San Francisco Giants: Draft Review

General Manager: Brian Sabean
Farm Director: Fred Stanley
Scouting Director: John Barr

2006-2009 Draft Results:
First three rounds included
x- over-slot signees ($200,000 or more)

2009 1st Round: Zack Wheeler, RHP, Georgia HS
2. Tommy Joseph, C, Arizona HS
3. Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville
5x – Brandon Belt, 1B, Texas
6x – Matthew Graham, RHP, Texas HS

The Giants organization nabbed one of my favorite arms in the ’09 draft in Wheeler. The right-hander will not make his debut until the 2010 season and he’ll likely begin the season in extended spring training. Joseph also did not play in ’09 and he’s an offensive-minded catcher with good pop. He’ll likely join Wheeler in extended spring training.

Dominguez, the club’s first collegiate pick, displayed his well-documented power in short-season ball with nine homers in 181 at-bats, but he also showed why there are huge question marks surrounding his potential. He struck out at a 31.5% clip, while walking just 4.5% of the time. He has a very strong arm at third base.

Drafted as a pitcher out of high school, Belt showed more potential at the plate in college. Despite his size (6’5”, 200 lbs), the first baseman does not hit with as much home-run pop as you would expect so the organization may look to adjust his batting stance in order to maximize his power output. The club swayed Graham away from his North Carolina committed (with the aid of $500,000). The right-hander has a good fastball-curveball mix but consistency has eluded him thus far.

Keep an eye on fourth rounder Jason Stoffel. The late-game reliever could move quickly through the system.

2008 1st Round: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
1S. Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Wichita State
3. Roger Kieschnick, OF, Texas Tech
4x – Brandon Crawford, SS, UCLA

The organization could have packed up its bags and walked away from the draft after its first pick and it still would have had a very successful draft. Despite having just one pro season under his belt, Mr. Posey shows All-Star potential and could end 2010 as the big-league club’s starting catcher.

Gillaspie made it quickly to the Majors but but his ceiling is hampered by his serious lack of power (.100 ISO in ’09). He projects to have a Bill Mueller type of career, which is nice, but nothing to get too excited about. Kieschnick could perhaps give some of his power to Gillaspie. The outfielder has a very powerful bat and made the club’s Top 10 list. Crawford joins him on the list after zooming through the system in ’09.

Left-hander Scott Barnes (8th round) was flipped to Cleveland last season for first baseman Ryan Garko, who was then allowed to walk away at the end of the year.

2007 1st Round: Madison Bumgarner, LHP, North Carolina HS
1. Tim Alderson, RHP, Arizona HS
1. Wendell Fairley, OF, Mississippi HS
1S. Nick Noonan, 2B, California HS
1S. Jackson Williams, C, Oklahoma
1S. Charlie Culberson, SS, Georgia HS

The club nabbed two very promising arms at the top of this draft in Bumgarner and Alderson. The left-hander sits near the top of the club’s best prospects, while Alderson was sent to Pittsburgh in a questionable trade for (oft-injured) second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

Fairley was a head-scratcher from the start and he hasn’t performed well (.243/.323/.333 in low-A). Noonan hasn’t taken to pro ball quite as well as I though he would. His batting average has dropped each season while his strikeout rate has risen (and his power has remained static). He has some speed but he attempted just 14 steals in ’09 after nabbing 29 successfully in ’08.

Williams is one of the better defensive catchers in the minors, but his bat is a stretch even for triple-A. He hit .223/.316/.310 at double-A in ’09. Culberson was a bit of an over-draft with the club’s final supplemental pick and he hasn’t hit well in pro ball. He repeated low-A in ’09 and batted .246/.303/.306 in 509 at-bats.

Dan Runzler (9th round) is among the club’s top prospects and could play a significant role in the big league club’s bullpen in 2010. Despite a below-average fastball, Joe Paterson (10th round) could reach the Majors as a LOOGY. In double-A in ’09, he held left-handed batters to a .130 average and posted a strikeout rate of 11.10 K/9. Steve Edlefsen (16th round) is another under-the-radar reliever who could end up having some big-league value. The ground-ball pitcher (57.7 GB% in ’09) played at three levels in ’09 and topped out in triple-A. He needs to improve his control, though.

2006 1st Round: Tim Lincecum, RHP, Washington
1S. Emmanuel Burriss, SS, Kent State
3. Clayton Tanner, LHP, California HS

Like the Posey draft, the ’06 draft begins and ends with the first pick.

Burriss has seen some time in the Majors but he hasn’t really wowed anyone and his window to seize a full-time gig may have already slammed shut. I like Tanner, a soft-tosser, more than a lot of people and he’s on the Top 10 list. Ben Snyder (4th round) was a recent Rule 5 draft pick and he’s in camp with the Texas Rangers.

Infielder Ryan Rohlinger (6th round) has a chance to be a useful bench player for the Giants. Shortstop Brian Bocock (9th round) reached the Majors quickly out of necessity but he’s a glove-only player who was lost on waivers to Toronto (who then lost him to Philly).

Up Next: The San Francisco Giants Top 10 Prospects