Cheryl Evans/The Republic-Imagn Content Services, LLC
Let’s get it out of the way early. It’s a first bite of an appetizer. The food hasn’t even been swallowed yet. Can’t the waiter over your shoulder asking how things are just give you a few minutes?
“You try not to judge the draft the year after,” Giants amateur scouting director Michael Holmes told KNBR recently, “because you want players to go out and play a little bit before we make rash, quick judgments.”
Ignore him, let’s judge. (Or at least check in with these prospects 12 months later.)
The 2019 draft experienced a few months of professional ball at most before preparing for the 2020 season — which almost certainly will not exist at the minor league level. A prospect like Hunter Bishop has an argument to be on a theoretical taxi squad this season, but apart from camps and perhaps an extended Arizona Fall League, it will be hard for the rest of the class to continue to develop in a year devastated by the coronavirus.
Ahead of today’s five-round MLB draft, in which the Giants will infuse their system with seven prospects, here’s a look at how the 2019 class has fared in very limited action:
First round: Hunter Bishop, OF
The Serra and Arizona State star looks the part. The power is evident in a body that looks closer to a middle linebacker’s than a center fielder’s. The speed is surprising out of such a big frame. His style of play reminds Gabe Kapler of a pretty good outfielder he managed last season.
“Hunter Bishop coming over [to major league camp] made a really good impression on all of us,” the Giants manager said on KNBR recently. “… I thought about his swing, and it’s so violent, very similar to the way Bryce Harper’s is. By the way, I’m not comparing Hunter to Bryce Harper. But there are similarities in their personality, in their hustle, in the way they play like their hair’s on fire.”
Offensively, the biggest question facing the soon-to-be 22-year-old concerns his bat-to-ball skills. There’s some swing-and-miss in a powerful stroke, and he struck out 28 times in 85 at-bats last season with short-season Salem-Keizer, where he got on base (.427 OBP) but batted .224.
Defensively, the biggest question facing Bishop will be whether he can stick in center or whether his body will push him toward a corner. The same question arises with Heliot Ramos, and San Francisco hopes at least one stud prospect can man Oracle Park’s spacious middle of the field.
Second round: Logan Wyatt, 1B
The first baseman out of Louisville has lived up to his billing. He was molded in Farhan Zaidi’s desired image: bat-to-ball skills, extraordinary plate discipline that produced 69 walks to just 48 strikeouts in his final season in Kentucky.
It took seven games for the 22-year-old to show he didn’t belong in the rookie-level Arizona League, excelled in 18 games with Salem-Keizer then dropped off a bit (in a small sample size of 19 games) with Class-A Augusta. The power from a lefty hitter listed at 6-4, 230 pounds is not quite tapped, drilling three homers in 183 professional plate appearances. If the Giants can add some might to the bat, you can see a first baseman forming who very much reminds of Brandon Belt (in a system that does not have much in the way of first basemen).
Third round: Grant McCray, OF
Utter failure. He has not run through a single wall.
Jokes about his viral-before-“viral”-existed father aside, McCray, whom the Giants paid overslot to lure away from Florida State last year, spent 48 games patrolling center field in the Arizona League, his legs frequently a weapon (17 steals) and weapon that backfired (league-leading 13 times caught stealing, which the Giants will focus on).
He didn’t show much pop just yet, slashing .270/.379/.335 in a league with plenty of wild pitchers, and his bat will need to do some developing. At just 19, the lefty-hitting McCray has time.
Fourth round: Tyler Fitzgerald, IF
Wyatt’s infield partner at Louisville followed him from Arizona to Salem-Keizer to Augusta, playing shortstop each step of the way.
The 22-year-old from Illinois does not have a standout skill but is regarded as playing solid defense with a contact bat that the Giants should be able to squeeze more power from (he’s listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds). Fitzgerald, who made a brief appearance at major league camp, slashed .264/.333/.306 in all last season.
Tyler Fitzgerald breaks up the no-hitter and ties up the game with one swing for @greenjackets pic.twitter.com/TBllPXw0nm
— Roger Munter (@rog61) September 5, 2019
Fifth round: Garrett Frechette, 1B
Another potential first-base heir. Frechette, a SoCal high school star, was tempted away from San Diego State with an overslot offer, a well-known power bat who slipped in last year’s draft because mono sidetracked his senior season.
His first look as a teenage Giant came in 39 games in Arizona, where he did not homer but did knock seven doubles and a pair of triples while batting .290. The lefty, at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, has some room to grow and add some power.
Sixth round: Dilan Rosario, SS
Rosario, like Ramos a year prior, was one of the youngest in the draft class, coming out of Puerto Rico early. The shortstop, who’s reported to have a strong arm, struggled in Arizona, batting just .214 in 47 games, but also demonstrated rare power and speed combination for an 18-year-old, blasting five homers and swiping nine bags.
Keep in mind: Rosario, as well as the 24 players the Giants took after him, would not be so fortunate this year.
Seventh round: Armani Smith, OF
The UC Santa Barbara product who’s from Walnut Creek, part of the hoped locally grown reawakening of the franchise, dominated as a 21-year-old in short-season ball. With Salem-Keizer, Smith, who’s noted for his power and whose swing change reversed his luck in college, slashed .307/.372/.454 with four homers in 43 games. Smith saw time in all three outfield spots, though the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder previously moved around the infield before going pro, which you can expect the Giants to explore.
Eighth round: Caleb Kilian, RHP
The righty from Texas Tech was the Giants’ first pitcher chosen — they have to go more pitcher-heavy this time around, right? — and threw just 16 pro innings (without an earned run) after making 17 starts during his final season with the Red Raiders.
Another overslot addition last year, Kilian and his mid-90s fastball would be facing a difficult reality if there is nowhere to play this season.
Ninth round: Simon Whiteman, IF
If Wyatt were molded in Zaidi’s desired image, perhaps Whiteman is molded in Zaidi’s own image: He was a Rhodes Scholar nominee at Yale.
The middle infielder from Connecticut can play baseball, too. At a bit of an advanced age, having spent four years in New Haven, the now 23-year-old played well with Salem-Keizer, then played slightly better with Augusta. He found his way on base, had a nice walk-to-strikeout ratio (45:59) and stole 31 bases in all, though he did not homer after a Yale career that featured just four long balls. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, it wouldn’t surprise if the Giants asked him to put on some weight.
Tenth round: Jeff Houghtby, IF
The utility man from San Diego, both the city and university, spent his first pro year playing all around the diamond with Salem-Keizer, getting action at first, second, third and short, though second base primarily.
He showed a bit of pop (four homers) but cooled off after a remarkable senior season with the Toreros, with whom he slashed .341/.438/.512 in 48 games.
Best of the rest
— Nick Morreale, an IMG Academy grad who then went to Georgetown and was a 14th-round pick, impressed in Arizona, pitching to a 1.52 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings, predominantly as a starter (sparingly, though, after pitching with the Hoyas).
— Connor Cannon, a 17th-rounder from Temecula and Cal, starred as an older prospect in Arizona (.326/.399/.689).
— Najee Gaskins, a 20th-round outfielder from St. Cloud State in Minnesota, had a ridiculous 2019. He had transferred from Arizona Western Community College, and in his only year in Minnesota he slashed .362/.452/.568. In Arizona, the numbers were nearly as impressive: .340/.474/.453 with 19 steals and caught just twice.