The day 2 of the 2019 MLB Draft came pretty quickly after the first, and with Zaidi saying that they will fill the tab up with hitters, and boy he did, with 9 of the 10 draftees with year being hitters. Pretty interesting draft, so enough with the chitchat and let's get started.
Full scouting reports will be done on rounds 3-6 and partial reports will be done from rounds 7 onwards.
Third Round
In the third round of the draft, the Giants selected Grant McCray, a lefty hitting outfielder from the state of Florida. This is a very risky pick, considering that the distance from Point A to Point B is still very far, but it will be a high reward move because everything flashes plus, just inconsistently. There's not much video available in the market so I'm going to give you my report based on what I see and what I project him to be.
Grant McCray OF HS
6'1" 172 lbs. L/R 18.6 y/o
Videos: Credits to Hai Tran Manh, The Prospect Pipeline and Perfect Game
Hit 45 | Power 45 | Speed 60 | Arm 60 | Glove 55
All I see in McCray is projection. He's got a very lean frame, very slender, long legs and long arms, wide hips to dream for projection. It's easy to dream that he will add 30 lbs to his frame without losing athleticism. I see quick twitch all around and plus athleticism (he also played track). Right now, he's got fringy at best raw power,
His 6.57 60 yard dash ranked in the 95.8% among all participants of the PG National Showcase, and a 65-70 grade on the scale. Looking at his MaxPreps stats, he tallied 8 doubles and 10 triples in 28 games, so his speed definitely plays. Some can say that he might lose a step once he adds on the weight but I think it will still be a good plus grade moving forward. That kind of speed can make him play center field for quite a while, where the Giants will most likely slot him in pro ball. The arm is a plus, reaching 92 MPH in the outfield with a quick arm action and has plenty of accuracy. He never had any errors in the past two years and hopefully he can be a plus defender, but the ingredients are there to see an above average one in the outfield right now.
The swing that I saw in the National Showcase and the one I watched on the MLB broadcast are different. The one on the National Showcase looked raw with a lot of moving parts after he got his front foot down, where he still has to load his hands, body's not fully set and there's a delay from front foot plant to actual swinging. This year, he had his timing in a much better shape, swinging right after front foot plant. The bat path is good, his loading of his back side and hands are good, bat speed's quick and his athleticism shows, although he could really use a boost in strength to really raise his profile (3 homers this year). 15 BBs with 11 Ks in his senior year suggests he has a better strike zone recognition than expected which is encouraging.
All in all, the Giants are taking a big risk here with the McCray pick but they probably think that if they don't get him now, they will not get him at Round 4. Someone like McCray is someone that will not do some damage now (but hey, if he does damage now, the better!) but someone like McCray is 4 years away because there's plenty of polishing needed. Nonetheless, he's an exciting player but was unexciting or shocking to be drafted that high. If he breaks out in the AZL this year, I have no trouble moving my grades way up.
Edit: I have a chance to congratulate and ask McCray about what he can bring to the table for us Giants fans and here is what he said:
"Energy, leadership, a great teammate and hopefully in a couple of years, another World Series win."
A couple of years??? Boy, oh boy he already has my seal of approval! I think he's going to sign.
Asked if the Giants were on him the whole season or he just knew it when he took the call: "I knew they were on me the whole season."
Let's go!
Fourth Round
In the fourth round, the Giants drafted yes, another position player. This time, it's Logan Wyatt's teammate, Tyler Fitzgerald. A stalwart at shortstop, Fitzgerald really performed in his junior year and put himself to the top 5 round discussion. While not a sexy pick, this is the type of picks that will help with the depth of the organization in the infield in the future.
Here is my full scouting report on him.
Tyler Fitzgerald INF COL
6'3" 205 lbs. R/R 21.8 y/o
Videos: Credits to Prospects Live and Perfect Game Baseball
Hit 50 | Power 40+ | Speed 55 | Arm 55 | Glove 50
All I see from Fitzgerald is that he looks to be a guy fit for the "grinder" profile: no one true plus tool but all the tools have the chance to be solid through and through. Fitzgerald has a good frame for the infield with nice frame through and through. There's some raw power in his frame but his swing inhibits him to tap on it well.
Just like Wyatt, Fitzgerald does not have a lot of load in his swing, gearing for more contact and using all fields. The swing looks solid, kind of like Aramis Garcia at the dish. The swing has good bat path and has solid bat speed, good timing at the plate with his little toe tap. But I think that he can really took off if he puts more of a load in his swing to better drive balls instead of settling of peppering the field. That might affect his strikeouts though and he already has more Ks than BBs throughout his three-year stay so he might suffer with some strikeout issues if he tries to hit for more power. All in all, I see a guy with good approach, good feel for the barrel, good swing, although no "wow" in his offensive profile.
He's a good source of stolen base given his size (23 last year, 15 this year) and he has good base stealing skills and can be a perennial 15 SB threat in pro ball. That speed does give him good range in the dirt and his feet on the dirt are nimble. That should give him a chance to stick at shortstop but I don't see him as just a one position guy. I think he should have to put more versatility in his profile, play second and third, and be a super utility guy in the high minors to have good overall value.
This definitely feels like a Giantsy and in some ways, an Athleticsy (?) pick where the A's drafted a lot of versatile players that can play everywhere over the years and Fitzgerald fits a lot of that boxes. I expect him to move quickly as a polished bat but has ceiling to be an everyday player for the big league squad.
Fifth Round
The Giants selected another hitter in the fifth round, their fourth left handed hitter, in first baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Frechette. I have heard his name since last year, playing for Orange Lutheran in the NHSI. He battled mononucleosis this year and some injuries last year as well, but he's profiled enough to made the front office draft him in the fifth round. In plenty of ways, Frechette is a HS version of guys like Mike Toglia, Matt Wallner and the folks who have big frames that can play first base and the corner outfield.
Here's my scouting report:
Garrett Frechette 1B/OF HS
6'3" 200 lbs. L/L 18.6 y/o
Videos: Credits to Perfect Game Baseball and The Prospect Pipeline
Hit 45 | Power 50 | Speed 50 | Arm 45 | Glove 50
If you look at Frechette, you will first see is that he is a big dude, but he actually moves pretty well for his size. His actions when defending first base looks natural, footwork looks good, his actions looks good, and he has enough speed to profile in the outfield, although most likely in left because his arm strength only looks a fringy offering. I think he can stick to first if the Giants want him to because he surely is behind Logan Wyatt in the depth chart.
Frechette has a short swing for a big guy, and that's a good thing. He does a good job of loading his hands and keeping his hands in, staying back and hitting breaking balls. The problem that I see from him is the inconsistencies in terms of his swing and performance. He's battled some nagging injuries and mononucleosis in the past two years and that didn't help his cause to find consistency. But the tools for him to hit for average are there, his good bat speed, ability to make adjustments, ability to not do too much and feel for the barrel. Frechette does not tap on his above average to plus raw power quite well yet, possibly due to inconsistencies, but if he can tweak his swing to a more power one, because his swing is more contact-oriented than power-oriented, so the pro coaches will have plenty of work to do with him.
In terms of ceiling, I think there's some ceiling to tap on Frechette, but there will be plenty of work to be done in terms of his development. I think his ceiling is to a solid player offensively but his floor is mighty low. I don't expect him to do much noise yet, but there's a potential there as long as he can move out of first base, hopefully.
Sixth Round
In the sixth round, the Giants selected Dilan Rosario, a shortstop from Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico. We all know who is an alumni of that school. I like this pick because he is still in the top 200 of MLB.com's list, and not to mention, pretty toolsy. The Giants did this same M.O. of drafting a Puerto Rican shortstop in the top 10 rounds on Edison Mora a couple of years ago or so, and so far, it has not worked out. The risk is definitely there, I say. But let us see a couple of years from now.
Here's my scouting report on him:
Dilan Rosario SS HS
6'0" 175 lbs. R/R 18.0 y/o
Videos: Credits to Leadership Christian Academy, 2080 Baseball, and Program 15
Hit 45 | Power 40 | Speed 55 | Arm 55 | Glove 55
Rosario do looks pretty tooled up for a Puerto Rican. His lower half is actually built pretty well already but his torso looks very lean. The body frame is wide thanks to broad hips and shoulders so it can definitely take on the weight, probably a good 10-20 lbs will do so. As a result, his speed that is a true plus one to an above average one.
His best tool is definitely his glove, with range thanks to his plus speed, his strong arm that is a very good fit for the position, actions, balance and quick twitch that shows plenty of promise. He should stay at shortstop long-term and could be the main guy to play there and push every other shortstop prospects out of his way because of the potential of his glove. There's some borderline Gold Glove potential. His speed can make him a stolen base threat but I don't have a good feel of his current base stealing ability to make a judgement on it.
The bat however, I have an issue. His approach at the plate is pretty promising but his breaking ball recognition is still on its nascent stages. Also, his exit velocities are pretty underwhelming based on Perfect Game data and the swing gets long at times, especially when he tries to hit for power. It's definitely a strength issue so he definitely needs to hit the weight room the once he arrives the Giants complex to tuck in those muscles. That said, the positives that I see are his athleticism shows in the bat with his plus bat speed, great bat path to the ball, there's some feel for the barrel, there's some loft to the swing and he works the gaps well. There's some potential for homers but I really want to see him improve on his breaking ball recognition before dreaming of bigger stuff on him.
There are plenty who are pretty high on Rosario but I want to temper my expectations a bit. The hit tool is in a better spot than plenty of other prospects but still as raw as a steak tartar. The glove however, don't worry about that too much.
Seventh Round
In the seventh round, the Giants took Armani Smith, a left fielder from UCSB. I will not be the one who will the scouting report on him, so I will let Armani Smith himself do the talking.
Asked what he can bring to the Giants organization: "I think I can bring a lot of thump to the lineup. In the future I see my self hitting a lot of home runs. But as of off the field, a great teammate and great guy to be around in general."
Asked about what changed in his breakout junior year after a disappointing freshman and sophomore season: "Worked extremely hard with our new hitting coach here and made a lot of mental changes. Changed my approach which helped me a lot more with my discipline."
I like his power profile and is a legitimate sleeper prospect now!
Eight Round
In the eight round, the Giants selected Caleb Killian, the first pitcher drafted by the new regime, from Texas Tech. I see three pitches in him, a fastball that can reach 95, sitting at low-90s with little movement. Hopefully, the Giants do have some spin rate data on him to see if he can improve on it. His slider flashes solid to above-average but I have seen plenty of floaters from him. Changeup is a fringy offering for me. His mechanics looks relief-ish with a recoil and a long arm action. A likely reliever but let's see if the Giants coaches can do some magic on him.
Ninth Round
In the ninth round, the Giants selected Simon Whiteman, a college senior from Yale, with some defensive slick in him and has some leadoff ability to hit for contact and not strike out a lot as well as steal a heap of bases. Obviously, he has the smarts that hopefully will translate to baseball IQ. He is a senior so he will probably sign for cheap and gives room to sign Rosario and Frechette.
Tenth Round
In the tenth round, the Giants selected Jeff Houghtby, an infielder from San Diego U. Stats definitely trended up in his senior year, kind of similar to Simon Whiteman as a college senior signing but has way less speed than Whiteman although there's some OBP potential.
All in all, I like what the Zaidi front did. Definitely did their homework and brought in 6 intriguing prospects in rounds 3-8, although the two seniors can probably make noise. All of them have an accompanying risks but have ceilings to tap so it's definitely intriguing to my eyes. Now, they did not try to draft guys like Leiter, Barco, Hampton and others due to their signabilities and they really want to stock up the farm system with depth, rather than betting all eggs in one basket. A classic but often works method. Tune in tomorrow for Day 3 review!
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