The SF Giants added another notable name to their draft class in the 12th round, taking high school outfielder Josiah Kemp out of Choctaw High School in Choctaw, Oklahoma.
Kemp comes with a familiar baseball lineage. He is the nephew of longtime division rival Matt Kemp, who spent 15 seasons in the majors, including 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matt Kemp also played for the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies, so the Giants saw plenty of him over the years.
That wasn’t the only draft pick with major league bloodlines for San Francisco. The Giants also used their third-round selection on Peyton Bonds out of Rutgers University. Peyton is the nephew of Barry Bonds and the son of former pro outfielder Bobby Bonds Jr.
San Francisco’s draft leaned heavily toward pitching. The Giants took a pitcher with eight of their first 11 picks, including four pitchers among their five selections on the first day. Jackson Flora led that group as the club’s first-round pick, and the next two choices were prep arms Carson Bolemon and Kaden Waechter.
The overall shape of the class points to a clear plan. The Giants targeted the best college pitcher in the draft, then added two high-upside high school arms. The rest of the draft appears to have been used to create enough bonus pool flexibility to get Bolemon and Waechter signed.
Kemp stood out as one of the more interesting late picks. Ben Badler of Baseball America describes him as an athletic outfielder with a good feel for contact, though he was not ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top-250 prospects in this year’s class.
He is committed to Oklahoma University, so the Giants will have to convince him to forgo that path. Still, a 12th-round selection suggests they feel reasonably confident about their chances.
That’s the kind of move teams often make late in the draft: take a high school player who may be difficult to sign, then use him as a fallback option if earlier picks don’t come to terms. In the 12th round, there is no slot value.
Teams can offer up to $150,000 without it counting against the bonus pool, and anything above that does count. For San Francisco, signing Kemp will almost certainly require savings generated in the first 10 rounds.
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Giants Draft Peyton Bonds And Revive One Of Franchise History's Biggest Names
The Giants added a familiar name to their draft class when they took Peyton Bonds in the third round, a selection that instantly tied this years class to one of the franchises most recognizable family trees. The right-handed hitter and center fielder is the nephew of Barry Bonds and the grandson of Bobby Bonds, and his appeal goes beyond the surname, with athleticism and defensive ability making him an intriguing addition for a club that has long valued up-the-middle talent.
Bonds path to San Francisco included time at Campbell before a transfer to Rutgers, and his college season was interrupted by an April hamstring injury. Even so, he showed enough in limited action to keep his stock moving, and the Giants now have a player whose profile fits the modern game: a center fielder with a strong arm, plenty of athleticism and enough offensive upside to make the next step in his development worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
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In a corresponding move, the club optioned right-hander Spencer Bivens to Triple-A, clearing the roster spot for Foleys activation. For a Giants team that has been looking for stability in the late innings, the next question is how quickly Foley can settle in and what kind of impact he can make once he is back on the mound. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger issue for the Giants is that this has not been confined to one side of the ball. Adames has also been shaky defensively, which puts added pressure on a lineup that needs him to be more than just a source of occasional damage. The encouraging part is that his bat speed and exit velocity have stayed close to his usual standards, so this does not look like a player who has simply lost his tools. For now, the question is whether the Giants can get him back on track quickly enough before the conversation around him shifts from slump to something much more structural. [Read more 🡒]