Giants Select 3B Conor Gillaspie With Supplemental 1st Round Pick in 2008 Draft

With the 37th overall pick, received for the Phillies signing Pedro Feliz, the Giants selected lefty-hitting 3B Conor Gillaspie (obviously a righty thrower then) of Wichita State University. He will be 21 years old on July 18th. Here is the comment in the MLB.com Draft Tracker:

After a strong cape season, Gillaspie has followed up with an excellent junior campaign. He's a terrific hitter and has been over .400 for most of the year. His lack of power makes it hard to profile him anywhere other than as a Bill Mueller-type third baseman. There are worse things to be, of course, and a team that values what Gillaspie can do will surely take him.

He hit .425 in 57 games with 10 homers, 79 RBIs and a .706 SLG this season.

From MiLB's profiling of him:

• He's been one of the most consistent hitters in the college class and currently has a .404 average and .491 OBP. In a recent game against Southern Illinois, the third baseman had a pair of hits and even stole two bases in a 10-0 win.
• Hitting: hitting ability is Gillaspie's best tool. He's a very good hitter who has a good idea of what he's doing at the plate. He doesn't have much and doesn't profile to have much. He's a base-hit machine. He's got below-average speed. Despite not being fleet footed, he's an excellent base runner and uses his smarts to steal some bases.
• Defense: He's got an average arm at third but he'll make for an adequate third baseman, with a limited range but it's OK.
• Strengths: Pure hitting ability.
• Weaknesses: Lack of power keeps him form having a true profile position.

Obviously, we need 3B.

Saber-Scouting has a very high opinion of him, ranking him 25rd among all the prospects (and we selected him 37th). Here is what they wrote on him:

When speaking of Gillaspie, there seems to be a split among teams on just how good he is. However, those who like him like him a lot. Gillaspie, in our eyes, profiles as an outstanding pure hitter, but one who may never hit for more than average power, though. He has an advanced approach and uses the whole field and has a gritty and aggressive approach to the game. He also projects to stay at the hot corner as he’s a solid athlete with an average arm.

Pros: Proven with wood bat, Athleticism, Makeup

Cons: Lacks upside at the plate and in the field

Comparison: Paul O’Neill offensively

The Giants do love athleticism and makeup!

Other notes:

• Baseball America ranked Gillaspie as the 23rd best player in the draft in their Top 200 list.
• John Sickels had the Twins selecting him with the 27th pick, noting that they opt for "gritty midwest option to help third base situation." Coincidentally, the Twins had Rule 5'ed us by selecting 3B Brian Buscher away, who suddenly learned to hit for the power we had been waiting for all those years before, having good seasons in AA and AAA. And, of course, there were the Bill Mueller references before the Giants even selected Gillaspie.
• BP notes that he is like Zimmerman with less defense; that's pretty good, Zimmerman's a good player. They also noted that "a lot of people saw this as a first-round bat, but at the same time, there might be money problems.
• Keith Law had the Mets selecting him with the 22nd pick overall, but only noted that the Mets are known to be looking for bats.
• Baseball Analysts appear to be posting Baseball America descriptions (their Posey matches word for word but there is no attribution) and here is what is said about Gillaspie: Gillaspie is a solid hitter but he does not have the power potential that a lot of clubs look for in a third baseman. He has been likened to former Giant and Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller. Gillaspie also has below-average speed on the base paths, although he is an above-average runner. His arm strength is OK at the hot corner and is range is fringe average. Gillaspie’s biggest strength is his “pure hitting ability” and left-handed swing. He was over .400 for much of the year and had a MVP-worthy Cape Cod League in 2007. The third baseman is an intense competitor and has excellent work ethic.