Jawuan Harris will start his professional baseball career in the San Diego farm system.

The Rutgers center fielder was selected by the Padres with the 201st overall pick in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB First Year Players Draft on Tuesday. The junior is expected to sign and forego his final season as a two-sport athlete - baseball and football - for the Scarlet Knights. The internal expectation inside the baseball program is Harris will sign, and he has not been working with the football team since the start of the new year.

The signing bonus value for Harris' draft slot is $221,000. That does not mean Harris will receive that amount; he could get more or less, depending on how negotiations play out. Several sources told NJ Advance Media it is possible Harris could lose some bonus money due to his occasionally rocky time at Rutgers, where he was suspended three times between his two sports.

The Padres have two rookie league teams in the Arizona League and a short-season Single-A team in Washington state - the most likely spots for Harris to begin his professional career.

"He has a lot of tools that we like: lots of speed, great range in the outfield, good arm and has a lot of bat speed," a National League scout recently told NJ Advance Media. "The fact that he struggled this season isn't really an issue because lots of guys press their junior years. But he does have some issues we need to do our homework on."

Harris batted .246 with two homers and 28 RBI in 40 games for the Scarlet Knights this spring. He missed a total of 10 after serving a suspension for a violation of team rules over Rutgers' spring break trip, the third of his college career. He also stole 22 bases and has 82 steals for his career, the third-most in school history.

A rare two-sport star on the college level, Harris made five starts at safety for the football team last fall after converting from wide receiver during his redshirt sophomore campaign. One year after leading the Scarlet Knights with 39 receptions for 481 yards, the Pembroke Pines, Florida, native had 41 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions.

Harris recently joked he could try to become "the next Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson" at some point and play both sports at a professional level, but added that was a conversation for down the road. To start, he's expected to focus on baseball, and begin his journey in the minor leagues fairly soon.

"I think there's a curiosity about him -- what if he just specialized in one sport?" Rutgers baseball coach Joe Litterio said. "I think that's something we'll find out, I guess, once he gets drafted and goes into baseball. But that's what all the scouts like about him. He's got so much athletic ability that if he really focuses on hitting, base running and outfield work, how good could he get?"

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.