Giants see ‘wellbalanced’ draft
Scouting director says team openminded for event
The Giants left little doubt in their first draft under Farhan Zaidi last year that they were not going to follow the oftfibbed declaration that they would take the best players available, regardless of position or experience.
Starting with No. 10 overall pick Hunter Bishop, the Giants took college hitters with their first four picks and used nine of their first 10 on position players. The farm system was short of impact bats and wanted a large infusion.
Amateur scouting director Michael Holmes does not foresee any such agenda heading into the 2020 draft, which begins Wednesday and has been truncated from 40 rounds to five because of the fiscal constraints of the coronavirus shutdown.
“It was no secret what our plan was in last year’s draft,” Holmes told The Chronicle for a “Giants Splash” podcast. “We thought, position playerwise, the collegiate level was the strength of the 2019 draft. We really made that a focus.
“Coming into 2020, I honestly believe this is as well
balanced a draft as there has been in a while. I don’t really think there is one area that is much stronger than another.”
Baseball America has sources who offer a different view, believing this draft will tilt heavily toward collegians because teams have compiled much more information about them over the years.
That’s always true by definition, but more so now because high schoolers could not play senior seasons that teams could scout.
“There’s likely to be a flight to safety,” one baseball executive told Baseball America anonymously. “The high school class is going to take a hit, in particular, due to the lack of exposure relative to prior years. It’s absolutely going to have a ripple effect on how teams operate in the future.”
Moreover, several high school prospects have already declared they will accept college scholarship offers to avoid a draft that promises far less bonus money. In typical years, many of those prep athletes use the offers as leverage to get better signing bonuses.
The most notable is Dylan Crews, a top75 outfield prospect from Lake Mary, Fla., who will attend South Carolina.
Nevertheless, Holmes predicts the Giants’ draft will have “a good, balanced feel to it, not only with our seven picks, but with our passedover market as well.”
Holmes was referring to the amateur freeagency period that begins at 6 a.m. PDT Friday in which all undrafted players can sign with any team for $20,000.
Mock drafts compiled by the publications that closely follow the process are mostly final. The Giants must be doing a good job of not tipping their pitches because the three principal mocks have them taking three different players.
Baseball America, which correctly predicted the Giants would use the No. 10 pick on Bishop, has them using No. 13 this week on Garrett Crochet, a lefthander from the University of Tennessee.
Longtime prospect watcher Keith Law has the Giants going local and selecting Turlock High School catcher and third baseman Tyler Soderstrom — whose father, Steve, was the Giants’ top pick (sixth overall) as a pitcher in 1993. Law also reported the Giants have some interest in Pennsylvania high school pitcher Nick Bitsko, a righthander.
MLB.com’s mock draft has the Giants picking a college righthander, Cade Cavalli of Oklahoma.
The three outlets all have the Tigers taking Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson, an alum of Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, with the first overall pick.
Holmes’ second Giants draft comes with some disappointment.
He will not be able to enjoy the camaraderie of a typical draft room, where executives and top evaluators monitor the picks and make their final calls. This year’s “room” will be a Zoom video conference.
Also, the probable lack of any minorleague baseball in 2020 will deprive all of the organizations a chance to see their selections play competitive ball this summer. These new prospects will be idled along with the entire system.
“The two most exciting days in our year for scouts are draft day and Opening Day in the minor leagues, because we have box scores to follow,” Holmes said. “I joke with a lot of players that ‘I can’t get to sleep at night until I know what you guys have done out there in the minor leagues.’
“We live and die by those box scores.”