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After the Giants pick second in the draft and definitely get the next Will Clark, their next pick, in the second round, is the 45th overall. How have the Giants done in the second round? How have the Giants done with the 45th pick? Who’s the best player to ever be drafted 45th? We have answers!
Best Giants second rounders: How about a fella named Barry Bonds, huh? Huh? (nudges you) I SAID HUH ANSWER ME ALREADY.
Oh all right, so technically Barry Bonds didn’t sign with the Giants because they were owned by a damn cheapskate and he ended up getting drafted by the Pirates three years later. But the Giants have gotten some solid players in the second round who did sign with them. Bob Knepper, for example, had a good year with the Giants in the late ‘70s and another great one, and hung around for a couple years after that, after which he got traded to the Astros, where he was a two-time All-Star. And while Chris Singleton never made it to the home clubhouse in San Francisco, after kicking around the minors for a while, he ended up with a nice career for the White Sox, Orioles, A’s, and Devil Rays.
In more recent years, the Giants took Nate Schierholtz, Fred Lewis, and Jarrett Parker in the second round, as well as guys like Andrew Susac and Bryan Reynolds, who turned into trade bait. Still with the organization are Ryder Jones, Aramís García, Andrew Suárez, and Jacob Gonzalez, and proud we are of all of them.
Who have the Giants taken with the 45th pick? The only 45th pick in Giants history was Jim Rosenbohm, a right handed pitcher from Omaha, drafted in 1992 out of a community college in Kansas. He never ended up progressing past A-ball, went to the Astros midseason in 1995, spent 1996 in the Mets organization, and didn’t play pro ball again.
Who is the best 45th pick in major league history? Jed Lowrie! Lowrie’s never made an All-Star team, but he’s had a good, consistent career and is currently enjoying a breakout 2018 with the A’s, which is very exciting for the A’s, as it should net them a couple prospects, one of whom might have the chance to be the next Jed Lowrie.
If Lowrie falters sometime soon though, Trevor Story has a chance to take the title from him. After a somewhat disappointing 2017 for the Rockies, Story’s rebounded nicely this year and looks on track to annoy Giants fans for years to come. If Trevor does end up as the best 45th pick ever, it’ll be quite the ... wait for it ... tale.
So are you saying that a solid infielder is the best possible outcome for this pick? First off, getting the next Jed Lowrie or Trevor Story here would be fantastic. It’s hard to get good major league players this late in the draft, and every one is an achievement.
Second off, no. The best 44th pick ever is Joey Votto and the best 46th pick ever is Scott Rolen (and second best is Jimmy Rollins). There has been really impressive talent available around this spot and the fact that none of those guys have gone exactly here is meaningless. The Giants will also probably not get one of those guys. It’s super hard to get one of those guys! But on the other hand, what if they did? I, for one, will consider it a sure thing that whoever the Giants pick here is the next Scott Rolen, and I think you should too.