San Francisco Giants' Draft Day Gem Poised for Surprising Breakout Next Season

A recent San Francisco Giants draft pick that was considered to be a draft steal is expected to breakout to become a star prospect next season.

Jul 14, 2019; Milwaukee, WI, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove in the dug out at Miller Park. / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants farm system isn't known for being top-loaded, but that doesn't mean they are without a couple of intriguing prospects.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter is a fan of at least one major prospect, shortstop Walker Martin. Reuter named the shortstop as someone to watch next year as a potential breakout star in the minor leagues.

Martin was the second-round selection of the Giants in the 2023 MLB draft. Many people thought he was in play for a first-round pick, he was actually almost San Francisco's selection before they landed on Bryce Eldridge. Securing him at No. 52 overall was a win for the team.

Scouts are intrigued by him because of his power-speed combo, which has not yet translated to the professional game.

The 20-year-old has played just 69 games of baseball in the Giants' system and has a slash line of .218/.391/.362 with nine home runs and six stolen bases.

His bat caught fire over the final stretch of last season, so he will at least be entering 2025 with some momentum and confidence.

Over his final seven games, he posted a .259/.394/.667 slash line with three gome runs.

The slugger does strike out much more than San Francisco would like currently, but his sky high on-base percentage speaks for himself. That is one of the more exciting parts of his game right now.

Combine his plate discipline with the potential power behind his swing makes him a very exciting offensive prospect.

Martin breaking out could force an interesting decision down the road, given that the Giants just secured the shortstop of the future in Willy Adames.

Adames was signed to a seven-year contract, which would put Martin at 28 years old by the time that deal runs out. He will ideally be in the Majors before that point, so someone will have to move positions if they want to have them co-exist.

Given that the prospect is considered to have an average arm, it is most likely that he will be moved to second base at some point. Tyler Fitzgerald is another interesting player at that position, but is less locked into the lineup than Adames is at shortstop or even Matt Chapman at third base.

Coming from having a nightmare situation in the infield for most of their last season, San Francisco and Buster Posey, their new president of baseball operations, are surely over the moon with how the outlook is changing in such a short time.