Giants, A’s playing for elite draft picks
Brady Singer. Nick Madrigal. Seth Beer. Kumar Rocker. Brice Turang. Ethan Hankins.
Household names, right? Check back in 10 months, and let us know where they rank in your mock draft. Mock draft? One of the best consequences of a lousy season is a lofty draft position, and if the Giants play their cards right, they could be rewarded with the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history.
Of course, they’d need to finish behind the hapless Phillies, current owners of baseball’s worst record and, therefore, lined up for the top pick in the June 2018 draft.
Suddenly, that upcoming Giants-Phillies series, four games hosted by the Giants starting Aug. 17, has some meaning. Do Giants fans root for their team to sweep? Or to get swept?
Silly questions, yes, but look at the Astros, the American League’s premier team. They pretty much tanked three straight seasons, averaging 108 losses from 2011 to 2013, to earn three straight top overall picks and increased financial allotments to sign draftees and international players.
The difference is, the Astros were intentionally bad and stripped payrolls to rebuild through the draft. The Giants thought they were built to win this year, ranking among the top teams in payroll.
It just so happened that things went horribly wrong, which ain’t a bad thing for draft placement. There will be a greater emphasis on next year’s draft for the Giants with their scouts paying closer attention to the elite of the elite, which wasn’t as necessary this year when they picked 19th overall, or especially last year, when their top pick was 59th.
The Giants scouted the high school summer showcases and college summer leagues, including the Cape Cod League, a legendary wood-bat circuit that’s a paradise for future major leaguers. All teams track amateurs at these events, but when a team is destined for a top pick, special attention is paid to the most special players. The Giants have had one second overall pick in their history, Will Clark in 1985, and three other top five picks: Matt Williams (fifth, 1986), Jason Grilli (fourth, 1997) and a fellow named Buster Posey (fifth, 2008).
The 2018 draft could be the first in history with both the Giants and A’s picking in the top five. It has been that kind of season by the bay.
The A’s had the top overall pick once, Rick Monday in 1965, and nine other top-five picks — from Reggie Jackson (second, 1966) to Mark Mulder (second, 1998). In between, there were quite a few not-solegendary picks: Juan Bustabad, Mike King, Stan Hilton, etc.
Because it can take years of grooming in the minors, especially for high schoolers, and because baseball drafts are more of a crapshoot than football and basketball drafts, from which players immediately jump into the NFL and NBA, gobs of preparation and legwork are essential in getting it right.
For what it’s worth, Singer is a University of Florida pitcher projected to be one of the top picks in the June draft. Madrigal is a middle infielder from Oregon State, Beer a first baseman from Clemson.
Rocker and Hankins are high school pitchers from Georgia, Turang a high school shortstop from Corona (Riverside County).
For the purpose of your mock draft.
Posey or Beckham: The guy who wasn’t Posey was traded to the Orioles because the guy who wasn’t Posey never lived up to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft.
The Rays dealt Tim Beckham to Baltimore before Monday’s deadline, ending a sevenyear relationship that didn’t go over well for Tampa Bay fans who thought Posey, who played and pitched at Florida State, should have been the first pick. They were right. Posey has won three World Series rings, an MVP award, a Rookie of the Year award and a batting crown. He entered Saturday as a .308 hitter in 998 big-league games.
Beckham has hit .258 in 243 major-league games.
The ultimate decision was Andrew Friedman’s, though the Rays’ decision-makers were torn. Friedman runs the Dodgers now. It came down to Posey, a local favorite, and Beckham, a high school shortstop.
Posey fell to the Giants at No. 5 as the Pirates, Royals and Orioles selected Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer and Brian Matusz, respectively.
For the small-market Rays, it might not have been about who was better, but who was cheaper. A report emerged before the draft that the Posey camp would demand a $12 million signing bonus, and perhaps that benefited the Giants because Beckham wasn’t making such a demand.
As it turned out, Posey’s signing bonus with the Giants was $6.2 million. Beckham’s was $6.15 million. A wash. And a colossal mistake by the Rays.
“It’s been almost 10 years ago now,” Posey said. “As a 21-yearold, I would’ve probably liked to stay in Florida, but now obviously I’m very happy here. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For Beckham, the Rays received a prospect from the Orioles, pitcher Tobias Myers, 19, a sixth-round pick in 2016.