The last day to sign draft picks from this years draft is August 17th, just 2 days away, and apparently both the Giants and A's are getting closer to signing their top picks, but neither club has sealed a deal yet. The A's have their top pick from USC, shortstop Grant Green, who Billy Bean is confident will get signed by the deadline, but there hasn't been as much talk about the Giants pick. The Giants took prep right-handed pitcher Zach Wheeler with their first pick and at #5 overall in the draft. The thing with Wheeler though, is that he could end up going to college for a year or two if he and the Giants can't agree on something, so it's going to be crucial for the Giants and Brian Sabean over the next 2 days to get that kid inked. I'm not too sure about the contract and bonus Wheeler is looking for, but he should probably get something close to what the Giants gave Madison Bumgarner back in 2007 ($2.25 million).The Giants did get their second round pick, power hitting catcher/infielder Tommy Joseph signed a couple of weeks back, as well as the high-profile right-arm they selected in the 6th round of the draft in Matt Graham. The big rightie from UNC was a potential top-3 round pick, but apparently sign-ability concerns caused some teams to drop him lower on their draft charts. As a fan though, I'm not panicking. First round picks always take a while to get signed and many wait right until the deadline until they do actually sign on. It happened with Buster Posey last year and we're seeing with both teams top picks this year, so I don't have any real concern about these guys not getting signed.
The other deadline that we're quickly approaching is the August 31st, waiver deadline, in which teams must add any player they'd want eligible for the postseason to their roster. I still am
hoping the Giants can go out and add another bat or maybe another starting pitcher to help them out for the last month. The Giants are in the midst of a 2-5 stretch and it's getting to the point in the year where things are getting more and more crucial by the day. I do think the Giants still have enough on their roster as is, if Randy Johnson can return in September, to make a nice run at the playoffs and possibly even sneak in as the wild card team, but another solid bat to help out in the outfield, or maybe one more decent pitcher could really give them a shot in the arm. Ryan Garko has been a significant disappointment since he arrived late last month and I think the Giants were certainly counting on a lot more from the first basemen. It should be interesting to see if the Giants do add anything, or the A's subtract anyone, before we hit September!
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