SF Giants MLB draft preview chat: What will they do at 14?

SF Giants MLB draft preview chat: Who do you hope they select?

MD: That’s a tough one. To be completely honest, unless there’s someone incredibly unexpected who falls, I don’t think there’s anyone in the range who I’d consider a home run. Sal Frelick, Montgomery, Madden, etc., are all intriguing prospects, but all of them have their own flaws and questions. The Giants system is deep now, and so mid-first round prospects aren’t going to stand out like they did three years ago.

My read on how the Giants have handled the first round under Holmes is that they come up with a group of prospects they like and try to leverage them against each other when they are on the clock and select whoever is willing to take the lowest bonus. I think that’s why they’ve been so hard to peg in mock drafts under Holmes. I expect them to do something similar this year, and that means I’m honestly more excited to see what they do in the rest of the draft than in the first. Odds are they’re going to draft a 40+ or 45 future value prospect that slots into the late top ten or teens of my top 31 prospect rankings. I’m also very interested to see if they continue following their recent draft trends or start moving in other directions.

WR: I agree with you that whoever they draft in the first round will have some flaws in their game. Madden’s fastball does not play well up in the zone, Frelick does not have top-tier power, Montgomery’s unorthodox swing raises questions, Ole Miss righty Gunnar Hoglund just had Tommy John surgery, and Wicks has a mediocre breaking ball and is old for the class.

I do agree as well that whoever they draft first will not have the pressure of recent picks. The strong depth of the system at the moment and big-league success should make it easier. Honestly, I viewed last year’s draft class as kind of a way to plug holes in the organizational depth, and I kind of see them taking the same approach this year. I still think the pitching depth in the organization is quite thin, and there is a good depth of arms in this draft class, so I hope they don’t solely draft hitters like in 2019.

MD: I will say this though, I think the most Giants pick is easily Frelick (if he slips to 14). I think the pick I would be most excited about is Harry Ford, although I’d be more surprised if he got to 14. I really like Andrew Painter, but I don’t think he fits the Giants profile as a pitcher and seems to have a fairly high bonus ask.