San Francisco Giants Top 10 Prospects Updated

The Giants minor league system entered the year as one of the weakest due to the absence of impact talent and an overall lack of depth. And things have only gotten worse with quite a few disappointing performances. The one real bright spot was acquiring a strong talent in the draft with the club’s first round selection.

Click here for the pre-season Top 10

1. Joey Bart | C | SS —> Bart has transitioned OK to pro ball. After spending a little time in rookie ball, he moved up to the more age-appropriate short-season Northwest League where six of his 11 hits have gone for over the fence for a home run. On the down side, his BB-K or 2-17 in pro ball leaves something to be desired. He’ll need to tighten up his approach as he moves up the organizational ladder.

2. Heliot Ramos | OF | A —> Ramos had an outstanding debut as a 17 year old in 2017 but he’s struggled in low-A ball due to an inconsistent approach at the plate. Even his bat speed has looked slower at times. The good news is that he’s still just 18 so he has lots of time to develop further. He was a hot commodity as a trade target in the off-season but the Giants considered him all but untouchable.

3. Shaun Anderson | RHP | AA —> Anderson, 23, has performed well in double-A. He isn’t flashy but he has a four-pitch repertoire (three average or better offerings) and throws strikes. He also has a frame that suggests he could develop into an innings eater. He has No. 3-4 starter ceiling.

4. Steven Duggar | OF | AAA —> Duggar has tools — good speed, great defence, strong arm — but there are question marks around his offensive abilities. He swings and misses too much — especially for someone with limited home-run pop — but there is some gap pop. Chances are pretty good that Duggar will eventually settle into a platoon or four-outfielder role.

5. Sandro Fabian | OF | A —> Another athlete with impressive tools, Fabian has probably been moved a little too quickly. He has yet to show any semblance of plate discipline with just 23 walks over his last 200 games. He has made lots of contact in the past but even that is starting to slip and he’s struck out 71 times in 77 games. There is big ‘boom or bust’ here.

6. Jacob Gonzalez | 3B | A —> Gonzalez has fewer overall tools than Fabian but he’s a safer bet to be a big leaguer. He has a chance to hit for both average and power, although he’ll need to be more patient at the plate to realize his full potential.

7. Gregory Santos | RHP | SS —> I had Santos listed as a sleeper at the beginning of the year and he’s developed even more quickly than I expected. Just 18, Santos has a promising fastball-curveball combo and, if his changeup comes along, he has the raw ingredients to develop into a solid big league hurler.

8. Alexander Canario | OF | R —> A big bat speed guy, Canario is another ‘boom or bust’ player in the Giants system. He has the raw potential to hit home runs but his swing-and-miss is evident by his 21 strikeouts in 15 rookie ball games. Unlike a lot of the Giants hitting prospects, though, he actually walks (11).

9. Ryan Howard | IF | AA —> Howard wasn’t really on the prospect radar but he’s turned himself into a decent prospect. The ceiling is probably fringe second baseman or solid utility infielder. He has some gap pop and does a nice job controlling the strike zone.

10. Melvin Adon | RHP | A+ —> The Giants have an uncanny knack for finding overaged pitchers on the international market that can hit triple-digits. Adon is the latest in that line of arms and, although he’s currently pitching in the starting rotation, he has a future has a high-leverage reliever. To hit that ceiling, though, he needs to improve both his command and his control.

Just Missed:

Garrett Cave | RHP | A —> Cave, 21, has the best chance to jump onto the Top 10 list by the end of the year. He’s been inconsistent in low-A ball but shows the potential to both miss bats and induce a health number of ground ball outs. He just needs more consistent command and control.

Garrett Williams | LHP | AA —> Williams is slipping in the rankings due to a 6.06 ERA in double-A. He’s been struggling with both his command and control this year.

Heath Quinn | OF | A+ —> Quinn possesses a strong arm and over-the-fence pop but pretty much everything else is a question mark. There is risk here of him developing into nothing more than a quad-A slugger but the Giants have a knack of developing college outfielders into decent contributors at the big league level.