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The last time the San Francisco Giants dipped into the talent pool of former Foothill High baseball players, it turned out pretty well with Brandon Crawford.
Saturday in the Major League Baseball Draft, the Giants selected Jackson Flora, a 2023 graduate of Foothill, with the No. 4 pick overall.
Wearing the orange and black was something Flora had been searching for since he was young.
“Ever since I was young, I could remember I was wearing Giants gear,” Flora said on KNBR on Monday morning. “Getting that phone call was more than a dream come true.”
Based on his season with UC Santa Barbara last year, it’s easy to see why the Giants made the move at No. 4.
Flora turned in one of the best single seasons in UCSB history, finishing with the season record for strikeouts with 133. He was 12-0 with the nation’s lowest ERA at 1.06, got three National Pitcher of the Year awards and was a unanimous All-American.
At no point during the season did his ERA rise above 1.50 – the lone pitcher in the nation that could claim that.
Flora was one of only nine players and one of just three pitchers to receive First Team All-America honors from each of the six generally recognized selectors this season.
The final selection by the D1Baseball group rounded out the selections by the College Baseball Foundation, Baseball America, the American Baseball Coaches’ Association, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game.
At Foothill as a senior Flora finished 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA. He struck out 82 batters in 55.1 innings pitched. His junior year for the Falcons was huge with a mark of 7-2 with a 1.12 ERA. He struck out 69 batters in 66 innings pitched.
Amador alum drafted
Oliver de la Torre – the former Amador pitcher and current Cal-Berkeley pitcher – was drafted on Sunday on the second day of the Major League Baseball draft.
De la Torre, a 2023 graduate of Amador, was taken in the 15th round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander had his best season for Cal this past year.
He had a 5-5 mark and his 81.1 innings pitched was second most on the Cal staff. His ERA of 3.76 was 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, he struck 72 hitters this year and only allowed opponents to hit .233 against him.
After missing his junior season at Amador to injury, de la Torre sizzled his last year in 2023, going 6-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He struck out 56 batters in 41 innings pitched.
He was also a force on offense, hitting .303 and driving in 11 runs. He had two doubles, two triples, and a home run.
DLS players picked
Tyler Spangler, who missed last season with a back injury but had an electric junior season with the Spartans, was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Spangler, a shortstop for De La Salle, committed to Stanford but now will have something to think about. His junior year at DLS was sensational as he hit .430, driving in 40 runs and hitting 10 home runs for a Spartan team that was 29-4 overall and 12-1 in East Bay Athletic League play.
Three other De La Salle alumni were picked in the 2026 MLB Draft: Cal Randall at No. 146 to the St. Louis Cardinals, Bear Harrison at No. 160 to the New York Yankees and Tanner Griffith at No. 329 to the Kansas City Royals. All three were 2023 graduates.
Emerald High tennis
From the “better late than never” department, here’s a tennis result we had a while back but didn’t have a chance to run.
Aarav Shah, a freshman at Dublin’s Emerald High School, completed an impressive run through the Bay Valley Athletic League to win the tournament title.
In the championship match, Shah beat Emerald teammate Gursimran Sachdeva 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. This victory was just the second individual league championships for the new Emerald athletic program.
Shah entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
