The Giants have struggled to find solid major league contributors in the first round of drafts over the last decade.
If the Giants want to sustain the success from their 107-win season a year ago, it starts with building the foundation of organizational depth that hasn’t necessarily existed in the lean years since their last championship.
His name is Reggie Crawford, a 21-year-old out of the University of Connecticut, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. Baseball America, which considered him the No. 59 prospect in the class, described Crawford as “one of the biggest wild cards in the draft,” considering “his talent, limited track record on the mound and medical history.”
Because they picked last, the Giants also have the smallest pool of funds to use to sign their draft picks, at $5.8 million. The suggested slot value of the No. 30 pick was $2.485 million. Crawford was generally not regarded as a first-round prospect in the lead-up to the draft — two outlets mocked him to San Francisco but he did not appear in the first round of any other mock draft — so it’s possible he signs for below slot, giving the Giants more money to ink later picks.