619 Sports: Padres draft gamble on Tate worthwhile

The Padres showed a change in draft philosophy by taking Donavan Tate. (AP file photo)

I possess self control, self knowledge, Self respect, and the courage to dare.

—Buddhist Prayer

For the past decade, the Padres have suffered through a string of unfortunate first-round draft picks. Mark Phillips was a bust in 2000. Jake Gautreau suffered from a rare intestinal disease and never panned out. Khalil Greene made the big leagues but only delivered intermittently on his promise.

Tim Stauffer was hurt and has won only four games in his career. Matt Bush was one of the worst No. 1 picks in history. Cesar Carrillo went from college ace to injured minor leaguer. Matt Antonelli reached the bigs briefly but has hit a brick wall. Nick Schmidt — another college ace, another arm injury. Allan Dykstra, bad hip, maybe a bad pick.

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Nine years, nine picks, and only one player (Greene) who made any sort of big league impact. It is the draft that has failed the Padres more than anything else and in more ways than one.

First: bad selections — players who simply failed.

Second: an organizational philosophy in which the Padres drafted more not to lose than to win. Signability trumped tools. The polished, less expensive college player ruled over the riskier high school pick (except in Bush’s case, when as the high schooler, he failed as the “safer” option). The Padres tried to sacrifice upside for affordability and a quickly projectable player…and wound up with neither.

Padres fans, I don’t know if it will work out or go up in flames like so many picks before, but you can say this for sure: your team drafted to win in 2009. They went out on a limb, took a chance, pushed their stack into the center of the table pre-flop. Donavan Tate is an opportunity. He is a risk and a possible reward. And it’s that type of pick, if backed up by the proper financial incentive, that will help this organization turn the corner.

Tate is athletic, fast, and in demand. He is 18 and on a full ride to play both baseball AND football at the University of North Carolina. He can be a Tar Heels quarterback on the gridiron, and a part of a baseball team that has reached three straight College World Series. Tate is represented by Scott Boras and will demand a hefty signing bonus to lure him away from Carolina Blue and into the Blue and Sand.

John Moores would never have approved the drafting of Donavan Tate. He wouldn’t have wanted to pony up the cash to sign him. Sandy Alderson would have frowned on taking tools over on-base percentage; raw talent over statistical projectability. But Harold Reynolds summed it up simply on the MLB Network’s coverage of the draft when he said:

“The Padres are the most boring team to watch in the Major Leagues”

Bingo. This team needs athletes. It needs potential superstars, not middle-rotation pitchers and No. 7 hitters. Tate is considered the top high school athlete in the draft with a body built for center field and a frame that’s strong with room to grow. The Padres may have drafted the next Eric Davis.

Then again, Tate may never wear a Padres uniform. This pick comes with inherent risk. The team must lure a player into the pros who has a wonderful college career laid out in front of him. How fun would it be to become a B.M.O.C. in Chapel Hill, a two-sport star — a hero in the fall and the spring?

Fun enough to raise the price tag by a million or two. Throw in the fact that the Padres are in an ownership transition and are beset by financial woes, and the risk is magnified.

But this is exactly the type of risk that the San Diego Padres have to take as an organization. If they fail to sign Tate by Aug. 15, it will be a spectacular failure. But if they can find the wherewithal and the negotiating savvy to hook their fish, it will make a statement to the fans, season ticket holders, and to the players themselves. Guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell have to be wondering if the Padres are truly committed to winning. Drafting and signing Tate would go a long way to answering that question.

I salute this selection, and the chutzpah that it took for the Padres’ scouting team and front office to bite the bullet and truly take the best player available. Donavan Tate may not sign; and even if he does he may not pan out. But the Padres swung for the fences with their first-round draft pick this year. For once, they had the courage to dare. Even if they strike out, the effort deserves applause.

Craig Elsten is a 619 Sports personality and will be contributing regularly to SDNN. For more, visit www.619Sports.net.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Baseball, Padres, Sports . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.