7:57 PM: This will be a wrap for this live blog of the draft. Guys on BA's podcast like Trevor Cohen's tools and think he could even develop a little power with maturity and development. I would think the Giants can save some pool money with both these picks so will look for them to cobble enough together to take a lottery pick high schooler sometime tomorrow.
I'll probably wait until tomorrow evening to summarize the Day 2 picks.
7:12 PM: Giants are up. Giants select Trevor Cohen College OF. Welp, Buster said it was going to be a scouting draft. Cohen is not on MLB Pipeline's top 250 draft prospects. A mystery pick! Will have to do some research.
6:37 PM: Checking in to respond to a couple of comments. Padres take Kruz Schoolcraft at #@5. Padres have a long history of swinging for the fences in their drafts and it's paid off for them. I feel like this pick vindicates my enthusiasm for Schoolcraft on some level. I will follow his pro career with interest. I have to say the Kilen pick feels like a draft for need at the MLB level. 3B and SS are filled for the next 5-6 years but the Giants are scuffling at 2B so they go out and get a college 2B who can move fast but maybe with limited ceiling. Fingers crossed for a good player at #85.
4:22: Gonna sign off for awhile. Will check back later for the Giants third round pick at #85 overall.
4:18: Gavin Kilen College SS. DOB: 3/28/2004. B-L, T-R. 5' 11", 187 lbs. Best tool is Hit. Played more 2B after transfer from Louisville to Tennessee. Has a very Joe Panik feel to him. More hit tool than power. Likes to swing early in count. Probably a 2B in the pros.
4:15 PM: Here we go......Gavin Kilen College SS. Someone on the MLB broadcast thinks he's the best hitter in the draft. May not stick at SS but the bat seems to be real.
4:12 PM: Witherspoon or a college bat is looking better for the Giants....unless they want to pop Schoolcraft.....
4:11 PM: Gavin Fien HS SS to the Rangers. Giants are up.
4:08 PM: Another tough loss for the Giants.
4:06 PM: Jamie Arnold College LHP pretty easy pick for the A's at #11.
4:01 PM: The HS SS's are flying off the board. Billy Carlson, ++ fielder, questionable bat, to the ChiSox at #10. Giants are going to have a choice out of excellent prospects: Schoolcraft, Arnold, Witherspoon, Ike Irish, Summerhill all still on the board.
3:59 PM: Game slipping away from the Giants.....
3:55 PM: I didn't see Steele Hall HS SS to the Reds(#9) coming. Jamie Arnold College LHP and Kyson Witherspoon College RHP still on the board as are several college bats. Hall's big tools are catch and run. One of the youngest and fastest players in the draft.
3:50 PM: JoJo Parker HS SS, a player who was mocked to the Giants by several analysts goes to the BJ's at #8. Seemed to catch helium late in the cycle. Possibly best bat of the HS SS's.
3:45: Marlins take the top college position player in the draft, Aiva Arquette SS at #7.
3:39: Pirates know something about drafting and developing HS pitchers. They are ecstatic to have Seth Hernandez HS RHP fall into their laps. IMO, very possibly the best player in the entire draft.
3:34 PM: Cardinals take Liam Doyle College LHP. They take the big fastball and size over the advanced pitch mix of Jamie Arnold. How far will Seth Hernandez drop? 13?
3:30 PM: ....and Luis Matos ties it up in the 9'th inning!!!!
3:28 PM: And Ethan Holliday HS SS goes to his dad's old team. Massive power potential and Coors Field something to dream on.
3:23 PM: And the drop for Seth Hernandez begins. Mariners can't believe Kade Anderson College LHP falls into their laps. Pretty much a complete pitcher now. Could be pitching in the majors by this time next season. Harold Reynolds makes the point that the first two picks were almost certainly driven by under slot deals.
3:17 PM: Whoa! As expected, the Angels go for the fast-moving college pitcher but it's not Kade Anderson. Tyler Bremner College RHP from UCSB has had a roller coaster ride. He fell down draft boards early in the college season but seemed to regain velocity and his slider command later in the season and caught late helium. Some mocks had him at #13 to the Giants.
3:12 PM: Wow! Nationals go with their Best Player Available and it's not Ethan Holliday or Seth Hernandez, but..... Eli Willits HS SS might be more willing to accept a below-slot bonus. Willits was always ranked in the top 10 but he caught additional helium late in the cycle. Willits seems like more well-rounded prospect than Holliday but he doesn't have anything close to Holliday's immense power potential.
3:04 PM: Commissioner's Opening Remarks. Some intrigue around the #1 pick. Why was Mike Rizzo fired just 1 week before the draft? That seems more than a coincidence, no? I'll guess Rizzo insisted on taking one of the two best players in the draft, Ethan Holliday SS or Seth Hernandez RHP and ownership wants to accelerate the rebuild with a fast-moving college pitchers which would point to Kade Anderson LHP. But that's pure speculation adding 2+2 and getting 5.
2:38 PM: So who might the Giants be looking to draft at #13? I've mostly reconciled myself that it's not going to be Kruz Schoolcraft HS LHP although the BA podcast yesterday had a rumor that the A's showed interest at #11 which is the first hint of any buzz on him the whole cycle.
MLP Pipeline has Kyson Witherspoon College RHP falling to the Giants but other mock drafts have him going higher.
Someone asked about Caden Bodine College C. I kind of dismissed him as a reach at #13 but too good to drop to round 3. Now I am not so sure. Bodine is a serious college hitter in a draft that his thin for that demographic and he plays a good enough defensive C to play the position at the MLB level. He's a switch-hitter to boot. He has a classic catcher's build with a thick, heavy lower half. As a probably HOF catcher himself, I am sure Buster Posey has an added interest in the position. Does he prioritize it enough to reach for one he really likes? Is he a tougher evaluator of catchers than other POBO's?
2:16 PM: Several factors impacting the Giants draft:
It's a little frustrating that they had the 9'th worst record in the draft the dropped to #13 due to teams jumping over them in the lottery. Giants have yet to move up in any draft lottery. Hopefully their luck turns next year? But we hope they do well enough to not be in the lottery so we can't win.
Giants lost their 2'nd and 5'th round picks due to signing Willy Adames SS. I would rather have Willy Adames than whoever they might get with those two players but they also lose the ability to spend the bonus money in those slots which limits who much they can go overslot with the first pick or use the first pick to allocate extra slot money to lower picks.
How will changes in Giants management impact their draft decisions? Buster has said he wants the Giants draft to be more scout oriented, but nobody knows exactly what that means. Zach Minasian is now the GM and his bro has effectively used a strategy of drafting polished college players then rushing them to the majors. Is Zach inclined to advocate for that approach with the Giants?
2:09 PM: Back at ya. I've got windows open on my computer screen: Gameday, MLB.com predraft broadcast and the blog. How is everybody feeling about the draft? Do we even care or are we focused on the Giants-Dodgers game? Ray is pitching well but as we have seen, just not quite well enough to overcome the lack of hitting. A couple of walks in the fourth cost him and then a HR to one of the Dodgers weaker hitters. Ugh!
11:09 AM: I'm going to try something different here and see if I can live-blog the draft. I will use this post and add new comments at the top rather than bottom. Use the comments section to submit draft-related questions or comments. I will plan to log back in somewhere around 2-2:30 PM to respond here in the text and post my own thoughts on the draft. Thanks to everybody for reading and commenting which makes When the Giants Come To Town the greatest of the Giants-oriented blogs.
Ooops, crashed mid thought…
ReplyDeleteI am not sure I understand that one. We have Walker, Ahuna and some pretty high profile international signings. With Harrison gone and Tibbs with him, seems like some other picks you mentioned made more sense. Prospects are prospects but seems like we could have used help somewhere else.
It sure feels like a draft for need at the MLB level. 3B and SS are filled for the next 5-6 years. They are scuffling to put someone at 2B. So they draft a college 2B who can move fast to the MLB level.
DeleteNot thrilled to see Schoolcraft go to San Diego.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Padres historically draft for ceiling and it has served them well. I feel like them taking Schoolcraft is a vindication of my enthusiasm for him on some level.
DeletePart of my Gavin Kilen, Grok response: “ Scouting reports rank him around the 14-21 range among draft prospects, highlighting his line-drive oriented bat and potential for above-average offensive production, though his power is fringy and he’s not a burner on the bases (average speed). The Giants seem to value his pure hitting ability and high ceiling as a contact-oriented infielder, and early reactions from analysts note that he’s a solid, toolsy pick who could move quickly through the minors if his defense solidifies at second base.”
ReplyDeleteMLB crew was comping him to Gavin Lux which isn't all that much different than Joe Panik.
DeleteI saw a comparison to Joe Panik as well!
DeleteMaybe under slot picks to save their limited draft pool $ for draftees who drop on day 2…we can only hope!
ReplyDeleteThat's what it looks like to me.
DeleteGrok 4 tidbit on Trevor Cohen - “Overall in college, he slashed .339/.404/.452 with 4 HR, 100 RBIs, 39 SB, and only 62 strikeouts across 163 games, demonstrating elite plate discipline (his 2025 chase rate and whiff rate were among the lowest in the Big Ten) and base-running acumen.
ReplyDeleteScouting-wise, Cohen profiles as a toolsy outfielder with above-average speed (evident in his stolen base totals and ability to cover ground in center), a compact lefty swing that prioritizes line-drive contact over raw power, and a high baseball IQ.
His arm is average, but his routes and instincts make him a potential plus defender in center or a corner outfield spot. Strengths include his bat-to-ball skills, ability to hit to all fields, and speed that could translate to 20+ steals annually in the pros.”
We could use more hitters that can hit!
Underwhelming.
ReplyDeleteMike Holmes was hired by Zahidi as head of scouting in 2019 and produced some real busts.
Looking over the stats for all the hitters drafted during the Zaidi era and one thing that stands out is that very few of them have K rates less than 25% in the minors. That does not bode well for their contact ability in the majors, something we have already seen with the hitters who have graduated to MLB. Perhaps the first two picks of the Posey era reflect a shift in focus and scouting?
ReplyDelete