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Things are getting interesting in Operation Care About Draft Position When There Aren't Happier Alternatives. The White Sox, goofballs that they are, have won six straight games. They seemed to have a lock on the #3 draft slot, but they're getting all fancy-pantsy and winning games. As such, it's probably a good time to check in with the current draft-order standings:
| PCT | GB | |
| Houston | 0.325 | - |
| Miami | 0.381 | 7 |
| Chicago (AL) | 0.413 | 11 |
| Chicago (NL) | 0.425 | 12.5 |
| Milwaukee | 0.433 | 13.5 |
| LA Angels | 0.437 | 14 |
| San Francisco | 0.441 | 14.5 |
| Minnesota | 0.444 | 15 |
| Toronto | 0.445 | 15 |
| Philadelphia | 0.449 | 15.5 |
| San Diego | 0.449 | 15.5 |
| Colorado | 0.457 | 16.5 |
| NY Mets | 0.464 | 17.5 |
| Seattle | 0.468 | 18 |
| Washington | 0.496 | 21.5 |
Right now, the Giants would have the seventh-overall pick. Former #7 picks include Matt Harvey, Mike Minor, Troy Tulowitzki, Clayton Kershaw, and Prince Fielder. And Matt LaPorta. The Giants have picked seventh in four different drafts, and the most valuable player by far was Calvin Murray. Jesse Reid, Matt White, and Bob Cummings were the other three. So, yeah.
Look at those recent picks, though! I want a Matt Harvey. Maybe the Giants can get a Matt Harvey at #7. All they have to do is continue ...
/Hector Sanchez swallows shin guard
... playing ...
/Guillermo Moscoso walks hitter on-deck
... the worst ...
/Gregor Blanco swings at moth
... baseball ...
/every starting pitcher allows six homers at the same time
... possible. But if they could move to #3, that would be even better. At least, "better" for the purposes of the draft. We'd have to watch those games, and I'd just as soon pick seventh and avoid the nausea.
If you're into fables, this is like Aesop's famous fable about the unreachable grapes known as the "Sweet Possum Rectum." This is the fable where a fox can't reach delicious grapes at the top of a vine, so he's forced to chomp on the back end of a possum carcass, during which, he's constantly exclaiming things like, "OH, THIS ISN'T SO BAD" and "REALLY, THIS ISN'T SO BAD." It's a popular one, I'm surprised you haven't heard of it.
What would really mess the Giants up would be to drop to 14th. You can still get a good player there, but the odds go way, way down. Jose Fernandez was a 14th-overall pick, so it's not like the difference between having a first- or a second-round pick.
One more point, though: If the Giants pick after #10, they can lose the pick by signing a free agent who was offered (and refused) the qualifying offer, which will be about $14 million. I don't see them going after anyone like that, with the possible exception of Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo, so maybe that's a moot point.
The Giants have a pretty tenuous grip on that #7 spot, though. Welcome to the world where a loss is a win, if only because that's the last way you have to feel good about baseball.