I wouldn’t touch Tate with a 10 foot pole. It’s fine to gamble on players like that later on in the draft, but I look for baseball players first and athletes second. This isn’t the NFL, where specialty skills are able to be utilized. When I scout a player, I look at the player’s ceiling, but most importantly, his floor. It’s a given that plenty of the players drafted aren’t going to work out. For instance, I look at a pitcher like Stephen Strasburg; on the off chance he doesn’t pan out, his floor is elite closer. His fastball/slider combination is already as tight as Brad Lidge’s and he’s only 20.

As for Tate, his floor is Double A player, or pinch runner/defensive replacement. I haven’t seen his pitch recognition skills show me anything other than he guesses and is able to kill poor pitching. He looked average at best on the showcase circuit.

As for whom I would select. I’ll go with the assumption that these guys are off the board: Strasburg, Green, Ackley, White, Matzek. Honestly, I’d take Matt Purke. I like him a lot more than Matzek, and knowing the Giants’ propensity for developing prep pitching, I’d bring him on board in a heartbeat.

Other options would be Tate, just knowing Sabean; Crow, Scheppers, Kentrail Davis or a wild card, Jacob Turner. Teams often establish patterns in the draft and stick with them. The Giants have a much better ability to develop pitching than hitting, much like the Marlins. Having an advantage in that department allows trades for other prospects. Everyone talks about Cleveland’s depth, but they rarely develop their own prospects, just poach them.