The Giants took a flier on one of the more unorthodox stories in the 2025 MLB Draft in the sixth round.
The San Francisco Giants selected Northeastern (MA) left-handed pitcher Jordan Gottesman with the 176th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The Giants sixth-round selection has a $371,000 recommended slot value. However, Gottesman is a fifth-year senior so he has limited negotiating leverage and seems like a strong candidate to sign for a below-slot deal.
The first pitcher selected by the Giants in the team’s 2025 class, Gottesman began his career at Division-III Endicott. Unlike some other recent D-3 to Draft prospects, Gottesman did not immediately dominate at the lower ranks. He slowly worked his way into Endicott’s rotation before a breakout 2024 put him on pro scouts’ radar. With an extra year of eligibility remaining, Gottesman transferred to Northeastern and took another step forward, recording a 2.27 ERA with 97 strikeouts and 17 walks in 83.1 innings pitched (16 appearances).
Friend of the site Brian Recca has seen a good amount of Gottesman over the past year and wrote an in-depth scouting report worth a full read on his Substack. Here’s an excerpt from his report:
Gottesman works primarily in the 90-94 range, topping out at 95 MPH. The metrics aren’t spectacular but he commands his heater well and knows how to tunnel it with his secondary stuff. Gottesman also has a slider, changeup, and a rarely used cutter. Through April Gottesman recorded swing and miss rates above 40% on both the slider and changeup while inducing chases over 30% of the time.
Without a large spending pool (since the Giants forfeited two picks for signing Willy Adames), the Giants have understandably stayed away from prep prospects, who tend to demand higher bonuses. We’ll see if San Francisco selects its first prep prospect in the class in round seven.