Padres News: Updated 2023 Mock Draft Has New OF Landing in San Diego

The mock sees the Padres taking an intriguing high schooler early in the draft.

Unfortunately for the San Diego Padres, things aren't going great lately on the field.

But away from San Diego's current struggles on the diamond, there's reason for optimism going forward for Padres fans.

The 2023 MLB Draft is quickly approaching, with the three-day event set to take place starting on July 9th as part of this year's MLB All Star festivities.

With the draft about two weeks away, teams' plans for the draft are starting to take shape, including what the Padres will do with the No. 25 overall pick.

There's plenty of quality prospects that should be available around the time that the Padres get on the clock, and Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter has them taking high school outfielder Dillon Head with their first round selection.

There's plenty to like about Head, most notably his speed, and Reuter had this to say about him in his mock draft.

A.J. Preller and the Padres front office have long targeted upside over polish, and Head fits the bill as a tooled-up high school outfielder from the Chicagoland area. An elite athlete with 80-grade speed and a good enough hit tool to make the most of those wheels offensively, he also profiles as one of the best defensive center fielders in this class.

For those unaware, prospects are graded on the 20-80 scale, 20 being well below average and 80 being well above average.

The fact that Head possesses 80-grade speed already certainly makes him an attractive option in center field.

The lefty bat also has a 55 hit tool per MLB.com, very much advanced for a player at this stage of his development, and making him one of the better prospects that's projected to be available in the back half of the first round, regardless of class.

It would be a few years until the Clemson commit would make the major leagues, given that he's a high school prospect, but if they were to get a player like Head, he could definitely develop into a solid player going forward as he enters into a professional organization.