Top 5 Prospects for 2015: San Francisco Giants

This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The Giants’ freshman class of 2015 doesn’t have a lot of depth but it has a strong hitting prospect, a number of capable arms and even a guy that can make things happen with his feet — when he manages to get on base. All in all it should be decent but unspectacular.

The Top 5 Freshman for 2015

1. Andrew Susac, C: Veteran backstop Buster Posey has been seeing increased playing time at first base to try and shield him from injury. Susac could be the guy that finally pushes the former MVP to first permanently. The rookie backstop is a competent defender and has enough hitting skill to become an above-average hitter for a catcher. Because he’s lost some development time to injuries in the past, it will be understandable if the Giants want Susac to open the year back in Triple-A. But if back-up Henry Sanchez struggles again with the bat, it may be too tempting for the front office to give the freshman a shot on this perennial-playoff team.

2. Kyle Crick, RHP: A top pick from the 2011 draft, Crick has moved swiftly through the minors thanks to his immense talent — and despite the injuries that have prevented him from pitching over 100 innings more than once (just 2012). The biggest issue facing this hard-throwing Texan is the lack of consistent control, as witnessed by his 61 walks in just 90.1 innings last year. Some view him as a future reliever but the Giants likely see him as a potential rotation fill-in for injured veteran arms during the 2015 season. If he can improve his control and polish his repertoire, he has No. 2 starter potential.

3. Gary Brown, OF: The recent addition of veteran Japanese outfielder Nori Aoki is a boon for the Giants but not great news for Brown. On the plus side, perhaps the rookie can keep an eye on the veteran and start to learn a better approach for utilizing his plus speed (i.e. trimming the long swing and hitting the ball on the ground more consistently). Brown has 30+ steal potential but he also has just enough pop in his bat to mess with his head. Now 26, this former first rounder needs to start making the adjustments before he becomes the dreaded Quad-A player.

4. Steven Okert, RHP: A 2012 fourth round pick, the Giants organization was excited with Okert’s potential after witnessing his hard-throwing ways in his pro debut. He really came into his own in 2014 while pitching at both High-A and Double-A, and struck out a combined 92 batters in 68.1 innings. He may open 2015 back in Double-A, where he appeared in 24 games in ’14, but he likely won’t be long for the league and could be in the Majors by mid-year. Look for Okert to quickly challenge for high leverage innings if his command/control hold up.

5. Ty Blach, LHP: Selected one round after Overt in 2012, Blach spent all of 2014 in Double-A and could challenge Crick for the first promotion to fill a void in the starting rotation. A strong-bodied lefty, he doesn’t possess “wow” stuff but he mixes his pitches, changes speeds and throws strikes. He might help in fantasy due to his durability and consistency but he’s not going to rack up the strikeouts.