Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
If he will be recruiting, Gabe Kapler’s pitch is ready.
There will be a frenzy following the June 10-11 MLB draft to recruit prospects who slipped out of the five rounds away from college commitments. Unfortunately for the players, money will not be a tool with which teams can lure: the most an undrafted player can sign for is $20,000. (Although the Giants are among a handful of teams that have pledged raises to minor leaguers, so they have a slight edge there.)
It will be more about convincing players that going pro now — and with San Francisco — is the right move.
Kapler did not directly answer whether he would be part of that process, but he did give a three-pronged pitch.
“If I’m talking to a young player and talking about the opportunity to play in San Francisco, I’m gonna talk about Michael Holmes, our amateur scouting director, his process and how thorough he is,” the Giants manager said on “Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks” on Monday. “And how if we’re approaching a player, it’s because we think he’s really, really good. Michael’s a star.
“The next thing I’m gonna talk about is Kyle Haines, our director of player development, who’s equally as productive, equally as thoughtful as Holmes-y is. … When Michael has identified you as talented enough to play for the San Francisco Giants, that player is inserted into our player-development system that’s set up to get the most out of that player because of the system and the environment that Kyle has created. I think that’s super enticing as well.”
What Kapler hopes will be more attractive, though, is the system as a whole, one that has shown a willingness to promote players quickly if they deserve promotions.
“Finally, I’d say our coaching staff is positioned to develop talent as good as any team in baseball,” Kapler said. “As they graduate from our player-development system to the major leagues, they’re going to continue their development and our expectation is they’re going to continue to get better on our watch. So we feel like this is overall the best place to be right now is San Francisco, with incredible amounts of opportunity.”