Three San Francisco Giants Pitchers for the A's to Target

The San Francisco Giants offer an added bonus for the A's in this week's Rule 5 Draft

Jul 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first round pick Will Bednar cheers during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The A's could take advantage of a weird quirk this offseason, and it all revolves around the San Francisco Giants and the Rule 5 Draft. The Athletics are set to spend at least the next two seasons in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, which is also the home of the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

This is all information that is fairly common knowledge and has been discussed plenty over the past year. Why that information is intriguing this week, however, is because the A's could make a pick in the Rule 5 Draft, selecting a Giants minor leaguer from Triple-A, and that player would likely already have experience playing in the A's home ballpark, which is an advantage that no other team can boast.

While there are plenty of pitchers to target in the Rule 5 Draft, and most teams will find a few that they're interested in, this built-in advantage could tip the scales into the A's selecting someone from the Giants system.

Here are three names that are intriguing candidates for the A's to consider.

Ryan Watson, RHP

Watson is the first unprotected arm that gets a mention, and was brought up as someone to keep an eye out for by MLB.com.

They said of Watson, "The 6-foot-5 right-hander spent the 2025 season with Triple-A Sacramento, saving nine games and striking out 11.4 per nine (vs. just 2.8 BB/9 but an inflated 10.3 hits/9), employing a fastball that can touch 97 mph and breaking stuff that elicited a 40 percent miss rate in the PCL."

The 28-year-old was 4-3 last season with a 4.26 ERA (3.73 FIP) in 50 2/3 innings with Sacramento last season. At home with the River Cats, he posted a 3.42 ERA. He's an interesting arm to keep in mind, but may not ultimately be the one that the A's would focus on.

Tyler Vogel, RHP

The 25-year-old righty was a 12th round pick of the Giants in 2022, and spent most of his time in the lower minors this past season. Overall he held a 2.88 ERA across 59 1/3 innings, but 41 1/3 of those innings came in High-A Eugene. Just two came in Sacramento, and he gave up five hits, walked three and gave up four earned runs in those frames.

Baseball America finds him interesting, however. "Vogel has limited upper-minors experience (18 total innings), but he does have multiple interesting characteristics. He generates on average of 6-feet-7 inches of extension from his six-foot frame, creating unique plane on his fastball.

"He mixes a splitter, slider and curveball with the splitter being his primary swing-and-miss offering and boasting a whiff rate above 40% in 2025."

The lack of experience in the upper minors could make him a little too risky for the A's to take the chance on, given that he'd have to remain on the big-league roster for the entire season. That could leave us with the third option.

Will Bednar, RHP

Bedar, 25, is a former first-round pick by the Giants back in 2021, going No. 14 overall. He spent most of his time in Double-A this past season, where he posted a 4.97 ERA (3.03 FIP) while striking out 35.7% of the hitters he faced in 50 2/3 innings. FIP is seen as a better predictor of future performance, and a better measure of the pitcher's performance, and his was solid.

He also has command questions, as he ended up walking 16.2% of the hitters he faced in Double-A. That said, the stuff could end up playing. He's in that same mold as Elvis Alvarado in 2025 or Michel Otañez in 2024, where the A's took a chance on a guy with command issues and struck gold for at least a half-season.

The one difference with Bednar would be that he would have to begin the year with the A's on the 26-man roster (and stay there the entire season), without a chance to work things out in the minors like Otañez and Alvarado.

Baseball America has this to say of Bednar: "Bednar also showed the best fastball he’s flashed since his sophomore season at Mississippi State, sitting 94-96 mph on average with 18-19 inches of ride and heavy cut. The fastball ran a 39% whiff rate across all levels and is Bednar’s most effective pitch.

"His primary secondary is a slider, a lower-80s sweeper with some drop and a foot of horizontal break on average. The pitch ran below-average whiff rates despite a collection of interesting traits. Bednar also mixes in a splitter with average spin rates in the 500-600 rpm range. The pitch wasn’t thrown heavily in 2025 but shows characteristics that could make it a valuable pitch."

The Athletics don't have to select a Giants pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft, but it's certainly an option that's open to them, and does offer up a unique advantage. If the A's do end up selecting a pitcher, it will be interesting to see how that impacts Luis Medina next spring, given that he is out of options, likely destined for the bullpen, and returning from injury.