SF Giants rookie power rankings: Kyle Harrison, Wade Meckler join the fray
The SF Giants have made their goal this year to win and develop. While you can argue with how effectively they've been able to do either so far, one thing that can't be questioned is how significant the rookie impact on this year's roster has been. With eleven first-timers joining four players who debuted at the end of 2022, San Francisco has seen 15 rookies appear in active play this year.
It's been about a month and a half since the last rookie power rankings, which makes it a good time to check in and see how the Giants' best hope for the future is coming along. After an extraordinarily rough July and early August, the rankings have shaken up a bit and settled into a seemingly more consistent order. Every rookie who has played since the last power rankings will be given an official, indisputable spot here. On the incredibly unlikely chance you disagree with our scientifically-formulated rankings, feel free to shout out @SFGiantsFN on Twitter and weigh in. Let's begin.
Second-year rookies (players who did not gain enough play time in 2022 to lose their rookie designation for 2023) will be denoted with an * next to their names.
1. Patrick Bailey (C)
2023 stats: .260 BA, 6 HR, .712 OPS, 34.4% CS
prev. rank: 1
We'll kick things off with Patrick Bailey, who has already taken the mantle of 'franchise catcher' at this point. Though his torrid start to the year hasn't quite continued, he's still sustainably hitting .260 with a .712 OPS. Among major league catchers with at least 200 plate appearances, that puts Bailey 12th in batting average and 20th in OPS. That doesn't come close to Buster Posey's .305/.357/.505 Rookie of the Year 2010, but having a rookie catcher that's already a league-average hitter four months into his career is huge for San Francisco.
Of course, Pat Bailey's contributions start with his defense, where he's been a demon behind the plate. In August, Bailey recorded the fastest and sixth-fastest pop times to 2nd base in the MLB this year, at 1.71 and 1.74 seconds, respectively. His athleticism means he can throw down with anyone that tries running on him, even stars like Fernando Tatis and Elly de la Cruz. Oh, and he's already one of the best framing catchers in the game. All that adds up to a potential Gold Glove campaign in his rookie year, which Giants insider Pat Ellington details here.
Oh, and of course, he can do this:
2. Ryan Walker (RHP)
2023 stats: 2.15 ERA, 4.08 K:BB, 46.0 IP, 10 GS
prev. rank: 5
Ryan Walker has been nothing short of a revelation for San Francisco in his debut year. The 27-year-old reliever has been one of the most consistent and versatile weapons in the Giants' bullpen this year, able to start as an opener and clean up in middle relief. His monthly ERA totals: 1.35, 2.03, 3.38, 0.90. He racks up strikeouts, avoids walks, and usually gives the Giants a clean sheet when he's done. His only blemish is that hitters can make decent contact off him - he's averaging just a tick under 1 home run per 9 innings, with a WHIP of 1.20 - but other than that, he's arguably outperforming the fearsome back end of the Giants bullpen.
3. Kyle Harrison (LHP)
2023 stats: 3.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 5 K, 1.80 WHIP
prev. rank: unranked
With 3.1 strong innings in the books, Kyle Harrison's long-awaited debut has finally arrived, and what a start it was. Despite giving up some loud contact, including a 2-run home run to Bryce Harper, Harrison recorded each of his first five MLB outs via strikeout. Even though his 85 MPH slider wasn't getting many bites, Harrison was still able to navigate through his first start off the back of his wicked fastball, which even elite hitters like Trea Turner struggled with. As Harrison works deeper into the season, his pitch count and inning limits will increase, and we'll get to see how his secondary pitches play off of his plus-plus fastball. For now, the electricity Harrison showed places his starts just a smidge below the tier of Lincecum and Rodón on the hype meter.
4. Tristan Beck (RHP)
2023 stats: 3.39 ERA, 3.34 K:BB, 66.1 IP, 1.15 WHIP
prev. rank: 3
Like Walker, Beck has performed admirably in his rookie year, albeit in more of a designated long-relief role. A bumpy April gave way to an impressive summer, and Beck had a run from the end of May to early August where he gave up just 1 ER in 15.2 innings. Unfortunately, a two-start, six-inning, eight-run week recently poured some cold water on the momentum Beck had cooking up, but he's nevertheless been an important part of a team that's sought innings in unconventional ways. Look for Beck to continue whittling down his ERA as he nears 100 innings pitched in 2023.
5. Blake Sabol (C/LF/DH)
2023 stats: .246 BA, 11 HR, .703 OPS, 34.4 K%
prev. rank: 2
Early on this year, Blake Sabol was an incredibly valuable part of this roster, filling in at a catcher position in the midst of remarkable turnover, while hitting timely dingers left and right. Fast forward a few months, and he's... okay. He's gone largely as the rest of the Giants' hitters have gone, hemorrhaging power and effectiveness since mid-July. That may be partly due to him being fifth in games played and sixth in at-bats for the Giants this year, despite being a rookie learning two positions at once. Sabol's done a valiant job of hanging in there despite appearing in more games than Estrada, Crawford, and Yastrzemski, and if he rediscovers his power stroke, his value will once again skyrocket.
6. Heliot Ramos* (LF)
2023 stats: .220 BA, 1 HR, .663 OPS, 51.9 Hard-Hit%
prev. rank: 12
Back in April, the 23-year-old outfielder looked like he might be on the verge of falling off of top prospect listings, with an OPS of less than .500 in a short April stint. But when he got another chance in mid-August, he jumped on it. In eight games since his second call-up, he's hitting .267 with a .953 OPS. The Giants sorely need power, and if Ramos can consistently provide it, he's going to stay in San Francisco until someone forces him out.
7. Luis Matos (CF)
2023 stats: .250 BA, 2 HR, .665 OPS, 3 SB
prev. rank: 6
Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos are in the thick of a heated race to see who can establish themselves in the outfield ahead of possible playoff contention. While Ramos slugging .600 in August has been impressive, Matos isn't all that far behind, with a .333/.429/.556 triple slash line over the past 15 days. He'll need to keep up that kind of performance to really break out in a big way, because the rest of his year hasn't been all that impressive. That's not entirely his fault - he's played the third-most innings of any regular Giants outfielder this year despite being just 21 years old. So far, he's not the next incarnation of Juan Soto. But his excellent plate discipline numbers (14 BB to just 21 K) at least give him a higher floor than most rookies.
8. Marco Luciano (SS)
2023 stats: .273 BA, 0 HR, .697 OPS, 11 AB
prev. rank: unranked
It's a testament to Luciano's play that he's this high up despite having the second-fewest game total of any Giants hitter. He's being lapped by Matt Beaty, Cal Stevenson, and Johan Camargo in that regard. But his strangely brief call-up this month saw him go 3-for-11 with a double and a walk. Considering the Giants have averaged fewer than 3 runs a game for going on two months now, that's basically All-Star level production. With Crawford possibly out the rest of the regular season, Giants fans should be eagerly awaiting Luciano's next shot with the big league club.
9. Wade Meckler (CF)
2023 stats: .160 BA, 0 HR, .382 OPS, 51.9% K rate
prev. rank: unranked
The curious case of Wade Meckler continues. The other newcomer to this list has hit just .160 and struck out more than half the time after batting .400 with Sacramento and .379 on the year in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, the MLB proved to be a rough wake-up call, as Meckler finds himself responsible for 14 strikeouts, 2 inside-the-park home runs allowed, and getting picked off at first, all in his first 8 major league games.
On the surface, it seems as though rushing the 2022 draft pick to the majors a year and a half into his minor league career was a mistake. On the other hand, he may simply be a line-drive aficionado with good range in CF who needs to adjust to not having an automatic strike zone like in the minors, where the zone was much tighter. If the latter's the case, then the Giants should stick with a rangy CF with good bat control and zone awareness. There's too much to like in Meckler to brush him off so soon.
10. Casey Schmitt (SS/2B/3B)
2023 stats: .196 BA, 2 HR, .529 OPS, 94.1 MPH Max Putout Throw
prev. rank: 7
The struggles of Casey Schmitt have been real. After a scorching start to the year, Schmitt has now put up three months and counting with an average under .150. He hasn't gotten a hit in August. Schmitt's still a great defender, and his arm puts most major league infielders' to shame. But he's already been passed up by Johan Camargo and now Paul deJong at shortstop, and with Marco Luciano waiting in the wings, it's a fair question to ask what the Giants see his eventual future with them being, whether that's at third base, as a utility/platoon infielder, or even as a more developmental piece.
11. Brett Wisely (2B/CF)
2023 stats: .175 BA, 2 HR, .498 OPS, 2 SB
prev. rank: 8
Wisely has had all of Schmitt's struggles, but without the prospect pedigree. Wisely was given some runway through the end of July, but after hitting .132 on the month with just one extra base hit, he was sent back down to Sacramento. His archetype - versatile, middle-of-the-field defender - has value, but he wasn't able to help the team stop its midsummer freefall. He's still only 24 years old (seemingly ancient for this Giants rookie crop), and unless 40-man roster considerations get in the way, he'll likely be hanging around until the point that he shows he can be a more reliable contributor at the plate.
12. Sean Hjelle* (RHP)
2023 stats: 8.59 ERA, 2.08 K:BB, 22.0 IP, 2.09 WHIP
prev. rank: 11
Poor Sean Hjelle. No one's underperformance has been as surprising as his. After an underwhelming-but-tempting introduction in 2022, it was fair to surmise that Hjelle had a chance to snag a spot on the rotation as a regular starter. Unfortunately, that's been the furthest thing from what's actually happened, as Hjelle has struggled in just about every long-relief/bulk pitcher appearance he's made in San Francisco. He's had just three games since the end of April, mostly when the Giants have simply needed innings, and in those games he's given up 11 ER in just 8.2 IP. Learning to start as a 6'11 behemoth isn't something that comes quickly, but Hjelle will need to show the Giants anything if he wants to make it with the orange and black.
Not Ranked: Keaton Winn, Bryce Johnson, Cole Waites
