Best draft picks in San Francisco Giants history

The Major League Baseball draft is unique among professional sports drafts. The 30 organizations pick teenagers and college students who will not join their big league clubs for years—if ever.

These athletes will spend that time honing their craft in the minor leagues, where long bus rides and minuscule paychecks are the norm. A few will move quickly up the ranks, seizing playing time opportunities to advance their careers and making their names known to scouts, fans, and other observers around the country.

Some of the best will become MLB stars, but there's minimal correlation to draft position. Four of the best draft picks nationally were picked after hundreds of other diamond darlings, and only two were #1 overall selections.

There's also more than a handful who didn't do much for the teams that drafted them, including superstars such as Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, and Randy Johnson. Each of these players was traded before they evolved into Hall of Famers.

Still, calling the draft a "crapshoot" might be going too far. College players are "slightly more likely" than high schoolers to reach the revered stadiums of the majors, and third-rounders have a better chance than fifth-rounders, for example, though the margins are slim, as Vice reported. Teams not only make picks based on years-in-advance projections but also whether they can sign players, a step that must be completed before those youngsters begin playing professionally.

To see how clubs have fared since the inaugural draft in 1965, ATS.io compiled a list of the best draft picks in San Francisco Giants history using data from Baseball Reference. The players were ranked using career wins above replacement, so not one recent choice was named. Unsigned picks were not considered, and players who were traded as picks were credited to their acquiring teams. Data is as of June 5, 2024.

#25. Adam Duvall
- Draft: 348th overall pick in 2010
- Position: Second baseman
- Games played: 963
- Career stats: 189 home runs, .231 batting average, .759 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 11.9

#24. Ed Halicki
- Draft: 564th overall pick in 1972
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 192
- Career stats: 55 wins, 3.62 earned run average, 1.26 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 12.0

#23. Russ Ortiz
- Draft: 103rd overall pick in 1995
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 311
- Career stats: 113 wins, 4.51 earned run average, 1.49 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 13.2

#22. Rob Deer
- Draft: 85th overall pick in 1978
- Position: Outfielder
- Games played: 1,155
- Career stats: 230 home runs, .220 batting average, .766 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 13.8

#21. Logan Webb
- Draft: 118th overall pick in 2014
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 126
- Career stats: 46 wins, 3.35 earned run average, 1.18 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 15.6

#20. Bryan Reynolds
- Draft: 59th overall pick in 2016
- Position: Outfielder
- Games played: 698
- Career stats: 106 home runs, .275 batting average, .822 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 17.3

#19. Gary Lavelle
- Draft: 397th overall pick in 1967
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 745
- Career stats: 80 wins, 2.93 earned run average, 1.33 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 19.0

#18. John Burkett
- Draft: 148th overall pick in 1983
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 445
- Career stats: 166 wins, 4.31 earned run average, 1.35 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 19.1

#16. Tim Lincecum (tie)
- Draft: 10th overall pick in 2006
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 278
- Career stats: 110 wins, 3.74 earned run average, 1.29 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 19.5

#16. Royce Clayton (tie)
- Draft: 15th overall pick in 1988
- Position: Shortstop
- Games played: 2,108
- Career stats: 110 home runs, .258 batting average, .679 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 19.5

#15. Keith Foulke
- Draft: 256th overall pick in 1994
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 619
- Career stats: 41 wins, 3.33 earned run average, 1.08 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 20.7

#14. Bob Knepper
- Draft: 43rd overall pick in 1972
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 449
- Career stats: 146 wins, 3.68 earned run average, 1.33 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 21.8

#13. Bill Mueller
- Draft: 414th overall pick in 1993
- Position: Shortstop
- Games played: 1,216
- Career stats: 85 home runs, .291 batting average, .797 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 23.9

#12. Joe Nathan
- Draft: 159th overall pick in 1995
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 787
- Career stats: 64 wins, 2.87 earned run average, 1.12 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 26.7

#11. Matt Cain
- Draft: 25th overall pick in 2002
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 342
- Career stats: 104 wins, 3.68 earned run average, 1.23 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 29.1

#10. Brandon Crawford
- Draft: 117th overall pick in 2008
- Position: Shortstop
- Games played: 1,666
- Career stats: 147 home runs, .249 batting average, .713 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 29.5

#9. Brandon Belt
- Draft: 147th overall pick in 2009
- Position: First baseman
- Games played: 1,413
- Career stats: 194 home runs, .261 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 29.7

#8. Gary Matthews
- Draft: 17th overall pick in 1968
- Position: Outfielder
- Games played: 2,033
- Career stats: 234 home runs, .281 batting average, .802 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 30.4

#7. Zack Wheeler
- Draft: 6th overall pick in 2009
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 240
- Career stats: 94 wins, 3.38 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 31.2

#6. Madison Bumgarner
- Draft: 10th overall pick in 2007
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 358
- Career stats: 134 wins, 3.47 earned run average, 1.15 walks plus hits per inning
- Wins above replacement: 37.3

#5. Chili Davis
- Draft: 270th overall pick in 1977
- Position: Outfielder
- Games played: 2,435
- Career stats: 350 home runs, .274 batting average, .811 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 38.3

#4. Buster Posey
- Draft: 5th overall pick in 2008
- Position: Catcher
- Games played: 1,371
- Career stats: 158 home runs, .302 batting average, .831 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 44.8

#3. Matt Williams
- Draft: 3rd overall pick in 1986
- Position: Third baseman
- Games played: 1,866
- Career stats: 378 home runs, .268 batting average, .805 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 46.6

#2. Jack Clark
- Draft: 294th overall pick in 1973
- Position: Pitcher
- Games played: 1,994
- Career stats: 340 home runs, .267 batting average, .854 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 53.1

#1. Will Clark
- Draft: 2nd overall pick in 1985
- Position: First baseman
- Games played: 1,976
- Career stats: 284 home runs, .303 batting average, .880 on-base plus slugging
- Wins above replacement: 56.5

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Mike Taylor, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 30 MLB teams.