The San Francisco Giants Rule 5 Draft protections are officially in, and I’ll just say it: I got things very wrong. I thought the Giants would play it light with their protections, but they went in the opposite direction and protected six players ahead of next month’s draft.
Shortstop Marco Luciano, the top prospect in the organization, was protected, which we all knew would happen. And center fielder Luis Matos, widely seen as the team’s No. 3 prospect — and fresh off of winning AFL Defensive Player of the Year honors — was also protected, despite his down season in 2022.