MLB Draft Day 1 open thread

It’s officially draft day, San Francisco Giants fans! The three-day, 20-round 2023 MLB Draft kicks off today, with the first two rounds.

The Giants have three picks today, and 21 total this year. They kick things off in the first round by holding the No. 16 pick, then will have the No. 52 pick when they come up in the second round. Finally, they’ll have the penultimate pick of the day at No. 69, where they’ve been granted a compensatory pick as a result of losing pitcher Carlos Rodón in free agency (the New York Yankees are docked both a second and fifth-round pick for signing Rodón, whom the Giants extended the qualifying offer to).

If you want some recent successes to get you excited, here are my offerings.

In 2019, the No. 16 overall pick was Corbin Carroll.

In 2017, the No. 52 overall pick was MJ Melendez.

In 2011, the No. 69 overall pick was Adrian Houser.

The Giants will pick some players and we’ll be really excited or really annoyed or really ambivalent, and then we’ll spend the next few years being very justified or very embarrassed for being so excited or so annoyed or so ambivalent, and we’ll probably bounce between said justification and embarrassment a few times.

What a wonderful thing. I love the draft.

As a reminder of the Giants draft strategies lately, the Giants used 11 of their 20 picks on pitchers in 2020, including eight of their first 10. In 2021 they used their first nine picks on pitchers, and 14 of their 20. Maybe they’ll go pitcher heavy again, or maybe they’ll balance things out a little bit this time around.

And as a reminder of their draft history since Farhan Zaidi took over: they’ve used first-round picks on, in order, Hunter Bishop, Patrick Bailey, Will Bednar, and Reggie Crawford. They’ve used second round picks on Logan Wyatt, Casey Schmitt, Matt Mikulski, and Carson Whisenhunt. And they’ve used compensatory picks on Nick Swiney and Jimmy Glowenke.

The Giants have been linked to nearly everything so far this year, including Stanford infielder and Bay Area native Tommy Troy and two-way prep player Bryce Eldridge.

Go Giants! Select the right dude!

How to watch the 2023 MLB Draft

What: 2023 MLB Draft, Round 1, Prospect Promotion Incentive Round, Competitive Balance Round A, Second Round, Competitive Balance Round B, and Compensatory Round

When: Sunday, July 9, 2023, 4:00 p.m. PT

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Broadcast: ESPN (available on fuboTV)