There are weaknesses. The Giants only have one short-season club, and both of their Class A teams are in the high level California League. This makes it difficult to bring along unpolished, raw players without rushing them significantly. As a result, they focus on college talent in the draft, with an emphasis on hard-nosed guys with good fundamentals. The high school guys they do select are often force-fed, with mixed results. Another problem is lack of a strong scouting effort in Latin America.

Overall, the Giants walk a narrow tightrope with their system, allowing themselves little margin for error. This magnifies the importance of mistakes made in the draft, and injuries to top prospects, especially pitchers, which takes on added importance.

First-rounder Kurt Ainsworth, from LSU, is a polished college pitcher with a surgically-repaired elbow, but owns a 93 mph fastball. He is expected to move very fast. Supplemental first-round selection Jerome Williams, a high school pitcher from Hawaii, is a step behind Ainsworth in velocity, but has a very high ceiling. Second-round pick John Thomas, from high school in Orcutt, California, blew out his elbow shortly after signing, and underwent Tommy John surgery. Jack Taschner, a power left-hander from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, rounds out the quartet. Like Ainsworth, he is expected to make quick progress.

Third-round pick Sean McGowan, a first baseman from Boston College, isn't much of a fielder, but has a strong bat, capable of high averages with power. The impressiveness of the draft class fell off after him, though seventh-round pick Joe Jester, a shortstop from the University of Arkansas, looks promising.

The success of this class will depend on how the four pitchers drafted early develop.