Matt Johnson
The San Francisco Giants have been hoping for weeks ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft that UCLA Bruins shortstop Roch Cholowsky will fall to them at the fourth overall pick. With that highly unlikely to happen, it appears two targets are on the Giants’ radar.
In Baseball America‘s latest 2026 MLB mock draft, Carlos Collazo wrote that San Francisco is unlikely to land any of the consensus top-three prospects—Cholowsky, Grady Emerson, and Vahn Lackey—leaving the club with two clear-cut options at No. 4 overall.
Instead, per Collazo, president of baseball operations Buster Posey and the Giants’ front office are focused on hitters rather than UC Santa Barbara starting pitcher Jackson Flora. If San Francisco’s top-three targets are all off the board, as expected, it’s believed the selection will come down to shortstop Jacob Lombard and outfielder Eric Booth Jr.
“I’d expect San Francisco to be picking between Jacob Lombard and Eric Booth Jr. Booth seems to have gained some steam after the combine and might be more in play for this pick than I expected several weeks ago. The Giants feel less likely to me to take a model-oriented college hitter on a deal at this pick, but I suppose we can’t rule that out entirely.”
Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo on he San Francisco Giants’ plans with the No. 4 pick
Lombard, a standout shortstop at Gulliver Prep High School in Miami, is largely regarded as the fourth-best prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft class. ESPN‘s Kiley McDaniel wrote in May that Lombard ranked as the eighth-best prospect in the class, on the 45+ Future Value Tier. MLB Pipeline rates Lombard as the fourth-best prospect in the class, while Baseball America has him fifth behind Flora.
Position isn’t expected to have significant sway in the club’s decision-making. All three of the Giants’ top prospects—Josuar Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez, and Jhonny Level—are listed at shortstop, with Gavin Kilen (the fourth-best prospect) capable of playing both middle infield spots.
Booth, a 6-foot outfielder out of Oak Grove High School in Mississippi, offers his own enticing tools. MLB Pipeline graded him with 55s on the 20-80 scale for his hit tool and fielding, with 50s for his power and arm, and a 70-grade for his speed.
Given that shortstop prospects are often the most athletic, creating the easiest transition to another position long-term, there’s just as good a chance that San Francisco takes Lombard as there is that it takes Booth. While Posey and Co. would love it if one of Cholowsky, Emerson, or Lackey slid to the fourth overall pick, it will likely be Lombard or Booth added to the Giants’ farm system in July.
