Giants Make 16 More Picks in 2026 MLB Draft After Opening With 5 Selections

Q: Was trading a Gold Glove winner for a high school pitcher a brilliant move or a future regret?

It is too early to call it brilliant or regrettable, but right now it looks like a calculated, high-variance gamble by the Giants. The case for the trade is clear. San Francisco turned Patrick Bailey, an elite defensive catcher whose bat had cratered to a .146 average and a 16 wRC+ in 2026, into two pitching assets: Double-A lefty Matt Wilkinson and the No. 29 pick, which became high school left-hander Carson Bolemon. That pick also added roughly $3.27 million in slot value, pushing the Giants’ draft pool to $17.35 million and giving them more flexibility to sign premium talent. For a club that clearly wanted to stockpile arms, the move fit its broader draft strategy. Bolemon’s upside is why the trade could age well. He has been described by some evaluators as one of the most polished prep pitchers in the class, with a projectable frame, a deep pitch mix and frontline-starter potential. If he develops as hoped, the Giants may have converted a struggling major leaguer into a much more valuable long-term asset. The risk is just as obvious. Bailey was a proven two-time Gold Glove catcher at a premium position, and Bolemon is still a teenage pitcher, the riskiest profile in the draft. He also comes with real red flags, including a spring velocity dip and prior internal brace elbow surgery. So the trade was defensible, not reckless. Whether it becomes a masterstroke or a mistake will depend almost entirely on Bolemon’s health and development.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 12

Day 2 gives San Francisco 16 more selections in rounds 5-20, with the Giants picking No. 15 in each round and finishing their 21-player 2026 draft class.
Five picks were already made Saturday, led by first-round UC Santa Barbara pitcher Jackson Flora and compensation-round prep pitcher Carson Bolemon, acquired with the Patrick Bailey trade pick.
Kade Waechter, Peyton Bonds and Carlos Martinez rounded out the Giants' first five choices, extending an early draft focus on pitching with four arms among those selections.
Rounds 5-20 begin at 8:30 a.m. PT on MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+, as the club moves from its headline picks into the deeper, volume-building phase of the draft.