SF Giants sign majority of top picks in 2023 draft class

The SF Giants made a lot of progress on the 2023 draft class over the past couple of days. They reportedly signed their two top picks on Monday and added one more early on Tuesday. However, many of the remaining top picks have signed since then.

SF Giants sign majority of top picks in 2023 draft class

The Giants held 11 picks in the first 10 rounds. They received a compensatory pick when Carlos Rodón rejected a qualifying offer and signed a massive deal with the New York Yankees this past winter. That pick was used to select left-handed pitcher Joe Whitman out of Kent State University.

He along with most of the Giants picks selected in the first 10 rounds have reportedly agreed to signing bonuses. The lone exception is fourth-round pick Maui Ahuna out of the University of Tennessee.

Below are the reported signings with slot value in parentheses:

Round 1 - Bryce Eldridge: $3,997,500 (Slot $4,326,600)

Round 2 - Walker Martin: $2,997,500 (Slot $1,620,800)

Round 2C - Joe Whitman: $805,575 (Slot $1,074,100)

Round 3 - Cole Foster: $747,500 (Slot $820,900)

Round 4 - Maui Ahuna: (Slot $569,100)

Round 5 - Quinn McDaniel: $300,450 (Slot $400,600)

Round 6 - Luke Shliger: $272,500 (Slot $314,800)

Round 7 - Scott Bandura: $197,500 (Slot $246,500)

Round 8: Josh Bostick: $397,500 (Slot $198,800)

Round 9 - Charlie Szykowny: $47,500 (Slot $177,500)

Round 10 - Ryan Vanderhei: $47,500 (Slot $167,200)

The Giants have already committed about $9.8 million of their $9.9 million bonus pool with these confirmed signings. Only the first 10 rounds count against the bonus pool as well as any picks after round 10 who receive a signing bonus in excess of $150,000.

Teams can exceed their bonus pool by five percent without a loss of future draft picks. Over the past few years, the Giants have flirted closely with that five-percent threshold but have not gone over it. They should scrape right below it again this year.

The Giants have not signed Ahuna yet. The University of Tennessee product is a slick-fielding shortstop with projectable power and some swing-and-miss tendencies. The Giants have built a buffer to be able to sign him thanks to some underslot signings like Whitman, McDaniel, Szykowny, and Vanderhei.

There are plenty of reasons why a player might agree to an underslot deal such as if he was an overdraft pick or played in a lesser-known conference. Regardless, the Giants have enough in the budget to be able to sign Ahuna to a slot value of $569,100 with about $32,000 left before crossing that five-percent overage.

Of course, it is hard to know exactly where the Giants will be until Ahuna's signing is confirmed. They do have one pick, Jack Payton, who was picked in the 11th round that they would like to sign as well. Payton had been regarded as one of the better players in the class but slid due to concerns about whether he can stick at catcher.

Nevertheless, the Giants could still be working out the specifics of how to retain both prospects. However, the rest of the top picks are signed and should begin their pro careers soon enough.