SF Giants: 2019 first-round pick out for season after UCL surgery
The worst-case scenario has come true for one prominent SF Giants prospect. San Francisco's 2019 first-round pick Hunter Bishop will be sidelined for the season after undergoing surgery following a left elbow injury, per a report by NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic. It had already been reported that Bishop would undergo surgery, but it was unclear how much time he would miss. Now, this becomes the latest unlucky injury break for Bishop.
It is another major blow for a prospect who has already lost plenty of valuable developmental time to injury. In 2019, Bishop starred in the middle of Arizona State's lineup, batting .342/.479/.748 with 22 home runs, 50 walks, and 61 strikeouts in 57 games with the Sun Devils and emerged as a consensus top-10 prospect in the draft.
The Giants selected Bishop with the 10th overall pick in that summer's draft, signing him to a below-slot $4.1 million signing bonus. He hit .229/.438/.429 with five home runs in his pro debut, but then, injuries began to riddle the talented outfielder.
The COVID pandemic cost Bishop the 2020 minor-league season, and a series of recurring injuries, particularly in his shoulder, sidelined him for much of the 2021 season. Bishop still missed several weeks last season due to injuries, but 2022 was the healthiest that he ever looked. He appeared in a career-high 86 games for High-A Eugene where he hit 11 home runs.
With exceptional power-speed potential, Bishop remains an intriguing prospect. However, his injury history and questions about his hit tool have taken their toll on him. Even before the injury, he was not ranked among the top prospects in the Giants farm system, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings entering this season but was included on the list of players who just missed the list.
It truly is a nightmare situation for Hunter Bishop having yet to miss another year of play. Hopefully, Bishop is able to have a successful rehab and can finally have the health he needs to reach his full potential in the SF Giants farm system next season.
