With their sixth-round selection (184th overall), the San Diego Padres took former Varela alumni John Barbato, a right-handed pitcher out of Felix Varela Senior High in the June 2010 MLB draft.

Barbato – who seven months prior the draft signed a scholarship to play collegiate-level baseball for the University of Florida (currently the number one ranked college baseball team in the nation) – had to make a decision.

It was expected by the teams that had scouted Barbato until the upcoming draft, that he would demand a heavy payday in order to sway a decision from becoming a Gator.

Though drafted in the sixth-round, Barbato’s value far outweighed his draft position. A projected first or second round talent, team’s knew of Barbato’s monetary demand – a negotiation that began at $2 million. When the Padres took their chance to sway Barbato into their system offering a high signing bonus, a tough dilemma arose:

Should Barbato forgo an opportunity to attend the number one college team in the country, or take the opportunity to enter a major league system at the age of 18?

"It’s hard to turn that kind of money down," said John Barbato, Sr., baseball coach for the Vipers.

The Padres signed sixth-round pick John Barbato to a deal with a $1.4 million signing bonus, a deal that was expected to fall apart before the Signing Deadline in August. It came down to the wire. Within minutes before deadline, both the Padres were able to come to agremment with a contract over the phone.

"My dream has always been to be play in the pros," said Barbato. "I want to play baseball everyday and get paid to do it."

Now, almost two years post his signing, Barbato gets to live his dream by playing 8 months out of the year. Developing as a future rotational starter, Barbato’s skill-set is exceptional, according to PadresProspects.com

Scouts prospect Barbato to offer two fairly advanced offspeed pitches (changeup and curveball) for a high schooler, including an already-average changeup. Barbato also has an excellent 94 miles per hour fastball. He is one of the three pitchers in the Padres minor-league system to have a high-upside.

In Barbato’s first year as a minor-leaguer, he suffered as expected with the control in his pitches. Though every pitcher likes to throw with movement in order to get the strikeout when ahead in the count, Barbato had a little too much movement. He often struggled finding the plate with his lively fastball, leading to 31 walks in just 57 thrown innings.

A former First-Team All-American in high school, Barbato – after his brief stint at low-class A ball – recieved an invitation to Arizona to attend Padres’ Spring Training. And only a handful were younger than him.

During Spring Traning, Barbato was able to showcase his talent amongst a team of other high-end prospects as well as current positional starters that he hopes to see when he recieves the anicipated call up.

"I’m looking forward to improve and to make it to the next level," said Barbato. "I’m also looking forward to work out, to get stronger, and to get better. I want to work hard, because working hard is the key," he added.

Currently, Barbato is living off his signing bonus and minimal minor-league contract. He will get to experience his first taste of full-season minor league ball at Single-A with the Fort Wayne TinCaps. He is voted as one of the top 20 Padres prospects according to MLB.com. Still a long way to go, Barbato is hoping to get to the ‘bigs’ "as soon as [he] can."