SF Giants land potential ace of the future in ESPN’s 2020 MLB Mock Draft

The SF Giants were able to land their possible ace of the future in high school pitcher Jared Kelly in ESPN’s latest 2020 MLB Mock Draft.

The SF Giants have done an excellent job of rebuilding what was at one point one of the worst farm systems in baseball. However, while their minor leagues remain ripe with impressive hitting talent, the Giants are devoid of a true ace-caliber prospect.

Sure there are prospects like Joey Bart, Marco Luciano, and Heliot Ramos who remain atop their farm system rankings. But the team’s four best prospects (including 2019 first-rounder Hunter Bishop) are all position players.

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It isn’t until you get to southpaw Seth Corry who came in at No. 99 on MLB’s annual top-100 prospect rankings that you find the Giants’ top pitching prospect. And even on the major-league roster, none of their young pitchers project as true No. 1 starters.

With the loss of Madison Bumgarner in free agency, who could be the Giants’ next ace of the future? Perhaps they could find that player in the upcoming 2020 MLB Draft.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently released a complete MLB mock draft that saw the Giants attempting to do just that with the selection of high school right-handed pitcher Jared Kelley.

Kelley was the first high school pitcher off the board in McDaniel’s mock draft and the hard-throwing righty has surefire ace potential. The Texas commit can reach speeds of up to 98 mph with his fastball overpowering batters at the plate.

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He combines that with a developing curveball and a fast changeup that gives him the ability to be a high-caliber starter at the next level. Of course, there’s considerable risk with any high school pitcher.

But Kelley is considered to be one of the very best in this class and it won’t be a surprise to hear his name called first before any other high school pitcher in this year’s draft.

Now, it would obviously take the 18-year-old quite a few years to reach the MLB level. But Kelley has a workhorse pitcher’s build at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and has the stuff to be a high-end starting pitcher once he reaches the majors.

Expect Kelley to be one of a handful of players the Giants have their eyes on in the upcoming draft.