GIANTS FIRST ROUND PICK

Photo courtesy of MS.

Giants Pick Chris Stratton No. 20 in First-Year Player Draft

The San Francisco Giants selected 2012 Golden Spikes semi-finalist right-handed pitcher, Chris Stratton, with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player draft.

The last college pitcher the Giants drafted in the first round was right-hander Tim Lincecum, whom they selected 10th overall from the University of Washington in 2006. Lincecum reached the Major Leagues the following season and captured the National League Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009.

Stratton, 6-3, 198-pound right-hander from Tupelo, Mississippi is one of 30 semi-finalists for this year's Golden Spikes award, who lead the Southeastern Conference with 11 wins and a 2.21 ERA (25er, 102.0ip), while finishing second with 123 strikeouts. Overall, Stratton went 11-2 with 1 save, while walking 25 batters and holding opponents to a .211 batting average against. The SEC pitcher of the year became Mississippi State's Friday starter after beginning the season from the bullpen. One of Stratton's most impressive performances this season came when he struck out 17 batters on March 16 vs. Louisiana State University, which marked the most strikeouts by any pitcher in one game in the SEC this year.

  Under Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, the Giants have $4,076,400 in their pool for bonuses to pay draftees, of which $1.85 million is recommended for the first pick. But this doesn't guarantee that signings will occur automatically. The Giants and other teams are free to ignore these constraints, but any club exceeding its suggested bonus pool payout will be taxed. The signing deadline is July 13.


Data was provided by San Fransisco Giants website.