"As they usually do with the Padres, things seemed to go right down to the last second, the 9:01 p.m. deadline on Monday for major league teams to have their draftees under contract.

As they usually don't, though, the Padres came away with far more signatures than disappointments.

Pulling off quite a rare and stunning coup, the new Padres signed three of the four remaining draft choices of 2011, high school pitchers Joe Ross and Michael Kelly and celebrated prep catcher Austin Hedges. Until the post-deadline announcement, Ross and Hedges seemed destined to become a battery for UCLA, not a Padres team. Kelly had signed a letter of intent with the University of Florida.

"We're ahead of the curve," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Way ahead of the curve."

Not signed was another high school catcher, Brett Austin, who was committed to North Carolina State when taken 54th overall with a compensation pick. Austin was the only one of the Padres' first 26 draftees in 2011 who got away, although with the signing of Hedges, his value to the Padres diminished considerably. Moreover, because Austin didn't accept their offer, the Padres will have a compensation pick in next year's draft.

Ross, 18, the 25th player drafted overall, is a right-hander out of Bishop O'Dowd School in Oakland whose brother pitches in the Athletics organization. As a senior, Joe Ross struck out 95 batters over 67 2/3 innings, posting an earned-run average of 0.83."