Low pick Thompson heading for college

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

One of the Giants' recent draft picks, who has black and orange bloodlines, will not be signing with the team, although that is not a big surprise.

Tyler Thompson, son of former second baseman Robby Thompson, instead will play for the University of Florida after his recent graduation from high school in Jupiter, Fla. The Giants selected him in the 42nd round. Most high school players drafted that low opt for college.

Robby Thompson, now a special assistant for the Indians, visited the ballpark Wednesday and said his son was projected to be drafted in the third, fourth or fifth rounds. He plummeted to the 1,257th pick when his father made it known he wanted first- or second-round money for Tyler.

"I put a high price tag on it because he's an outfielder, left-handed, and he can hit and run," Thompson said. "So we figured for the money that was in the third or fourth round, he was better off going to an SEC school and getting his three years there."

The Giants knew it would go that way and selected Tyler partly out of respect for the Thompson family. His twin brother, Logan, was taken later in the 42nd round by the Indians. An older brother, Drew, was drafted by the Twins in 2005 and is in their system.

As for the Giants' top pick, Florida State catcher Buster Posey, team executive Bobby Evans said Tuesday contract talks are under way, but he would not characterize a signing as imminent.

The Giants have signed the first pitcher they drafted, Cal State Northridge reliever Edwin Quirarte, taken in the fifth round. The right-hander has saves in three outings for the Giants' rookie-league team in Salem-Keizer, Ore.

Where's the running?: The Giants declared they were going to run more in 2008 and had 33 stolen bases in April. But they had only 19 in May and have eight in June, including the Randy Winn theft Tuesday night that drew a wild throw, which allowed Ray Durham to score the go-ahead run from third.

The numbers are down partly because Eugenio Velez took his legs to Fresno. Also, the Giants are trying to run smarter. Entering play Wednesday, they were tied for fifth in the National League in steals (60) but 11th in success rate (71 percent).

"We came into this year wanting to be aggressive. We have made our mistakes," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We've got to be smarter at times, use the saying 'risk versus reward' when deciding to run. Guys are doing a better job right now. Plus, clubs adjust to you. When they know you're a running club, they pay more attention to you."

Briefly: Brian Bocock has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his right middle finger and was placed on Fresno's disabled list. ... The Giants are getting some bang for their campaign buck. Bengie Molina has risen to fifth in All-Star voting for NL catchers. ... Omar Vizquel's seventh-inning single broke an 0-for-23 slump.