MLB Draft 2019: Giants' top two picks could hint at Triples Alley changes

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NEW YORK -- The Giants are still examining the possibility of moving their bullpens at Oracle Park, and thus likely moving the fences in around Triples Alley, but last night's draft sure gave off the vibe that a decision has already unofficially been made. 

An organization starved for power selected two left-handed hitters, including one, No. 10 pick Hunter Bishop, who does plenty of damage in the right-center area of the field. Perhaps Bishop and Logan Wyatt will play more like visiting hitters, who don't have as much of an issue with Oracle Park. Or perhaps they won't have to worry about the 420-foot flyouts at all once the ballpark changes. 

That's a conversation for the offseason. On Monday night, Michael Holmes, the new director of amateur scouting, said the handedness wasn't a concern simply because of the tools of both players. 

"Despite them being both left-handed hitters, we don't feel like they're guys that only hit balls to one side," Holmes said. "Part of the intrigue of both hitters is the ability to hit the ball to all sides of the field and drive the ball to all sides. We were looking for offensive types, and we feel we filled that profile with these two guys."

The Bishop and Wyatt picks continue a recent trend. This was the second time in three years that the Giants took hitters with their first- and second-round picks, joining Heliot Ramos and Jacob Gonzalez in 2017. Last year, they made power-hitting catcher Joey Bart the second pick in the draft. (All three of those prospects are right-handed hitters.)

After a lengthy drought, there finally is some position player talent coming through the system. 

"I'd be lying if I didn't say there were certain aspects we wanted to address," Holmes said. "But on the flip side of that, sometimes you have to be willing to adapt to where you think the strength of the draft is. We obviously thought the strength of the draft this year was an the offensive side. Ideally, if we can get those guys into our system, that was kind of the route we were wanting to take.

"I don't want to go so far as to say we were having any type of game plan other than 'best player available.'"

The Giants believe they hit on that, and perhaps they finally will accomplish the goal of adding homegrown talent to the big league outfield. Wyatt is a first baseman with the athleticism to play a corner outfield spot if, say, Buster Posey is locked in as the big league first baseman. Bishop is a center fielder but also projects well in left. 

[RELATED: Giants top pick Bishop likens himself to Bellinger, Yelich]

"We think he's a tremendous athlete with a power-speed combo, and has a chance to impact the game on both sides," Holmes said of his first pick. "And he certainly has a power component that we think plays."

That'll be the case no matter what the dimensions are, but the new top prospects certainly won't complain if they arrive in the big leagues and Triples Alley is a bit more forgiving. 

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