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Padres promote Abrams to Fort Wayne

2019 sixth overall pick hit .401 in 32 Arizona League games
CJ Abrams collected 57 hits in the Arizona League, eight more than any other player at the time of his promotion. (Bill Mitchell)
August 6, 2019

It might not have been the plan to send CJ Abrams to a full-season affiliate this quickly, but his bat left the Padres no choice.San Diego promoted the 2019 sixth overall pick from the Rookie-level Arizona League to Class A Fort Wayne on Tuesday, the Midwest League club announced. Abrams

It might not have been the plan to send CJ Abrams to a full-season affiliate this quickly, but his bat left the Padres no choice.
San Diego promoted the 2019 sixth overall pick from the Rookie-level Arizona League to Class A Fort Wayne on Tuesday, the Midwest League club announced. Abrams becomes the first prep player taken in the first round of the 2019 Draft to reach the Class A level. 

The 18-year-old shortstop got off to a fast start and is leading the Arizona League in a host of categories, including batting (.401), hits (57), triples (eight) and total bases (94). He also ranked second with a .662 slugging percentage, 1.104 OPS and 40 runs and added three homers, 12 doubles and a .442 on-base percentage through 32 games in the complex circuit.

Coming out of Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia, Abrams was slotted as MLB.com's No. 4 prospect in the 2019 Draft on the strength of his plus-plus speed and above-average hit tool from the left side. His arm is also considered above-average, but it's not a guarantee that he will remain at shortstop. The whole package was strong enough for San Diego to take him sixth in June and sign him to a $5.2 million bonus, just below the $5,742,900 slot value.
MLB.com has ranked Abrams as the No. 48 overall prospect in baseball, making him No. 5 in the loaded Padres system behind MacKenzie Gore, Luis Urías, Taylor Trammell and Luis Patiño. He joins 2018 first-rounder Ryan Weathers on the Fort Wayne roster as well as No. 16 San Diego prospect Tucupita Marcano, No. 19 Joey Cantillo and No. 30 Blake Hunt.

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.