With only one pick in the first and compensatory rounds, the Giants needed to make sure they made that pick count, and by all accounts they did just that when they took Mississippi State right-hander Chris Stratton with the 20th overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft

The 6’3″ 200-pound Stratton was undrafted out of high school, but since then he has developed into one of the Southeastern Conference’s best pitchers, which is saying something when you consider the level of competition there. His accomplishments were validated when he was voted SEC pitcher of the year by the managers in the confrence.

Stratton features a 91-94 mph that can touch 96 with life down in the zone. His best pitch is probably his hard slider that allowed him to rack up well over a strikeout per inning this season. He also throws an average curveball and a change-up that could be above average in time. The biggest knock on Stratton is his command and control which at times has been spotty, and given his age (22) he has a little less time than most college juniors to work things out while still maintaining his prospect status.

Comparisons range from Royals relief pitcher, and 2011 All-Star Aaron Crow to Diamondbacks starter and former White Sox prospect Daniel Hudson. Given his size and stuff, if he is able to refine the command of his secondary pitches, scouts think he should be no worse than a mid-rotation starter.

I got a chance to watch Stratton a few days ago in the first game of the NCAA regionals against Samford and he certainly looked the part, showing easy velocity and the ability to get ahead in the count with the fastball. He wasn’t afraid to pitch inside and challenge the Samford hitters, which is a trait that I love to see in young pitchers. He did hang a few sliders (one that was hit for a long HR) and seemed to lose the strike zone from time to time. However from what I saw he seemed even-keeled and didn’t let a few loudly hit balls affect his approach on the mound.

If there was one negative thing that I noticed it was that he didn’t finish off as many hitters with the strikeout as I expected to see. At times he nibbled a bit too much and it cost him as he walked four batters and ended up losing the game, going 7 innings giving up 4 earned runs.

This pick feels like the Giants’ attempt to make up for the loss of Zack Wheeler in the Carlos Beltran trade last summer. Several draft experts had the Giants targeting high school pitchers with their first pick, but they ended up going for a player who could start out on a similar time frame as the electric Wheeler. Stratton doesn’t have quite the upside of Wheeler, but he could move quickly as a starter and should start his pro career no lower than high-A ball. I like this pick as the Giants have a very strong track record with pitchers like Stratton who may have command and control issues, but the stuff to miss bats. I personally would have liked to see them select Duke right-hander Marcus Stroman, but Stratton has a chance to be very good.

With Mississippi State’s season now over after a loss to Samford on Sunday, it should be interesting to see how quickly Stratton signs. If he signs quickly and gets a jump on his professional career you could see Stratton in the big leagues as soon as 2014, but more likely he will make his debut in San Francisco in 2015.