Giants Made Most of Limited Bonus Pool Money in MLB Draft Class Haul

The San Francisco Giants had one of the smallest bonus pools to work with in the MLB draft because of exceeding the Competitive Balance Tax threshold in 2024 and signing Willy Adames in free agency after he rejected a qualifying offer.

The Giants also forfeited their second- and fifth-round picks as a result of that contract, making the first draft class for new president of baseball operations Buster Posey a little more challenging to form.

The resulting draft class haul is a bit top-heavy, with San Francisco receiving praise for selecting Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen at No. 13 overall.

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Keith Law of The Athletic (subscription required), who released his analysis of the NL West's draft classes, shared that opinion.

He saw Kilen as an “excellent first pick for a class limited by a small bonus pool.”

Looking at their Day 2 selections, Law dove into their fourth, sixth, and ninth round selections.

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The Giants took Stetson shortstop Lorenzo Meola at No. 116 overall, who slashed .324/.402/.532 with 11 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in his 2025 campaign.

"Meola gets good marks for his defense, and his offensive profile looks better under the hood than it does on the surface,” Law wrote. “He makes a good bit of hard contact, and his higher-than-you-want strikeout rate is mostly a function of him having no two-strike approach, unless ‘swing at everything’ counts as a two-strike approach. There may be some untapped potential here.”

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After shooting for some potential in round four, they had to wait until the sixth round to select Northeastern lefty pitcher Jordan Gottesman at No. 206 overall.

Law saw that selection as more of a money saver. Gottesman spent four years at Division III Endicott College and transferred to Northeastern, where he had an impressive spring campaign, posting a 2.27 ERA.

“He sits 91-92 and has an average slider, dominating lefties, and could end up a fifth starter in a perfect world,” Law wrote.

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San Francisco may have budgeted on Gottesman to sign their No. 266 overall selection, high school right-handed pitcher Reid Worley from Georgia.

“He uses a bizarre grip on his breaking ball that generates spin rates over 3000 rpm,” Law wrote. “He’s been up to 93 and has some projection to his 6-2 frame, with a very young build.”

Overall, the class isn’t overtly flashy, and it’s headlined by a real strong selection in Kilen, who likely will project at second base in the future for the Giants.

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