Latest MLB Pipeline mock draft has the SF Giants taking top SEC pitcher in the first round

The MLB draft is less than a day away. On Thursday night, MLB Pipeline released its latest mock draft, connecting the SF Giants to top SEC pitcher Kyson Witherspoon with the No. 13 pick.

Latest MLB Pipeline mock draft has the SF Giants taking top SEC pitcher in the first round

The first round is an important round for every team, but it is especially important for the Giants. They gave up their second-and-fifth-round picks when they signed Willy Adames in the offseason.

Not only that, but they lose the corresponding slot values associated with those picks. The Giants will enter the draft with one of the lowest bonus pools at $8.4 million.

They hold the No. 13 pick, which carries a slot value of $5.5 million, or about 65 percent of the team's total bonus pool. Over the past several drafts, the Giants have gone with underslot picks in the first round to save some extra money for the later rounds.

Despite having a low bonus pool, the Giants can exceed that threshold by five percent, bringing the maximum total to just over $8.8 million. Teams can exceed that five-percent threshold, but it would result in the loss of future picks. No team has done that since the slot value has been in effect. The Giants have pushed right up against that five-percent threshold in every recent draft.

With Witherspoon, the Giants would be adding one of the top college arms in the draft. He had a 2.65 ERA with 124 strikeouts and only 23 walks in 95 innings for the University of Oklahoma. Witherspoon also allowed one earned run with 10 strikeouts and zero walks in nine innings with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Code League last summer.

On the mound, the right-handed hurler throws with an over-the-top delivery. He has a four-seam fastball that sits in the mid-90's with plenty of carry and ride action. Witherspoon has a good feel for a high 70's,12-to-6 curveball that he gets whiffs in the zone and as a chase pitch. He throws a power slider that sits in the mid-to-high 80's and has a tight, downward tilt. The 20-year-old pitcher throws a harder cutter and an occasional changeup as well.

Whitherspoon has a strong mound presence and is a competitor on the field. He has faced off against SEC competition for the past couple of seasons, so he has the type of experience that would lend itself to moving quickly through the lower minors. With the Giants being relatively light on pitching prospects, this would be a quick way to bolster that area.