With their first round pick, 13th overall in the 2025 MLB draft, the San Francisco Giants selected infielder Gavin Kilen out of the University of Tennessee.
Giants fans and media were excited to get to know their new top prospect.
So Kilen, 21, did an interview on KNBR, the official radio home of the San Francisco Giants on Monday July 14, 2025.
During that interview, he was clearly very excited to have been drafted by the Giants. He seemed starstruck to get the draft call from Giants President of Baseball operations Buster Posey, who was also an all-time great catcher for the Giants.
“I was completely shocked when I saw the number come up on my phone and it said ‘Posey’ on it,” Kilen said on the Murph and Markus show. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is real.’”
Kilen remembers watching the Giants dynasty growing up as a baseball fan.
“What an unbelievable career [Posey] had,” Kilen said. “It was fun watching him growing up.”
What Are the Giants Getting in Kilen?
Gavin Kilen emerged as a superstar for Tennessee this past season.
At the plate, he hit .347 with 15 home runs and 46 runs batted in. Those elite numbers earned him All-American first team honors from both Baseball America and Perfect Game.
The power numbers were especially encouraging for Kilen, a left-handed hitting bat.
“I think this year I finally tapped into power as a hitter,” Kilen said. “I feel like I’m also just scratching the surface on that.”
Kilen is also a versatile fielder, though he believes in himself as a true shortstop.
“Personally I see myself as a shortstop…I’m very versatile,” Kilen said. “I can play second, short or third very comfortably, and I have no issues playing any of them.”
Kilen developed into a star after two years at Louisville and one in Knoxville. The Giants hope he can carry that momentum into the minor leagues.
Revisiting Giants First Round Picks
The Giants have had very mixed luck with their first round draft picks in the last decade.
Only 2 of the Giants first round picks since 2015 are on the active roster. Those players are LF Heliot Ramos, who the Giants took 19th overall in 2017, and C Patrick Bailey, who the Giants got with the 13th overall pick in 2020.
Joey Bart, the Giants’ 2019 first rounder, and James Tibbs III, the Giants 2024 first rounder, were traded away by the Giants before they made a big impact at the MLB level.
Four of the Giants’ first round picks since 2015 are still waiting in the wings for their MLB debut. Those players are Hunter Bishop (2019), Will Bednar (2021), Reggie Crawford (2022) and Bryce Eldridge (2023).
So, to some degree, the outlook on the Giants’ draft success in this past decade still remains to be seen. Eldridge is supposedly a future superstar. If Bishop, Bednar or Crawford also pan out, the outlook could improve.
It will be hard to beat the Giants’ 2006-2008 draft run, however. The Giants took Tim Lincecum (2006), Madison Bumgarner (2007) and Posey (2008) in consecutive years. All three turned into franchise legends.
What do you think, Giants fans? Will Gavin Kilen be a star? Have the Giants done a good job with their first round draft picks in recent years?
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