Buster Posey knocked it out of the park (so far) with these 5 SF Giants 2026 MLB Draft picks

The present may not be all that great for the SF Giants as they come off a really bad season, but the hope is that their farm system, which has gotten much stronger in recent years, will help them get back to a place of relevance eventually.

The 2026 MLB Draft happened just three and a half months ago but president of baseball operations Buster Posey and the front office already look smart for these five picks who have done good things since being drafted by the Giants.

Of course, it would be unwise to overreact to small sample sizes hence the “so far” stipulation in the headline, but Giants fans need some hope right now so why not dream a little bit on what these guys could become?

5 Giants draft picks who already look like solid players

Dalton Wentz

Taken in the 16th round out of Wake Forest, it seemed like the Giants might not be able to sign Wentz but they were able to sway him to leave college for professional baseball. So far that looks like a wise decision as the 21-year-old hit a respectable .265/.368/.429 with one home run and 10 runs batted in for the High-A Eugene Emeralds.

He’s really impressed in the Arizona Fall League as he’s hit .348/.444/.478 with seven runs batted in and six strikeouts compared to three walks across 10 games.

He’s a switch-hitting infielder who hit 18 homers his final season at Wake Forest so he’s going to be a guy to keep an eye on going forward.

Drew Smith

Another solid find in the late rounds of the draft was Drew Smith out of the University of Oregon who was taken in Round 15. He had four hits in 12 at-bats during the regular season for the San Jose Giants and then continued to swing a hot bat in the playoffs, hitting .333/.391/.714 with two home runs and two doubles in 21 at-bats.

He could end up being a steal late in the draft so he’s another infielder to look out for.

Tanner Malley

Keeping on the theme of late-round finds, Tanner Malley was drafted in the 17th round and MLB Pipeline recently identified him as having the best pro debut of any player drafted by San Francisco in 2026.

The outfielder hit an impressive .383/.523/.494 in 24 regular season games and drew 20 walks while striking out 18 times. He’s not a power hitter but he showed just how good of a contact hitter he can be in college with a .446 batting average his final season at Western Michigan.

Turner Hill showed how a contact-first outfielder can move up the ladder pretty quickly in 2026 so maybe Malley can have a similar trajectory.

Carson Bolemon

Taken with the pick the Giants acquired in the Patrick Bailey trade with the Cleveland Guardians, Carson Bolemon didn’t pitch for any of San Francisco’s affiliates but he pitched at the team’s complex in Arizona and looked solid. He’s just 19 so we won’t really know what he looks like for years but he’s still an exciting pick.

Jackson Flora

Now to the crown jewel of the draft for the Giants. Jackson Flora is the guy they took No. 4 overall and he was very impressive in his professional debut. He pitched one scoreless outing in the regular season for the San Jose Giants and then pitched two scoreless innings in a playoff game for San Jose before he was promoted to Double-A Richmond for a playoff start. He was excellent in that outing too, striking out four across two innings.

He may very well start next season in Double-A and there’s even a chance he could get promoted to the big league club if he performs well for the Flying Squirrels so there’s a lot of buzz and excitement over the Bay Area native. Let’s hope he can live up to it because we know how badly the Giants need more homegrown talent in their rotation.

These are all small sample sizes and 2027 could bring struggles for these players, but it’s hard not to be excited about how they looked in their debuts in 2026 so Posey and the Giants have to be feeling pretty good about the job they did thus far. 

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