Superstar Giants International Prospect Takes Spotlight in Spring Training Start

The San Francisco Giants’ future was in Scottsdale on Saturday — just not at Scottdale Stadium.

The Giants had a split-squad game on Saturday. Many of the team’s veterans and projected opening-day starters stayed home to host the Texas Rangers. Another group of players headed across town to Talking Stick Fields to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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For Giants fans that didn’t pay attention to the road game, one name popped in particular — Josuar Gonzalez. San Francisco had one of its most anticipated young prospects start at shortstop and bat ninth. It was his first spring training start of the season.

Josuar Gonzalez’s Spring Training Debut

Josuar Gonazlez batting practice from today's Giants prospects camp pic.twitter.com/feKrykS8bM
— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) February 17, 2026

Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a run scored in the game. He singled in his first at-bat in the third inning, advanced to second on a single by Jared Oliva and then scored on a single by Will Brennan. He departed after his three at-bats. It was a fine start for a player the Giants anticipate as one of their stars of the future.

He was the Giants’ top international signing last January, as he netted a signing bonus of nearly $3 million when he was inked out of the Dominican Republic. He was considered the best position player available. He started his pro career in the Dominican Summer League and shined.

He slashed .288/.404/.455 with an .859 OPS. He hit four home runs and drove in 24 runs. He also had 10 doubles, five triples and 33 stolen bases. Notably, he had more walks (37) than strikeouts (36). The 18-year-old’s mature approach at the plate already has the attention of talent evaluators across baseball.

Gonzalez is among an incredible amount of international talent at the top of the Giants’ prospect rankings, per MLB.com. He is No. 2 behind Bryce Eldridge, who is widely expected to make the opening day roster and graduate from prospect status. That would allow Gonzalez to move up to No. 1 early this season.

Behind him is Luis Hernández. He was this year’s top overall international prospect, and the Giants signed him for $5 million. He is already in Giants minor league spring training and there is a strong possibility that he skips the DSL entirely and starts his career in either the Arizona Complex League or Class-A San Jose.

At No. 4 is Jhonny Level. He was one of San Francisco’s top international signings in 2024. He’s already made his way to Class A San Jose.

All three are in the roster pool for the MLB Spring Breakout game later this month. All three play the same position. So, at some point, one or more of them may have to change positions.

But for now, the future was in Scottsdale on Saturday. And it looked good.