Giants mix it up on the draft’s final day

The San Francisco Giants followed a very clear trend through the first two days of the 2022 MLB Draft. Through the first 10 rounds, the Giants had drafted eight college pitchers (including their first-round pick, two-way player Reggie Crawford).

100% of their Sunday and Monday picks were college players. 80% were pitchers.

And then came the third and final day, and with it a shift in philosophy for the team’s final 10 selections. On Tuesday, the Giants used seven of their 10 picks on position players, with three of their picks going towards prep players.

Here’s a quick and dirty breakdown of the 10 players that were drafted into the organization to conclude yet another draft.

Round 11 — RHP Sam Bower, St. Mary’s

2022 stats: 10.1 innings, 3.48 ERA, 1.355 WHIP, 11 strikeouts, 3 walks

Bower didn’t pitch much last year due to an arm injury. In 2021 — his freshman season — he posted the following line: 81.1 innings, 3.43 ERA, 0.934 WHIP, 59 strikeouts, and 13 walks. The Giants will hope to increase his strikeout ability, but that’s impressive control for early in a collegiate career.

Round 12 — RHP Tyler Vogel, Jacksonville University

2022 stats: 35.1 innings, 1.78 ERA, 1.415 WHIP, 39 strikeouts, 24 walks

We’ve seen the Giants take a lot of pitchers this year who issue a lot of walks. That’s kind of the flavor of the day, and also something that just comes with the territory when drafting. There’s pretty clearly some nasty stuff in that arm, and the Giants were enticed by it.

Round 13 — UTIL Thomas Gavello, Pacific

2022 stats: 234 plate appearances, .247/.393/.495, .888 OPS, 11 home runs, 33 walks, 58 strikeouts

MLB announced Gavello as a catcher, even though he has played all over the infield in college — and hasn’t played any catcher. Perhaps the Giants have already made that decision based on his frame (he’s 5’10”, 180), perhaps they just know it’s a skill he has, or perhaps there was a mistake.

Round 14 — C Nomar Diaz, Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico)

I found out when mentioning this pick on Twitter that Giants fans really don’t like Carlos Beltrán, which I find silly.

Also: all the catchers, apparently.

Round 15 — OF Tanner O’Tremba, Arizona

2022 stats: 307 plate appearances, .351/.446/.591, 1.037 OPS, 11 home runs, 31 walks, 67 strikeouts

O’Tremba only played a partial season in 2021, but his 2022 showed a marked improvement in power, as he bumped up a .448 slugging percentage to .591.

Round 16 — 2B Andrew Kachel, Fresno State

2022 stats: 238 plate appearances, .302/.395/.559, .954 OPS, 11 home runs, 29 walks, 45 strikeouts

Kachel is the second player from Fresno State that the Giants selected in this draft, as his teammate Zach Morgan, a catcher, was San Francisco’s seventh-round pick on Monday.

Round 17 — SS Justin Bench, Ole Miss

2022 stats: 302 plate appearances, .316/.409/.438, .846 OPS, 4 home runs, 25 walks, 43 strikeouts

Bench had strong control of the plate in college, with just a 12.4% strikeout rate in his four years at Ole Miss (and just 10.4% in two years of indy league ball). He also played center field in college, so my guess is we see him all over the diamond, as the Giants prefer.

Round 18 — 1B Tanner Thach, Perquimans High School (North Carolina)

2022 stats: 129 plate appearances, .478 batting average, 12 home runs

Limited stats since Thach was a prep player, and it’s pretty hard to read anything into them. He has a commitment to UNC-Wilmington that the Giants will have to sign him away from.

Round 19 — LHP Cade Perkins, Manhattan High School (Kansas)

Another prep player, albeit this one with a lower-level commitment: Cowley County Community College. The Giants had good luck signing their late-draft prep players last year.

Round 20 — 1B Ethan Long, Arizona State

2022 stats: 167 games, .294/.377/.525, .902 OPS, 7 home runs, 18 walks, 38 strikeouts

Long has only played two years at Arizona State, and he was much better in 2021, when his OPS was more than .200 points better — thanks to 16 home runs in 192 plate appearances, and an absurd .704 slugging percentage. The definition of buying low, assuming the Giants are able to sign him.

Also, he was the 616th and final pick in the draft.

Shortly after the draft concluded, the Giants signed an undrafted player: Florida State RHP Davis Hare.

And that’s your 2022 Giants draft, folks!