Some predict college catcher will go to S.F. at 2nd overall
Mock drafts tend to be more fun than reliable, especially in baseball.
It’s a sport that usually requires years for drafted players to reach the majors if they get there at all, unlike football and basketball that can promise top picks an immediate spot on the team — even a starting job.
Baseball’s three-day draft begins at 4 p.m. Monday, and the Giants pick second overall for the first time since selecting Will Clark in 1985.
Several media-generated mock drafts have the Giants picking a college catcher, Joey Bart of Georgia Tech. Perhaps they’ll take Florida pitcher Brady Singer or Wichita State third baseman Alex Bohm or a high school pitcher such as Cole Winn of Orange County or Matthew Liberatore of Arizona.
Or someone not anticipated.
Like last year. The Giants had the 19th pick, and mock drafts had them taking Kentucky first baseman Evan White, who went 17th to Seattle. The Giants pulled a surprise, taking a high school outfielder from Puerto Rico, Heliot Ramos.
Or, the Giants could take a discounted player with their first pick — for whom their slot value is $7.494 million — to save some of their allotted $11.748 million overall pool (for the top 10 rounds) for later selections if, say, they want to use a pick on a high schooler who’s leveraging a college scholarship.
“Mock drafts are interesting,” Giants general manager Bobby Evans said, “because the writers do a lot of research and
work to try to understand what’s out there, but ultimately it’s who’s going to be available and who the clubs are targeting. Everyone has different opinions because it’s not clear cut.”
The Tigers have the first pick and are expected to draft Auburn pitcher Casey Mize, though Detroit hasn’t confirmed it. There’s a chance Mize could fall to the Giants. It’s not like the 2009 and 2010 drafts when Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were clearly ahead of the pack; the Nationals picked first both years and took both players.
If the Giants pick Bart, the first thought in their fans’ minds will be Buster Posey, a National League MVP, five-time All-Star and a common denominator in three World Series titles. Posey is 31, and his greatest value to the team remains at catcher, though it eventually could be first base.
Teams generally don’t draft for need — it’s more about choosing the best player available. But any conversation involving Bart would include Posey’s future and how long the Giants anticipate their franchise player will stay behind the plate.
The Giants’ second pick is 45th overall and their third is 80th, and those are far greater unknowns for the franchise. They can only hope they succeed as they did in 2008 when drafting Brandon Crawford in the fourth round and 2009 when Brandon Belt was a fifth-rounder.
“Look where the Angels
took (Mike) Trout, a franchise-changing player,” Evans said of the 25th overall pick in 2009. “You can get a game-changing guy in any number of places, but your odds increase when you select as high, as we will. While the probability might change, even when not picking this high, your goal is still to get an impact player.”
For the record, MLB.com, Baseball America and FanGraphs are among the outlets predicting the Tigers will draft Mize and the Giants will take Bart. ESPN has the Giants picking Winn.