Huskies' Lincecum goes 10th to Giants

Tim Lincecum shot a 78 at Willows Run Golf Course on Tuesday morning, which was remarkable given that he played most of the round with pants vibrating from cellphone overload. He estimates he received more than 50 calls, several in the middle of his backswing.

"At one point, I got a little fed up," Lincecum said. "I bogeyed a par-5 and thought about just quitting there. I mean, every time I set up for my shot, I'd feel a vibration in my pocket."

The vibrations were mostly good for Lincecum. Especially when the important call came shortly after 10 a.m., from the San Francisco Giants, who selected Lincecum with the 10th pick in the Major League Baseball draft.

Lincecum, the Pac-10 pitcher of the year, became the first Washington Husky taken in the first round (pitcher Jeff Heaverlo was a supplemental first-round pick in 1999) and ranks among the highest baseball draft picks in state history.

"It means a lot," Lincecum said. "Especially the part about UW. That's a big honor, a great thing to happen to anybody."

Lincecum had been projected higher in the draft at times. But not getting drafted early, or by the Mariners with the fifth pick, did not seem to bother him.

Andrew Miller set this draft's dominos in motion on Monday night. Considered the top prospect available, the left-hander from North Carolina priced himself out of the top slot, and the Kansas City Royals passed.

This impacted Lincecum in particular. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus didn't think Lincecum would be picked until No. 12, where the Texas Rangers eyed a potential steal.

No one attached Lincecum to the Giants, who were believed to be interested in Miller's teammate, Daniel Bard.

"I was pretty surprised that he went that high," Goldstein said of Lincecum. "Things got really insane the last 24 hours; and, after everything sorted out, it looked like Lincecum didn't have a home early."

The Giants have a recent history of drafting and developing right-handed pitchers. Of their first-round picks since 1996, six pitchers made it to the big leagues. Five are right-handed, and three — Brad Hennessey, Noah Lowry and Matt Cain — currently pitch for the Giants.

"They tend to like pitching early," Goldstein said, "and tend to think they can mold hitters. It's an interesting fit for Lincecum, too. The teams that were talking about taking him — like the Reds and the Rangers — might need some bullpen help this year. With the Giants, you have to wonder if they give him a shot at being a starter."

The Giants said Lincecum will begin as a starter for Salem-Keizer, the Giants' short-season Class A team, which plays the Everett AquaSox in the Northwest League.

The Giants will limit Lincecum's workload because of the number of pitches he threw at UW. But, because he is considered major-league ready, he could be called up to pitch in the bullpen later this summer.

"Either way, I don't think Tim is going to be in Salem very long," Washington coach Ken Knutson said. "His stuff is just too good, the best I've seen in college baseball. You watch TV, and you don't see guys having what he has."

In almost 25 years of coaching, Knutson has seen nothing like Lincecum's repertoire — a fastball that has been clocked at 101 mph, the best curveball in college baseball this season, seven pitches at disposal.

Not even in the Pac-10, which produced two other top-10 picks in right-handers Greg Reynolds (Stanford, drafted second by Colorado) and Brandon Morrow (Cal, fifth by Seattle).

"I wouldn't have traded Tim for any of them," Knutson said.