Up next in this month of prospect lists is the San Francisco Giants. The Giants saw multiple top prospects make their debut with the Major League team last season. Many of those names including Kyle Harrison maintained their prospect eligibility and find themselves on this list now. The Giants figure to get plenty of contributions from several prospects this season. They also have taken a two-way player in the first round of back-to-back drafts adding another level of intrigue to their farm system.
Be sure to head over to the Pitcher List dynasty page to check out the rest of the prospect rankings already released.
Top Giants Prospects
The Top Tier
1) Carson Whisenhunt – SP, 23 YO
2023 Stats (A/A+/AA): 58.2 IP | 2.45 ERA | 35.3 K% | 9.8 BB%
The only reason the Giants were able to get Whisenhunt toward the back of the second round was a suspension that forced Whisenhunt to forego his final collegiate season. Since then, Whisenhunt has looked like one of the biggest steals of the draft. He has progressed quickly through the Minor Leagues dominating at every level. In 2023, Whisenhunt struck out over 35% of the batters he faced. His command stumbled a bit after a promotion to Double-A, but this still profiles as another plus attribute.
✅ First Double-A strikeout for Carson Whisenhunt pic.twitter.com/xn2zPCgJOo
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) June 7, 2023
Whisenhunt keeps batters off balance with a solid three-pitch mix. The hope is that his fastball will continue to add more velocity. The fastball sat in the low 90s when Whisenhunt was drafted but now consistently sits at 93-95 mph. He pairs this primarily with a changeup that has excellent fade. He controls this pitch well to both lefties and righties. His curveball is primarily used to attack lefties. Plus command and plus stuff give Whisenhunt a solid base. He generates enough strikeouts to have significant fantasy upside and could be a member of the rotation as early as 2024.
2) Aeverson Arteaga – SS, 20 YO
2023 Stats (A+): .235 AVG | .299 OBP | .410 SLG | 17 HR | 8 SB | 24.2 K% | 7.3 BB%
Arteaga is a difficult profile to figure out. Signed back in 2019, Arteaga put together an impressive professional debut that had him rising up prospect rankings. A smooth swing and natural raw power combine to create a profile that is enticing to bet on. Arteaga followed up his impressive debut with another solid performance in 2022. After hitting 14 home runs, and stealing 11 bases, he was one of my breakout candidates for 2023.
Unfortunately, Arteaga’s batting average came crashing down to .235 at High-A. Despite the mediocre results, there is still plenty of reason for optimism. Arteaga’s strikeout rate came down last season as did his whiff rate. He continues to grow into his body (still only 20 years old) and the power really came alive after a slow start to the season. From June 14th forward, Arteaga slashed .258/.300/.442 with a .184 ISO. The power is continually developing and could result in a 25 home run bat. He also has an extremely smooth swing path which should lead to better BABIPs and batting averages moving forward. On top of the offensive potential, Arteaga is an excellent defender and profiles to stick at shortstop long-term. My ranking of Arteaga is aggressive, but this is a belief in raw talent and player development even if we have yet to see a finished product.
3) Kyle Harrison – SP, 22 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (AAA): 67.2 IP |4.52 ERA | 36.2 K% | 15.9 BB%
2023 MLB Stats: 34.2 IP | 4.15 ERA | 23.8 K% | 7.5 BB%
The Giants’ third-round pick from 2020 wasted no time acclimating himself to the major leagues. At 19 years old, Harrison struck out 35.7% of the batters he faced and that number only seemed to increase as he moved through the minor leagues. Harrison relies heavily on his four-seam fastball which sits around 94 mph. He threw the pitch over 62% of the time in Triple-A this past season and over 60% of the time once promoted to the major leagues. He gets over 13 inches of run on the pitch and has generated a ton of whiffs off of his secondaries in the minor leagues.
I wrote an article last month looking at former prospects with small samples. Harrison was one of the guys included in that article. As noted in that article, Harrison’s strike-throwing abilities were actually better than expected in his major league sample size. The issue was underwhelming stuff combined with an inability to effectively command his secondaries (specifically his slurve). As you can read in that article, my takeaways from his small sample are as follows: First, there is not as much relief risk as originally believed in Harrison’s profile. Second, the stuff upside might not be as high as his minor league number suggests. He is a solid dynasty prospect, but more fringe-100 than a top-50 guy.
4) Diego Velasquez – 2B/SS, 20 YO
2023 Stats (A): .298 AVG | .387 OBP | .434 SLG | 8 HR | 23 SB | 15.9 K% | 10.8 BB%
Despite being the Giants’ most expensive international signing from 2021, Velasquez has yet to receive the attention he deserves. A slow start to his professional career has likely contributed to the lack of attention as Velasquez did not fully put things together until this season. Standing at 6’1″, Velasquez shows off impressive contact skills from both sides of the plate. He has kept his strikeout rate under 17% in each of his first three seasons posting better contact metrics with each year of development. Not only are his contact skills superb, but he also utilizes a patient approach and is more than willing to take his walks.
His eight home runs from this season represent a career-high. One of the biggest changes he made this season was getting the ball in the air more which is helping his game power continue developing. He is adding physicality to his frame which should help him hit 12-15 home runs at his peak with most of his power coming from the left side. Velasquez does not come with the same dynasty upside as some other prospects, but he profiles to be an on-base machine with solid speed and sneaky pop. He will likely land at second base long term which is beneficial to his fantasy value.
5) Bryce Eldridge – SP/OF/1B, 19 YO
2023 Stats (CPX/A): .294 AVG | .400 OBP | .505 SLG | 6 HR | 1 SB | 26.2 K% | 15.4 BB%
The Giants made two-way player Reggie Crawford their first-round pick and followed that up by selecting Bryce Eldrige with their first-round pick in 2023. If you cannot sign Shohei Ohtani, why not try and develop him? Eldridge is more well-known for his performance at the plate, but the Giants have agreed to give him a chance on the mound in 2024. He wasted no time showing off his pop by crushing six home runs in his first taste of professional action. His 6’7″ frame provides enough raw power to drive the ball to all fields. His patient approach forces pitchers to come into the strike zone where he punishes any mistake they make.
Bryce Eldridge hit a walk-off 3-run home run to beat the ACL Diamondbacks Red on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/82cwshGPwo
— SFGProspects (@SFGProspects) August 10, 2023
There is some skepticism over how focusing on both pitching and hitting could impact his development. The closest thing we have seen to a two-way player not named Ohtani is Michael Lorenzen briefly for the Reds (somebody please comment if I am missing somebody!). There are holes in Eldridge’s swing that could leave him susceptible to high heat and his strikeout rate through his first 31 professional games was concerningly high. The two-way ceiling is more likely to be in a relief role than as a full-time starter. If he does not make it on the mound, his size could push him to first base which would lower his fantasy value. The potential for him to become a 30+ home run bat with pitching value is enough to rank him fifth on this list.
6) Marco Luciano – SS, 22 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (AA/AAA): .223 AVG | .334 OBP | .442 SLG | 15 HR | 6 SB | 31.3 K% | 14.4 BB%
2023 MLB Stats: .231 AVG | .333 OBP | .308 SLG | 0 HR | 1 SB | 37.8 K% | 13.3 BB%
Marco Luciano has been one of those prospects that nobody has ever been quite able to figure out. He has all of the raw athleticism and talent in the world. He comes with a strong 6’2″ frame, the ability to stick at shortstop, and excellent bat speed. Despite the talent, Luciano has never seemed to put it all together. He has shown flashes, like when he hit 18 home runs with a 137 wRC+ in 70 games down in Low-A back in 2021. Injuries have impacted both his 2022 and 2023 seasons adding to the enigma of his profile.
The Giants got desperate and added Luciano to the Major League roster this past season to try and provide a spark. He looked completely overmatched against big-league pitching whiffing on nearly anything thrown to him. This has been a problem for Luciano throughout his professional career and is one that is unlikely to solve itself anytime soon. At this point, his hit tool profiles to be below average and he is not much of a threat to steal bases. He is reliant on his power to help provide any sort of fantasy relevance which still profiles as a plus tool so long as he makes enough contact. His strong plate discipline provides additional value for those in OBP leagues.
7) Landen Roupp – SP, 25 YO
2023 Stats (AA): 31.0 IP | 1.74 ERA | 35.0 K% | 7.5 BB%
Roupp entered the Giants system back in 2021 with very little fanfare. The 356th overall pick from that year’s draft pitched extremely well during his time at UNC-Wilmington, but the lack of velocity on his fastball resulted in him sliding down draft boards. Since being drafted, Roupp has added some velocity to his fastball and pairs it nicely with three solid breaking pitches. Success has not been hard to come by for Roupp who has struck out at least 35% of the batters he has faced in all three seasons. Across 146.1 career innings, Roupp has a 2.40 ERA. His deep arsenal with plus control makes him an intriguing dynasty sleeper.
The one concern in Roupp’s profile is durability. He was forced to miss the beginning of the 2023 season with an injury and missed the final three months of the year with an unspecified injury. He only threw 31 innings this past season and will be 25. The results are hard to argue with, but Roupp has yet to prove he can handle a starter’s workload. This creates significant relief risk moving forward.
Prospects Dynasty Managers Should Know
8) Reggie Crawford – SP/DH, 23 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (A/A+) Batting: .235 AVG | .263 OBP | .529 SLG | 1 HR | 0 SB | 26.3 K% | 0.0 BB%
2023 MiLB Stats (A/A+) Pitching: 19.0 IP | 2.84 ERA | 39.0 K% | 12.2 BB%
Since joining the Giant’s organization, Crawford has primarily worked as a pitcher. He gained some exposure at the plate in the AFL and looks like he could provide significant power from the DH spot. His high 90s fastball is exciting, he will just need to continue building innings in 2024.
9) Rayner Arias – OF, 17 YO
2023 Stats (DSL): .414 AVG | .539 OBP | .793 SLG | 4 HR | 4 SB | 14.5 K% | 19.7 BB%
If there is one player on this list who could rank as a top-ten prospect in all of baseball next season it is Arias. His extremely athletic frame comes with a swing that is designed to drive the ball. The speed is likely to slow down as he continues to grow, but there is sky-high potential here. A wrist injury cut his 2023 season short and is worth monitoring next season.
10) Walker Martin – SS, 19 YO
2023 Stats: DNP
The Giants’ second-round pick from 2023 comes with a pretty left-handed swing. His hands fly through the zone and help tap into significant pull-side power. A move to third base could be likely as he continues to grow into his frame placing more pressure on his bat to live up to its potential.
11) Hayden Birdsong – SP, 22 YO
2023 Stats (A/A+/AA): 100.2 IP | 3.31 ERA | 34.9 K% | 10.3 BB%
Birdsong was stretched out as a starter this year and the stuff did not suffer at all. He showed off solid fastball velocity along with a plus slider. His control was inconsistent at times and is the biggest red flag in his profile. There is starter stuff here in an organization that has developed plenty of pitching lately.
12) Maui Ahuna – SS, 21 YO
2023 Stats: DNP
While Martin profiles as a high-floor player, Ahuna comes with the upside. At one point, Ahuna was thought to be a slam-dunk first-round pick before struggling in his final year of college. He comes with plus power and plus speed which is what fantasy managers look for. Refining his hit tool is going to be imperative to helping Ahuna reach his potential.
13) Joe Whitman – SP, 22 YO
2023 Stats (CPX/A): 9.2 IP | 1.86 ERA | 34.2 K% | 7.9 BB%
Whitman profiles as a left-handed command specialist. He relies heavily on his secondary offerings although his fastball comes with good rise on it. He does not come with the same track record as some other collegiate pitchers but could move quickly through San Francisco’s system.
14) Mason Black – SP, 24 YO
2023 Stats (AA/AAA): 123.2 IP | 3.71 ERA | 30.3 K% | 10.2 BB%
Pitching in the PCL has done no favors for Black or his sinker. His command is spotty at times as he consistently leaves pitches out over the plate for batters to punish. His strikeout rates are likely to decline and he profiles as a back-end starter likely to debut in 2024.
15) Victor Bericoto – 1B/OF, 22 YO
2023 Stats (A+/AA): .272 AVG | .329 OBP | .511 SLG | 27 HR | 1 SB | 22.2 K% | 8.4 BB%
Bericoto is a bat-first profile that does not have a true defensive home. A move to first base or DH is likely which makes hitting home runs even more important. A slugging first baseman with a mediocre batting average is not anything super exciting from a dynasty baseball perspective.
The Next Five
Although these prospects do not crack the top 15, dynasty managers should keep their eye on these five players.
Jean Carlos Sio – 19YO- Third baseman with good bat speed but lacking in physical projection.
Wade Meckler – 23 YO- Contact-oriented outfielder with no power.
Will Bednar – 23 YO- Former first-round pick who has yet to top 43 innings in a season despite intriguing stuff.
Spencer Miles – 23 YO- Intriguing blend of stuff on the mound. Miles was forced to miss all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
Onil Perez – 21 YO- Catching prospect with a solid hit tool but a lack of bat speed and physicality limits his offensive ceiling.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on X)