2017 MLB Draft: 3 More Possible Targets for San Francisco Giants

The 2017 MLB Draft starting on June 12 is just around the corner and the San Francisco Giants own the 19th overall pick.

After not having a first round pick last year, the San Francisco Giants jump back into the fold in 2017. The Giants have leaned towards taking a college player in the first round in recent drafts. We’ll see if that will continue to be the case this year with the 19th pick.

We’ve already looked at six possible targets for the San Francisco Giants with the 19th pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Those articles featured D.L. Hall, Logan Warmoth, Jacob Heatherly, Tanner Houck, Brendan McKay, and Tristan Beck.

All of those players, with the exception of McKay, should still be a possibility for the San Francisco Giants at 19.

However, with it being so close to the draft we now have even newer mock drafts from the experts. We’ll take a look at who they think the San Francisco Giants might take at 19.

I think a lot of what the Giants do this year will depend on how they view the franchise. If they think the San Francisco Giants still have the chance to contend, they’ll get a college player that could have an immediate impact.

But if the organization thinks it might be time to do a soft rebuild — I don’t foresee a situation where the Giants would ever do a full rebuild — they could decide to go the high school route and get a player with more upside that can develop in the Giants’ organization.

Griffin Canning – RHP – UCLA 

Our own Call to the Pen’s recent mock draft has the San Francisco Giants taking UCLA right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

The two other mock drafts we’ll look at in this article have Canning going to the New York Mets at 20. So it sounds like there is a consensus that Canning will go around this point in the draft.

He was originally drafted in the 38th round of the 2014 draft by the Colorado Rockies. He obviously declined that opportunity and went on to play for UCLA.

In his junior year this season he is 7-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 111.1 innings pitched with 134 strikeouts and 30 walks.

Those are really impressive numbers pitching in the baseball rich Pac 12.

In 2016 he had a 3.70 ERA in 109.1 innings with 95 strikeouts. He’s had four complete games in each of the last two season.

Canning and UCLA are not finished in 2017 as they were named the three seed in the Long Beach Regional in the first round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

He will likely pitch game one in the regional against Texas on Friday. San Francisco Giants fans should tune in to see their potential first round pick pitch.

I think Canning would be a fine pick in the first round. He has a fastball that sits in the mid-to-low 90s, and he also features a curveball, slider and change-up.

He could become a solid, middle of the rotation pitcher for the Giants fairly quickly.

Keston Hiura – OF/2B – UC Irvine 

This is a name that I have not seen mentioned before, but the MLB Daily Dish from SB Nation has the San Francisco Giants taking Keston Hiura in the first round.

MLB.com has Hiura going to the Boston Red Sox with the 24th overall pick. You can check the link here to see video of Hiura.

He had a tremendous season for UC Irvine this year hitting .442 in 199 at-bats with 48 runs scored, 8 home runs and 42 RBI, as well as 9 stolen bases in 15 attempts. He struck out just 38 times and walked 50 times.

He is listed as an outfielder or infielder on the UC Irvine roster, but he was used primarily as a designated hitter this season.

That’s why I think Hiura fits an American League team better. At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds I’m not sure where he would play in the field. Most likely he would be a corner outfielder if the San Francisco Giants drafted him.

But he hasn’t exactly shown the power of a corner outfielder yet.

In 2016, as a sophomore, Hiura hit .358 with 41 runs scored, 7 home runs and 41 RBI.

Clearly the kid is a very talented hitter, I’m just not sure how well he fits in with the San Francisco Giants. I’m sure if he’s that good of a hitter, they will find somewhere for him to play in the field.

The fact that UC Irvine used him primarily as a DH tells me he may not be the best defensive player in the world. I don’t want the San Francisco Giants to sacrifice defense for offense.

We’ll see what the Giants think if they decide to take Hiura with the 19th pick.