Surprise: Giants choose a catcher in the 1st round
The TV commentators nearly fell off their chairs when Commissioner Rob Manfred read the name. Fans on social media spouted a collective “huh?”
When the first round of the 2020 draft Wednesday reached the Giants at No. 13, nobody expected a team that had Buster Posey signed for two more years and Joey Bart in the wings to take a college catcher.
The only person outside of 24 Willie Mays Plaza who did not seem surprised was the kid, Patrick Bailey from North Carolina State, who has known Giants amateur scouting director Michael Holmes for seven years and figured he might go to San Francisco.
“They said they were taking the best available talent, and I guess that was me,” Bailey said from his North Carolina apartment in a Zoom call with reporters.
Holmes and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said they were thrilled that Bailey was still available at 13 and that he more than any other amateur elicited the “broadest consensus” among scouts, executives and data analysts that he should be the pick. You have questions. Will Bailey or Bart be asked to switch positions? Will one of them be traded? Is there room for Posey, Bailey and Bart on the same bigleague roster?
Zaidi had answers, saying Bailey’s selection “embodies two baseball adages: You don’t draft for need, or I should say perceived need, and you can never have too much catching.”
Asked if Bart or Bailey might be asked to learn a new position, Zaidi noted that baseball will evolve with 26man rosters and the prospect of a universal designated hitter. Zaidi also said the front office already contemplated Bart learning first base as a matter of philosophy.
“When we look at our ideal team and what our ideal roster looks like, the dream scenario is to have two catchers who can impact the game offensively and defensively,” he said. “If you’re lucky enough to have that, you’re going to want both guys in the lineup. It’s possible teams will carry three catchers during major chunks of the season as well.”
Bart and Bailey are not birds of a feather. Bart is known more for his offense, Bailey his defense, although Bailey’s bat scorched in 17 games for N.C. State in 2020 before the rest of the season was lost to the COVID19 shutdown.
In twoplus seasons for the Wolfpack, Bailey hit .302 with 29 homers, a .411 onbase percentage and .568 slugging average in 578 plate appearances.
“I’ve always considered myself a defensefirst catcher,” Bailey said. “That’s something I’ve always prided myself in. Getting to N.C. State, I was able to mature a little, my body, and I was able to produce a little power.”
Holmes until last year lived in North Carolina, about 15 minutes from Bailey’s high school, and saw a transformation over four years of high school and three in college. “In high school, he was a guy who could always catch and throw,” Holmes said. “To see his bat develop the way it has, his trajectory is still pointing north and he has the opportunity to grow offensively. And he still has the skill set defensively you want to see at the majorleague level.”
The Giants like their Wolfpack players. They acquired former N.C. State second baseman Will Wilson from the Angels in December, six months after he was picked 15th overall, agreeing to eat infielder Zack Cozart’s $12.7 million 2020 contract for the privilege.
After the Giants took Bailey, Wilson retweeted a photo from the university showing the two with an imagined caption reading, “Did we just become teammates again?”
Social media also buzzed with video of a tremendous bat flip that Bailey acknowledged he planned if he hit a threerun tying homer in a game against UNCCharlotte, which he did.
Bailey is the first of seven players the Giants will select in this year’s unusual, fiveround draft, which concludes Thursday with rounds two through five. Zaidi hinted that the Giants could fill a greater organizational need, college arms, with some of their remaining picks.
After their secondround pick at No. 49 overall they will get comp picks at 67 and 68 for losing Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith to free agency before moving to rounds three to five.
The Giants have until Aug. 1 to sign Bailey and all of their picks. The slot value for Bailey is $4.2 million out of a total draft pool of $9.2 million.
On Friday, all undrafted amateurs will land in a freeagent pool. Teams can sign as many as they choose for up to $20,000 apiece.