After being one of the most consistent teams in the 2010s, the San Francisco Giants have been incredibly average over the last few seasons. Over the past four years, the club has maintained a .500 average, give or take a few games. 

Given their nearly .500 status over the years, that has not helped them in terms of drafting. The last time they held a top-five first-round pick was back in 2018, but not anymore. 

With the draft lottery back in December, San Francisco was given the fourth overall pick. Here, they will have some of the top talent to choose from. 

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Giants projected to take UC Santa Barbara’s ace in the 2026 MLB Draft

With only three other teams drafting in front of them, their big board is clearer than that of other teams selecting later. There is always the case that a front office could “snipe” another front office’s top pick, but not when only a few are selecting in front of you. 

Here, SF can put together multiple players they would like to select and won’t have to worry about 10 teams selecting in front of them. 

With this in mind, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter suggests they will take a shot on UC Santa Barbara’s ace, Jackson Flora. 

“Flora spent the 2025 season pitching behind first-round pick Tyler Bremner in the Gauchos rotation. Now he is the unquestioned ace of the staff and a strong candidate to be the first arm off the board. The 6″5′, 205-pound righty has been up to 100 mph with his fastball while showing a terrific changeup/slider pairing, and he had a 1.50 ERA and 28-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 24 innings.”

Now, if the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Minnesota Twins do not draft a pitcher, it could be on the Giants to take arguably the best arm on the board with their first-round pick.

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