Giants' family ties in 2026 MLB Draft extend to fan favorite Red Sox grinder

The SF Giants made a number of legacy picks in the 2026 MLB Draft. The most obvious and exciting one for Giants fans was selecting Peyton Bonds, the nephew of Barry Bonds, but they also took the nephew of longtime Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp later in the draft.

Those weren’t the only two legacy picks though as the third may have flown under the radar a bit more. San Francisco selected second baseman Luke Nixon out of North Carolina State in the fifth round of the draft and he is the son of Boston Red Sox legend Trot Nixon.

Nixon played most of his career with Boston and was part of the 2004 team that won the World Series and ended that franchise’s long drought. He was a scrappy right fielder who endeared himself to fans with his style of play. In his 12-year career he hit .274/.364/.464 with 137 home runs and 555 runs batted in.

He had a great career so if his son came come anywhere near that the Giants will have gotten an absolute steal in the draft.

Luke Nixon is 21 years old and in his final year at NC State he hit .367/.452/.595 with nine home runs and 45 runs batted in. He drew 31 walks while striking out 36 times so he fits right into the archetype of hitter that the Giants have prioritized under Buster Posey: high contact guys who do not strike out very much. Bonds fits into that same mold.

Nixon could potentially be a scrappy utility man for the Giants someday

It’s an uphill battle for any fifth-round pick to make it to the big leagues, but if Nixon has the same scrappiness and tenacity of his father then it wouldn’t be a huge shock if he makes it to The Show someday. Scouting reports praise his high baseball IQ and project him as a future utility man. 

He may have some trouble finding a role as a starter since the Giants already have a ton of young middle infield prospects ahead of him, but too much depth is never a bad thing and prospects are rarely ever a sure bet so maybe he could break through as a starting second baseman eventually. 

Legacy picks are always fun to follow so the fact that the Giants have three of them will make for some interesting storylines in the next few years if any of them can make it to the big leagues.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow