The 2025 MLB draft is quickly approaching, and the San Diego Padres have some work to do. After having one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball a few years ago, the Padres now have an average one.
However, with the draft approaching, they'll have an opportunity to improve it, whether they get creative and take college prospects or young high school stars.
In a recent prediction from The Athletic, they had the Padres getting very creative in the draft. The Athletic had them selecting Stele Hall, A Team USA shortstop who reclassified from the 2026 class up to the 2025 class.
He's committed to the University of Tennessee, and according to Perfect Game, is the 20th-ranked high school player in the nation.
“When in doubt, give the Padres a high-upside high school kid, right? Hall’s an 80-grade runner who stays at shortstop and who is very young, as he reclassified into the 2025 draft from 2026. I’ve heard them with Schoolcraft, because everyone assumes they wouldn’t pass up a 6-foot-8 lefty with big velocity after taking a 6-foot-4 lefty (Kash Mayfield) with big velocity last year. I could also see them going for Gage Wood or Patrick Forbes for the same reasons I attached those names to the Royals,” they wrote.
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Hall has average power from the right side, but has shown other tools throughout his career.
He's a bit undersized at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, but if he can grow an inch or two and put on some muscle, he should have the ability to become a potential everyday big league player.
With Xander Bogaerts having a few question marks over the next few years, the Padres may view him as the long-term option at shortstop.