{"id":5799,"date":"2026-07-29T22:10:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T22:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5799"},"modified":"2026-07-29T22:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T22:10:03","slug":"top-draft-pick-jackson-flora-thrilled-to-join-hometown-sf-giants-this-is-where-i-want-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5799","title":{"rendered":"Top draft pick Jackson Flora thrilled to join hometown SF Giants: &#8216;This is where I want to be&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><span>SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 With the gargantuan Oracle Park video board emblazoned with a greeting for Jackson Flora, the face of the organization\u2019s glorious past welcomed the young man expected to be a sizable part of its future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5797\">Kavinsky dies at 50; French DJ was composer of \u2018Nightcall\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey, the same man Flora grew up watching as a child growing up in the East Bay, waited at the top of the stairs as Flora emerged from the dugout an hour before the Giants faced the visiting Brewers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Surrounded by Flora\u2019s family, the team\u2019s top draft pick accepted a cream-colored jersey and black-and-orange hat from Posey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s crazy. I grew up watching him play, and I\u2019m a huge fan,\u201d Flora said. \u201cIt\u2019s still settling in a little bit, but it\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The No. 4 pick in the draft held earlier this month, Flora, 21, was no stranger to the ballpark. Though he had never stepped foot on the field, he quipped that he had sat in every other seat around the stadium as a kid who grew up going to games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Giants have always been the team that I wanted to play for, and I\u2019m really excited that worked out,\u201d Flora said. \u201cThis is where I want to be, and this is the city I want to play in.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>His favorite memories as a fan? Watching Pablo Sandoval hit three home runs in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, and having an opportunity to see Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and the rest of the San Francisco staff dominate en route to three World Series titles in five years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it\u2019s another former Buster Posey teammate that Flora has been mentored by while getting work in Arizona.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019ve talked over the past couple of weeks to Vogelsong, and he\u2019s been in Arizona helping us out, and he\u2019s somebody I grew up watching all of his starts,\u201d Flora said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Flora\u2019s journey has taken him from the Bay Area, to the southern part of the state, and then back to Northern California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Flora was born in Walnut Creek and attended Foothill High in Pleasanton, the same school that produced Giants legend Brandon Crawford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5795\">Nicki Minaj \u2018in talks\u2019 to record a duet with Trump\u2019s daughter-in-law: report<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>By his third season at UC-Santa Barbara, the 6-foot-5 right hander blossomed into the best pitcher in the nation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cHe\u2019s got a good frame and the athleticism, I think, matches up with the guys that are on the field out there,\u201d Giants manager Tony Vitello said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He went 12-0, sported a 1.06 ERA and struck out 133 in just 102 innings while being awarded the College Baseball Hall of Fame and Perfect Game pitcher of the year awards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI faced a lot of good hitters in my time in college, and when it comes down to it, who is in the box doesn\u2019t really matter,\u201d Flora said. \u201cIt\u2019s just about executing your pitch and the game plan and competing for the guys in the dugout. So I think that college has prepared me and got me ready.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Flora\u2019s addition bolsters a farm system that also has Jacob Bresnahan, Keyner Martinez, Argenis Cayama and Luis De La Torre all in Single-A, and fellow 2026 draftee Carson Bolemon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Whether or not Flora will pitch again during the season is yet to be determined, but he made it known that he has a lot to work on even if his next pitch in an organized game does not happen until the Arizona Fall League begins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Though he had not had a chance to meet the majority of his teammates during the pregame warmup period, Flora noted that he was able to connect with fellow franchise building block Bryce Eldridge.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m excited to learn,\u201d Flora said. \u201cI think that professional baseball will have a lot more guys with experience who can teach me things, a lot more tools that we can use. I\u2019m really excited to learn a lot more about myself and about the game, and see what can help me get better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A few minutes after finishing his first in-person interview with Bay Area media, Flora wasted not time ingratiating himself with the fans, signing baseballs and posing photos with the people who hope he will one day be a major piece of the Giants revival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m excited to be here,\u201d Flora said. \u201cTo be able to wear this jersey means a lot to me, and it\u2019s something I take a lot of pride in, and I\u2019m ready to get to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5793\">Oakland\u2019s TrueBurger to become some kind of \u2018Egg Palace\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flora grew up rooting for Buster Posey and the dynastic Giants of the 2010s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top draft pick Jackson Flora thrilled to join hometown SF Giants: &#8216;This is where I want to be&#8217; 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