SF Giants continue to be connected to prep arm ahead of 2024 MLB draft

The 2024 MLB draft is right around the corner. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.Com published his latest mock draft, continuing to connect the SF Giants to prep arm Cam Caminiti with the 13th overall pick.

SF Giants continue to be connected to prep arm ahead of 2024 MLB draft

By the way, Mayo is a great follow on X when it comes to prospect coverage. He is not only putting scouting reports together for many of the top names in the draft but he typically has the signing bonus details before anyone else.

Mayo believes that the connection between the Giants and Caminiti is hard to ignore.

This connection is made so often it’s almost impossible to believe it, but there is interest for sure. They could also look at [Trey} Yesavage or one of the remaining college bats like [Hagen} Smith, [Carson} Benge, North Carolina’s Vance Honeycutt or LSU’s Tommy White.

This feels oddly similar to what happened with the Giants leading up to the 2020 draft. There had been plenty of rumors connecting them to Tyler Soderstrom. Of course, Soderstrom's father, Steve, was a first-round pick by the Giants in 1993. He reached the majors with the club in 1996, but that proved to be his only stint in the majors. Plus, the younger Soderstrom was local to Northern California.

Soderstrom was on the board when the Giants were on the clock in the first round. Instead, the club selected Patrick Bailey as Soderstrom slipped to the Oakland A's with the No. 26 pick.

Similar to Soderstrom, Cam Caminiti had a major league pedigree. He is a cousin of 1996 NL MVP Ken Caminiti.

The younger Caminiti is a left-handed pitcher for Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Given that the Giants train in Scottsdale during the spring, there is a good chance that they got an extended look.

On the mound, Caminiti flashes a mid-90's fastball and he could still add some velocity as he matures. He pairs this with a curveball, slider, and a changeup. He posted a 9-0 record with a 0.93 ERA in 52.2 innings this season. Caminiti has verbally committed to Louisiana State University, so he will have some leverage heading into the draft.

Jonathan Mayo also lists Hagen Smith, Carson Benge, Trey Yesavage, Vance Honeycutt, and Tommy White as other options the Giants could pursue. Interestingly, the Giants selected Honeycutt in the 20th round of the 2021 draft, but he did not sign.

The Giants have one of the lowest bonus pools after signing Matt Chapman and Blake Snell in the offseason. Both had rejected a qualifying offer, so the Giants will pick in the first round and then not again until the fourth round.

The 13th overall pick holds a slot value of $5.2 million, or about 70 percent of their total bonus pool, so the Giants will need to make this one count.