SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 29: Dereck Rodriguez #57 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at AT&T Park on August 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Andrew Suuarez #59 of the San Francisco Giants pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on September 17, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /
The San Francisco Giants are in a flux position in their organization but are they seeing progress in their minor league system enough to possibly rebuild?
We are in our third offseason at Call to the Pen of putting together top 10 prospect lists for every organization in baseball. Today’s list is the San Francisco Giants.
The Process
Our team prospect lists are compiled by Benjamin Chase, who has spent time doing plenty of watching via MiLB.tv of every organization in baseball along with talking to a very wide array of scouts who have seen players in person to hone his own opinion on players. That allows for a wide coverage on players from the Dominican Summer League all the way to the major leagues.
These lists are the opinion of Ben, and his process is heavily weighted on his own view, but also on trusted views of others. Typically, each system’s list of 10 is peeled down from a consideration list of 50-75 players. There will be some weight given to a player who is closer to the major leagues, but often these opinions will be different than some of the “major” lists out there. Feel free to comment at the end of the list with any questions you may have!
With that out of the way, let’s dig into today’s list:
The San Francisco Giants have had one of the worst systems in baseball over the last few seasons. Now, when you win three titles in a span of five years and utilize your minor league system to do that, some regression is understandable. However, the Giants have not made the playoffs in the last two seasons and still are considered among the worst systems in the game.
The 2018 draft did address this to some degree, as the Giants grabbed an excellent young prospect, though he will likely push the team’s popular star off of his position in order to make it to the major leagues, so something will need to wbe worked out there in the next couple of seasons. The Giants have also jumped hard into the July 2 market the last few seasons, though their return hasn’t exactly been strong yet on those players.
Those are very small steps, but the major league roster is extremely aged, and with multiple key pieces hitting free agency after 2019, this should have been the offseason to pounce on trade options for guys like Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith, but as the season inches closer, it looks as if the Giants will be hurting their own value in trade by holding onto those players until the season opens.
Let’s start with the countdown, starting with a player that fell outside of the top 10, but was picked up in 2018 via the draft or international signing and is worthy of extra attention going into 2019…
The San Francisco Giants drafted the giant Sean Hjelle out of Kentucky in the 2nd round in 2018. Hjelle is 6’11” tall, and if he makes the major leagues, the exact height would make him the tallest player to reach the major leagues.
Hjelle moved from the bullpen to starter as a sophomore, and by the end of that year, he was already the team’s Friday night starter. He uses a combination of above-average pitches to have success, not exactly having a plus pitch, but using a good combination of pitches to keep hitters off base.
Using his height to his advantage, Hjelle gets tremendous plane on his mid-90s fastball that has late wiggle to the arm side. He has a 12-6 curve that also gets excellent shape due to Hjelle’s unique height. He is working on his change, and it has flashed above-average.
Unlike many guys who are so tall, Hjelle repeats his arm slot and delivery well, which allows him to have above average control. He may not have elite stuff to be a frontline starter, but he should move quickly as a back-end starter.
The San Francisco Giants will likely move Hjelle quickly, probably moving him to high-A to open 2019, and he could end up in the upper minors by the end of the season. He could impact the Giants rotation by the end of 2020.
One of the schools that has not exactly hit on the national scene but has really seen a high level of talent come through in the last few years is Grand Canyon in Arizona. The San Francisco Giants drafted their ace, Jake Wong, in the 3rd round in 2018.
Wong has a thick build that should allow him to handle a heavy workload and maintain his velocity deep into games. His fastball sits mid-90s and can work up to 97-98 with incredible weight to the pitch and late life, making it difficult to loft his pitches and square him up.
With a simple delivery, Wong is able to stay on top of his curve to generate groundballs, and he has seen his change tick up plenty over the last 2 years to where it’s at least an average pitch. While he attacks the zone aggressively, one thing he could use is another pitch with some movement as his tendency to be in the zone allows hitters to be aggressive within the zone, so having something with a harder break that ends up outside of the zone once in a while could definitely help.
Wong was among the large group of top San Francisco Giants prospects that spent a good portion of the 2018 season with Salem-Keizer, and most likely at some point in 2019, he’ll be part of a large group of this top 10 that spends time at high-A San Jose as well, likely moving quick, but without a lot of upside, profiling as a backend starter.
The pitching veteran of this list, Logan Webb has been part of the San Francisco Giants system since the team signed him for $600K after drafting him in the 4th round in 2014. He’s had bumps along the road, including a Tommy John surgery in 2016, but he just finished a career high in innings in 2018 and looks poised to make an impact in the high minors in 2019.
Webb isn’t a guy who rocks you to sleep by any means, working with a mid-90s fastball that can touch 98-99 along with a wipeout low-80s slider that can get slurvy. With his missed time, his change is still behind his first two pitches, but those two are excellent enough that he rarely needs more than that.
With such movement on his breaking stuff and velocity on the fastball, it’s not terribly surprising that Webb has struggled with feel on his pitches, and the trend for a pitcher returning from Tommy John is that the first year back returns velocity, while the second year returns feel. The 2018 season was his second year back, and some of that feel came, but it will be important for a future role in the rotation that he makes strides in his control in 2019.
Webb has an excellent frame and his delivery isn’t outlandish to suggest control issues, but at this point, he may be more suited for a bullpen role. He’s still young enough that he can work as a starter in the upper minors in 2019 and let the San Francisco Giants decide his future role from there.
8. Gregory Santos, RHP
Birthday: 8/28/1999 (19) Acquired: Trade with Boston, July 2017 Level(s): Short-season A-ball Salem-Keizer Statistics: 2-5, 12 GS, 49 2/3 IP, 4.53 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 6.6% BB, 20.3% K
Acquired as part of the deal that sent Eduardo Nunez to the Boston Red Sox, Gregory Santos hadn’t played outside of the Dominican Summer League before the San Francisco Giants opened him in Salem-Keizer in 2018, and the results on paper were much more mixed than the view from video and/or the seats.
Santos has an impressive array of pitches, with arguably the most upside of any pitcher in the Giants system. He works with a heavy fastball that he can run up to 98, and his build allows him to hold that velocity deep into games.
The best offspeed that Santos offers is a slider that works in the upper-80s with hard bite and excellent depth as well. The pitch has received grades from above-average to plus-plus from scouts I’ve spoken with, and it’s an impressive pitch to watch on video.
At just 19, Santos is still working on his change, which was very inconsistent in 2018, but he does well at controlling the pitch already, which is a big step. He’s got a quiet delivery that doesn’t lead to him struggling with getting the ball in the zone like many young Latin pitchers, but his lack of consistency with the change did lead to a significantly lower strikeout rate than one would expect from a fastball/slider combination that potent.
Most likely, the San Francisco Giants will open Santos in low-A Augusta in 2019, and while that’s a good measure to watch, the numbers once again may not tell the whole story on Santos until he hits the high minors and defines whether he’s a future power reliever or mid-rotation or even frontline starter.
After years in the San Francisco Giants farm system working to figure out his position and trying to work on his control of the zone and pitch recognition, Chris Shaw seemingly sold out completely for power on offense and played all of his defensive games in the outfield.
Shaw is an average defensive outfielder, but he does have an above-average arm that he’s learned to position well behind to generate excellent power in his throws and accuracy to bases. His power from the left side is legit plus power, though with his lack of zone recognition, he struggles to always tap into that power.
The Giants have been waiting on Shaw for many years, and this is likely his last gasp on top prospect lists, but watching his swing last year, he made some adjustments that could play well if he continued them, allowing him to maximize his power production and possibly be a guy who hit around .250 with 25-30 home runs.
In a San Francisco Giants lineup that is nearly bereft of power of any sort and outfielders as well, a guy who could at least handle the strong side of the platoon (.822 OPS vs. RHP, .639 OPS vs. LHP in 2018) is an asset for the team to finally get some value out of their 1st round pick from Boston College. He’ll battle for that platoon role in spring training with the big league club.
6. Alexander Canario, OF
Birthday: 5/7/2000 (18) Acquired: International free agent, July 2016 Level(s): AZL Giants Black Statistics: .250/.357/.403, 45 G, 208 PA, 6 HR, 8 SB, 13% BB, 24.5% K
The San Francisco Giants signed Canario out of the Dominican for $60,000, and that could be one of the best bargains in the farm system right now. Canario is a guy who is ranked all over within Giants top 10s, seeing him as high as #3 and as low as #10, but part of every system ranking that I’ve viewed so far.
What makes Canario so intriguing is his potential. Standing 6’1″ and a lean 165-170 pounds, Canario has the frame to easily put on another 15-25 pounds without being oversized for his frame. His swing generates impressive raw power, though he’s had mixed results getting that power to translate into games.
In 2017, Canario saw very good results in the DSL, clubbing 26 extra base hits in 274 plate appearances, but even with a big of a swing adjustment seemingly to access even more power, he struggled in 2018 to generate that power in game, with 13 extra base hits in 208 plate appearances, also seeing his strikeout rate nearly double.
Canario has above-average to fringe-plus raw speed, but he struggles with polish in using it on the bases and in the outfield. His arm and that speed allow him to work in center field for now, but as he adds bulk, he may end up moving to right field, unless he adds more feel to his play in center.
The San Francisco Giants saw a lot of their top prospects progress through Salem-Keizer last season, and that makes sense as a starting point for Canario, though if he shows out, he could end up finishing the year in low-A.
5. Melvin Adon, RHP
Birthday: 6/9/1994 (24) Acquired: International free agent, February 2015 Level(s): AZL Giants Orange, high-A San Jose Statistics: 2-6, 18 G, 15 GS, 82 1/3 IP, 5.03 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 10.1% BB, 21.5% K
I’m going to go down as one of the highest on Melvin Adon this offseason, and I’m perfectly fine with that. The San Francisco Giants signed the big righty from the Dominican “late” as he was already 21 when he signed, but like many late signees, he was noticed for his raw velocity.
Adon’s fastball is elite, sitting 97-99 and running all the way up to 102. It can stay fairly flat in the middle of the zone, but he tends to get excellent swing and miss up in the zone and weak swings low in the zone when he can control the pitch to those quadrants.
Adon has an elite slider that is a plus-plus pitch as well when he can stay on top of it as well.
For a 6’3″ guy, Adon has tremendously long arms and legs, which can lead to a long arm drag in his delivery and getting behind the ball rather than on top of it. However, he seems to stay much better on top of the ball when he’s working out of relief, and it’s in that role that I’ve got him this high.
The Giants added him to their 40-man roster this winter, and Adon’s performance in the Arizona Fall League shows that he could be an absolute shut down reliever if placed into that role. While that seems like an odd thing to have a guy ranked as a reliever so highly in a system, the combination of the weakness of the San Francisco Giants system and how elite I believe Adon can be out of the bullpen leads him to this spot.
4. Shaun Anderson, RHP
Birthday: 10/29/1994 (24) Acquired: Trade with Boston, July 2017 Level(s): AA Richmond, AAA Sacramento Statistics: 8-7, 25 G, 24 GS, 141 1/3 IP, 3.69 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 5.6% BB, 21.4% K
Acquired along with Gregory Santos from the Red Sox in the Eduardo Nunez deal, Shaun Anderson was a 3rd round pick by the Red Sox in 2016, and he’s still getting his legs under him as a starter for the San Francisco Giants after spending his college career primarily in the bullpen.
Anderson works with an impressive array of pitches, using a fastball that sits 92-95, touching 96, with excellent late movement on the pitch low in the zone. He compliments that with a trio of very good offspeed pitches, the best of which is his hard slider.
His curve has taken a big step forward as a pro so far, and Giants brass are hoping that his change will follow suit in 2019, as it’s already come quite a bit since his college days. Anderson has the ability to pound the zone with all of his pitches, which allows him to work his way out of trouble as well.
The lack of a true plus pitch will likely keep Anderson as a #4 type of starter, but he is still making progress in his pitches, so there is some upside here. The San Francisco Giants will likely open him back in AAA Sacramento, but don’t be surprised if Anderson gets a look or two in 2019 at the major league level, especially if the Giants do a mid-season sell-off.
3. Marco Luciano, SS
Birthday: 9/10/2001 (17) Acquired: International free agent, July 2017 Level(s): Did not play Statistics: Did not play
One of the top prospects in the 2018 international signing class, Marco Luciano was signed by the San Francisco Giants for $2.6 million. Because he just signed, he hasn’t had any playing time yet to evaluate.
In his showcases, Luciano flashed exceptional athleticism in a very solid frame at 6’2″, weighing 175-180 pounds now, with room to grow in that frame as he adds on good weight. He’s played shortstop as an amateur, and he’ll likely open his pro career at the position simply for comfort reasons, but most think his future is at third base due to his exceptional hands and strong arm. His athleticism would allow him to excel at an outfield corner as well, though.
Offensively, the 17-year-old has a blend of power and speed currently that will likely lean more heavily toward power as he ages with quick wrists and a strong finish to his swing that allows him to generate power to all fields and make strong contact on velocity and breaking stuff in showcases.
While he is still very young, this is a rare guy that has a chance to be a top 10-25 prospect in all of the game coming through the San Francisco Giants system right now. He’ll likely open in the Arizona Rookie League in 2019, but his success there will determine the speed of his path.
Considered one of the top athletes in the 2017 draft, Heliot Ramos was also one of the youngest in that season’s draft, still younger than some of the 2018 high school picks when he was selected by the San Francisco Giants with 2017’s 19th overall selection in the first round.
Ramos has explosive athletic talent, able to generate eye-popping power in the cage and the sort of speed that has a scout shaking his stopwatch to ensure the time is correct, but it’s putting all that raw athleticism together on the field that is a struggle. Ramos showed well in 2017 in his pro debut in rookie ball doing just that, but after the Giants skipped him straight to full-season ball, he struggled significantly with a low contact rate paired with an aggressive approach.
While he has a very quick bat and a short swing, Ramos can be extremely aggressive at the plate, and that leads to him not getting the best pitch to generate power, though when he gets the right pitch, it’s a head-turning sound off his bat.
He’s not just about power, either, as Ramos is a plus runner as well, though that likely will come back some as he fills into his frame further. He is able to use that speed to handle center field quite well currently, but his future destination is probably playing a well-above-average right field with a strong arm defensively while offering a power-speed combination offensively. Of course, that all relies on his game coming together with some refinement.
The San Francisco Giants will be patient with Ramos, who will still be a teenager for the 2019 season, likely playing him the full season in high-A San Jose.
Entering his draft season at Georgia Tech, plenty considered Joey Bart a legit draft prospect, likely a mid-first to back-first sort of pick. However, after Bart went out and won the ACC Player of the Year award and was a first-team All-American, clubbing 16 home runs and showing excellent plate discipline, he shot up all the way to the #3 overall selection in the 2018 draft to the San Francisco Giants.
Just to show that his numbers weren’t a college fluke, Bart went out and continued slugging the ball in his pro debut, though his walk rate did take a significant dip.
Bart’s projection at the plate will be a guy who relies on his power to generate offensive value, though he has a quick bat that should allow him to cover the strike zone well as well, keeping a solid batting average. His ability to maintain the impressive gains in zone and pitch recognition he showed at Georgia Tech in his final collegiate year will be the determining factor of whether he’s a hard-hitting guy that hits .280 with 20 home runs or a complete hitter that gets on base at a .350 clip while doing those things.
Behind the plate, Bart already had a good reputation, and he solidified it even further with a strong showing in his senior year. He’s not the most athletic guy in raw speed, but he has excellent lateral quickness, able to block balls very well behind the plate. He also has an exceptionally accurate arm, on top of it being plus in raw arm strength.
The raw tools are there for Bart to move quickly through the San Francisco Giants system and take over behind the plate, though the team’s superstar catcher Buster Posey may have something to say about that, as he’s still signed through 2021.
2018 Minors All-Star team. dark. Next
The San Francisco Giants aren’t going to see many of their players mentioned in top 100 lists this winter, but if they can continue to seek talent and work to build up a development program that maximizes that elite talent to the major leagues, they could have something in the future.
