San Francisco Giants MLB Draft History And Projections

As we approach the 2018 MLB Draft on June 4, we’ll break down each major league team’s recent draft history, picking out tendencies where applicable, highlighting the team’s 2018 draft pool and also touching on the organization’s most successful recent draft picks.

Additionally, each team is listed with potential draft targets. These players either fit the typical modus operandi of the organization or are players who have been specifically linked or rumored as fits with a team throughout the spring. Baseball America will continue to add and subtract players from the potential draft target section as we continue to gather information in the final weeks leading up to the draft. Players are listed with a line of skinny to get a quick idea of who they are, but our full scouting reports will give a more complete picture of a player.

It’s also worth pointing out that while in some cases a team might appear to have a clear tendency with certain demographics (i.e., high school pitchers or college hitters), the sample we are looking at is small enough that teams could simply be following a best player available strategy and the results are showing something that’s not an overarching scouting philosophy. It’s more likely that tendencies can be discovered at the extremes, rather than slight apparent preferences in the last five years.

Here is a breakdown of the recent MLB Draft history of the San Francisco Giants:

General Manager: Bobby Evans
Scouting Director: John Barr
2018 Bonus Pool (Rank): $11,747,500 (4th)

2018 MLB Draft Order:

1st Round: 2nd

2nd Round: 45th

3rd Round: 80th

4th-40: 2nd in each round.

First Round Picks Since 2013:

?2017: Heliot Ramos (19th)

2015: Phil Bickford (18th), Chris Shaw (31st)

2014: Tyler Beede (14th)

2013: Christian Arroyo (25th)

Best Recent Pick (2010-2017 Drafts):

SS Matt Duffy (18th round, 2012) had a few solid seasons with the Giants and finished in second place in the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year voting. That season, Duffy hit .295/.334/.428 with 12 home runs and 28 doubles while playing the hot corner. That is the highest point of Duffy’s career so far, but to get more than 6.0 bWAR over parts of three seasons from an 18th-round selection is still an impressive result.

Recent Tendencies (Last Five Years/Top Five Rounds):

The Giants are among the top third in percentage of players selected from four-year universities (64 percent, 9th) and in the top third for position players (52 percent, 9th).

Seven of the 10 players the Giants have drafted since 2013 in the first or second round have been position players, while six of the ten players have been from either a four-year university or a junior college.

Scouting director John Barr has been with the Giants since 2008—when San Francisco selected Buster Posey with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft—and will have the highest pick he’s ever had with the organization when the team selects No. 2 this June. This will hopefully give the team a much-needed impact player in a farm system that’s lacking in that area.

Potential Draft Targets:

RHP Casey Mize — The clear No. 1 pick in this year’s class combines a varied arsenal of plus offerings and exceptional command

LHP Matthew Liberatore— A projectable lefthander who’s been up to 96 mph at times, Liberatore has three potential plus pitches and good feel for each

IF Nick Madrigal — A speedy infielder with exceptional bat-to-ball skills, Madrigal has a long track record of hitting and plus defensive potential as well

RHP Brady Singer — A high-probability major leaguer with middle-of-the-rotation stuff and one of the longest track records in college

3B/SS Jonathan India — One of college baseball’s most impressive performers, India is solid across the board and is tapping into unprecedented power this spring

1B/3B Alec Bohm — A corner infielder with immense power in his bat, Bohm has a sound plan and approach in the batter’s box

LHP Shane McClanahan — An electrifying, albeit sporadic, lefthander with some of the best pure stuff in the class, McClanahan has a fastball that tickles 100 mph