- 2 days ago
AJ Preller & Chris Kemp discuss the selection of Kruz Schoolcraft.
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00:00Yeah, everybody. Thanks for joining us. We're here with AJ Preller and Chris Kemp.
00:03Anybody new to our chats, please put your name into the group chat and we'll go ahead and call on you.
00:09We will go ahead and start with Kyle Glazer, since you got your camera on. Ready to go.
00:15Hey, Chris. Hey, AJ. Congratulations.
00:17When did you guys kind of start to hone in on Cruz as someone that you're interested in and could potentially take with the 25th overall pick?
00:25I'd say about two years ago, to be honest. He's been a famous name and we've been tracking him, I'd say, the last two years and following his progression.
00:34And, you know, felt real comfortable with the work we did and the relationship and knowing the kid and the family.
00:38And it's been a pretty long process following him and scouting him.
00:43And then just to follow up, when did you guys decide, you know, hey, he's going to be our pick if he's there at 25?
00:49You know, there was a process to it today, you know, getting into a 25, bit of a wide net, right?
00:54Kind of went in today with about five to six guys of, hey, what could happen?
00:58You know, there's a chance he goes in front of us, obviously.
01:00So, you know, kind of down to the wire a little bit when you're picking at 25 with a bunch of names you like going off in front.
01:06You know, kind of had to read and react a little bit.
01:09Yes, sir.
01:11We'll go to AJ Kassavu.
01:12I guess just to like you didn't have the second round pick today as a result of Nick Cavetta signing.
01:23And I'm wondering if like seeing Nick do what he did and kind of what the last three drafts have meant for you guys, last few drafts meant for you guys.
01:30If that all kind of like if you took a moment to kind of appreciate like your draft strategy and your process strategy, probably more of a question for AJ.
01:38Yeah, I mean, we obviously we value the draft a ton, you know, so the picks are worth worth a lot.
01:44And, you know, obviously, when we got to this offseason, you know, we understood that, hey, with Nick, it came with with giving up a draft pick.
01:53But, you know, we weigh all of the factors in in terms of how it affects our big league club, how it affects the future in the drafts.
02:00And ultimately, you know, the Pavetta signing, obviously, he's had a great first half.
02:05He's been a huge part of us being in contention and, you know, pitch.
02:09He's pitched very, very well.
02:10And, you know, you know, all star caliber first half for him.
02:15So I think, you know, I think that makes it easier.
02:17You get into a day like today where you always wish you have 10 picks every day on a day like today.
02:22But our group does a great job.
02:24I think we're very resourceful in how we make our dollars work.
02:28And, you know, every year there's good players and, you know, there's good players all the way throughout the draft.
02:32We preach, you know, a complete 20-round draft and even missing that second-round pick.
02:37I know we're, you know, Chris and his group does such a good job.
02:39I know we're going to end up with a lot of players that are going to end up being very valuable for the Padres here down the road.
02:44Chris, what can you tell us about Cruz, who he is as a guy, as a competitor, as a player?
02:50Yeah, you know, very focused, extreme hard worker.
02:52His routines are dialed.
02:55One of the smartest players I think I've scouted in the last few years, being with San Diego, just his history of work ethic, focus level, wanting to learn.
03:04And he competes at a real high level.
03:06So, you know, two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, two-way guy, and he's got a great swing.
03:11He can just do a lot of things we love.
03:15What about him makes you say that he's one of the smartest players?
03:17Was there any specific moment or any specific thing that stands out there?
03:21Just listening to him go through his routines.
03:24You know, we had an in-home visit with him, watching him kind of explain his year out month by month, day to day.
03:31Just the way he goes about his process is on another level than most kids his age.
03:35I think also, AJ, he's a guy that, you know, in all the homework we've done, he's just somebody that's super dedicated and loves the game of baseball.
03:42So, you know, he's worked out with Sean Reynolds, Terry Scubble.
03:46He's, you know, his family was a host family for minor league players.
03:50So he'd been around guys, I believe, like Al Tuve and Kyle Tucker, and the list goes on and on.
03:55So he saw not just star players.
03:56He's been around guys, you know, at all different levels.
03:59His brothers, you know, somebody on that 12U, 13U circuit that's, you know, one of the top players in the country.
04:05It's a baseball family.
04:06They love it.
04:08And he's very, very diligent in his work.
04:09And all you have to do is sit down and talk to him for a few minutes.
04:12And he's somebody that's super prepared and knows what he wants to do, very focused, but is also a kid.
04:17Nice to have fun.
04:18And, you know, you can see that on the field in his high school game.
04:21So it was a nice combination for us as somebody that's very dedicated and very focused with a good baseball family and has a great mind.
04:28But also, you know, there's a lot of upside and potentially I love having fun playing baseball.
04:32So offhand, do you know what – they were a host family for what team, what my own team?
04:39The Hillsborough Hops.
04:41Nice.
04:45Let's go to Jeff Sanders.
04:47Hey, Chris, you mentioned his swing.
04:49You called him as a pitcher.
04:51What are the chances that he might swing the bat?
04:53I know he'd like to.
04:55No, he's going to go out as a pitcher only.
04:57One thing with Cruz, he understands his fastest route to the big leagues will be as a pitcher only.
05:02But it was something we were prepared for.
05:04We had a two-way packet planned for him if that was the route he wanted to go.
05:08But after talking with Cruz, he understands his fastest track to Petco Park will be pitching only.
05:13So we'll be going that route.
05:15Tell me about the stuff that you're dreaming on, the projection of the secondaries that, you know, will go along with that fastball.
05:22Yeah.
05:22I mean, we project him a year from now.
05:24He should be in that 93 to 97 on the fastball.
05:27His slider will be, you know, mid to upper 80s once he gets to our player development.
05:31And it's a plus changeup.
05:32He can throw any count.
05:34And can you tell us a little bit about Ryan Weidman?
05:38Yeah, sure.
05:38He's a 6'5".
05:40He's an 80 runner.
05:42You know, he'll run 4-0 down the line.
05:44He'll steal 50 bags a year.
05:45It's a real center fielder.
05:47A double-plus defender in our scout's eyes.
05:50And he's always performed.
05:52And there's still a lot of projection left to the body.
05:54And we're excited about his upside.
05:57Great.
05:58Thanks, guys.
05:58Yes, sir.
06:00We'll go to Silas Brava.
06:03Hey, Jay.
06:03Hey, Chris.
06:04Cruz had said that all he wants to do is win.
06:07He wants to help win a World Series one day.
06:08How important is that mentality and that demeanor towards building the future of a ball club?
06:13Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, again, a lot of people talk about winning.
06:19And I think it's, you know, sometimes you talk to some of the draft prospects and they get hung up on their own individual situation.
06:26He was, you know, he talked about he'd been a Gatorade player of the year.
06:28And the most important thing for him this year is winning a state championship with his team, you know, this high school team.
06:32And you believe it, the way he talks about it.
06:34And, you know, and ultimately that's what we're here for.
06:38And, you know, I think with Cruz as well, one of the best things you can do to try to win is be super prepared yourself.
06:44And, you know, he definitely is.
06:46So, you know, I think for Chris and, you know, and our group that chance to go up and visit him at his home, you know, in the last few weeks.
06:56And that was a big thing they talked about is, look, we're trying to bring a championship here to San Diego.
07:01We've got a really good big league team.
07:02We've had really good farm systems here consistently.
07:06And it's all with the idea of winning championships.
07:08And, you know, we aligned pretty quickly on that when we started talking about what's super important to Cruz and super important to our organization.
07:15You know, and he talked a lot about, you know, asked about our culture, our winning culture,
07:19and what we're going to do to bring that first championship to San Diego.
07:22And for a kid like that to be proactive, asking those type of questions really resonated with what we're about and the people we want to align with.
07:32Sir.
07:34We'll go back to Kyle.
07:36Hey, Chris and AJ.
07:37A lot of times, six foot eight, you know, long limb kids, the coordination isn't there yet.
07:42But Cruz's, you know, body control and athleticism really stood out.
07:46How rare is it to, in your guys' experience, to see a guy, you know, this tall, this long limb,
07:50but have the delivery and body control he has?
07:54Extremely rare.
07:55He was towards the top of our board.
07:57You know, we've got a lot of veteran, great evaluators, great scouts in that draft room right now.
08:01And some of the comps and some of the old school names that were being comped to Cruz was a bit alarming in a good way.
08:07So, yeah, it's very unique, rare package with the way he moves and his size and the feel.
08:15And then just to follow up, obviously, he has a lot of really promising physical traits.
08:19What are the main things you want to see him develop and work on as he goes through the system?
08:23Nothing really in particular.
08:26I think it's just getting with Riley, Rada, James Keller, our pitching group,
08:29and seeing how far we can take this, you know, and getting them in our player development program
08:34and just seeing how far this goes.
08:36I wouldn't really have one thing specifically, to be honest.
08:43We'll go back to AJ.
08:49Just to kind of, AJ, since we have you here, I just wanted your thoughts on the first half.
08:53And I know just wrapped up today, obviously, strong start, relatively strong finish.
08:57Your thoughts on where it leads you going forward into the second half right now,
09:00getting a little healthier and everything?
09:02Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, ultimately, like, you know, from the ability to be in contention,
09:09you know, is a good spot to be in.
09:12You know, I think we've got, you know, obviously we've got 100 games in or so, so 60 games left.
09:17And, you know, I think we want to be in a spot where we're comfortably in a playoff position.
09:23And, you know, I think you learn a lot about your team.
09:26We've obviously seen the bullpen do some really good things and have some dominant stretches.
09:30We've seen our position player crew, you know, early in the season play really well as a group.
09:36And, you know, it's been nice the last, you know, week on this homestand, some big games,
09:41some good teams that we've played against this weekend.
09:43And you see a team that played in the style of baseball that we saw for the early part of the season.
09:50You know, getting some starting pitchers back healthy and seeing some of the younger guys come up and perform.
09:54I think those have been some of the highlights.
09:57You know, we also understand that we've got some areas we've got to improve on, you know.
10:00And I think we'll continue to look at that.
10:03We'll have the ability over the next couple of weeks to be involved in some trade discussions and conversations.
10:08But most of it's going to come from within.
10:10Most of it's going to come from our players that are here on the big league side playing the way we've played at different points in the season,
10:16doing that consistently for the last couple of months.
10:19You know, it's great coaching staff, you know, and Schulte, you know,
10:22his teams have a very good track record of playing their best baseball in the second half of the season.
10:26So we're looking forward to a good next couple of months at Petco.
10:34We'll go to Marty Caswell.
10:36Hi, AJ and Chris.
10:37Just a couple of years ago, you guys were sitting here probably talking about Jackson Merrill.
10:41What have you thought of really the first adversity of his young career and how he's handled that?
10:48Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, all players go through stretches.
10:51I think part of the part, you know, for Jackson, you know, this year it's, you know,
10:54he's had the two different injury, you know, breaks.
10:58So, you know, just that consistency of playing day in, day out.
11:01Obviously, you know, the league is going to adjust and he's not sneaking up on anybody.
11:06You know, I think he's recognized throughout the league.
11:08Everywhere you go, people talk about him being, you know, an all-star caliber player, winning player,
11:13you know, one of the top players in the league, all different adjectives and, you know,
11:16you know, the way people view him.
11:19So, you know, I think it's healthy.
11:21And the biggest thing with Jackson, ultimately, you know, is, you know, he's going to do everything he can,
11:27you know, to get through this little stretch that he's been through.
11:30And he's going to be better for it.
11:31You know, he's going to be, you know, he'll be in a spot where he understands what he needs to do as a player hitter.
11:37I think we've already seen him make some adjustments in the last week or so.
11:41And I think we're looking forward to having a big second half for sure.
11:45And to further what kind of what AJ Castleville just asked, but how aggressive do you plan to be at this deadline?
11:51You mentioned that you think that you're going to options are from within, but looking outside, how aggressive do you expect to be?
11:57Yeah, it's hard to tell every year.
11:59You know, I mean, I think it's, you know, I think we have a good feel for our team and where some of the holes may be
12:04and some of the areas we can try to supplement, but it's hard to make moves.
12:08And, you know, at the end of the day, you know, we'll weigh out what we have in the system.
12:12We'll weigh out, you know, the cost of making certain moves.
12:16And every deadline has been a little bit different.
12:18So it's kind of hard to predict that.
12:19There's a lot of teams in contention this year.
12:21There's a lot of teams that, you know, even if they're below 500 or, you know, are just a few games out of the wild card.
12:27So we'll see how the market shapes up.
12:29I think like with the draft where it is now, it's there's not a lot of activity.
12:33Last year, we were able to make, you know, a move or a couple of moves before the all-star break.
12:37But for the most part, it's kind of focused on the draft.
12:40We've got a long night tonight, getting ready for day two of the draft, you know,
12:45and getting used to this new day two versus day two and three version.
12:49And then you immediately turn on to the trade deadline, literally starting on Wednesday.
12:53So we'll be prepared.
12:54You know, our group was, you know, we'll be prepared with what's out there and what's available on the market.
13:00And, you know, we'll see if we line up on some things that help our team.
13:06Got time for a couple more.
13:08We'll go to Sam Kirk.
13:10Hey, guys.
13:11How's it going?
13:11I was just wondering when you guys were on that home visit with Cruz,
13:15is there anything that stuck out specifically maybe that you weren't going into that meeting kind of expecting?
13:20I know big, tall, lanky lefty.
13:22But were there certain things that stuck out to you guys who were like,
13:25this is the type of guy we want in our clubhouse going forward?
13:28Yeah.
13:29When he started talking about how important it was to win the first state championship ever at his high school
13:35and how much that meant to him, he didn't really talk about the accolades or the draft or, you know,
13:41I want to do this or that.
13:42It was all about the team.
13:44And then when we went through kind of our player development manual
13:47and kind of what we're about on the player development side
13:49and kind of how he gravitated to what we're about and we were just really aligned mentally.
13:54And, you know, you go into these in-home visits, you never know how it's going to really shake down.
13:58And we were just really, really aligned with Cruz and everything he was talking about from a team aspect.
14:04And just all in all, how hard is it to kind of balance a lot of these things going on,
14:09the trade deadline approaching now at the draft?
14:11Is it just a lot to handle just being able to, you know, try to right the strip heading into the break now as well?
14:20Yeah.
14:21I mean, it's the baseball calendar.
14:23It's, you know, at the end of the day, it's 162 games.
14:26It's a marathon.
14:27It's definitely, you know, it's every day you're looking to try to get better and improve.
14:34You know, it's an active time with the draft at the frame it is right now in terms of, you know,
14:38the draft used to be in early June and you'd have seven or eight weeks to kind of evaluate your system
14:43and then get into a trade deadline period.
14:45You know, now it's a little bit more, you know, you get into the draft and then turn right around into the deadline.
14:50But, you know, it's an exciting time.
14:52It's super fun.
14:53Today is a great day.
14:54You know, and again, we feel that we got one of the better talents in the draft.
15:00And we're very excited.
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