We have been talking to Jim Callis since before he moved from Baseball America in 2013 to MLBPipeline to join Jonathan Mayo and later Sam Dykstra as the core of their prospect team.
We connected with Callis to talk about the Padres’ 2026 draft, which included 17 college players. Still, the first two picks of Coleman Borthwick and Elliot Lascelles followed the model of previous A.J. Preller-led drafts.
With the Padres having many older players on the big league roster, did you think that A.J. Preller and his staff slightly altered their strategy and selected more college players who require less development time in this year’s draft?
Jim Callis: Yes and no. They are going to spend the bulk of their pool money on the first two picks, Coleman Borthwick and Elliot Lascelles. When I say the bulk, it could be 60% to 70% on those two guys. So, without knowing the exact figures, the reason so many college guys were selected could be to pay for the first two.
Coleman Borthwick was the team MVP for Team USA and a two-way player. (Photo: wbsc.org)
Coleman Borthwick is 6-foot-6, and your report said that he was listed at 255 pounds and a two-way player who was bound for Auburn. Was he that good a position player?
Jim Callis: He’s probably even bigger than that. I was in an elevator with him for one of our Futures Game events, and he was every bit of that. He was the MVP of the USA 18U National Team in Okinawa, Japan, and is just a very physical, talented athlete.
Like most high school guys taken that high in the draft, he was utterly dominant in high school and did play shortstop. At Auburn, he was going to be a third baseman, but pitching is what everyone was really excited about with him.
He’s been up to 98 on the mound, has a feel for a changeup and a mid-80s slider. To me, his athleticism and ability to repeat his delivery stand out.
A classic Padres’ high-upside pick under A.J. Preller.
Elliott Lascelles with Team Canada. (Photo: MLB Pipeline).
We got asked a question on a recent podcast, Friar Territory with Darren Smith and Marty Caswell, about how MLB scouts evaluate players like Canadian Elliot Lascelles. What is your understanding of the process?
Jim Callis: It’s actually easier to evaluate the top Canadian guys because they are playing above their weight classes by facing professional teams in Florida and Arizona in the spring.
Elliott Lascelles hit .389 in 54 at-bats against minor league arms. He can really hit. Right now, he’s more gap-to-gap with opposite-field power as a left-handed hitter. There might be some more power as he starts to fill out, and some evaluators would give him a plus grade on his speed.
The big question will be whether he can stay at shortstop. He’s a very heady player, and supposedly, he will get a record bonus for a Canadian position player to keep him from going to Yale this fall.
Ryan Lynch on the mound with the Tar Heels. (Photo: UNC Sports)
Ryan Lynch is listed as a starter, but that looks like a lot of effort. Do you see him as a starter going forward?
Jim Callis: He was a dominant reliever as a freshman, and I’m not sure that the scouts that I have spoken with are sold on him as a starter because he’s mainly a two-pitch guy: a power sinker and slider. He has a changeup, but it’s not as effective as his two best pitches.
That being said, he will get every opportunity as a starter; he’s athletic and has good size. However, if he doesn’t pan out as a starter, his profile is as a late-inning reliever with the stuff he has now.
Alex Conover had an interesting write-up on your site; everything from a rising hitter that can play left and center – to someone who caught in high school. In a way, he sounded a little like Ryan Wideman last year.
Alex Conover made strides in his second season at Oklahoma State. (Photo: the O’Colly.com)
Jim Callis: They are different players. Wideman is more of a special athlete, while Conover has a better idea of the strike zone. I think teams laid in the weeds on Conover because he struggled in his first year at Oklahoma State after a big JuCo freshman season.
This season, he cut his chase rate and really put up some offensive numbers. He will probably be better on the left than in center.
Thoughts on Robbie Lavey and James Guyette?
Jim Callis: Well, Robbie Lavey went to my high school [Oakton High School in Virginia], so that is certainly worth something. He’s a left-handed-hitting, offensive-minded catcher. I’m not sure if anything is really plus at the plate, but right now, that is the profile of a big league catcher. As a catcher, he has a 55 arm and, from what we’ve seen, should be able to stay behind there.
James Guyette is an “east-west” guy with a good sinker and slider, and some fade to his changeup. The Padres took him pretty much where he was expected to go in rounds five through seven.
How much of a chance does San Diego have to sign Borthwick’s high school teammate, Denton Lord, or was he just an emergency pick if something went wrong with the medicals on Borthwick and Lascelles?
Jim Callis: He’s going to Mississippi State. As you said, teams will take players like this if something unexpected happens in the medicals with Borthwick and Lascelles. It’s always just more of an insurance policy.
Josh Skowronski has a lot of big tools. (Photo: Winthrop Athletics)
Finally, the Padres have been really aggressive with signing undrafted free agents. They have signed nine so far, including Aidan Cochrane, a right-handed high school pitcher from Connecticut. I know that you pay attention to this. Did anyone stand out to you?
Jim Callis: I do! Just not so much yet, this year. Looking at the Baseball America Undrafted Free Agent Tracker, Drew Detlefsen is a nice senior sign from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He was the conference player of the year. Jack Pineau is a righty with pitchability from Creighton, and Tyler Pitzer was the Pitcher of the Year on the Cape Cod League. If I remember correctly, he had an ERA of 0.34 in 26.1 innings. Josh Skowronski is a real data pick, with some really strong metrics, and has some size at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds.
