Former Franklin, Rutgers standout Peyton Bonds picked by San Francisco in third round of MLB Draft; will other area players be chosen?

With the 90th pick overall, in the third round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, the San Francisco Giants take…

… former Franklin standout and Rutgers star Peyton Bonds.

A junior this past season, Bonds – who is Barry Bonds’ nephew and the godson of Bobby Bonds – hit .352 with 29 RBIs and six home runs, while also stealing 13 bases. He hit eight doubles and scored 31 runs.

The 12th Scarlet Knight to be drafted in the last five seasons under head coach Steve Owens, he’s also the fourth to be taken by the Giants all-time. The others are Bonds’ former teammate Trevor Cohen in the third round last year, Bill Malloy in the sixth round in 1996, and Robert Kenney in the 38th round in 1967.

The Major League Baseball Draft is being held in Philadelphia this weekend, with Day One on Saturday and Day Two wrapping up the event on Sunday.

Bonds hails from Somerset and hit .429 across three varsity seasons for the Warriors, with 21 runs batted in.

More to come?

In Saturday’s first four rounds, Bonds was the only New Jersey player drafted, though several are eligible. High school players are eligible immediately after graduation, as long as they have not yet enrolled in college. Once they do, they’re no eligible again until after their junior year, unless they turn 21 by August 1.

But several others are eligible, and one of the top prospects among them are is Alex Weingartner of St. Augustine Prep down in South Jersey. A Penn State commit, he can hit 94 to 96 mph on the mound, but has also been billed as a solid position player, with excellent speed.

Another is Mickey Gilligan, the outstanding catcher with a cannon for an arm – and a bat to match – out of Passaic Tech in Wayne. He’s also a Rutgers commit.

From the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, Ryan Auten of Immaculata is eligible. The Somerset County Player of the Year spent two years with the Spartans – transferring in from Delaware Valley – and went 7-4 this season with a 0.74 ERA, while striking out 114 and allowing just a dozen walks. He surrendered just six runs all season, and is committed to Wake Forest.

And filling both bills, Rutgers fourth-year junior Zack Konstantinovsky – a North Brunswick alum – also is eligible. He was a two-time CJSR GMC Player of the Year, honored after his junior and senior seasons with the Raiders, in 2022 and 2023. Not only could he pitch – in ten starts his senior season, he give up just eight runs, five earned, and fanned 88 – but he hit .469 and hit eight home runs.