First Round Draft Preview For the San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are heading into the 2026 MLB Draft with their most important pick since the second overall selection back in 2018. This year, they lucked into the fourth overall pick despite having odds that would suggest that was impossible.

As an organization that is stuck in between an expensive core that’s not producing and a handful of teenage prospects who are nowhere near the big leagues, they can’t afford to miss with their first selection on Saturday.

With a history of repeated misses in the first round throughout the last decade, Buster Posey will have arguably his most important decisions since becoming the organization’s president nearly two years ago.

Thankfully, after dealing Patrick Bailey earlier this season and acquiring the 29th overall pick as part of the return, the Giants have two shots at a successful first round pick. Let’s break down the handful of candidates that have the chance to go fourth overall as well as point out some names that make sense at the back of the first round.

The Fourth Overall Pick

Before breaking down the names that are realistically going to be available at four, it should be mentioned that if any of the top three prospects fall into the Giants lap, they will take them without hesitation.

Roch Cholowsky appears to be a perfect fit, as he grew up a Giants fan and played shortstop at UCLA — where San Francisco legend Brandon Crawford played — but the chances he falls to them are next to none. The same goes for Vahn Lackey and Grady Emerson, despite their fit not being as ideal as Cholowsky’s.

Honorable Mentions:

Drew Burress – OF, Georgia Tech

• .357/.484/.720, 1.204 OPS, 60 HR, 189 RBI in 179 collegiate games.

Tyler Bell – SS, Kentucky

• .314/.438/.556, .993 OPS, 19 HR, 75 RBI in 97 collegiate games.

The Realistic Three

Jacob Lombard – SS, Gulliver Prep (FL) | Bat/Throw: R/R

Lombard is undoubtedly the second-best prep shortstop in this year’s class and is the younger brother of George Lombard Jr. — the Yankees’ best prospect. The 18-year-old is an above-average athlete at a premium position and brings a healthy blend of tools to the table.

While the pure ability to hit needs to come along a good bit, the power is comfortably above average, and he should have no trouble running into his long balls. Defensively, he’ll be completely fine sticking at shortstop long term.

Lombard has been the name most consistently linked to the Giants with this fourth overall pick over the last few months, even if it doesn’t make the most sense. Of course, in baseball, you take the best player available, but the Giants do have three teenage shortstops in the Top 100 developing on a relatively similar timeline and there’s some risk in this profile.

Jackson Flora – RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Despite being far and away the best pitcher in this year’s draft, Flora is also the most logical pick for San Francisco here. Not only did he grow up a Giants fan, but this system currently lacks top-flight starters, let alone one that’s anywhere near the big leagues.

While there’s a slight concern about the talent he was consistently facing in college, the stuff should play at any level. The fastball is the true calling card, sitting between 96-98 mph and touching triple digits rather consistently while holding good shape. The sweeper/slider combinations will have to get a tad more consistent in terms of shape but have both been above average when he’s going right.

If the changeup can come along, Flora could find himself in San Francisco’s rotation at some point in the back half of the 2027 season. I mean, the kid did just throw 102 innings at a 1.06 clip while striking out nearly 12 hitters per nine in his third season at UCSB.

Without a doubt, this pick makes the most sense, but it appears the Giants decision makers have been leaning prep throughout this entire process.

Eric Booth Jr. – OF, Oak Grove (MS) | Bat/Throw: L/L

Booth is the second-best prep prospect in this year’s draft according to Just Baseball’s rankings and really wasn’t being mentioned as a potential pick for San Francisco until the last week or so. He may not be the most polished baseball player towards the top of the draft, but he’s likely the best all-around athlete.

His swing is far from polished, but there’s already some real pop in its current iteration. Booth is arguably the quickest runner in this prep class and that would undoubtedly be a nice sight for a team consistently toward the bottom of the league in steals.

Not to mention, this system is heavily dominated by infield prospects, and a young outfielder with clear Top 100 upside is something that would also be welcomed. Despite not being mentioned here for the majority of the process, if San Francisco is souring on Lombard, Booth could absolutely be the pick.

The 29th Overall Pick

• Carson Coleman – LHP, Southside Christian (SC)

• Cameron Flukey – RHP, Coastal Carolina

• Eric Becker – SS, Virginia

• Logan Reddemann – RHP, UCLA

• Jensen Hirschkorn – RHP, Kingsburg (CA)

• Jared Grindlinger – LHP/OF, Huntington Beach (CA)