San Francisco Giants Use Brandon Crawford To Lure Top Draft Prospect
The San Francisco Giants appointed former catcher Buster Posey as their president of baseball operations ahead of the 2025 season. The three-time World Series champion has made several major changes to the team during his short tenure so far. Bolstering the farm system will be a key aspect for Posey to turn the Giants into a powerhouse in MLB once again.
According to a report from Bob Nighengale of USA Today, the San Francisco Giants are certain to take Roch Cholowsky as their first-round pick for the 2026 MLB Draft. Buster Posey already met the UCLA shortstop with his former Giants teammate, Brandon Crawford. Apparently, Crawford was a role model for Cholowsky and took counsel from him before joining college.
“The San Francisco Giants are making no secret that they have targeted UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky as their No. 1 choice in the July amateur draft,” Nightegale wrote.
“Buster Posey, Giants president of baseball operations, not only met privately with Cholowsky, but the Giants also had former Giants shortstop great Brandon Crawford meet with Cholowsky. Cholowsky idolized Crawford growing up and actually sought his advice before attending UCLA.
Bob Nightengale shares that the Giants met privately with Roch Cholowsky, and that meeting included Brandon Crawford. https://t.co/T6U0BOzGeO pic.twitter.com/SkaxW0zB9g
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) May 24, 2026
Cholowsky was placed as the No. 44 prospect by MLB Pipeline for the 2023 draft class. However, no team selected him that year as he strongly favored his commitment to UCLA.
San Francisco Giants May End Competition For Roch Cholowsky With Higher Signing Bonus
Roch Cholowsky is the No. 1 overall pick as per the latest mock draft from MLB Pipeline. The San Francisco Giants have the No. 4 pick, with the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Minnesota Twins ahead of them. MLB insider Bob Nightengale says the Giants can wipe out the competition by offering a significantly higher signing bonus than the others.
“The Giants have the No. 4 pick and would have no qualms exceeding the slot value if Cholowsky’s signing bonus demands scare off the White Sox, Rays, and Twins, who pick ahead of them,” Nighetngale wrote.
The White Sox, Rays, and Twins all feature in the lower third of the MLB payroll around the $100 million mark. On the other hand, the Giants are close to the top third with their total wages at about $200 million this year.
San Francisco Giants Use Brandon Crawford To Lure Top Draft Prospect
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