Giants draft RHP Liam Simon in the 5th round

The San Francisco Giants used their fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft on yet another collegiate arm, taking Notre Dame right-handed pitcher Liam Simon with the No. 166 pick. On the draft stream on MLB.com, the crew stated that Simon is “Probably a reliever long term,” and that “There’s stuff to work with,” while mentioning that his fastball hits 100 mph.

His stats weren’t great last season, as he had a 4.99 ERA and a 1.598 FIP while mostly working out of the bullpen. But he displayed an exceptional strikeout ability, recording 56 punchouts in just 30.2 innings, albeit with 28 strikeouts. He also played in the Cape Cod League this year.

Simon, who is 21.8 years old, was ranked as the No. 124 prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. MLB Pipeline had the 6’4”, 220-pounder as the No. 215 prospect.

With the pick, the Giants have now taken college pitchers in each of the first five rounds. In the first round (No. 30) it was UConn two-way player Reggie Crawford. The second round (No. 66) brought East Carolina left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt. Round three (No. 106) saw the Giants take Gonzaga right-handed pitcher William Kempner, while they took Missouri right-handed pitcher Spencer Miles in the fourth round (No. 136).

It’s the second straight draft that the Giants have gone pitcher heavy.

Be sure to check out our draft tracker, to keep up with all the Giants picks.