Padres select Trea Turner with 13th pick in MLB Draft
Follow the first day of the MLB Draft (Rounds 1 & 2) with theScore draft tracker.
The San Diego Padres selected North Carolina State shortstop Trea Turner with the 13th pick of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on Thursday.
Turner, who boasts two years of college experience at shortstop, possesses game-changing speed at a premium position. Though he lacks offensive upside, Turner's defensive prowess and plus-plus speed give him a chance to be a leadoff hitter in professional baseball.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound shortstop earned All-ACC first team honors this season after leading the Wolfpack in home runs and on-base percentage, while hitting .321/.418/.516 with 26 stolen bases in 30 attempts.
Padres assistant GM of Player Personnel Chad MacDonald commented on the selection on MLB Network Radio.
The Padres have struggled to develop impact position players in recent years, as evidenced by their 3.18 runs per game average this season, the worst mark in the majors. The club has yielded little value from their recent first-round draft picks.
| Year | Player | Pos | School | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Hunter Rentroe | OF | Mississippi State | 13 |
| 2012 | Walker Weickel | P | Olympia HS | 55 |
| 2012 | Travis Janikowski | OF | State U of NY at Stony Brook | 44 |
| 2012 | Zach Eflin | P | Hagerty HS | 33 |
| 2012 | Max Fried | P | Harvard-Westlake School | 7 |
| 2011 | Jace Peterson | SS | McNeese State | 58 |
| 2011 | Brett Austin (DNS) | C | Providence HS | 54 |
| 2011 | Michael Kelly | P | West Boca Raton Community HS | 48 |
| 2011 | Joe Ross | P | Bishop O'Dowd HS | 25 |
| 2011 | Cory Spangenberg | 2B | Indian River State College | 10 |
| 2010 | Karsten Whitson (DNS) | P | Chipley HS | 9 |
| 2009 | Donavan tate | CF | Cartersville HS | 3 |
Though Everth Cabrera is firmly installed as San Diego's shortstop, the 27-year-old has struggled offensively this season and will be eligible for free agency after the 2016 campaign.