Rounding up the Giants’ 2016 Draft

I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout nothin’ when it comes to amateur baseball players, which means I’m a lousy source for instant draft analysis. However, I know the basics of draftology, and here’s what I can glean: For a team that didn't have a first-round pick, the Giants came away with a player who was widely expected to be a first-round pick. As in, if the Giants still had a first-round pick and came away with Bryan Reynolds, the draftniks would have said something like, “This is a normal draft pick. Everything is normal.”

I’m not going to suggest this is better than when the Giants have a first-round pick and come away with a player that people seem to think is more of a second-round talent (Joe Panik, Christian Arroyo). It’s complementary, really. Feels like they’ve earned this unreserved praise for their first pick of a draft. They deserve the plaudits as an organization, dang it.

The draft is over, and here's the final tally with some notes and tidbits underneath:

Pick that has the experts excited

Bryan Reynolds, of course, who Andrew Baggarly reported was on the Giants’ board as a first-round pick. Keith Law’s headline read:

Giants struck gold with lone Day 1 pick

Law had Reynolds ranked 15th overall, which means that he would have been impressed if the Giants nabbed him with the pick they gave up for Jeff Samardzija. Here’s a snippet of his scouting report:

I am as hard on hitters who swing and miss as anyone, but Reynolds does literally everything else you'd want a hitting prospect to do -- including considerable damage when he does make contact -- and I think his propensity to strike out is a function of working deep counts, not pure hacking.

It might seem like it’s damning with faint praise to call him a switch-hitting Jarrett Parker (my own words), but do you know what Jarrett Parker would be if he could make just a little more contact? A starting outfielder. Here’s hoping that Reynolds breaks the homegrown outfielder drought, and soon.

Toughest sign

Adam Laskey was a consensus top-100 prospect — Baseball America had him 81st overall, Keith Law had him 67th — and the Giants got him in the 31st round. A coup, right? That’s not quite how it works in the MLB draft, though. Here’s MLB.com’s scouting report:

His breaking ball, a slider, is below-average, but given his overall feel for pitching, he should be able to develop a consistent breaking ball down the road. The biggest question mark surrounding Laskey might be his signability. He has a strong commitment to Duke and he might have to go fairly early to keep him from heading to North Carolina for school.

If he wants to attend Duke on purpose instead of joining the Giants, that’s a character thing, imo.

Jokes aside, this is a pick where the Giants are just taking a flier on a player in the event that something unexpected changes his mind about attending college. If there’s a one-percent chance of that happening, well, guess what the odds are of a 31st-rounder making Triple-A?

I was hoping he was related to Bill Laskey, and that would change things, but nope.

David Lee, the 38th-rounder, is committed to Florida, too, so don’t expect him to sign for 38th-round money.

Name potential

Ugh, what a weak draft for names. There are no Van Fixicos in this draft. If I had to do a ranking, it would go something like ...

1. Ryan Howard
2. Jose Layer
3. Caleb Baragar
4. Jason Delay
5. Bono

I had to take the “Chris” away from the last player, just to get to five. One of the worst name drafts in franchise history.

Interesting relative division

That would be Jacob Heyward, younger brother of Jason. He (obviously) wasn't the same kind of prospect that his brother was, but that doesn’t mean he’s not an intriguing talent. Chris Haft had a nice profile of him here.

"You still have to be able to play," Giants scouting director John Barr said. "He was judged on who he is and his abilities, not on his brother's. It's him that we took. It's him that we think can be a big leaguer. It's him that we think can contribute. He stands alone on that.

"Sure, does the name stand out? Yeah. But that only goes so far. That may get someone to take another look at him. But it doesn't get you selected and it doesn't carry you."

College/high school breakdown

That would be 35 college players and five high school players.

The Giants have a type, it seems.

Scouting reports of note

From Baseball America’s report on 11th-round pick Jason Delay, a catcher out of Vanderbilt:

Delay has handled several first-round picks at Vanderbilt, and has long prove that he can catch premium velocity. His bat is extremely light, and will have to improve for him to carve out a role as Major Leaguer, but scouts are satisfied with his defense and character.

On 13th-round pick, Jose Layer:

Layer is a speedy, athletic outfielder. He is a plus runner and does a good job of using his speed both in the field and in the batter's box .... His speed is a big asset in the outfield and he should be able to become a solid defensive center fielder.

On 18th-round pick, Jacob Heyward (ranked as the 291st-best prospect, drafted 545th):

He has been inconsistent this spring, but his tools remain intriguing to scouts. Heyward has good bat speed that translates into above-average raw power thanks to his strong 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame

On 30th-round pick, Nick Deeg (a lefty from Central Michigan and immediate Pat Misch All-Star):

A team who liked what the saw from Deeg last summer may still pay him top 10 round money, but with his reduced velocity, he has a good chance to end up back at Central Michigan.

33rd-rounder J.J. Montgomery:

He can run his fastball up to 94 mph, and typically sits in the low 90s. He pairs it with a slider, which at its best is a sharp offering capable of generating swings and misses.