2011 MLB Draft begins today

The 2011 MLB Draft begins today and the Giants are rumored to be looking add to their stockpile of pitching. You can never have too much pitching, right?

The name I have heard mentioned more than once is CA HS RHP Joe Ross. I would not mind seeing LHP Phillip Pfeifer fall to them in the first round. He's a smallish 6-0,190 LHP who works fast, throws strikes and is described as a polished pitcher. Not too bad for a pitcher. CA LHP Henry Owens may also fall to a Giants spot and is highly regarded.

Among college players, Rice 3B Anthony Rendon, UCLA RHP Gerrit Cole, South Carolina OF Jackie Bradley and TCU LHP Matt Purke will be picked early.

Among the HS players, RHP Dylan Bundy, LHP Daniel Norris and RHP Archie Bradley seem to be generating the most buzz. RHP Bubba Starling a 6-5, 200 QB prospect just signed a letter of intent to Nebraska, or he would appear to be a high-riser.

Among the local prospects, New Trier OF Charlie Tilson has generated much late buzz for his athleticism and emerging bat. RHP Nick Burdi from Downers Grove South will not sit by the phone too long. After those two, I still like Oak Forest OF Tim Barry and Rock Falls SS Jake Junis as well as Ottawa Marquette RHP Joe Ceja.

Will post the Giants picks and analysis and opinion as they come in. Good luck to all.
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From sfgiants.com

Giants take shortstop Panik with first pick
Follow with right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick

The Giants selected two players on busy afternoon on the first day of the First-Year Player Draft on Monday. The reigning World Series champions selected Joe Panik, a shortstop from St. Johns University, with their first round pick, the 29th overall pick. Panik posted a .398 batting average and hit 10 home runs for the Red Storm this season.

In the compensation round A, the Giants chose right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick from Sherman High School (Texas) with the 49th pick.

Further details about 1st rounder, Joe Panik.

Mlb.com video on Joe Panik:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id=18674140&content_id=15214845

Panik described himself as an offensive-minded shortstop and a "tough, hard-nosed player. I'm not a very flashy player, but I play the game hard, I play the game right, I give it my all, day-in and day-out."

In his junior season, the left-handed hitter with a short, smooth swing batted .398 with a .509 on-base percentage and .642 slugging percentage, hitting 10 home runs, 19 doubles and three triples with 57 RBIs. He stole 21 bases on 27 attempts and committed 14 fielding errors en route to being named a Golden Spikes semifinalist.

Barr said he can see Panik carrying over that success into the pros. Panik can play either shortstop or second base, though scouts' assessment of his throwing arm tends to suggest he will end up at second. Barr said Panik's high on-base percentage and gap power will make him an effective threat at the plate as well.

"I think he might end up hitting in the two-hole. I don't want to put that on him, though," Barr said. "When we had our discussions, and with the way he swings the bat, we could see him being an offensive middle infielder. That's what we see: a left-handed, offensive middle infielder."

Scouts have offered praise for Panik's bat -- his best tool -- as Barr said he swings with authority, makes solid contact and is able to hit to all fields. Despite some of his physical limitations, the shortstop was considered one of the safest, most low-risk options in the early rounds.

He underwent labrum surgery after his freshman season at St. John's but earned Louisville Slugger Third Team All-America honors as a junior, also picking up a First-Team All-Big East selection after being among the conference's best in nearly every offensive category. The Giants firmly believe in the best-player-available philosophy, and Barr said they were excited Panik was available at No. 29.

"You gather a whole bunch of guys in the playground, and it's a pickup game that's going to be played five years from now," Barr said. "You have to select from the pool of players that are there, and you can't be just saying, 'I want to go after a certain type of player,' because if they're not available, then they're not there. You select from the pool itself."

Panik's patience at the plate and awareness of the strike zone are two of his stronger traits as a hitter, and those characteristics shined through when he played in the Cape Cod League in 2010. Panik batted .276 with a .384 on-base percentage and .372 slugging percentage, and had the best walk-to-strikeout ratio of any player with more than 100 at-bats.

It may seem odd that the Giants used such a high pick on a shortstop when they recently promoted Brandon Crawford, whom many believe to be the club's shortstop of the future. But, Barr said, it was simply a matter of stockpiling the best possible players for the future -- and they certainly view Panik as one of them.

"You still have to end up accumulating talent. That's the key," Barr said. "You're accumulating talent within your Minor Leagues so you give your general manager, Brian Sabean, the flexibility to either bring somebody up or use them as trades to fill in spots. It's not so much, 'What do we need today?' It's really, you're bringing talent into the organization, and the greater the talent you have in your Minor Leagues, the better your big league team will be."

From Extra Baggs Blog:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/2011/06/06/giants-take-middle-infielder-joe-panik-with-first-round-draft-pick/#more-5542

With the 49th overall pick, the Giants took one of Dick Tidrow’s classic “big equipment” pitchers. It’s Kyle Crick, a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder out of Sherman, Texas. Crick was better regarded as a first baseman but he threw in the mid-90s as a senior and it became clear that he had more potential as a pitcher. He throws from a low three-quarters slot and has an assortment of breaking pitches. He’s committed to Texas Christian.

Mlb.com video on Kyle Crick:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id=18674140&content_id=14697627