SF Giants have to avoid Kyle Harrison mistake after first-round draft selection

The SF Giants selected right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. It was not a huge shock after the mock draft consensus shifted in favor of the UC Santa Barbara product but now the Giants have to avoid making the same mistake they made with Kyle Harrison.

Like Harrison, Flora is a Bay Area native who grew up rooting for the Giants. When Harrison debuted back in 2023 and started striking a bunch of guys out it seemed like he was going to be a fixture in the rotation for a long time.

Then he had a down year in 2024 as his velocity dipped. Then he didn't make the Opening Day roster in 2025. Then he was gone and on his way to the Boston Red Sox in the Rafael Devers trade. Now he is having a dominant breakout season for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Reasonable people can disagree about how wise the Devers trade was. Devers has overall been pretty good, if not quite the game-changing bat the Giants hoped for. But watching Harrison be so good for another team really, really stings.

Giants need to be really patient with Jackson Flora

That is why the Giants have to be patient with Flora. He's just 21 years old and while he has all the tools to be a great big league pitcher, featuring a high-velocity fastball and plus changeup, rarely is a player's path to the big leagues linear.

There could easily be setbacks or struggles and the Giants cannot be reactionary and deal him too soon like they did with Harrison.

Some question whether Harrison could have ever reached his current level had he stayed with the Giants. It's a fair point considering the team has really struggled to successfully develop its pitchers for years.

That is why the Giants also have to invest in their pitching development to ensure that Flora is put in the best position possible to succeed. Buster Posey has said in the past that the Giants should be a "pitching and defense" team. That has not been reflected in reality as the Giants have not invested adequate money into the pitching staff so if they aren't going to pay for pitching then they need to develop pitchers.

Above all, they just need to be patient with Flora. If they trade him away or fail to properly develop yet another hometown, homegrown arm then Giants fans will not have any confidence in the organization's ability to produce capable big league pitchers.

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