2022 Draft Prospects The San Francisco Giants Could Target

After a stellar 2021 season where they lead the entire Major Leagues in wins with 107, the San Francisco Giants have the final pick of the first round in the 2022 MLB Draft, the 31st pick to be exact. Why 31st pick when there are only 30 MLB teams? It is because the Mets will pick twice in the first round in this year's draft. After all, they failed to sign their first-round pick last year, Kumar Rocker.

2022 Draft Prospects The San Francisco Giants Could Target

The organization finds itself in a brand-new situation draft-wise because they have never picked in the bottom third of the draft, let alone the final pick of every round. A not-so-welcome consolation prize for having the best record in the big leagues. This creates a unique situation in terms of their drafting because their bonus pool money will be one of the smallest, if not the smallest, which limits their flexibility to spread their bonus pool around. It also opens up potential unknown draft tendencies, but if there's a front office and amateur scouting department that is trustworthy, it's a good bet to trust Michael Holmes and company.

Before we get started talking about the draft prospects who could be targeted by the Giants come July, listed below are the draft tendencies that were mentioned in the previous article.

- Drafting for organization depth needs

- Drafting pool-saving college picks early

- Taking legitimate first-round talents with their first pick

- Not afraid to sign college prospects to day two over-slot deals

- Drafting young-for-the-class first-rounders

- No age preference for high schoolers

- Drafting power hitters regardless of the level of education

- Drafting toolsy but raw high school position players

- Preference on pitchability but dynamic and deceptive high school pitchers

- Strong walk rates are almost a must for college position players, strikeout rates are tolerated as long as there is plenty of raw power

- Fluid college pitching preference but velocity and new pitching terminologies are kings

To be honest, a thorough analysis in this year's draft class has not been done yet but sites like Baseball America, MLB.com, Prospects Live, and my good friend Brian Recca's rankings will be a helpful resource for choosing the prospects. Without further ado, let's get to it.

2022 Draft Prospects The San Francisco Giants Could Target

College Position Players

Let's start with Arkansas's third baseman/outfielder Cayden Wallace. He checks off a lot of boxes with the draft tendencies the front office has. He is young for the class (will not turn 21 years old until after the draft), he plays a position of weakness in the depth chart which is in the dirt, a legitimate first-round talent at the moment (ranked in the 30s by the four sites listed above), a walk rate of around 10% in college and the Cape, a strikeout rate of over 20% in both college and the Cape but has hit a school freshman record-tying 14 homers which exhibits his power potential.

Wallace was a well-regarded prospect in his prep days but ended up committing to Arkansas and joining the loaded Razorbacks roster. He played in all the outfield spots last season but will play on third base in the upcoming season where his arm strength is a clean fit for the position. His ability to stick in the dirt is still yet unclear, but what is clear is that he has at least above-average raw power that he taps well in his compact right-handed swing. He has a solid feel for the strike zone, but he struggles to hit breaking balls. He is a safe pick in the late-first round.

Next up is Dylan Beavers from Cal. Beavers also checks off plenty of boxes in the Giants' bucket list. He's young for the class (will turn 21 after the draft), powerful (average exit velocity of over 92 MPH last year with 18 home runs and 11 doubles), a legitimate first-round talent (ranked in the 30s by Baseball America and in the 20s by MLB.com and Prospects Live).

He is an outfielder, though, so it's not a big need at the moment. The bonus is that he is studying in Cal; he is from California about three hours away from San Francisco, and the Giants have checked in on Beavers last season after they drafted Ian Villers from Cal last year where the front office loves to double tap on prospects from the same school as evidenced by Logan Wyatt and Tyler Fitzgerald (both from Louisville) in 2019 and Will Wilson, Patrick Bailey and Nick Swiney (from NC State) in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

As a prospect, Beavers makes plenty of hard contact with his lefty swing although he struggled to put on a show in the Cape and with Team USA last fall. He is a tall athlete, so there will be natural holes in his swing, but he takes his fair share of walks and he does not chase a lot for a guy with an aggressive approach. Even though his skill-set features at least five average tools with his power and arm strength at least above average, he is only considered a solid-average athlete at best.

The third and final main college position player is another infielder from a powerhouse program, LSU infielder Cade Doughty. Doughty once again checks a lot of boxes. He fills a hole in the infield depth either at second or third base and versatility is always a plus factor for the Giants even though it is not the utmost priority, has strong walk and strikeout rates in college (8.5% walk rate, 12.4% strikeout rate last year), and a borderline-first round talent (ranked in the 40s by Baseball America and Prospects Live, 30s in MLB.com), and while not under-21 at draft day, his 21.3 age is still pretty young for his class. What works to his favor, though, is that his numbers are against SEC competition, his versatility, and his plus makeup and leadership skills.

Doughty has a well-rounded profile with a short right-handed stroke, producing plenty of contact that masks his aggressive approach at the plate quite a bit. He can play all over the infield with the footwork and enough arm to play at third base and even at shortstop, although his average range might be a stretch in the position as he is not a liability. He's hit 13 homers for the Tigers last season but he's more of an average power hitter.

Other hitters that potentially be in the conversation include Tyler Locklear, Jace Grady, Eric Brown, and Jordan Sprinkle.

Locklear might not be a fit in terms of age (around 21.7 at draft day) and is not exactly highly regarded (only Prospects Live ranked him in the 40s) but he has the power production that the Giants often salivate on (16 homers and 12 doubles) and the peripherals last season with more walks than strikeouts. His strikeouts crept up at the Cape, but he still produced plenty of power. A first baseman, he has to continue to perform and there is actual second-round potential if he can.

Grady is someone who grew on me and was a standout performer in his sophomore season and the Cape. The switch-hitting outfielder is young for the class (just a month old after 21 on draft day) with a sublime contact-heavy approach where he posted almost the same number of walks as strikeouts. There's power on the left side although it's fringy at best at the moment. The Giants should have Grady on their radar as he was a freshman when 2020 second-rounder Jimmy Glowenke was in his junior year.

Brown and Sprinkle are pretty much surefire candidates to stick at shortstop. Brown has a unique batting stance, but he gets to his ready position on time and he can control the strike zone very well, despite his batting stance. He has fringy but surprising pop and he has plenty of bat speed to go along with it.

Sprinkle has better defensive tools than Brown but Brown has the better pop in his swing. With that said, Sprinkle has a clean bat path that should translate to a solid batting average but it's more contact than power at this point and he has an average raw power to tap onto.

2022 Draft Prospects The San Francisco Giants Could Target

College Pitching

Moving on to college pitching, the consensus is that this is the weakest demographic in this year's draft class in terms of talent up top, but there is a strong group of prospects in the late-first round that the organization could target. College lefties is a deep group around the late-first to the second-round range and even though the Giants do not have a depth issue in lefty pitchers, it sure feels good to add another one.

One of those lefties is Florida State left-hander Bryce Hubbart. Hubbart checks a lot of boxes for the Giants. He is young for the class (will turn 21 just before the draft), fills a nice demographic in the farm system (lefty pitching), could make a run for being a legitimate first-round talent (57th in Baseball America, 49th in MLB.com, 40th in Prospects Live, 12th in Brian Recca's rankings), and a metrics-friendly profile.

Hubbart might be under six-foot, but it gives him the natural ability to pitch with a flatter vertical approach angle. His fastball velocity fluctuates from the low-90s to as high as 97 MPH, but it has an above-average spin rate and elite-induced vertical break. Pair it with his flatter vertical angle and he generates plenty of whiffs above the zone.

He has two distinct breaking balls that have the potential to become whiff-inducing pitches. His curveball has a 1-7 shape with impressive vertical and horizontal movement while his slider is a frisbee with a heavy horizontal break. He has a changeup, but it's a distant fourth pitch. His delivery is dynamic with moderate effort and he can fill the strike zone well with his pitches.

The right-handed college pitching crop lacks a true ace, there are solid pitching prospects out there. One of those prospects that might be available for the front office (most likely not) is Adam Maier. This is purely a pop-up selection, but he checks a couple of boxes for the ideal Giants pick. He is extremely young for a college prospect (only 20.6 years old at draft day), a seam-shifted wake-friendly profile.

Maier might become this year's Sam Bachman, the former infielder does not have a lot of mileage in his right arm but he can spin a breaking ball very well. His slider is a plus pitch with spin rates that exceed 3,000 RPM and has a late but hard horizontal movement with a bit of vertical movement. His changeup is also excellent where it flashes hard fading action, although the velocity separation is not there yet. His fastball is a legitimate sinker thrown from 91 to 97 MPH with a solid sink. His motion is not the most active in the world but it is easy, although his true 3/4 arm slot could use some adjustment for a better vertical angle.

Other pitchers that might be in the conversation come draft time include three left-handers: Hunter Barco (21.6 years old), Carson Palmquist (21.7), and Cooper Hjerpe (21.3) all pitch from a low arm slot generating a flat vertical approach angle with their fastballs and deception against lefties.

The three breaks the age rule the Giants have in the first round and Palmquist and Hjerpe are not particularly well-regarded prospects at this point. However, Palmquist and Hjerpe might jump after a strong 2022 season. Palmquist has the best command potential out of the three and is shifting into the rotation but Hjerpe has the age advantage where he enjoyed an uptick in the fall reaching 97 MPH, the hardest out of the three, and is a capable strike-thrower as well with potentially the best changeup out of the three.

If there is a right-hander to look out for, it's Peyton Pallette. He has plenty of red flags (smaller frame, lack of track record, mechanics that lacks deception, injury history that includes undergoing Tommy John surgery that ended his 2021 season before it even began) but there are also a lot of positives that could be enough to tilt the organization’s preference (3,000+ RPM curveball, dynamic athlete on the mound, mid-90s velocity). The front office usually will not turn a blind eye to the red flags but if they think the talent is there, it will not be a stunner if he gets selected even if his stock fell after undergoing Tommy John.

2022 Draft Prospects The San Francisco Giants Could Target

High School Pitchers

After discussing the prep position players, let's now talk about pitching. Drafting prep pitching early is not exactly the front office’s M.O. over the past three years (they prefer to draft it on Day 2) but picking last in every round might push the envelope towards drafting one early, potentially in the first round. Prep pitchers tend to slide so the Giants should be in the sweet spot to get a prep pitcher early if they choose to.

The Perfect Game All-American Classic was available on YouTube a few weeks after it was held. After doing film study, there is one pitcher who stood out the most and that is Andrew Dutkanych IV. Dutkanych stood out in that game because his pitching motion is dynamic, rhythmic, and pretty clean while also throwing a mid-90s heater with an exceptional feel to spin a breaking ball. And that observation was justified when he popped off in the fall.

He will be 19 years old at draft day which is not ideal but his slider is touted as the best in the prep ranks, his curveball is an above-average pitch, his fastball could be plus but it's more of an overpowering pitch rather than a pitch that relied on plus movement, his changeup is developing to be a potential average pitch.

The right-hander from Indiana is an athlete on the mound, but some are worried about his operation on the mound, particularly his arm action. It is not a concern in my book and his athleticism should help him have at least an average command on the mound, potentially better. He's fun to watch and fireworks would go off if he gets drafted by the Giants in the first round.

If you think Dutkanych is the only pitcher that is on the shortlist, just wait until you get to know Illinois left-hander Noah Schultz. Schultz is a unique look on the mound from a hitter's perspective. He is 6'9" and throws from a sidearm slot. That alone easily conjures up Randy Johnson comparisons, but the comparisons don't stop there. Like Johnson, Schultz also has a nasty, high-spin slider with frisbee movement that gets whiffs from both lefties and righties.

However, unlike Johnson, Schultz does not have prime velocity yet. Schultz's fastball is only in the high-80s to low-90s at best, but it has natural tailing movement because of his low arm slot. Also, Schultz's pitching motion is not as aggressive as Johnson’s. You can compare Schultz more to Sean Hjelle, another super tall pitcher who is a great athlete and has a smooth motion on the mound.

His athleticism and smoothness of operation on the mound give Schultz a presently good feel for the strike zone that should only improve and help him develop at least a solid-average control of his repertoire as he matures. Schultz is also currently lean and has a projection in his frame that should help improve his velocity.

Schultz helps improve the lefty pitching depth of the organization, a highly regarded prospect (ranked #37 in MLB.com, #27 in Baseball America, and #17 in Prospects Live rankings), and has better pitchability for a player his size. The height could still scare off some teams, but if there is a team before the Giants' pick that looks at him and sees the potential, he could be gone at pick 31.

The last pitcher on the shortlist is someone who might fit what the front office is looking for the most. San Francisco targeted pitchers who are considered being above-average athletes at the very least with either deceptive or clean but very dynamic mechanics and advanced pitchability and strike-throwing traits over sheer stuff. Well, Ian Ritchie, Jr. from the state of Washington is not from California unlike Kyle Harrison and Eric Silva, but he surely fits the bill.

He is highly regarded (ranked #38 by Baseball America, #31 by Prospects Live, #27 by MLB.com), a great athlete on the mound, and has plenty of pitchability with his clean, easy, and pretty mechanics. Ritchie is more on par with Silva in terms of stuff but with the frame of Harrison. Ritchie sits in the 92-95 MPH range with his fastball and could touch 97 MPH on his best days.

He has a full, four-pitch mix with a tight mid-80s two-plane slider, a high-70s curveball with more of a vertical break, and a changeup with a good fade that he primarily used against lefties. He has a great feel for his four pitches and can spot his fastball and slider on the edges, which are very impressive traits for a prep pitcher.

The only thing that works against him is that he throws from a true 3/4 arm slot which does not exactly give his fastball the elite movement traits that are typically wanted and he employs a low-90s two-seamer to take advantage of his arm slot. Ritchie might be as close to what the team is looking for from a prep pitcher as it gets and it would not be shocking if he is on the shortlist of 2022 draft targets come summer.

Other prep pitchers to consider include Walter Ford, Jackson Cox, Nazier Mule, and Michael Kennedy.

Ford reclassified for the 2022 class and ended up as one of the youngest, if not the youngest, prospects in this draft class (will not turn 18 until a few days before 2022). This gives him plenty of helium in the coming months and could be gone before the Giants make their selection. Ford is very athletic on the mound, who already throws 97 MPH with his fastball with a good-looking slider with a sharp break and a changeup that is still in the early stages of development.

Jackson Cox is from the same state as Ian Ritchie Jr. who is not that far behind him in terms of the pure stuff. Cox's best pitch is a slider that has elite spin rates (over 3,000 RPM) with a sharp, two-plane break that gets a lot of whiffs against some of the best prep hitters during the summer. His fastball reaches 95 MPH and his control comes and goes, but if you can spin it, you can spin it. Cox might not be a true first-round talent, but he should be on the radar for subsequent picks.

Mule is one of the most electric prospects in the draft class. The two-way prospect from New Jersey is a better prospect on the mound where his athleticism shows up spectacularly with his very dynamic mechanics that he can pump out fastballs that reach up to 101 MPH from a deceptive, low 3/4 arm slot. His slider also flashes plus at times, but he is more of a thrower than a true pitcher because of his double-duty limiting him to developing a consistent feel for the zone. He's one of the youngest players in the class as well and with the way the Giants love their low-arm slot guys with good stuff, he is in the consideration.

The final one is Michael Kennedy from New York, so he will not be seen as often as the prospects who play in the warm states. However, Kennedy has good potential on the mound, where he is also one of the youngest. Kennedy is your prototypical pitchability lefty who has an advanced feel in throwing his three-pitch mix for strikes consistently from a deceptive low 3/4 arm slot. His fastball sits in the low-90s with natural tailing action, his slider and changeup flash above-average with impressive tilt on the slide-piece and a late fade on his changeup.

The only negative thing against Kennedy is that his frame is already filled up with little projection remaining. However, we have seen what Kyle Harrison did and how he blossomed into the pitcher that he is today and it should not be a surprise if the organization targets him on Day 2 to lure him away from his LSU commitment because he is a profile that the organization looks for from the prep pitching demographic.