With Kirby Yates hitting the free-agent market this offseason regardless if there’s a season, San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller may target a future closer for his bullpen. Sure, that’s why he acquired Emilio Pagan in February, but having too many high-leverage pitchers is never a bad thing.
And with the 81st and 109th overall picks in June’s draft, there is the potential for the Padres to take one of the best closers in this class. Tyler Brown is a 6-foot-4, 242-pound junior who collected 17 saves for Vanderbilt’s National Championship team last year.