Apparently the San Francisco Giants weren’t solely focused on winning their third championship in five seasons last summer.
Clearly they were heavily invested in scouting the Cape Cod League as well.
The Giants drafted arguably the best pitcher and best power hitter from the traditional summertime hangout of amateur stars Monday, taking Southern Nevada right-hander Phil Bickford with the 18th overall pick and Boston College outfielder/first baseman Chris Shaw at No. 31.
Giants scouting director John Barr took time after the first round to label Monday “a good day.”
“We’re very excited and happy to be able to select two players that we think can help us down the line,” Barr said. “To be able to get a power arm and a power bat with our first two picks, we’re pretty excited about it.”
Because the draft order is based on regular-season record, the Giants picked higher than most defending champs. They took advantage by snatching a 19-year-old who two years ago went No. 10 overall out of high school to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bickford went to the Cape Cod League after having played his freshman season at Cal State Fullerton. He did so well in the Northeast — he recorded 44 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings — he decided to transfer to a junior college so that he could become draft-eligible in 2015 rather than the following year.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder has a bit of a Tim Lincecum look with long, flowing hair. He threw a bit like the former two-time Cy Young Award winner against junior-college competition this season, going 9-1 with a 1.45 ERA with 166 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings.
Bickford’s surfer-dude look lends credence to a report that he tested positive for marijuana leading up to the draft.
Barr would not comment on the widely accepted report.
The Giants plan to develop Bickford as a starter.
Meanwhile, Shaw was to power hitting in the Cape Cod League what Bickford was to power pitching. The left-handed-hitting slugger led the league with eight home runs.
Shaw, 21, just finished his junior season at Boston College, where he overcame a broken hamate bone during the season to hit .311 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Shaw played outfield a majority of the time for Boston College, but Shaw said the Giants project him as a first baseman.
The Giants used their second-round pick, No. 61 overall, on 22-year-old left-hander Andrew Suarez of the University of Miami.
The hard-thrower returned to Miami for his senior season after having been selected in the second round by the Washington Nationals a year ago.
Fully recovered from a torn labrum in 2012, Suarez is projected as a starter.