If you’re like me, you were hoping the Giants go a bit pitcher-heavy to start out this year’s draft. Remembering the homegrown talent from the 10-12-14 Dynasty, I think of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Jonathan Sanchez and some of the names from our bullpen like Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson - all drafted by the San Francisco Giants. Then, looking at our system today, which has been much improved over the past two years, there seems to be a lack of quality pitching arms as compared to the position players. So, even though teams don’t always draft for need, I was hoping to land some impressive looking arms in this year’s draft.

The Giants went more pitcher-heavy than I could have ever possibly imagined. The first nine picks are all pitchers. This was a complete shock as Farhan Zaidi has tended to avoid pitchers, such as two years ago when he avoided pitchers through the first 8 rounds and last season when the first pick was Patrick Bailey, a catcher - despite the Giants already having Buster Posey and Joey Bart. Obviously, in my mind, he was going to pick the best available player, position be-damned. And maybe he did that - but for whatever reason, nine of the first 10 were pitchers and I absolutely love it.

The picks were:

R1, No. 14: RHP Will Bednar, Mississippi State
R2, No. 50: LHP Matt Mikulski, Fordham
R3, No. 85: RHP Mason Black, Lehigh
R4, No. 115: RHP Eric Silva, JSerra Catholic High School (CA)
R5, No. 146: LHP Rohan Handa, Yale
R6, No. 176: LHP Seth Lonsway, Ohio State
R7, No. 206: RHP Nick Sinacola, Maine
R8, No. 236: RHP Ian Villers, Cal
R9, No. 266: RHP Mat Olsen, Central Arizona Community College
R10, No. 296: OF (RHH) Vaun Brown, Southern Florida

Let’s start with this season’s first round selection, Will Bednar…

Will Bednar (RHP)

Will Bednar, a 6’2”, 229 lb. with a fantastic array of pitches including a fastball that can hit 97, a plus slider and a hard curve. It is the typical toolbox for pitchers these days, but every pitch is above average for him and he pounds the zone with everything, pitching with confidence and intelligence. Scouts love his composure on the mound along with, obviously, his stuff which resulted in 135 strikeouts in just 86.1 innings this season. He also went 8-1, giving his team a chance to win every time he takes the ball. He is durable, strong and smart - and has all the makings of a quality big league arm.

Matt Mikulski (LHP)

With the 50th overall pick, the Giants were able to snag the 50th ranked prospect on MLB.com, lefty Matt Mikulski, who has shot up the prospect boards over the past year. This is a power pitcher with a delivery that has been described as “violent.” Before 2021, scouts worried about his overall mechanics and control, but he cleaned up a lot this season to the tune of a 9-0 record and 1.45 ERA pitching in the NCAA Atlantic 10 Conference. Most impressively, in 68 innings of work, he struck out an insane 124 batters and walked just 27. This is a 22 year old with 4 years of college experience and he could move through the minors quickly. Whether as a starter or reliever, the potential is sky high for this kid and this was an amazing pick for the Giants.

Mason Black (RHP)

Mason Black is another big and powerful pitcher at 6’3” and 235 lbs. His best pitch is the fastball, which has touched triple digits. It is consistently around 94-97 during his starts. He also has an 87 MPH above-average slider that needs more consistency but can be devastating. This season, he struck out 95 hitters in 72 innings at Lehigh, part of the NCAA Patriot League. He has the size and durable to be a starter, but if that doesn’t pan out, he is certainly a candidate to be a solid reliever. All Black needs is a little work on his delivery and the consistency of his secondary pitches, but he has the velocity, arm strength, size and all the ingredients to become a solid big league arm.

Eric Silva (RHP)

In the 4th round, the Giants took their first High School arm in Eric Silva, a right-handed pitcher. He is currently committed to UCLA, but if he decides to sign with the Giants, they’ll have another pitcher with an outstanding fastball in their system. It went from the low 90’s earlier in his High School career to touching 97 this season and scouts are watching to see if it continues to improve. His secondary pitches also miss bats with consistency, including a very solid changeup. His command is a bit questionable at this point, and if he does sign with the Giants, he will be expected to take a big longer to get through the system than the other three picks. However, he already has fantastic stuff - it’s simply a matter of improving his control and mechanics.

Rohan Handa (LHP)

The Giants went back to the college ranks in the 5th round for lefty Rohan Handa, a 6’3”, 210 lb lefty who was already a good pitcher early in his college career when his fastball was nothing special at around 85 MPH. He did this with a fantastic slider and an ability to locate and keep batters off balance. So, when he completely revamped his mechanics in an effort to increase his velocity, and that fastball improved to 97 MPH, it’s no surprise that this season, he became nearly unhittable. In five starts, he struck out 25 batters in 17 innings with a .53 ERA. His slider is still excellent with plus spin rate, he locates will and limits walks and, most importantly, he already has a Hall of Fame moustache. Rohan Handa seems to be a great pick with tremendous upside.

Seth Lonsway (LHP)

With the 176th overall pick, the Giants were able to snag the #153 prospect on MLB.com, Seth Lonsway. This was a fairly big name early in his college career, leading Division I Baseball in strikeouts in 2020. He has a fantsatic curveball that rates 65 out of 80 and struck out 17 batters in a game against Indiana at one point. So, why was he picked so low? Unfortunately, he struggles with command and has a deliver that is considered odd. His mechanics tend to go out of whack and he walked 43 batters in 68 innings this year, which is the main culprit in his 4.37 ERA. However, the good news is he controls his curveball fairly well and he also struck out 98 batters in those 68 innings. The Giants are simply betting that he cleans up his mechanics and drastically improves his control. If that happens, Lonsway could end up being a steal. If not, he may not even make it to the Majors.

Nick Sinacola (RHP)

For their 7th round pick, the Giants took righy Nick Sinacola out of Maine, the same school former Giants 20-game winner Bill Swift attended. Sinacola is 6’1”, 190 lbs and has a good fastball that sits in the low to mid 90’s. I’m sure the Giants would love for him to add some velocity once he gets into the system. He was named the American East Pitcher of the Year by striking out 139 in 79 innings with a 2.04 ERA and just 23 walks. Teams and scouts may have been worried about his relatively small size, but he can throw strikes, shows great composure on the mound, and although he doesn’t hit triple digits, his fastball has movement and misses bats. Considering that the Giants snagged him in the 7th round, I’d say this was a fantastic pick to add yet another quality arm in the system who dominated hitters at the college level.

Ian Villers (RHP)

In the 8th round the Giants went local by taking Cal product Ian Villers from Walnut Creek, California. Villers can be an intimidating sight out of the bullpen at 6’6” and 245 lbs. He was used by Cal as not only a reliever but also an opener and led the team with 29 appearances this year. He got off to a slow start, but owned a 1.27 ERA & 4-0 record in his final 19 appearances of the season from April 9-May 29. His fastball usually sits in the mid 90’s but can hit 98 when he reaches back. He throws a pair of breaking balls in slider/cutter that has tight, short action and curveball that he throws with good depth. He’s also working on a spit-change in the high 70s. He struggles with command at times, but is overall fairly seasoned and consistent. Projected as a bullpen arm, Villers could move through the system quickly, assuming he signs, and become a scary sight to see for opposing hitters.

Mat Olsen (RHP)

Right-hander Mat Olsen from Central Arizona Community College was taken in the 9th round. He is just 5’11 and 180 lbs, but his strikeout numbers are impressive, even for JC ball. In 2019, he struck out 194 in 125 and maintained an ERA of 2.09. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2020 Draft but didn’t sign. He’s got a fastball around 92-93 and all the typical secondary pitches including a quality changeup. Some of his states reported for this year include 133 strikeouts in just 88 innings with 30 walks and a 2.13 ERA. He is committed to Arizona State for his Senior Year, but the Giants took a chance on him going pro and based on his stats and scouting reports, it’s a decent gamble.

Vaun Brown (OF)

Finally, for the last pick of the second day of the draft, the Giants took Vaun Brown, an outfielder. Position players need love too. Brown is 6’1, 190 lbs and made massive improvements this season, bringing his batting average from the mid to high 200’s in previous seasons to .387 with a .462 on-base and an incredible 1.254 OPS. He hit 13 bombs in just 111 at bats and is also a quality fielder. Brown started 34 of his 37 games played, including 22 games in right field and 11 games in center. The Giants did well to find some one off the radar who only recently came into some impressive power and hitting skills who they could nab in the 10th round. He doesn’t steal a lot of bases or have the greatest arm ever, but with his power potential, the question will be if it was a short-term hot streak or if this kid can really develop a bat that will be useful at the big league level.