Most of the people will probably stop following the MLB Draft in Day 2 because most of the top dogs of the draft class have been drafted in the first day and second day is not as exciting to follow compared to the first due to the speed of the draft and the number of the picks. I'm not the kind of person. For me, the second day is the make or break of the draft class for any team. Many of the stars today came from the rounds 3-10 of the draft and many jewels and diamonds in the rough are really found there. It is the test for the local area scouts of each teams to deliver the unheard of guy and persuade the front office. It is also a great time to load up on fallen prospects that may want big money and play with the budget.
For the Giants, all of the players drafted were college prospects, mainly pitchers and outfielders. John Barr and his staff have done a great job in picking players that have seemed to have fallen in their laps. Below is my reaction and a short scouting report for the drafted players of the Giants from rounds 3-10.
Round 3: Heath Quinn, OF
Heath Quinn is just a tank, oozing with raw power. He got a good stance but a weird swing where he kind of wraps his bat and collapses his front leg when he swings but when he connects, boy, oh boy, the ball is smoked. The swing itself may be fixed in the offseason because there are obvious holes in the swing but he can make enough contact to project an average hit tool with good patience and plate discipline. He got better speed that what you expect from guys his size and armed with a solid arm and okay reaction times in the outfield, he is a classic right fielder.
I actually thought Quinn will be gone before the Giants can ever have a taste of him but he is available and I am in love with the pick. Classic RF, plus raw power, better athlete than players his size, and projected him to go to the Giants in the 2nd round. To get a close to first-round kind of value in the mid-3rd round is very good!
Round 4: Matt Krook, LHP
Krook underwent Tommy John in 2014, causing him to miss the entire 2015 season and struggled with his command in his road back to recovery in 2016. Krook has three pitches to work with, highlighted with his low-to-mid 90s fastball with lots of run when he gets on top of it. His power curveball is his best overall pitch thrown at 80 MPH with plus break and plus swing-and-miss potential. His changeup got a potential to be an average pitch as he is finding the perfect grip for him. His control of his pitches is still a work in progress as he recovers back but if he ever finds his control and have average command, he's got the potential to be a mid-rotation starter.
Fell on the Giants laps in round 4, Krook might be the steal of the draft itself if he ever signs with the team. That signing will be the main problem as he can elect to go back to college and find some of his command back but he should also consider that Dick Tidrow and his crew has fixed some TJ victims in the past and present and pitchers overall. Plus, he might never get the chance to be drafted by the team the he supports growing up. There will be some money movements to have him sign a slightly overslot deal. If he signs, that will be another first-round type of talent falling into the laps of the Giants.
Round 5: Ryan Howard, SS
Howard might not have plus tools but he can play shortstop. Not oozing with immense athleticism and with a lean frame, he got a solid swing and projects to be an average hitter with below-average pop now but he can add more muscle to that body of his to become a double digit homer guy. He might not have a lot of speed in the bases and range in the infield to stay at short but his fielding fundamentals are good and his strong arm can take him to third base down the line.
He is as close to a Giants pick as you can get. An up the middle prospect with not a lot of speed but some hit tool and sound fundamentals all around. He got the looks of a Matt Duffy-type of player and looks like he'll overachieve his draft spot a bit. He can also sign less to put more money to make sure Krook signs. Solid pick.
Round 6: Gio Brusa, OF
A switch-hitting outfielder, he got a smooth swing on both sides that can get long and only has average bat speed which can raise concerns about him hitting premium velocity. The hitting should be average down the road with better pitch recognition especially on breaking balls. His tick above above-average raw power has finally showed up in the stat sheet and got the potential to translate his power in pro ball. He runs well for his frame and he got enough arm and speed to profile as a RF.
In his senior year, Brusa finally has shown the type of numbers that his overall tools should produce. Then again, he's a senior and he doesn't have a lot of leverage now in terms of negotiations so he'll probably sign with the Giants. Let's see if he will take a slightly underslot deal to fill up the Krook pot. But for round 6, Brusa's value ain't that bad as I see Brusa to be a 4th outfielder in the Majors.
Round 7: Garrett Williams, LHP
Williams is very puzzling as a prospect. He got two plus to plus-plus pitches in his mid-90s fastball with some sink and tailing movement in it and a curveball in the high-70s with late, sharp break that can wipe out hitters. He also got a good delivery with clean arm action, solid drop and drive and a true 3/4 release point. And yet with all of that, he is very wild in his control of his pitches. He struggles to locate his fastball and his curveball in the zone and he struggles to keep his delivery in sync and he struggles to keep that velocity deep into starts. He also needs to have a changeup to have a shot at starting if ever but if he manages to trust his stuff and repeat his delivery, he can be a high-leverage reliever to a mid-rotation starter.
A complete gamble or a project, this will be the biggest risk-reward that the Giants will probably do in this year's draft. Tidrow and his staff will have their works cut out for them to have this guy in control. He is kind of similar to Kyle Crick in terms of stuff plus the wildness in terms of control. I think that Williams should be relieving and if the pitching staff can pull something out of that is similar to Josh Osich, it's already a good reward but of course, having him as a starter is the best result.
Round 8: Stephen Woods, RHP
There's no available video for him and the ones that actually shows up ends up as an error. There are other scouting reports for him that I'll put here. He got a power arm that features a fastball in the low to mid-90s that reaches 97 MPH. He also got a cutter that he has developed ever since he came to Albany and he also got some feel for his curveball. The walks that he allowed are indication that he struggles with command of his pitches.
A late Day 2 classic for the Giants. A small school pitcher with a big fastball. His coach in Albany Jon Mueller said he thinks Woods will sign with the Giants. I think so too and hopefully he'll sign underslot.
Round 9: Caleb Baragar, LHP
He got the prototypical size for a lefty pitcher and he's more of a pitchability type of pitcher while keeping hitters off balance with his fastball and his offspeed mix. His mechanics has some drop and drive in it where he breaks his hands quite with a slightly high 3/4 release point.
This is the money-saving pick for the Giants as Baragar is a senior just like Brusa. He actually can miss bats in relation with his pitchability and solid command although none of his pitches will probably graze above-average. He's a solid selection at Round 9 for the Giants.
Round 10: Alex Bostic, LHP
A true reliever althroughout, he hides the ball well in his set delivery with some stab (kind of a pause then throw) and he possesses both an above-average low-90s fastball that has some serious tail in it as well as a little bit of sink and a high-70s slider that got good break. He got control issues especially on his fastball but when located, he's a great 1-2 punch to assure a lefty specialist future for him.
Another pitcher that looks like signable for a relatively cheap price. Good value at the 10th round for the Giants and if he figures out to control his stuff, he can be an asset.
All in all, when I look at that the overall talent that the Giants drafted in day 2 of the draft, there's some serious talent level in this class. There's 2 first-round quality prospects taken in Quinn and Krook and good fillers in Baragar and Bostic. Williams and Woods look like projects to me and don't forget Krook as well. As long as the players signed for thousands of dollars less, when you add it all up down to Round 40, those thousands will help to sign Krook and possibly Quinn. If both proved to be tough nuts to crack in terms of financial negotiations, expect the Giants to conserve money in Day 3 and sign the top 3 picks in Reynolds, Quinn and Krook. And don't forget Ryan Howard, the Matt Duffy of this draft. If everything goes well, I think they will sign Quinn at around $675,000 and Krook at around $600,000.
This is how you draft with limited resources. Enough safety picks, enough risky picks, some cheap signings and some pretty rich signings but the Giants did their homework with flying colors and drafted Day 2 like men among boys. I hope you enjoyed my analysis on Day 2! Hopefully, they all sign!
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