SF Giants: What to look for on Day 2 of the MLB draft

SF Giants MLB Draft Day 2 targets

College Arms: Cole Henry, Ian Bedell, Zach McCambley, Luke Little

This is probably my favorite group of the bunch, in part, because I’m confident that they’ll be signable. McCambley has been my draft crush for a long time. Young for his class (turned 21 in May), McCambley has two-plus pitches that come as close as it comes to ensuring a high-leverage reliever floor. His fastball sits between 93-95mph but consistently goes higher as well. His breaking ball has the kind of sharp-late movement scouts dream about and a few even put a plus-plus grade on the pitch.

If you look at the stats, McCambley looks like a first-round pick. He struck out over a batter an inning every season of his career and has improved his walk rate every step of the way. Between his performance in the Cape Cod League last summer and his pandemic shortened spring season McCambley threw 45.2 innings, struck out 56, walked just 14, and has a 1.77 ERA.

The concern with McCambley is he has no third offering at the moment. Generally, a player needs three pitches to be a successful starter and is otherwise ticketed for relief work. However, McCambley averaged over 6 innings an appearance this spring and as teams implement more and more hybrid starter/reliever techniques, he seems perfectly suited for a three-inning swing role.

Henry, a draft-eligible sophomore, has all the tools of a frontline starter. The LSU ace has a stocky 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and shows a pair of plus pitches, another above-average offering, and even has a fourth potentially average pitch. Scouts have been frustrated by Henry’s consistency, but his production has been consistent. He’s been the number one starter at LSU from Day 1 and he hasn’t disappointed. To me, Henry was a backend Day 1 talent, but still just a sophomore, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him head back to school.

Bedell has been a strong contributor out of the Missouri bullpen over his first two seasons, but began starting on the Cape and was in Mizzou’s rotation at the start of the season. A young junior (won’t be 21 until September), Bedell seems like one of the safer arms. He already shows plus-control and above-average command of a solid, but not an elite arsenal of pitches. His changeup is probably his only pitch that projects as above-average, but his fastball, curveball, and slider all could be big-league offerings as well. While he lacks the ceiling of the other pitchers in this group, he’s still a great grab on Day 2.

With Little, everyone knows why scouts are excited. The San Jacinto Junior College southpaw has an intimidating (6-foot-8, 245 pounds) frame that consistently generates upper-90s velocity and has touched 100 mph in games. Since the season was cut short, film from Little’s bullpen sessions has shown him reaching another level, touching 105 mph. Frankly, that’s all anyone needs to know to be excited about the South Carolina commit. His slider flashes as an above-average offering and he was doing a better job locating it this year.

He’s always had a pretty violent delivery, which is a reason to be cautious, but also a reason to be excited. Little has shown a willingness to work on his delivery over the past year and his powerful frame leaves plenty of reason to dream.