SF Giants have two top-25 prospects in Bleacher Report's latest update
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Bleacher Report updated its ranking of the top-100 prospects in the minor leagues on Friday. Bleacher Report's national MLB columnist ranked the SF Giants top-two prospects (left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison and shortstop Marco Luciano) on the list. Harrison was ranked the 25th-best prospect in the league, while Luciano was ranked in the top 10, slotting into the sixth spot in Reuter's ranking.
Luciano and Harrison have established themselves as consensus top-100 prospects over the past two years. But, perhaps more interestingly, three other Giants prospects were listed in the honorable mention of the rankings: outfielder Luis Matos, center fielder Grant McCray, and 2022 second-round pick Carson Whisenhunt.
Harrison has arguably been the best pitcher in the minor leagues this season. He started the year at High-A Eugene but received an early-season promotion to Double-A Richmond, where he has been since. Harrison has a whopping 180 strikeouts in just 108 innings pitched with a 2.75 ERA between both levels.
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Luciano entered the year as the consensus top prospect in the Giants system but missed a good chunk of the summer with a lower back injury. Still, like Harrison, Luciano is just 20 and started the year at High-A Eugene. He is hitting just .196/.274/.339 since returning from the injured list, but his strikeout and walk rates have not been alarming. On the year, he's blasted 10 home runs in 56 High-A games with a .262/.336/.460 triple-slash.
Whisenhunt is easily the most surprising player to make the honorable mention list. The 66th pick in this summer's draft out of Coastal Carolina, Whisenhunt was expected to be a first-round prospect in 2021 but was suspended for this spring's NCAA season after failing a PED test. Whisenhunt was solid in the Cape Cod League this summer but was not quite as sharp as he had looked previously. While Reuter's list will likely be the only one listing Whisenhunt among the top-150 prospects in the minors (he listed 50 honorable mentions), it's a positive sign for the Giants' farm system that he is already under consideration for a prominent list.
Matos was a consensus top-100 prospect entering the year but got off to a terrible start to the season at High-A. Another 20-year-old prospect, Matos' prospect status has plummeted this season in large part due to his struggles at the plate. He has a well below-average .212/.276/.346 triple-slash. However, it's worth mentioning that he has been far more productive recently, hitting .278/.313/.468 since the start of August.
Finally, McCray is one of the biggest breakout prospects in the Giants system this year. He showed off some of the best tools in the Single-A California League while hitting .291/.383/.525 with 21 home runs and 35 stolen bases. A 2019 third-round pick, McCray was recently promoted to High-A, where he has a .250/.353/.364 line in 51 plate appearances.
