SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres selected left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers from Loretto High School (Tenn.) with the seventh overall pick in MLB's 2018 First-Year Player Draft, Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller and Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Conner announced today.
Recommended by Padres Area Scout Tyler Stubblefield, Weathers, 18, went 10-0 with a 0.09 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 76.0 innings pitched as a senior in 2018, allowing just 24 hits and 10 walks while earning 2018 Gatorade's Tennessee Baseball High School Player of the Year honors. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound left-hander also hit .434 at the plate with nine doubles, five home runs, 31 runs scored, 26 RBI and 13 stolen bases with a .559 OBP and .747 SLG %. The son of 19-year major league veteran pitcher David Weathers, Ryan led the Mustangs to the Class A Tennessee state championship as a junior in 2017, setting a Tennessee high school tournament record with 28 strikeouts. He also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2017 U-18 World Cup in Canada, posting two scoreless outings.
The Padres will make two more selections on the first day of the draft with the 38^th and 74^th overall selections. The draft will continue tomorrow at 10:05 a.m. PT with rounds 3-10 and will conclude on Wednesday, June 6, with rounds 11-40.