Why Former MLB Prospect Turned KBO Pitching Ace Makes Sense for Giants

The sudden rise of former Major League prospect Cody Ponce has put him on the radar of MLB teams including the San Francisco Giants.

The San Francisco Giants logo on the sleeve of a baseball player. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are looking for at least one starting pitcher this offseason but may not want to break the bank to do it.

To that end, they’ll look at every angle, including players overseas. One pitcher stands out — Cody Ponce.

Most MLB fans don’t know the former Milwaukee Brewers second round pick in 2013. He logged a few games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But, since 2022 he’s been in Asia, first in the NPB in Japan and then the KBO in Korea. But he’s on the map now. MLB Trade Rumors ranks the 31-year-old as the No. 39 free agent and at least one of its experts connected him to the Giants.

Why Cody Ponce Could Make Sense for San Francisco Giants

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Ponce is not expected to cost a prospective team too much. MLBTR projects him for a two-year contract worth $22 million. The site also expects the competition to be somewhat fierce, as three other experts linked him to the Chicago White Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Caridnals.

Whichever team lands Ponce will be banking that his incredible 2025 season for the Hanwha Eagles wasn’t a fluke.

He went 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA in 29 starts for Hanwha, as he struck out 252 and walked 41 in 180.1 innings. He broke the KBO record for most strikeouts in a season and set the single game record for strikeouts with 18. He led the league in wins, won the pitching triple crown and claimed the Choi Dong-won Award, the KBO’s equivalent of the Cy Young for starting pitchers.

Per MLBTR, Ponce has added two miles per hour to his fastball and refined his secondary pitchers, including a cutter, changeup and curveball. He is also drawing interest from MLB teams after being scouted during the KBO season.

Before the KBO, he spent three seasons in the NPB and went 10-16 with a 4.54 ERA. In 55.1 MLB innings he went 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA. So, clearly Ponce’s 2025 is an outlier to his professional career. But if it translates to the Majors, That $11 million average annual value could be a steal.

San Francisco wouldn’t be asking Ponce to be an ace. It has Logan Webb for that, followed by Robbie Ray. But he could be competitive for a rotation spot with the rest of the projected starters, including Carson Whisenhunt, Landen Roupp, Trevor McDonald and Carson Seymour. He would cost less than high-end free agents like Framber Valdez, or even well-heeled veterans like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

A low-cost solution to starting pitching depth would be right in San Francisco’s wheelhouse.