The 2014 draft is over. Early analysis shows that the Giants bolstered an already-strong pitching core and refreshed the farm system with needed power.
First-round selection RHP Tyler Beede was a smart move with great value at No. 14 overall.
He’s recorded a 8-7 record, 3.58 ERA (103 IP), 108 strikeouts in 17 games with Vanderbilt this season. The right-handed hurler is currently a junior and sports an impressive K/9 ratio of 9.44.
His fastball touches 97-99 at times, but he has trouble repeating his pitching mechanics. He can be sporadic and inconsistent at times. The 6-foot-4 Commodore also throws a 80-83 mph curveball with hard downward action, a 78-81 mph change-up with lots of fade and a mediocre slider.
The Giants have been known to draft pitching well, and Beede just adds to an already solid farm system with guys like Jack Snodgrass (7-0, 2.53 ERA) in Double-A Richmond and Matthew Lujan (6-2, 2.19 ERA) in Single-A Augusta.
Some of the Giants notable first-round pitchers over the last decade have been Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and Zack Wheeler.
With the perpetual chatter of Buster Posey moving to first base, second-rounder C Aramis Garcia was an interesting pick by San Francisco. Choosing a catcher in the second round only adds credence to the theory.
Garcia is no insurance pick though. He was one of the best available players at No. 52. He batted .368 (60-for-163) with 37 RBIs, 34 runs and eight home runs with Florida International University this season.
Garcia was named the Conference USA Player of the Year and received First Team All Conference USA honors. He led the conference in average and slugging (.626). He finished second in on-base (.442) and was a Johnny Bench Award Watch List semifinalist.
On Day 2 of the draft, the Giants loaded up on a plethora of college bats.
One of them was third-round pick RF Dylan Davis. Davis filled an area the Giants don’t have as much in the farm system: raw power.
The Oregon State product was taken No. 87, and was ranked as the 93rd best prospect in the draft by Baseball America. His above average bat speed makes up for his subpar speed on defense.
Davis hit .283 with the Beavers and led the team in RBIs (64) and was tied in home runs (7) with 10th overall pick Michael Conforto. he has good arm strength in the outfield and looks like a Josh Willingham-type of hitter.
Plate discipline will also be a factor with Davis. He had BB/K ratio of 0.68 (21/31).
With the 118th pick in the draft, the Giants picked up RHP Logan Webb. Webb wasn’t a guy that got a lot of hype in the draft. In fact, you can find more videos of him on the Internet playing football than you can baseball.
Webb has a fastball that reaches speeds of 94-96 mph, and has had a lot of work as 17-year-old. He once throw 145 pitches in a high school game and followed it up with a relief outing three days later where he rarely threw anything in the 90s.
That kind of workload borders on child-labor misconduct, though Webb does have the makings of a real work horse down the road.
In the fifth round, the Giants grabbed another RHP Samuel Coonrod at No. 148. Coonrod has tremendous arm strength and can touch 98 MPH with his fastball. He’s 92-93 on a bad day.
He also throws a change-up and a hard slider that show potential, but it remains to be seen if he can reach the upside national rankings gave him.
If it does work out, there could be a lot of coonskin caps in Giants fans’ future.
Number of players drafted at each position:
RHP = 15 / LHP = 6 / C = 6 / CF = 5 / SS = 3 / RF-LF = 2 / 3B = 1 / 1B = 1 / 2B = 1
Last modified June 24, 2014 12:29 am
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57 innings is a heavy workload for Logan Webb this season??? And because he played football he wasn't pitching year round like the other pitchers picked. As for the 147 pitches in a game it was 106 and although I was a little upset he relieved 3 days later in the Section playoffs, it was Logan who begged the coach to go into the 4-3 win over top ranked Elk Grove where, by the way, he touched 95 and struck out 1st Round pick of the Detroit Tigers Derek Hill for the win.