If you thought the Giants might lean towards hitting with their first pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, think again: they selected a pitcher, Chris Stratton out of Mississippi State, with the 20th overall selection.
The 6'3", 190-pound power pitcher who was named the 2012 SEC Pitcher of the Year wasn't supposed to be available when the Giants picked on Monday.
And no one's more fired about that fact than scouting director John Barr and former Giants legend/Mississippi State alum Will Clark.
“John just called me not too long ago and he was pretty fired up that Stratton was still on the board,” Clark said, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
Barr simply said that the Giants drafted "a Mississippi State guy ... so Will will be happy."
And they also took Stratton because they hope to be happy, and land yet another prized pitching prospect in the first round of the draft. (Recent selections include Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Zack Wheeler.)
“He has a four-pitch mix,” Barr said. “He can throw breaking balls for strikes. His fastball goes anywhere from 90 to 95. He really competes on the mound.”
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In his last mock draft before the real thing, ESPN's Keith Law pegged Stratton to go No. 15 overall.
"Stratton has a chance for three above-average pitches, but the fact that he is already almost 22 years old means he has less time to reach his ceiling than other draftees," Law wrote.
In other words, the Giants got good value because of where he fell and Stratton's a good fit for the team based on their recent success quickly grooming players to join the bigs.
