SAN DIEGO -- The Padres’ core is already in place. With the sport’s best farm system, the future was bright in San Diego long before the arrival of this week’s Draft class.

Three years ago, general manager A.J. Preller used Draft week to springboard a month of moves that overhauled the entire direction of the franchise. This year, Preller and scouting director Mark Conner are merely filling in around the edges.

"We hope," said Preller, "it's the last time we're picking this high."

With the sixth overall selection in the Draft, the Padres took high school speedster CJ Abrams, a shortstop who could ultimately transition to second base or center field. He's got all the tools to slot in toward the top of an already loaded farm system.

They took a number of other intriguing prospects, including second-rounder Josh Mears, potentially a big-time power bat; third-rounder Hudson Head, a freaky athlete and a five-tool center fielder; and 23rd-rounder Maurice Hampton, a two-sport star who's committed to play baseball and football at LSU.

• Padres draft power-hitting CF, 7 arms on Day 2

“In general, our scouts did a really good job,” Preller said. “We lined up upside ... with some really good depth.”

Preller took fliers on some college pitchers on Days 2 and 3 -- as he generally does. It should make for an interesting couple weeks in terms of signability.

• Padres Draft Tracker

Abrams, an Alabama commit, seems like a lock to sign. But things aren't so cut-and-dry with the other high-upside high-school options. Here are some key takeaways following Preller's fifth Draft at the helm of the Padres:

Position change looms for Abrams

Where's Abrams going to play? Well, shortstop for now. But the Padres obviously don't have a long-term need at short, where Fernando Tatis Jr. is the anchor for the foreseeable future.

In that regard, Abrams will follow the Xavier Edwards path. The Padres took Edwards at No. 38 overall last year, and he's split time between shortstop and second base at the lower levels. On Wednesday, he moved into MLB Pipeline's Top 100 overall prospects.

Edwards is going to continue playing short because of the Padres' philosophical belief that it provides the most value. If he needs to move, they'll move him when he's closer to the big leagues. They'll almost certainly take the same tack with Abrams.

"You take athletes," said Preller. "Guys that play up the middle can move over to other spots. [Abrams] will go out as a shortstop, and then we'll see how it goes from a development standpoint and how his game progresses. He's got the ability to play elsewhere. But he'll start his career as a shortstop, and we expect him to stay there for a while."

It's worth noting, however, that while shortstop isn't an area of need in San Diego, second base and center field certainly are.

Padres take their chances with Hampton

MLB Pipeline had Hampton pegged as the 29th ranked prospect available this week. He fell to No. 683 overall because he's widely believed to be headed for LSU as a two-sport athlete.

In speaking with the Memphis Commercial Appeal earlier this week, Hampton's father Maurice Sr. said, "My bottom line number was around $2.75 million" for a signing bonus. San Diego has nearly $11 million available in its bonus pool, but most of that will go to its top picks.

It's unlikely the Padres will have the funds to dissuade Hampton from his LSU commitment. But they clearly felt it was worth taking a chance. They should save some money on the college arms they took during day two -- most of whom are expected to sign under slot value.

“Time will tell leading up to the signing deadline,” Conner said. “But there’s always a chance.”

A righty-hitting 18-year-old, Hampton won Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball in Tennessee during his senior year at Memphis University High School. He boasts an impressive power bat, with speed and defense to go along with it. Trouble is: He's also one of the top rated cornerbacks in the class of 2019.

“He’s a plus-plus athlete, he has explosiveness, he has power potential with the bat,” Conner said. “On top of that, he is an extremely hard worker.”

The Padres still love mid-round college pitchers

The current San Diego rotation features four pitchers that Preller and Conner selected out of college in 2016 and '17 -- Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer, Cal Quantrill and Nick Margevicius. Lucchesi and Margevicius were both unheralded Day 2 selections from small schools.

“Obviously when they’ve gone out and signed some guys that have performed, it’s pretty easy to say, ‘OK,’” Preller said of his scouts. “They’ve hit on some guys who have gotten to the big leagues quickly and helped us. It’s pretty easy to trust and let those guys do their thing.”

So who's the next surprise college arm to move quickly through the ranks? Well, there sure are a lot of options. After the Padres took position players with their first four picks, they drafted eight straight college arms. Three pitchers worth keeping an eye on:

• Matt Brash (a fourth-round selection out of Niagara) was the MAAC pitcher of the year, and he struck out 121 hitters in 85 innings during his junior season.

• Drake Fellows (sixth round, Vanderbilt) is 12-0 this season pitching in college baseball's toughest conference. He'll get the ball in the super regional this weekend against Duke.

• Mason Feole (11th round, Connecticut) dealt with a forearm injury during his junior season, after posting 120 strikeouts in 2018 -- the second-most in school history. If Feole is back to full health -- as the Padres believe he is -- the 20-year-old left-hander could be a steal at No. 323 overall.

Big league connections

Among the notable late round selections were Cole Roberts (38th round) and Dylan Hoffman (39th). Roberts is the son of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He’s committed to Loyola Marymount and seems unlikely to sign.

Hoffman, meanwhile, is the son of Padres third-base coach Glenn Hoffman and the nephew of legendary closer Trevor Hoffman. He recently completed his senior season at Waldorf University in Iowa.

“It’s just such an honor for him to be brought into the fraternity of baseball,” Glenn Hoffman said. “You get your name drafted, and we’ll see what happens. He’s a left-hander. He’s got a tool. You never know.”

Glenn Hoffman added that he was blown away by the gesture.

“This organization is class from the top down,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier.”

By the numbers

The Padres had 41 selections over the past three days. They spent 23 of them on pitchers (nine lefties and 14 righties) and 18 of them on hitters. Twenty-seven were college players, while only 14 came from the prep ranks.

The Padres have a bonus pool of $10,758,900 to spend this year. The signing bonuses for a team's selections in the first 10 rounds, plus any bonus greater than $125,000 for a player taken after the 10th round, will apply toward the bonus-pool total. Teams that exceed their limits will be taxed, with penalties varying based on the percentage by which that limit is exceeded.