Even with the Padres facing strict restrictions the past two years in the amateur international market — penalties that no longer will be in effect when the 2019-20 signing window opens Tuesday — Chris Kemp, the club’s international scouting director, said it didn’t change how he approached the job.
“I don’t care if I’ve got a budget of $100,000 or $10 million,” Kemp said in late May. “I’ll be working to find prospects of all shapes and sizes and price points.”
An unprecedented splurge on the 2016-2017 class — nearly $80 million, including overage taxes — limited the Padres’ spending to no more than $300,000 per player each of the last two years.