SF Giants have luck on their side as they land the No. 4 pick in the 2026 MLB draft

On Tuesday, MLB held the draft lottery for the 2026 MLB draft. Luck was on the SF Giants side, as they landed the No. 4 pick in next year’s draft.

SF Giants have luck on their side as they land the No. 4 pick in the 2026 MLB draft

The Giants finished the 2025 season with an 81-81 record, giving them a 1.01 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick. More than likely, they were expected to pick in the middle of the first round.

The No. 13 pick has been a popular one for San Francisco in recent years. They have held that pick in three of the last five drafts. Patrick Bailey was selected with the No. 13 pick in the 2020 draft, and has quickly established himself as one of the best defensive players in baseball. James Tibbs III and Gavin Kilen were picked in that slot in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

In 2026, the Giants will hold their highest selection in the first round since they drafted Joey Bart with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft. Over the past 25 years, the Giants have held top-10 picks a handful of times and have had a lot of success. This includes Tim Lincecum (2006), Madison Bumgarner (2007), Buster Posey (2008), and Zack Wheeler (2009). 

In 2025, the No. 4 pick carried a slot value of $8.7M, and that is due to see an increase in 2026. Not only do the Giants inherit a larger slot value with this pick, but it could give them flexibility to reallocate some of this money to later in the draft, depending on who they pick. 

The Giants have not had much success in the draft in recent years. In 2019, they selected Hunter Bishop in the first round. He became a free agent in November. Grant McCray, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Trevor McDonald all occupy spots on the 40-man roster. 

In 2021, the Giants selected Will Bednar in the first round. They went heavy on pitching, drafting a pitcher with nine of the first 10 rounds. The only player from that draft who occupies a spot on the 40-man roster is Landen Roupp, who was drafted in the 12th round.

It is easy to connect the dots between the current state of the roster and some of the more recent drafts. For the Giants, the farm system has not fed the major league roster and that has been the case for the better part of the past 15 years. It puts them in a position where their only avenue for improvement is through free agency, which is difficult to do and costly.

That tide could be starting to shift. Of course, Bryce Eldridge is the team’s top prospect. They landed one of the top players in this year’s international free agency class in Josuar Gonzalez and are expected to land one of the top prospects in 2026 with Luis Hernández. Now factoring in the No. 4 pick in 2026, the Giants farm system has a chance to really move in the right direction.