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Mocked Up: Giants Will Take Pitcher In Round One

The MLB draft begins Monday night, and many experts and scouts have released their own mock drafts for months. Finally, today is the day we throw them all out the window and find out who picks who.

The Giants have had success drafting young pitchers in years past (Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain), but lately the development of the infield has become relevant.  Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy have all been drafted by the Giants since 2008 and they currently own all infield starting spots.

They own the 18th pick in round one - who will they choose?

Here are a few mock drafts from around the internet:

Sports Illustrated 

#18 - Ashe Russell RHP, Cathedral High (Ind.)

"The Giants have a magic wand in developing pitchers, and this is the point where the deep but somewhat muddled group of high-school righthanders should start to come off the board. Russell has an outstanding fastball/slider combination and a fairly advanced ability to pitch for his age." - David Rawnsley

Baseball America

#18 - Mike Nikorak, RHP, Stroudsburg (Pa.) HS

"We're still hearing high school pitcher on the Giants, but we're going back to our first impression in the group, Pennsylvania prep Mike Nikorak, who is the kind of raw material "The Ninja" Dick Tidrow loves to work with. If he's off the board, they are still said to have a strong liking for Indiana's other prep righty, Nolan Watson, who likely will still be there for their second pick at No. 31."

Bleacher Report

#18 - Ashe Russell RHP, Cathedral High (Ind.)

"From Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain to Madison Bumgarner, Brian Sabean, the San Francisco Giants' executive vice president of baseball operations, has a remarkable track record of drafting impact starters. According to ESPN.com's Keith Law, the Giants are zeroing in on high school arms, and Ashe Russell could be right at the top of the list."

MLB.com

#18 - Mike Nikorak, RHP, Stroudsburg (Pa.) HS

"At this point, the best values remaining are high school pitchers. Nikorak may have the highest ceiling among the high school arms, and the Giants also could consider Allard, Russell and Donny Everett." -  Jim Callis

OR

#18 - Brady Aiken, LHP, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) post graduate

"Aiken's Tommy John surgery, along with the reports from last year about a smaller UCL, make him tough to place, but if a team feels comfortable with the medical information, it could get a No. 1-pick-type talent. The Giants could be interested in a high school arm like Nikorak or college arms like Funkhouser or Kaprielian as well." - Jonathan Mayo

 

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