Robby Snelling

Snelling had one of the more impressive full-season debuts of a prep pitcher draftee in recent memory. The No. 39 overall pick in 2022 logged a 1.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 103.2 innings while climbing from Single-A to Double-A as a 19-year-old. A four-star recruit as a linebacker, Snelling gets rave reviews for his makeup and competitiveness. He has a muscular 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame and sits in the mid-90s with his high-spin fastball. The young lefty has a plus spike curveball and two potentially average pitches in his changeup and slider. His pitchability, command and fastball/curveball combination give him a reasonable mid-rotation floor and a chance to exceed that projection with further development of his changeup or slider. The Padres lack quality starting pitching depth, so Snelling could rapidly ascend to the big leagues if he performs early in his age-20 season.