SF Giants have a very complicated history when picking in the top-five of MLB Draft

The SF Giants own the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Good fortune allowed them to get that pick but now the pressure is on to get it right.

There are already predictions out there about who the Giants will select and obviously luck is involved to a certain extent in the draft.

Every organization is making its best guess on which prospects they think will pan out so let's take a look at all of the times the Giants have had a top-five draft pick in the past. They have hit big on some franchise players who have had their numbers retired and then they have completely whiffed on others.

It's been a mixed bag for the Giants when drafting in the top five of MLB Draft

1985 - Will Clark, No. 2 overall

The first time the Giants had a top-five pick, they hit it out of the park. San Francisco drafted Will Clark No. 2 overall in 1985 and he went on to be the best first baseman in the history of the franchise.

He made the Giants relevant again after being terrible for much of the 1980s and he was a key part of the 1987 team that made it to the NLCS and the 1989 team that made it to the World Series.

Clark had his number retired, fittingly, back in 2022 and is still involved to the Giants to this day. He's one of the best players in the history of the franchise so the Giants got that pick very right.

1986 - Matt Williams, No. 3 overall

Yet another great pick. The Giants selected third baseman Matt Williams with the No. 3 overall pick in 1986 a year after the team lost 100 games in what was the worst season in franchise history.

He became more of a key contributor in the 1990s as he made three straight All-Star games before being unceremoniously traded in exchange for Jeff Kent in a trade that was extremely controversial at the time.

Williams was still a very good Giant so this was another great pick by the franchise.

1997 - Jason Grilli, No. 4 overall

The Giants had the No. 4 overall pick in 1997 and they drafted right-handed pitcher Jason Grilli. He didn't last with the Giants too long and did not make his big league debut with San Francisco as he was traded in 1999 to the Florida Marlins to acquire Liván Hernández.

Grilli went on to have a decent big league career and the Giants at least got a lot of innings out of Hernández in his three and a half seasons with the Giants so this pick falls into the "wash" category.

2008 - Buster Posey, No. 5 overall

Yeah, this was a pretty good one. San Francisco's dynasty in the 2010s had just a little bit to do with Buster Posey's contributions beginning in 2010 and now the guy is in charge of making personnel decisions for the Giants.

He should be elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot and his number will be retired soon. There's an argument to be made that this was the best pick in franchise history so the Giants have to be forever grateful that Posey fell to them at No. 5 overall.

2018 - Joey Bart, No. 2 overall

After the Giants had an awful 2017 season they got the No. 2 pick overall. They spent it on catcher Joey Bart and he was automatically given the unfair designation of being Posey's successor.

It just didn't work out. Whether due to injuries or the weight of expectations Bart just didn't take advantage of the opportunities given him and the Giants decided to get rid of him once they found their true catcher of the future in Patrick Bailey. Yeah...about that.

This was one was a definite bust since the Giants traded Bart away when he didn't even have that much value. He's now a decent but not great player for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It's been a mixed bag for the Giants when picking in the top five of the MLB Draft so let's hope they pick the right guy this time around and get a player who can help the Giants for many years.

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