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San Francisco Giants select OF Hunter Bishop in latest FanSided Mock Draft

By Justin Fried

BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 11: Hunter Bishop, right, celebrates with Michael Gasper of the Brewster Whitecaps during game one of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Bourne Braves at Stony Brook Field on August 11, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 11: Hunter Bishop, right, celebrates with Michael Gasper of the Brewster Whitecaps during game one of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Bourne Braves at Stony Brook Field on August 11, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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FanSided’s latest 2019 MLB Mock Draft has the San Francisco Giants taking local Bay Area outfielder Hunter Bishop with the 10th overall pick.

There is not a team that must nail the 2019 MLB Draft more than the San Francisco Giants. Already hosting one of the worst records in the majors, the Giants are an aging team with little to no help in sight.

If there ever was a team that needed to completely start over — this is it.

Fortunately, the Giants have already begun the transformation of their farm system with top prospects Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos looking very promising down in the minors. We’ve even seen top pitching prospect Shaun Anderson make a solid first impression after receiving the call-up earlier in the year.

But as a whole, the Giants still have one of the least regarded crops of minor leaguers in all of baseball. That’s where this year’s draft will come into play.

At the time of writing, the draft will kick off later tonight, June 3rd, and the Giants hold the No. 10 overall pick in the first round. Our friends over at FanSided.com put together one final mock draft and the Giants were projected to make a pick that should excite a large portion of the fanbase.

San Francisco was mocked Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop with their first-round pick as the team looks to rebuild their farm system. Bishop is a local Bay Area prospect having starred at Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California.

The soon-to-be 21-year-old broke out as a junior after two run-of-the-mill seasons at Arizona State. Bishop batted .347 while recording 22 home runs and 61 RBI during the team’s 2019 regular season.

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The powerful left-handed bat tweaked some of his mechanics in the offseason and the move has allowed him to cut down his amount of strikeouts and increase his walk rate. After walking just 33 times throughout his first two seasons, Bishop walked a whopping 47 times this past season.

His new approach at the plate has also allowed him to tap into his power potential. On top of that, he has great range playing center field and has a good shot at sticking at that position once he reaches the professional level.

While the Giants could certainly use an influx of talent everywhere on their roster and in their farm system, there is perhaps no position of greater need than the outfield. Out of all the outfielders currently on the Giants roster, only Steven Duggar projects as a potential long-term starter and the jury’s certainly still out on him.

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Sure, the team is still biding its time waiting for the aforementioned Ramos to reach the majors but he’s likely still a couple of years away. Bishop would give the team a high-ceiling left-handed bat who would immediately become one of the top prospects in the Giants minor league system.

Besides, there seems to be something quite familiar about a power-hitting left-handed outfielder who attended Junípero Serra High School and Arizona State before playing for the San Francisco Giants.

Barry Bonds anyone?

Now, no one is suggesting that Bishop is anywhere near the level of talent that Bonds was. But there’s definitely something eerily similar about the pair’s backgrounds.

Next. San Francisco Giants: An analysis of the season so far. dark

Nonetheless, we’ll just have to see what happens when the draft kicks off later tonight. Here’s to hoping that the Giants could land a player who could become a future building block of a franchise desperately in need of a rebuild.

Perhaps Bishop could be just the guy they’re looking for.

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