keith Law (No. 14), FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen (No. 18), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (No. 23) and the team at MLB.com (No. 23) and Baseball America (No. 24). Wilcox’s fastball reached 100 mph in a bullpen role and sat mid- to upper-90s as a starter, Law notes. He also has the makings of a pair of above-average offspeed pitches, with his slider ahead of his changeup by most counts (although Callis & Co. believe the opposite to be the case in their report).
As with any pitching prospect, there are some red flags — notably Wilcox’s at-times spotty command — but his 6’5″, 232-pound frame and arsenal of power offerings are enough for Padres fans to dream on as the organization adds yet another high-end talent to its minor league ranks.
Hell yeah.
Future HoF
I didn’t know this article was about Blake Swihart or Rob Refsnyder
Don’t sleep on Clint Frazier.
Kudos to AJ for keeping the pipeline full of prospects. For a variety of reasons, many young players do not advance to MLB. But a full pipeline increases yours odds of some bubbling to the top.
The way Friedman and the Dodgers are looking, the Pads are going to need to hit on as many prospects as possible.
Well played, AJ… well played.
I agree, draft as many high end prospects as possible. Some will meet their expectation. That’s a nice deal for a top 20 prospect
Fully tumescent
Beast! Padres scouting is 2nd to none, awful at free agency(Hosmer, Machado, Kinsler), debateable on trades(Myers,Hand, Franmil/Paddack, Tatis )and jury is still out on player development. Darren Balsley now in the minors is going to be a huge asset for our pitchers. Excited to see our top 13 prospects headed to 60 man roster and get some great competition. Go Padres!
Basically got another 1st rounder. Well done. I wonder if he will be added to the 60 man roster.
I think Dennis Lin said he would likely be
Gore
Patino
Paddack
Lamet
Wilcox
Not a bad starting 5
Starting to look pretty darn good!
looks to be a successful draft and signing period for Preller and Co.. I would have to assume that both Hassell and Wilcox slide into the Padres top 10 prospects list, getting 2 guys in the same draft that can rank that high in such a good farm system is quite amazing. I can’t wait to see who they can add Internationally come January.
The Padres need to change their name to the “San Diego Prospects”. All we hear about is how stacked their minor league system is but they can’t seem to win over 80 games in MLB. It’s time for them to promote some of these ‘can’t miss’ prospects or trade them for proven talent. Then again, if I were a Padres fan, I’m not sure I’d trust Preller’s assessment on what proven talent is, or how much to give up for it.
It’s time for the Padres to nut up or shut up. The Dodgers seem to be the only team in the West that can turn it’s minor league talent into bonafide stars in MLB.
I actually think if they play, the Padres will be a dark horse. This is the season they go all the way, if there is a season
If they can do it this year they can do it next year. They aren’t losing anyone important to FA next year unless you like Profar and by that point names like MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino will have made their way to the majors.
Hey Vegas: If the Padres go all the way this year, that means they slipped it real good to the Dodgers.
That’s a fair assessment, Dorothy. For too long we have felt like the disrespected little brother to the LA boys. Our stated “window of contention” was always aimed around competing in 2021 so we should start to see the fruits of our labor and toil soon. I hope people are still sleeping on us because that would make the surprise even more fun! I’m super excited to be a Padre fan right now; how many other team’s fans can say that right now?
Hey Dorothy: You’re hating cause they’ve had the best prospects for years? What an idiot you are. “It’s time for the Padres to nut up or shut up.”? Snap on a large bag of ballpark peanuts over that mini-you of yours and say that to Preller to his face. “The Dodgers seem to be the only team in the West that can turn it’s minor league talent into bonafide stars in MLB.” Not into World Champs, evidently. The $300,000,000 they get yearly for 25 years ($8.4 Billion) from their Time Warner deal allows them to sign and carry the equivalent of TWO teams on their 25 man roster. Time for your Bridesmaids to nut up and win a WS. Until they do, they’re nothing—just like you.
What makes him draft eligible as a sophomore?
Turning 21 years old 45 days after draft day or earlier.
Hey jorge: Same thing that made him eligible as a high school graduate.
Great player, great signing, great future… let’s give it 5 years to reassess but already looking like a great draft!
Levi Thomas was their 4th round pick, not Levi Weaver.