Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

pro baseball:

San Francisco Giants take CSN pitcher No. 18 overall

College of Southern Nevada Pitcher Phil Bickford

L.E. Baskow

College of Southern Nevada pitcher Phil Bickford, a right-handed pitcher who is expected to be a first round pick June 8 in the pro baseball draft on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.

College of Southern Nevada pitcher Phil Bickford was drafted in the first round for the second time in his career today, going 18th overall to the San Francisco Giants in the Major League Baseball draft.

Bickford, a 6-foot-5 right-hander out of California, was drafted 10th overall in 2013 by the Toronto Blue Jays. The two sides failed to come to terms on a deal, so Bickford enrolled at Cal State Fullerton before a solid performance last summer in the Cape Cod League led him to transfer to junior college and become eligible again for the draft a year earlier than Division I rules allow.

In his one season at CSN, Bickford posted a 1.45 ERA with 166 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings while piling up a 9-1 record. He was on a pitch count for most of the year — 85-90 pitches per start — and his dominance left CSN manager Nick Garritano in awe ever since Bickford arrived on campus.

“His ability to command a fastball at the velocity that he did for a 19-year-old is mind-boggling,” Garritano said. “It’s off the charts.”

Baseball America reported on Sunday that Bickford tested positive for marijuana during a drug test that was part of a predraft medical program for the top 200 prospects. However, that did not seem to affect the Giants, who used their first pick to make Bickford the seventh pitcher selected in the draft.

Bickford went one spot behind pitcher Brady Aiken, the 18-year-old left-hander who didn’t sign with the Houston Astros last year after being the No. 1 overall pick. When teams fail to sign first-round picks they’re given a compensation selection, so this year Houston had both the No. 2 and No. 5 overall picks.

The signing bonus for this year’s No. 18 pick is slotted to pay $2.3 million, per Baseball America. The No. 10 pick in 2013 was slotted to get a $2.9 million signing bonus.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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