ORLANDO, Fla. -- Staying true to his name, vice president of player development Randy Winn helped the Giants achieve a major victory in the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
With Winn serving as their club representative, the Giants secured the No. 4 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, giving them their highest selection since they took Joey Bart with the second overall pick in 2018.
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The Giants were in line to pick 15th by virtue of their 81-81 record in 2025, but they had the 12th-best odds (1.0%) at nabbing the No. 1 overall selection since three other non-playoff teams -- the Rockies, Nationals and Angels -- were ineligible for the Draft Lottery this year.
Winn said he felt more hopeful than nervous coming into the fourth annual event, which is used to determine the first six spots of the MLB Draft.
“I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I did know that based on how things worked, if we weren’t called by 15, that we would be inside the top six,” Winn said. “Once we weren’t sixth and then once we weren’t five, I was like, ‘Well, maybe.’
“Drafting is hard, but we’re definitely excited to be picking so early in the Draft. It’s been a while since I believe we’ve drafted this high. We’ve got some time, we’ve got some work to do ahead of us.”
No one was more thrilled with the result than amateur scouting director Michael Holmes, who came over to fist bump Winn as soon as the former Giants outfielder walked off the MLB Network set at the Signia by Hilton resort.
“He’s very excited about that, if you saw his face and heard his voice,” Winn said. “I think our amateur scouts are going to be really excited about it. They were probably feeling some butterflies. It’s always an exciting time.”
The Giants were forced to sacrifice multiple Draft picks in each of their last two years as a result of signing qualified free agents like Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Willy Adames, so moving up in the Draft order should go a long way toward helping them bring more impact talent into the organization in 2026.
Thanks to its unexpected Draft Lottery windfall, San Francisco will be picking inside the top five for only the sixth time in franchise history. The first five names on that list are Bart, Buster Posey (No. 5 overall in 2008), Jason Grilli (No. 4 in 1997), Matt Williams (No. 3 in 1986) and Will Clark (No. 2 in 1985), offering a glimpse at the type of franchise-altering players that can be available at the top of the Draft.
The Giants might be tempted to stick with Winn as their annual Draft Lottery representative, but he said he would prefer not to push his luck in the future.
“I don’t want to wear out my magic,” Winn said. “One-year magic. That’s all I got.”