The sun is quickly setting on the 2021 draft class for the SF Giants

Last week, the SF Giants traded away Mason Black to the Kansas City Royals after he was placed on waivers. He was just one of two draft picks to reach the majors from the 2021 Giants draft class, and this class is looking like another miss by the organization.

The sun is quickly setting on the 2021 draft class for the SF Giants

In that draft, the Giants employed an interesting strategy. They went heavy on pitching prospects, headlined by Will Bednar out of Mississippi State University in the first round. They did not draft a position player until they selected outfield prospect Vaun Brown in the 10th round.

The Giants followed a similar approach in 2022 as well. Perhaps, they had hoped that if they cornered the market on one area, that would improve their odds at finding one or two future major league pitchers. That has not exactly been the case. In total, the Giants selected 13 pitchers in 20 rounds, and three of those picks did not sign.

One of those picks was Brooks Baldwin in the 15th round. He did not sign, but was picked by the Chicago White Sox in the following year. Baldwin has reached the majors as well, so technically, that makes it three players from the Giants' 2021 draft class to debut.

Mason Black and Landen Roupp are the other two players. Black struggled during his time in the majors, pitching to a 6.47 ERA in 10 games. The Giants moved him to the bullpen late in the Triple-A season, and he did see a notable uptick in strikeouts.

Roupp has quietly put together solid numbers across two seasons with San Francisco. He has recorded a 3.73 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.44 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, and a 2.10 SO/W rate in 45 appearances. This includes registering a 3.80 ERA in 22 outings in 2025.

At this point, Roupp looks to be the best find in that draft by the Giants, and it was a shrewd selection in the 12th round. It is not often that teams find major leaguers that late in the draft.

If a team finds one or two role players in each draft, then they are typically doing fine. It is not often that teams find multiple everyday players in a draft, like the Giants did in 2008 when they drafted Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford in the first round and fourth round, respectively.

However, that could be hard to come by for the 2021 draft class. They signed 17 picks, and only seven players remain with the organization at this point.

Will Bednar is the only pick from the first five rounds who is still in the organization. Matt Mikulski (second round) was unceremoniously released before the 2025 season. Mason Black (third round) was just traded away. Eric Silva (fourth round) was sent to the Detroit Tigers in 2024 in a deal to acquire Mark Canha. Rohan Handa (fifth round) battled injuries before stepping away from baseball.

There could be potential major leaguers in Seth Lonsway (sixth round) and Nick Sinacola (seventh round). Both were college picks back in 2021, and have made a gradual ascent up the minor league ladder while putting together solid numbers.

The Giants might not get much more help from that draft. Back injuries derailed much of Bednar's pro career, but he has remained healthy recently. He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this week, and there is a good chance that the Giants will protect him from it by adding him to the 40-man roster.

For the better part of the past decade, the Giants have been stuck in the middle. They have often been too good for a rebuild, and not good enough to legitimately compete for a playoff spot. That said, they hve maintained faint playoff hopes until the final weeks of the year in most seasons.

It is not hard to connect the dots between their recent performance and the misses they have had, both in the draft and internationally. Good teams can usually build a foundation on the roster through the draft, but the Giants have had to live almost exclusively in free agency to build their roster. It is a difficult and expensive way to operate.

This offseason, they have several needs to address, especially on the pitching side. They should be able to address some of those needs, but improvement will need to come internally as well. When you look at the current state of the roster, it is easy to tie it back to recent drafts. Unfortunately, the Giants do not have much to show for it, including the 2021 draft class.