Heliot Ramos is a departure from past Giants draft picks

When the Giants selected Heliot Ramos, the commentators on MLB Network seemed a little muted. They didn’t have him that high on their draft boards, but they noted that the Giants don’t really give a damn about their draft boards. They have their own secret sauce.

This isn’t an ingredient they usually put in that sauce, though. Ramos a beefy young man, a fast runner with serious strength. In this batting-cage video, the best part is listening to the destruction off-camera.

Here’s a list, though, of the high school outfielders the Giants have drafted in the first round for the last 40 years:

• Wendell Fairley, #29, 2007
• Arturo McDowell, #29, 1998
• Adam Hyzdu, #15, 1990
• Gary Matthews, #17, 1968

If you want to be cynical, you can note that the Giants haven’t had a first-round outfield success out of high school since Bruce Bochy hit puberty. If you want to be optimistic, you’ll note that they’re due! So due. So incredibly due.

Ramos was covered a bit by Christopher Crawford in his interview with Roger this week:

McC
I'm a little over fascinated by Puerto Rican SS Heliot Ramos. The Puerto Rican Academies are a well the Giants have been going to fairly regularly the last few years with mid round selections (Fargas, Rivera, Layer). Any chance they take a big swing with Ramos this year? And what's your read on him as a player?

Crawford
I don't think I'd take him in the first, but it wouldn't be a crazy reach. He's definitely not a shortstop, though. He has plus power, and he runs well enough that he might be able to stay in center, although corner outfield is the more likely landing spot. A long way away, but he could definitely be an impact bat.

I will never make the mistake of comparing the Giants’ draft board to Baseball America’s or MLB.com’s, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and donate my LOGAN WARMOTH graphics to Bluebird Banter. The first thing to note, though, is that it’s a much different direction than the Giants have gone in the past.

The strength of the system is outfielders. That was true before the draft. It’s definitely true now. Welcome, Heliot.