Dylan Lesko

Lesko could have been the first pitcher off the board in 2022 had he not needed Tommy John surgery in the spring. When healthy, the 6-foot-3 righty has a mid-90s fastball that explodes on hitters, a changeup that projects as a double-plus offering, and a high-spin curveball that needs some refinement. The prep righty from Georgia has a picturesque delivery, leading evaluators to project plus command/control down the road. The Padres rolled the dice on Lesko's talent winning out, selecting him with the 15th overall pick and making him the first high school arm off the board. While there is not a 100 percent success rate with Tommy John surgery, many teenage pitchers who throw that hard end up getting the surgery at some point early in their careers, so the fact he has already had the procedure doesn't make him significantly more risky than his classmates who throw hard and were healthy on draft day. He should return to game action in the second half of the 2023 season. Read Past Outlooks