MLB Draft: SF Giants select Illinois-Chicago 3B Charlie Szykowny in ninth round

The SF Giants selected third baseman Charlie Szykowny out of the University of Illinois-Chicago with the 270th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Marc Delucchi | Jul 10, 2023

MLB Draft: SF Giants select Illinois-Chicago 3B Charlie Szykowny in ninth round /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants selected third baseman Charlie Szykowny out of the University of Illinois-Chicago with their ninth-round (270th overall) pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The slot value for the 270th selection is $177,500, but Szykowny is a graduate student who will likely sign for a significantly smaller amount.

Szykowny spent the first four years of his college career at the University of Wisconsin-Stout before taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility to transfer to UIC. In his first taste of the Missouri Valley Conference, Szykowny hit .335/.426/.655 with 16 home runs and just 34 strikeouts in 237 plate appearances and won the conference's Newcomer of the Year Award.

Szykowny primarily played shortstop in college, but at 6'4'' with limited range, he will likely immediately move to the hot corner or the keystone upon turning pro. That coupled with his advanced age (23) and inexperience outside the lower levels of college baseball, has kept him from being a more highly regarded prospect. Nevertheless, he will look to emulate recent prospects like Vaun Brown, by hitting the ground running in the minor leagues.

The Giants will have some time before their final selection of Day 2, which will be the 300th overall pick (10th round). We'll see who else joins the SF Giants 2023 MLB Draft class.

Published Jul 10, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).