5 of the biggest first-round draft busts for SF Giants in recent memory

The 2026 MLB Draft begins this upcoming Saturday on July 11. The SF Giants hold the No. 4 overall pick and they have a bit of a complex history when it comes to drafting in the top-five. They have had some uneven results in the draft as of late and there have been some true busts in recent memory.

Every team has busts and no team knocks it out of the park every single draft, but it’s worth looking at some of the team’s worst first-round busts of the last 15 years or so just to remember that these picks can often go the wrong way.

SF Giants first-round draft busts from the last 15 years or so

Gary Brown

Back in 2010 the Giants selected outfielder Gary Brown with the No. 24 overall pick out of Cal State Fullerton. He was highly touted for his speed and defense and also seemed to have quite a bit of promise at the plate.

With the San Jose Giants in 2011 he hit .336/.407/.519 with 14 homers, 80 runs batted in, and 53 stolen bases. It seemed like he was on a trajectory for the big leagues but his numbers got worse the next year in Double-A and worse still the next year in Triple-A.

He eventually made it to the big leagues in 2014 and had three hits in seven at-bats before he got sent back down. He never appeared in the big leagues again as he spent a few more years in the minors and then independent ball before retiring.

It just didn’t work out for Brown in San Francisco and he turned out to be a bust. 

Tyler Beede

In 2014 the Giants selected right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede out of Vanderbilt. He was seen as a future rotation arm but things just never quite worked out for him. He made his big league debut in 2018 and then got an extended look in 2019 but pitched to a 5.08 ERA in 117 innings.

The Giants eventually let him go in 2022 and he pitched in the big leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates and then spent 2023 in Japan before coming back to the states and pitching for Cleveland in 2024.

The Chicago Cubs signed him earlier this year but he only pitched in the minors and is currently a free agent.

Chris Shaw

Things didn’t get any better for the Giants in 2015 when they drafted Chris Shaw, a power-hitting lefty first baseman, with the No. 31 overall pick.

He put up impressive numbers in the minors and flashed his power but never got that to translate to the big league level. Over 2018 and 2019 he played in 38 games for the Giants and .153/.244/.222 with one homer and seven runs batted in.

He bounced around in the minors after his time with the Giants for a bit and last played in an independent league in 2023.

Joey Bart

Drafted in 2018 with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Joey Bart was supposed to be the guy to take over for Buster Posey. That was always too much to put on him and he never found his stride with San Francisco.

From 2020 to 2023 with the team he hit .219/.288/.335 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Patrick Bailey’s emergence led to Bart being traded to Pittsburgh in 2024 and he’s gone on to establish himself as a respectable backup catcher but he is a bust compared to the high aspirations the Giants had when they drafted him.

Hunter Bishop

The Giants drafted Hunter Bishop with the No. 10 overall pick back in 2019. He spent his whole career in San Francisco’s minor league system but never made it to the big leagues.

He was a local kid who went to high school in San Mateo and played college ball at Arizona State but he just never put it all together in the minors.

Across five minor league seasons he hit .238/.328/.389 with 36 homers and 173 runs batted in. The Giants let him go after last season and it seems like he is now out of professional baseball.

Those are some of the more cautionary tales in recent Giants draft history. The team has struggled to consistently draft and develop talent for a while now but obviously they’ll be looking to buck that trend with whoever they pick in the draft this weekend.

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