Giants

MLB Draft 2020: Patrick Bailey selected by Giants with No. 13 pick

MLB Draft 2020: Patrick Bailey selected by Giants with No. 13 pick

By Marcus White June 10, 2020 6:15 PM

For the second time in three years, the Giants selected a catcher from the ACC with their first pick in the MLB draft.

The Giants picked switch-hitting North Carolina State catcher Patrick Bailey with the No. 13 overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft on Wednesday.

Bailey, 21, slashed .302/.411/.568 with 29 home runs and 106 RBI over 578 plate appearances in parts of three seasons with the Wolfpack. MLB Pipeline ranked Bailey as the top collegiate catcher -- and the No. 16 overall prospect -- heading into the draft.

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The Giants once again drafted a collegiate hitter in the first round, just as they did in their first draft under Farhan Zaidi last year when the team selected former Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop with the No. 10 overall pick. San Francisco drafted catcher Joey Bart out of Georgia Tech in the first round two years ago.

Bart is the Giants' top prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and the No. 14 prospect in baseball. The 23-year-old reached Double-A last season, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler told KNBR late last month that the team's top prospects would be "no-brainers" to include on San Francisco's taxi squad in the event the minor league season is cancelled.

Bailey and Bart, in other words, probably won't cross paths in the big leagues any time soon. When they do, baseball could look a whole lot different.

[RELATED: Watch Giants' Bishop celebrate with No. 1 pick Torkleson]

The Giants won't pick again until the second round of the draft, and No. 49 overall. San Francisco will also pick No. 67 and No. 68 overall as compensatory selections for the offseason departures of Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith in free agency.

That won't happen until Thursday, and now Zaidi and the Giants' front office will shift their attention to the rest of the draft with another top prospect in tow.

Watch McCovey Cove Dave lose two baseballs during Giants-Rangers game

Watch McCovey Cove Dave lose two baseballs during Giants-Rangers game

By Alex Didion August 02, 2020 7:31 PM

Global pandemic or not, some Giants fans refuse to give up one of the organization's most unique traditions.

A group of fans has continued taking kayaks out into McCovey Cove, just over the right-field wall at Oracle Park, hoping to snag one of the elusive splash hits off the bat of a Giants slugger.

However, even if the home run comes off the bat of an opponent like Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, fans will go to great lengths to secure the ball.

[RELATED: Aruba Prime Minister wished Tromp well after Giants call-up]

You can see one of the Giants' more prominent fans, McCovey Cove Dave, jump (or more accurately slide) out of his kayak in an effort to secure Choo's two-run home run. Not only does he not get the home run ball from Choo, but another ball that slips out of Dave's kayak ended up in the hands of a female fan.

As you can see from Dave's Twitter account Sunday, social distancing did not seem to be a priority for those who flocked to McCovey Cove for the final time before a 10-game road trip.

Nevertheless, it's good to see Giants fans trying to make the most of the 2020 season, one in which no fans will be admitted to any MLB games as the league tries to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

[BALK TALK: Listen to the latest episode]

Chadwick Tromp got text from Aruba Prime Minister after Giants call-up

Chadwick Tromp got text from Aruba Prime Minister after Giants call-up

By Alex Didion August 02, 2020 5:49 PM

Chadwick Tromp has had a whirlwind week. The Giants rookie made his MLB debut on Wednesday, got the first two hits of his MLB career on Friday and hammered his first big-league home run on Sunday. Tromp also made history in the process, as he became just the ninth player from the tiny island nation of Aruba to play in MLB.

The young catcher helped the Giants win an important home series against the Texas Rangers at Oracle Park. Following Sunday's loss in the series finale, Tromp discussed the reaction to his promotion to the Giants' active roster in Aruba.

"So when I got called up," Tromp told reporters via Zoom Sunday. "The Prime Minister of Aruba texted me, and also our Minister of Sports also texted me and congratulated me. That was nice, it makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing and moving in the right direction."

[BALK TALK: Listen to the latest episode]

Tromp's first MLB home run was an absolute rocket and came at a critical moment in the game, tying the game up in the bottom of the sixth inning.

He's been in the minor leagues since 2013, beginning his professional career within the Cincinnati Reds organization. Playing just 26 games in Triple-A last season with the Sacramento River Cats, Tromp impressed the Giants' staff enough in Summer Camp to earn a spot on the 2020 active roster once his sore hamstring healed up.

[RELATED: What you might've missed in Giants' 9-5 loss vs. Rangers]

Tromp discussed more of how the people back home in Aruba celebrated his MLB debut following Friday night's game.

"The community back home, they're going nuts, I'm going to be honest with you," Tromp said. "It's crazy, people are celebrating, the whole island is basically celebrating. I love it. We're such a small island and this is very important to them because it puts us on a bigger scale and shows the world that a small island can also do big things in life."

Aruba's population is just over 100,000 total. Along with fellow native and Boston Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts, Tromp is representing the island nation with pride in this bizarre 2020 season.

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