SF Giants showing preference in MLB Pipeline’s latest mock draft

The MLB draft is about a month away, but that might end up being the highlight of the SF Giants season. Over the weekend, MLB Pipeline published its latest mock draft, with the Giants showing a preference for prep shortstop Jacob Lombard in the first round.

Luck was in the Giants’ favor, as they landed the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft after finishing last year with 81 wins.

The Giants will need to make this one count. They will not be eligible to pick in the top ten in next year’s draft despite trending to have one of the worse records in baseball this season.

The price for moving up in this year’s draft is that it will prevent them from having a top pick next year. When the Giants lost 98 games in 2017, they could at least hang their hat on getting the No. 2 pick in the following draft. That will not be the case next season, as the draft rules have chanted to curb tanking.

The SF Giants will need to hit on this year’s first round picks

The Giants will need to make this draft count, especially considering that they have found little success the first round in recent seasons. Bryce Eldridge is a pleasant exception to this trend.

Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline recognizes that the Giants covet Roch Cholowsky, but his falling to the No. 4 pick is viewed as extremely unlikely. However, they are showing a preference among the potential available options:

"If the big three all are unavailable, San Francisco appears to prefer [Jacob] Lombard over [Jackson] Flora and [Eric] Booth in the next tier of talent."

Jim Callis on Giants pick

The strength of the Giants’ system is on middle infielders, so that would be adding to that area. They are lighter on pitching prospects, and adding Flora would help in that regard. However, teams do not draft for need in baseball.

Callis speculates that the Giants could also take left-handed pitcher Carson Bolemon out of Southside Christian High School with the No. 29 pick. The Giants acquired that pick, along with the corresponding slot value, when they shipped Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians last month.

The Giants have a bonus pool of about $17.3M. The No. 4 pick carries a slot value of just under $9 million, followed by $3.3 million for the No. 29 pick. Teams can exceed their bonus pool by five percent without forfeiting future picks, which has not been done in the slot value era. This gives the Giants a maximum bonus pool of about $18.2 million.

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