Gavin Kilen, whom the Giants selected No. 13 overall in Sunday’s 2025 MLB Draft, sees former top Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux as a mentor he can lean on as he navigates his professional baseball journey.
San Francisco’s first-round choice — and a fellow Wisconsin native — detailed his trust in Lux with reporters on Monday
“I’ve really never tried to mimic anybody, kind of throughout playing, but I feel like the easy one for me, I guess, would be Gavin Lux,” Kilen said when asked if he tries to replicate anyone’s game. “We played the same summer ball … here in Wisconsin. We had the same coach.
“I feel like I’ve grown in his shadow my entire life of being ‘Little Gav’ to ‘Big Gav’ because he was way older. I think that’s just the easy one to always say when people ask me that question.”
Kilen, a middle infielder like his older counterpart, played at Milton High School in Milton, WI, which is roughly an hour and a half drive from Lux’s Indian Trail High School and Academy in Kenosha.
The pair of Wisconsin natives are about six years apart, but already have been in contact about Kilen’s big-league future.
“Oh yeah,” Kilen said when asked if Lux is someone he talks to. “Just kind of [growing] up, same place, it’s kind of always been like ‘Big Gav,’ ‘Little Gav’ with him for the place we played at growing up.
“He texted me a lot this morning. We’ve been going back and forth the last two days since the draft, which has been pretty cool. His texting me was, you know, ‘All the fun stuff starts now.’”
Lux, currently slashing .265/.355/.379 with the Cincinnati Reds, is a six-year MLB veteran and a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers.
Perhaps San Francisco fans can appreciate Lux’s assistance in what ideally would be a long Bay Area career for Klein, now that he’s no longer a member of the Giants’ bitter rival.
“So, I’m sure we’ll have more talks and I’ll have plenty of questions, and he’s a great resource that I’m always gonna have,” Klein said about Lux.
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