Scouting the Draft: Christmas in June!

Somone asked who I was hoping the Giants pick in the draft. When your team is picking at #29, it's awfully tough to zero in on just one player. The draft boards are churning out there and players that looked like they might be available are now projected to go much higher and other players are falling down the list. Just a week ago, the buzz seemed to be that a lot of teams were looking at position players in the first round with the thinking that the draft is so deep in pitching they can get good pitching in later rounds. Now, it seems like pitchers are moving up the boards in last minute projections.

The Giants have said they will take the Best Player Available. Scouting Director John Barr revealed a bit of their War Room strategy when he said they have 800 players ranked in order and won't waiver from that list in taking the BPA once the draft starts. He added that he is confident that a player they have ranked in the top 15 will fall to the Giants. The Giants do have an organizational need to re-stock the pitching and Barr did indicate that this draft is particularly deep in pitching hinting that is where the Giants are likely to make their early picks. IMO, the Giants could also stand to upgrade their organizational depth at SS, 3B, and possibly catcher and 2B.

With that background, I'll just put some names out who I think might be fits for the Giants at the early draft slots who are possibly available when they pick:

First Round:

Robert Stephenson, RHP, HS- My top pick for HS power arm, but is now rumored to be going to the Dodgers at #16. I'm guessing Colletti read about the rumors of the Giants being in on him and is going to feed his obsession of copycatting his old mentor. Could the Giants have sent out a smoke screen? They almost never tip their hand before the draft.

Kolton Wong, 2B, Hawaii- Premier gap-to-gap hitter in the draft with some speed. Prototype hitter for the NL West ballparks. Might not be there but would make a perfect 1-2 punch at the top of the order with Gary Brown.

Brian Goodwin, OF, JC- The Giants have a pretty good stock of OF prospects but if Wong and Stephenson are both gone, might be the BPA on the board. 5 tool OF although no single tool stands out.

Henry Owens, LHP, HS- Tall lefty with advanced stuff but may not have a ton of projection.

Tyler Beede, RHP, HS- Big, strong RHP from the Northeast. Has a strong commitment to Vandy so may be difficult to sign.

Tyler Anderson, LHP- Polished lefty with multiple plus pitches. Again may not fall this far but his stock seems to be dropping just a bit. May not fit the Giants mold for first rounders, but would be a good value this late in the first round.

I'm not excited about rumors of catcher Andrew Susac and RHP Joe Ross to the Giants at #29 but if the scouting staff likes them, I'll trust them.

Supplemental Round:

Jorge Lopez, RHP, HS- I actually wouldn't mind if he was the first rounder! Great looking physical speciman with a ton of projection. Comes out of Puerto Rico.

Josh Osich, LHP, Oregon State- Hot rumor from a couple of weeks ago for Round 1. Stock seems to have fallen back a bit.

Zach Cone, OF, Georgia- John Barr really likes to draft players who were highly rated in the pre-season whose stock has fallen. Cone is another toolsy OF who had a weak season this year.

Ricky Oropesa, 1B, USC- A personal favorite of mine. Barr has not shied away from power hitters with contact issues. I personally think he's underrated as an athlete and as a hitter.

Aaron Westlake, 1B, Vanderbilt- One of the better pure hitters in the draft. May be a better all-around hitter than Oropesa but might not have the power projection.

Travis Harrison, 3B, HS- Kind of a slightly more athletic version of Tommy Joseph. Great looking power potential who might not stick at 3B.

Round 2:

Hawtin Buchanan, RHP, HS- Huge RHP at 6'8", 240 lbs. I've seen scouting videos that make my jaw drop. Looks like a huge version of Matt Cain! Not sure why he isn't ranked higher than Round's 3 or 4 on a lot of draft boards. Personally, I'd like to see the Giants reach in round 2 because he might not make it to rounds 3 or 4.

Grayson Garvin, LHP, Vanderbilt- I really like this guy. Overshadowed by Sonny Gray, he's pitched just as well and is a big LHP to boot. I think he's at least as good as Tyler Anderson except available in a later draft slot.

Cory Mazzoni, RHP, NC State- Hard throwing RHP who can take it deep into games. Workhorse type. Has touched 97 MPH with the fastball.

Phil Evans, IF, HS- Might have the most advanced skills of any HS player. Advanced hit skill. May not have a lot of projection. Could be a steal in Round 2. Probably not a MLB SS.

Christian Lopes, IF, HS- Ranked in the late first round early. His stock seems to have fallen back a bit. Has some power potential. Probably not a SS.

I would really like to see the Giants take at least 2 pitchers with their top 3 picks with at least one being a HS power arm. I would be happy if they took 3 HS power arms with the first 3 picks but that may be expensive to sign all of them. There are so many reasonable options and the Giants tend to play it close to the vest. The most likely outcome is we will be surprised by their picks, but they will make sense once we see them.

It's like looking at a Christmas tree with stacks of presents and wondering which ones are yours and what's inside. Christmas in June!

BTW, check out Optioned to Fresno's predraft analysis for another perspective. Link is over on the left.