 06/05/2002 10:45 pm ET
Padres stick with position players
By Sandy Burgin / MLB.com
• Padres' round-by-round picks
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres may have kept with their plan of drafting more position players, but they still reached out in the 36th round to selected a 6-2, 200-pound senior right-hander from Cal Poly.
Greg Bochy is his name and, yes, indeed it is the son of Padres manager Bruce Bochy.
"I'm happy for Greg," said Bochy after Thursday's 12-2 debacle at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. "I haven't had a chance to speak with him. He's been drafted a couple of times, once by us and once by Texas. He's a senior at Cal Poly and I think he's going to be very appreciative of it.
"This year hasn't been the best for him, but he's been throwing better lately," Bochy said. "It's something he can be very proud of."
Does he want to give it a go at the next level?
"I don't know, I haven't had a chance to speak with him about it," Bochy said. "He felt like his arm was coming around. He had surgery about a year ago. Sometimes it take some time. I think more than anything he wanted an opportunity and he's very appreciative of it."
Bochy said that his son had thrown in the 88-to-89 mph range, but then had Labrum surgery. The healing process takes time, but Bochy says his son "feels like he's turned the corner and is getting his stuff by."
As for the Padres draft, scouting director Bill "Chief" Gayton, said, "Our plan all along was to go with more positional players like we did a year ago."
Gayton helped select 24 position players. Included in that group were no less than five catchers, an area where the organization needs some beefing up in the minor leagues.
"We're just kind of stock piling them especially with the depth in the organization being pitching," Gayton said. "We didn't feel like the depth in this year's draft was particularly good from a pitchers standpoint.
"We went after as many positional players as possible," Gayton said. "And with what we were able to do last year, our organization is going to be in much better shape in the near future."
Gayton said the Padres are looking at their No. 1 pick shortstop Khalil Greene from Clemson "as a guy that will hopefully stay up the middle for us. No. 2 (Clemson first baseman Michael Johnson) we went power, and No. 3, (Indiana University outfielder Kennard Jones) we got the speed guy we wanted. So we addressed three areas and ended up with speed and power.
Jones is a cousin of Boston Celtics great Sam Jones.
"We addressed some of the needs of the organization," Gayton said. "There's an awful lot of strategy involved. There's a lot of flip-flopping and stacking the board that works best for the organization."
As for selecting Bochy's son?
"This is the third time he's been selected," Gayton said. "He's had some arm problems, but hopefully he'll stay healthy for us. And we'll see how well he can progress through our system."
Greg Bochy was one of 26 pitchers selected by the Padres including right-hander Aaron Coonrod from John A. Logan College and left-hander Sean Thompson from Thurder Ridge (CO) High School, who were taken in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively.
In addition to Johnson, the Padres selected three other first basemen. They also chose three shortstops, one second baseman, one third baseman and 10 outfielders.
And what will Gayton do the next couple of days?
"We start negotiations," said Gayton.
Gayton hopes that he and the Padres fans will have the opportunity to see some of their players, particularly Greene and Johnson in the upcoming College World Series.
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PADRES 2002 DRAFT PICKS |
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| 13 |
KHALIL T GREENE |
SS |
CLEMSON U |
| 54 |
WILLIAM M JOHNSON |
1B |
CLEMSON U |
| 85 |
KENNARD D JONES |
CF |
INDIANA U |
| 115 |
AARON J COONROD |
RHP |
JOHN A LOGAN COL |
| 145 |
SEAN D THOMPSON |
LHP |
THUNDER RIDGE HS |
| 175 |
JOHN A SHORSHER |
C |
SAN JOSE ST U |
| 205 |
MATTHEW J LYNCH |
LHP |
FLORIDA ST U |
| 235 |
LUKE P STEIDLMAYER |
RHP |
U CALIFORNIA |
| 265 |
BRIAN R BURGAMY |
2B CF |
WICHITA ST U |
| 295 |
LEONARD J BIERNBAUM |
LF |
FLORIDA ATLANTIC U |
| 325 |
BRANDON L WILSON |
RHP |
OKALOOSA WALTON CC |
| 355 |
PAUL M MCANULTY |
1B |
CALIFORNIA ST U |
| 385 |
LANCE M PENDLETON |
RHP |
KINGWOOD HS |
| 415 |
GABRIEL RIBAS |
RHP |
NORTHWESTERN U |
| 445 |
ROLANDO AGOSTO |
SS |
UNION U |
| 475 |
KEVIN E BEAVERS |
LHP |
PEPPERDINE U |
| 505 |
RASHAD B SMITH |
CF |
LAMBUTH U |
| 535 |
MICHAEL B GALLAWAY |
LHP |
GRAYSON COUTY CC |
| 565 |
JOHN S GROGAN |
LHP |
OKALOOSA WALTON CC |
| 595 |
GEORGE KOTTARAS |
C |
CONNORS ST COL |
| 625 |
ANDREW C LAROCHE |
SS |
GRAYSON COUNTY COL |
| 655 |
DAVID N KRISCH |
LHP |
CALIFORNIA ST POLY U |
| 685 |
RUSTY L MOORE |
LF |
BETHUNE-COOKMAN COL |
| 715 |
ADAM W MONTARBO |
RHP 3B |
CALIFORNIA ST U |
| 745 |
CHARLES BECHTEL |
RHP |
MARIST COL |
| 775 |
EDWARD J LARATTA |
RHP |
OHIO ST U |
| 805 |
BRIAN WHITAKER |
RHP |
U NORTH CAROLINA |
| 835 |
MICHAEL L RICHARDSON |
LF C |
SONOMA ST U |
| 865 |
STEPHEN A BAKER |
RF |
LIBERTY U |
| 895 |
DANNY DELAO |
LHP |
FRESNO CC |
| 925 |
JARED L WELLS |
RHP |
TYLER JC |
| 955 |
JESUS N ESTRADA |
RHP |
SOCORRO HS |
| 985 |
JOHN W BANACH |
3B |
LAKEWOOD HS |
| 1015 |
WILLIAM F SILVESTRI |
RHP |
DIXIE COL |
| 1045 |
DREW A MACIAS |
CF |
CHAFFEY JC |
| 1075 |
GREG D BOCHY |
RHP |
CALIFORNIA POLY ST U |
| 1105 |
COREY D HALL |
RHP |
SEMINOLE JC |
| 1135 |
BRENDAN J KATIN |
C |
OKALOOSA WALTON CC |
| 1165 |
SCOTT D LONERGAN |
RHP |
POWAY HS |
| 1195 |
DANIEL L FITCH |
C |
MT CARMEL HS |
| 1225 |
RYAN S WERNER |
C |
SAN DIEGO CC |
| 1255 |
BRIAN A WAHLBRINK |
CF |
U CAL RIVERSIDE |
| 1284 |
JASON CATALA |
RF |
MARGARITA JANER HS |
| 1312 |
MARCUS D BARRIGER |
RHP |
KASKASKIA CC |
| 1339 |
CHAD R ETHERIDGE |
LF |
COLUMBIA STATE CC |
| 1366 |
CRAIG D BARTOSH |
CF |
GRAYSON COUNTY COL |
| 1392 |
STEPHEN NAM |
1B 2B |
IONA CSS |
| 1418 |
MATTHEW P MORIZIO |
RHP SS |
WALTHAM HS |
| 1444 |
JOHN R PARSCAL |
LHP |
NORTHGLENN HS |
| 1468 |
CHRISTOPHER T REGAN |
1B LF |
EARL WOOSTER HS |
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Sandy Burgin covers the Padres for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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