SECAUCUS, New Jersey -- With their first selection since joining the Giants, Farhan Zaidi and Michael Holmes went with a formula that has worked in San Francisco. They selected an outfielder who went to Serra High School and then starred at Arizona State.
The Giants took center fielder Hunter Bishop with the 10th overall pick Monday, adding an infusion of talent to the rebuild, and potentially a building block in the outfield. Bishop, a 20-year-old from Palo Alto, hit 22 homers last season for ASU, where Barry Bonds once starred.
MLB Pipeline had Bishop ranked as the seventh-best player in the draft noting that power is his calling card. Here's their scouting report on Bishop:
"The left-handed hitter has always had tremendous raw power, but there have been questions about his ability to hit enough to tap into it. There will be some swing and miss, but he's shown bat speed, strength and loft consistently, with majestic home run power to his pull side, but also the ability to drive the ball to all fields. He runs very well for his size, regularly recording plus times down the line."
Former Oregon State coach Pat Casey was at MLB Network for the draft and said of Bishop, "The tools are off the chart."
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The Giants have had plenty of success in the No. 10 spot. They took Tim Lincecum and Madison 10th overall in back-to-back years. They're now hoping to strike similar gold for their lineup, adding Bishop, the younger brother of Mariners outfielder Braden Bishop, to their young minor league core.
With Bishop joining Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos, you can start to see the start of a future lineup at Oracle Park.
