Who could SF Giants take with fourth pick in 2026 MLB draft?

SAN FRANCISCO — In a season that’s been so bleak, the Giants have an opportunity this weekend to hope for the future.

Thanks to luck during the draft lottery, San Francisco will have the fourth overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft. Thanks to the Patrick Bailey trade, the Giants will also have the 29th overall pick — and the extra pool money that comes with it. Overall, the team’s bonus pool of $17,350,600 is the fourth-highest in the draft.

The Giants’ farm system, headlined by teenage shortstops Josuar Gonzalez and Luis Hernandez, currently ranks 10th in the majors per Baseball America, moving up from No. 14 in the preseason rankings. By weekend’s end, the team’s talent pool stands to grow even stronger.

“I think our strategy is to be in a position to take the best player available, and I think our group, our scouts, everybody in the room’s done a really good job of trying to get our board lined up into a good place,” said senior director of amateur scouting Michael Holmes. “Our process has been really strong so far up to this point. Just really excited to have two opportunities at four and 29, then even further down the draft to be able to bring some talent to the organization.

This will mark the sixth time in franchise history that San Francisco has a top-five pick, and three of those selections turned into true franchise pillars. In 2008, they took Buster Posey with the fifth overall pick. They drafted Will Clark with the second pick in 1985, then Matt Williams with the third pick the following year. There have also been some duds, as seen with Joey Bart (No. 2) in 2018 and Jason Grilli (No. 4) in 1997.

The consensus top-three picks in this year’s draft are UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey and prep shortstop Grady Emerson. Cholowsky, who grew up a fan of former Giant Brandon Crawford, was long considered the favorite to be selected with the first overall pick, but the Chicago White Sox may opt for Emerson.

San Francisco’s brass would be ecstatic if any of Cholowsky, Lackey or Emerson dropped out of the top three, but the Giants are unlikely to select any of that trio when their time on the clock begins. Still, there shouldn’t be a lack of alluring options available.

The Giants have often been linked to UC Santa Barbara’s right-hander Jackson Flora, who’s widely considered the best pitcher in this year’s draft.

Flora, who had a 1.06 ERA over 16 starts this past season, makes sense as a fit given San Francisco’s lack of high-end pitching depth aside from lefty Jacob Bresnahan and righties Keyner Martinez and Argenis Cayama. There’s also a very strong local connection with Flora, given he grew up a Giants fan and attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton, the same high school as Crawford.

While San Francisco is in need of pitching, general manager Zack Minasian said on KNBR 680 last week that the team will “lean best player available.”

“I remember hearing this line about need being the worst evaluator,” Minasian said. “The draft is very difficult, so if you’re going to limit your talent pool, you’re just going to make it harder on yourself. So, we want to go into it with a completely open mind and then go from there.”

Along with Flora, two other names connected with the Giants are prep shortstop Jacob Lombard (Gulliver Prep HS) and prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr. (Oak Grove HS), both of whom come from athletic backgrounds.

Lombard is the son of former major leaguer George Lombard and brother of Yankees prospect George Lombard. Booth’s father, Eric Booth Sr., was a 34th-round selection by the Toronto Blue Jays but opted to play football at Southern Mississippi, where he played running back and became a record-setting kick returner.

Whether it’s in the infield or outfield, the Giants aren’t lacking up-the-middle talent. In the infield, there’s Gonzalez, Hernandez, Jhonny Level and Gavin Kilen. In center field, there’s Bo Davidson and Dakota Jordan. San Francisco’s existing talent, however, shouldn’t prevent the team from drafting more shortstops or more center fielders. And if the Giants create enough depth, that depth can be used for future trades.

“I think our goal is just to bring in the most talent we can across the entire organization — international, amateur, trades,” Holmes said. “I think we’ve done a real nice job of bringing in a lot of middle-of-the-diamond players and guys that could help all over the field. You try not to get caught up in the moment and see what you have and what you don’t have, because in this game, it can change on a dime.”

Regarding the 29th overall pick, one local player who could be available is shortstop Archer Horn, a product of St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco who is currently committed to Stanford. There’s also shortstop Tyler Spangler, who missed his senior year at De La Salle and is also committed to Stanford.

Along with the first-round talent, one name worth monitoring for Giants fans is Peyton Bonds. As the last name suggests, Bonds is the grandson of Bobby Bonds and the nephew of Barry Bonds. Peyton Bonds also played alongside Trevor Cohen, San Francisco’s third-round selection in last year’s draft.