The San Francisco Giants are going for the best story at the 2026 MLB Draft, and they got one hell of a player along the way. With the fourth overall pick in the draft, the Giants selected the consensus best pitcher in the draft, right-hander Jackson Flora out of UC Santa Barbara. While Flora’s college ball may have taken him to the southern half of the state, he’s a true Bay Area kid: he was born in Walnut Creek, raised in Pleasanton, and played ball at Foothill High School, the same school where
Brandon Crawford once starred.
As great as that story is, the Giants didn’t draft him because he’s a hometown kid. They drafted him because he’s a fantastic pitcher. Flora was the No. 4 player on the big boards at ESPN, Fangraphs, and Baseball America, trailing only the three players drafted ahead of him. He was No. 5 on the big board at The Athletic.
Flora, the first pitcher taken in the draft, throws mid-high 90s with his fastball and can hit triple digits.
