The SF Giants leave a pair of former top picks unprotected from the Rule 5 draft

On Tuesday, the deadline to protect eligible prospects from the Rule 5 draft came and went with no update from the SF Giants. Later on, Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News confirmed that they made no Rule 5 protections.

The SF Giants leave a pair of former top picks unprotected from the Rule 5 draft

This was not terribly surprising news. The Giants did not have any obvious cases of players to protect. There was a case to be made for several minor leaguers, including Will Bednar.

Bednar had been slowed by back injuries since being taken in the first round of the 2021 draft. He made it back to the mound early in the 2024 season, and has remained healthy since then.

The results for the 25-year-old pitcher have been mixed, but there are some promising traits. He pitched to a 5.68 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 14.4 K/9, and a 2.15 SO/W rate across 38 outings split between two affiliates in 2025.

Bednar throws a mid-to-upper 90’s fastball with a gyro slider that sits in the low 80’s. He throws hard, misses a lot of bats, and walks a few too many hitters. That type of profile often has appeal in the Rule 5 channel.

The right-handed pitcher was not the only former first-round pick left unprotected. The Giants also did not add Reggie Crawford to the 40-man roster.

The hard-throwing lefty underwent his first shoulder surgery at the end of the 2024 season. At that point, he only had 37.1 innings on his pro ledger.

Crawford underwent a second shoulder procedure that will likely delay his return to the mound until the middle of next summer. He had been throwing bullpens before the setback.

The Giants also left Nate Furman, Spencer Miles, Gerelmi Maldonado, and Braxton Roxby unprotected. Roxby had a solid case after pitching to a 3.63 ERA in 45 appearances across two levels in 2025. The remainder of the group had been slowed by injuries over the past couple of seasons.

While they did not protect any player, there is a good chance that they do not lose anyone through the MLB phase of the Rule 5 draft. Many teams do not participate in it, and more often than not, a drafted player is returned to his original team.