With their highest draft pick in almost a decade, the Giants surprised most prognosticators and took a college pitcher expected to move fast with a fastball that touches triple digits.

They made Jackson Flora, the UC Santa Barbara ace who went to nearby Foothill High, the fourth overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft. Flora was widely considered the best pitcher available in the draft, but San Francisco had been more connected to a pair of prep hitters.

In the end, president of baseball operations Buster Posey and amateur scouting director landed on Flora, only the second time in seven drafts under Holmes that the Giants have taken a pitcher with their first pick (Will Bednar, 2021).

Flora, who grew up rooting for the Giants and attended the same high school as Brandon Crawford, became their highest drafted pitcher since taking Jason Grilli fourth in 1997.

Flora, 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, posted a 1.06 ERA in 16 starts for the Gauchos while striking out an eye-popping 33.3% of the college hitters he faced.

Per Lance Brodzowski, an analyst on Peacock’s broadcast of the draft, Flora was projected to produce “two to three times” value over the course of his career than other pitchers available.

Following their 81-81 finish last season, the Giants were supposed to pick 15th in this year’s draft. But they lucked into the No. 4 overall selection through the lottery, presenting a rare opportunity to add premium talent in a year at the big-league level in need of bright spots.

The Giants were thrilled to get the chance to draft such an electric arm, but they didn’t get the ultimate prize they desired. They did as much due diligence as possible with UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, even sending fellow Bruin alum Brandon Crawford to meet in-person, but it was always a long shot that he would fall to No. 4.

As expected, the White Sox selected him first overall.

The first three picks largely played out as expected, with Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson second overall and the Twins taking Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey at No. 3.

That left the Giants with the decision between a pair of prep hitters, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. and shortstop Jacob Lombard, a college bat in Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, or Flora, the highest-regarded arm in the draft.

With $17,350,600 in bonus pool money, the third-most of any team, the Giants are far from done.

The Giants also own the No. 29, No. 55 and No. 90 selections in the remainder of the first four rounds that take place Saturday. The draft resumes Sunday morning with Rounds 5-20.

SF Giants’ previous top-five MLB draft picks

• C Joey Bart, No. 2 overall, 2018
• C Buster Posey, No. 5 overall, 2008
• RHP Jason Grilli, No. 4 overall, 1997
• 3B Matt Williams, No. 3 overall, 1986
• 1B Will Clark, No. 2 overall, 1985

SF Giants first-round picks under Michael Holmes (since 2019)

• IF Gavin Kilen, No. 13 overall, 2025
• OF James Tibbs III, No. 13 overall, 2024
• 1B Bryce Eldridge, No. 16 overall, 2023
• LHP Reggie Crawford, No. 30 overall, 2022
• RHP Will Bednar, No. 14 overall, 2021
• C Patrick Bailey, No. 13 overall, 2020
• OF Hunter Bishop, No. 20 overall, 2019