SF Giants MLB Draft 2020 recap: Uninspiring picks but system shows improvement

In this year’s draft, the Giants used 4.5 picks on arms. This in stark contrast to last year’s draft when they used nine of the first ten picks on position players.

The MLB Draft is now in the rearview mirror, and the San Francisco Giants used many of their Day 2 picks on pitching. Wasn’t that fun?

The abbreviated, five-round process prevented me from drafting a full, 40-round mock draft with detailed scouting reports on every pick. This work would have easily exceeded 100,000 words, so we all dodged a bullet here.

The Giants held a $9.2 million purse that they could allocate to their seven draft picks, but it does not seem like they will use the entirety of that bonus pool. This is just a guess.

Of the seven picks, only one was drafted out of high school. This means that six of the seven picks cannot use the college commitment as leverage.

So, without further adieu, below are the Giants 2020 draft picks:

• First round — Catcher Patrick Bailey, North Carolina State
• Second round — Third baseman Casey Schmitt, San Diego State University
• Second-round comp pick — Pitcher Nick Swiney, North Carolina State
• Second-round comp pick — Shortstop Jimm Glowenke, Dallas Baptist University
• Third round — Pitcher Kyle Harrison, De La Salle High School
• Fourth round — Pitcher R.J. Dabovich, Arizona State University
• Fifth round  — Pitcher Ryan Murphy, Le Moyne College

The compensation picks were given due to losing both Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith to free agency after each hurler rejected a qualifying offer issued by the Giants.

I previously mentioned that the Giants drafted 4.5 pitchers, and my math is correct. Casey Schmitt was announced as a third baseman, but he also served as the Aztecs closer in three seasons at San Diego State University.

The San Francisco front office promised more a balanced approach to this year’s draft, and they certainly delivered on that promise.

In addition to this, a theme has emerged in Farhan’s Zaidi’s tenure as Giants president of baseball operations — an affinity for North Carolina State University prospects.

The Giants added two more prospects from NC State in this year’s draft to go along with recent trade acquisition Will Wilson.

This is not the first time the Giants have had success drafting out of North Carolina, either. Madison Bumgarner was born and raised in the state and led the Giants to three World Series titles.

With a legacy like this, there is absolutely no pressure on Bailey, Swiney, and Wilson to bring home three more World Series trophies, right?

I wrote about Bailey here, so I am only going to focus on the players selected on the second day of the draft.