With the 31st pick in the 2015 MLB draft, the Giants selected Chris Shaw, a first baseman from Boston College. The Giants had received the compensation pick for Pablo Sandoval, who signed a $95 million deal with the Red Sox this offseason after the Giants had given him a qualifying offer.
The Giants made Shaw the highest Boston College pick since Tony Sanchez was taken fourth overall by the Pirates in 2009. A native of Lexington, Massachusetts, Shaw has until mid-July to sign a contract with the Giants or return to Boston College for his senior season.
Shaw played 40 games for Boston College this season, turning in team high’s in batting average (.319), home runs (11) and RBIs (43). He had a slashline of .319/.411/.611 and earned All-ACC Second Team honors.
“He is a guy that we think has a legitimate chance of hitting in the middle of the lineup,” Giants scouting director John Barr said of Shaw, via The San Jose Mercury News.
The 21-year-old was the 45th best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America’s pre-draft rankings, while ESPN’s Keith Law had him ranked 58th.
Shaw played in the Cape Cod League last summer against some of the best collegiate competition in the country. The lefty dominated, leading the league in dingers with eight and creating a name for himself by hitting 450-foot homers over the center field wall in the league’s home run derby.
Despite his raw power, Shaw has been knocked for his plate discipline. Scouts do not think his high collegiate OBP will translate to professional baseball.
“Shaw is very aggressive at the plate and doesn’t make pitchers work enough for someone with his power,” wrote Chris Crawford of Baseball Prospectus.
This is the second consecutive year an Eagle has been drafted as the Yankees took Andrew Chin in last year’s draft as a redshirt sophomore.
