It didn’t take long for a clear theme to emerge for the Giants over the first two days of the 2019 MLB Draft.

Under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and first-year director of amateur scouting Michael Holmes, the Giants used nine of their first 10 selections on position players, reflecting both the organization’s need for offense and the overall strength of this year’s draft class.

Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop and Louisville first baseman Logan Wyatt, a pair of left-handed hitters selected by San Francisco with the club’s first two picks, headlined the new crop of bats that the Giants hope will be able to move up quickly and reach the big leagues sooner rather than later.

“In my eyes and in our room's eyes, we thought the strength of the Draft was offense,” Holmes said shortly after its conclusion on Wednesday. “We tried to stay toward that strength, and we were able to add some bats into our system that I think are going to help us out. And honestly, we were [looking] for some offense. We thought it was a good Draft to keep pounding the bats and keep taking them, and things kind of fell very well for us. We're excited with the way it played out.” 

The Giants also moved to improve their organizational depth up the middle, drafting six shortstops, including four in the first 10 rounds. Tyler Fitzgerald, a fourth-round pick out of Louisville, is the highest-rated prospect of the bunch, though Dilan Rosario, a sixth-round pick out of Colegio Marista High School in Puerto Rico, is viewed as the best defender.

“We were able to spread our looks out throughout the spring on him, and each time we saw his bat improve a little bit more,” Holmes said of Rosario, who will turn 18 on June 16. “We saw some strength added to the body. He always had the defensive ability. … It's exciting to get that type of package at that age into the system.”

Texas Tech right-hander Caleb Kithian, an eighth-round selection, was the lone pitcher drafted by the Giants over the first two days of the Draft, but they used Day 3 to stock up on arms in the later rounds. George County High School (Lucedale, Miss.) right-hander Trevor McDonald and Georgetown right-hander Nick Morreale, who were drafted in the 11th and 14th rounds, respectively, were among the pitchers taken by San Francisco on Wednesday.

“We think we put into the system lots of different strengths that can help us moving forward, whether it be power, speed, athleticism,” Holmes said. “On the mound, we were able to get some velo in some later rounds. We're excited with the way it went, and we look forward to getting these guys in uniforms.”

In addition to Bishop, who grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., the Giants added a few more local products over the final two days of the Draft, including University of California, Santa Barbara outfielder and De La Salle High School alum Armani Smith (seventh round); Arizona State second baseman and Monterey native Carter Aldrete (15th round); and Mission College right-hander and Campbell native Kanoa Pagan (19th round). Aldrete is the nephew of former Giant and current A’s assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete.

“My first day here, we talked about how great it would be to have a lot of local guys come into our organization and be on the field over here at Oracle,” Holmes said. “Those guys addressed that, and it's just kind of exciting that that may be the start of something.”

Giants’ 2019 MLB Draft by the numbers
28 college picks
12 high school picks
25 position players
15 pitchers
9 outfielders
6 shortstops
3 second basemen
3 first basemen
3 third basemen
1 catcher