When we talk about "the draft" we mean the First-year Amateur Player Draft or, in MLB jargon, the Rule 4 Draft. It is usually held in the middle of the season and we often call it the "June" draft. This year it is in July (11th to 13th). This stuff started in 1965. There used to be three drafts, for different types of amateurs, but those were all consolidated by 1986.
The Giants have never had the #1 pick. The best they've done is the #2 pick and they drafted Will Clark in 1985 and Joey Bart in 2018. They had the #3 pick in 1986 and took Matt Williams. They had a #4 pick in 1997 and that landed Jason Grilli. They had the #5 pick in 2008 and grabbed Buster Posey. Johnnie LeMaster was the #6 pick in 1973 as was Zack Wheeler in 2009.
Jesse Reid (1980), Calvin Murray (1992), and Matt White (1996) were all #7 picks. Ted Barnicle was the #8 pick in 1975. Alan Cockrell (1994) was their only #9 pick. The #10 spot has been good to San Francisco: Craig Landis (1977), Mark Grant (1981), Tim Lincecum (2006), Madison Bumgarner (2007), and Hunter Bishop (2019). (Two outta five ain't bad.)
I should note that Matt Cain was a first-rounder but not until pick #25. The Buster Era started with last year's draft and the Giants took Gavin Kilen with the #13 pick.
Anytime you have a top ten pick you have a chance to get an impact player. Usually there are a half dozen so-called "can't miss" prospects in the first round. The #4 pick is a great opportunity for Buster & Co. to grab one. Obviously there are no sure things but this is about as close as you can get in MLB.
At this point the draft is the most exciting thing about this season.
--M.C.
No comments:
Post a Comment