SF Giants prospects weekly recap: Kyle Harrison regains control
Welcome to the weekly SF Giants prospect recap, where we take a look at the organization's prospects and minor leaguers who stood out this past week.
Before reading, be sure to check out our top 42 prospects ranking and the prospects who just missed the list to get acclimated to players throughout the system.
SF Giants Triple-A affiliate: Sacramento River Cats
Hitters
After nine games, Casey Schmitt (Giants #3 prospect) finally drew the first walk of his 2023 season on Tuesday, and he also added a couple more last Saturday. He's kept his batting average at a strong .318 mark this season, but his OPS is still relatively low at .732 as he has yet to hit his first home run of the season. He does have five doubles and has lowered his strikeout rate to a more manageable 24%. We need to see Schmitt continue to rein it in at the box so that his eventual big-league call-up will be based on merit and not due to necessity.
Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) has continued to impress me with his patience at the plate as he had a seven-game streak of drawing at least one walk last week, bringing his total to 13 in just 63 plate appearances. He also raised his batting average and slugging percentage with a franchise-record four doubles last Sunday. Like Schmitt, I still want to see Wisely put the ball over the fence but the front office has to be pleased with what they see from him so far.
Michael Gigliotti continues to be one of the names to watch this season in Sacramento with an OPS of 1.046, six doubles, two home runs, nine walks compared to just four strikeouts, a couple of stolen bases, and solid defensive work in the outfield. Acquired by the Giants in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December 2021, the fourth-round draft choice by the Kansas City Royals back in 2017 can help the team by providing a similar skillset that the Giants get from Bryce Johnson this season. I'm rooting hard for Gigliotti as I have liked his game ever since he was a college prospect.
Other hitters of note: Heliot Ramos (Giants #17 prospect) was called up to the big leagues last week so he was not a part of this week's recap. Will Wilson (Just missed the list) has a nice five-game hitting streak this week in Reno as he saw his batting average went over the Mendoza line for the first time this season.
Pitchers
Kyle Harrison (Giants #1 prospect) turned in his best pitching outing so far this season with 3.1 innings of one-run ball with four hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Strike-throwing-wise, it is also the best as he threw 36 of his 57 pitches for strikes. One thing that I am slightly disappointed about is the fastball that he displayed in his first start of the season is almost an outlier now as the movement profile of his heater last Friday is more akin to the one that he threw in the Futures Game last year. If it helps Kyle throw the pitch in the zone better, that should be fine, but I hope he can get back to the pitch with more lift and run once he zeroes in with his control.
Keaton Winn (Giants #18 prospect) also posted his best outing of the season against Reno as he threw three scoreless innings of three-hit ball with just one walk and three strikeouts. The control was still not crisp with only 25 out of 46 pitches for strikes but he was getting outs nonetheless. Just like his first outing of the season, Winn's pitch movement profile is all over the place last Saturday which is always fascinating to look at. Expect the unexpected if you are facing Keaton Winn.
Other pitchers of note: R.J. Dabovich (Giants #16 prospect) has been placed on the 7-day injury list last Friday. A source informed Giants Baseball Insider that he is dealing with a hip injury similar to what he dealt with last season. Ryan Walker (Just missed the list) allowed his first unearned run of the season as he struggled a bit with both of his outings this week as he allowed three total walks but still struck out two batters in both of his outings.
SF Giants Double-A affiliate: Richmond Flying Squirrels
Hitters
The only Richmond hitter in the top ten of the Eastern League's OPS leaderboard, Carter Aldrete (Giants #36 prospect) had a great time in Harrisburg as he posted a .996 OPS throughout the first two weeks. He's posted seven hits against Harrisburg this week including his first two home runs of the season, and he also drew more walks than strikeouts. A 15th-rounder in the 2019 draft, Aldrete continued the success that he's had a year ago after spending most of the winter in Papago to overhaul his swing and approach at the box. It's easy to root for a player who puts in the dedication to be better and Aldrete's reaping off the rewards once again with a strong start to his season.
Another hitter who saw his hard work over the winter pay off with a strong start this season is Tyler Fitzgerald (Giants #20 prospect). Fitzgerald returned to Richmond even after posting Richmond's first 20-20 season last year but has kept his head down and is off to an impressive start. He already has flashed his speed with two doubles, two triples, and a stolen base as he produced a .911 OPS in the first two weeks, a far cry from his .333 OPS at the same point last season. His play at shortstop also looked clean so far with only one error to his credit.
Other hitters of note: Speedster Simon Whiteman also enjoyed a strong series against Harrisburg with five hits including his first home run of the season while also drawing six walks and striking out just once. Luis Matos (Giants #4 prospect) continues to impress with his patience at the plate with four more walks last week, bringing his total to six walks.
Pitchers
Tuesday was a special day in Flying Squirrels' history as they set a team record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game with 21 and we are going to talk about each pitcher's performance so far this season. Kai-Wei Teng got the ball rolling with 10 strikeouts in four scoreless innings of two-hit ball. Last year's Eastern League strikeout king was powered yet again by his slider, which can get up to 3,000 RPM providing its signature late bite. The crucial thing in his 2023 debut is that 65% of his pitches were for strikes and he did not allow a walk. His second outing did not go as well as his debut with four runs and three walks in 3.2 innings pitched. Nonetheless, Teng has shown yet again that he is nasty when he is at his best.
Erik Miller (Giants #31 prospect) started his 2023 season on a high note, striking out three batters in each of his two outings against Harrisburg this week while only allowing two walks. Miller's fastball has got up to 96 mph while also flashing a wipeout changeup and a slider with good depth.
Michael Stryffeler struggled with his control in his second outing following his 2023 debut as he recorded only an out while allowing two runs to score. He allowed one walk and hit a batter. Acquired by the Giants in the Curt Casali trade last summer, Stryffeler has a curveball with good bite and a fastball that can reach 95 mph but has struggled with control for most of his pro career.
Chris Wright followed up his strong 2023 debut with an even better outing on Saturday as he earned his first save of the season. He struck out four batters while only allowing just one hit and one walk as the fastball topped out at 94 mph while also flashing his power curveball. He's struck out seven out of the 14 batters that he's faced so far this season.
After closing out the series opener, Evan Gates (Just missed the list) took the loss last Friday as his control was not sharp in his second inning of work. Gates was dominant last year with a 1.95 ERA and 70 strikeouts across three levels but has a 6.75 ERA this season albeit in a small sample size.
Other pitchers of note: Nick Zwack (Giants #30 prospect) was not as sharp in his only start this week compared to his stellar 2023 debut as he allowed three walks and gave up two earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. Carson Seymour (Giants #13 prospect) was also not sharp in his only start this week he allowed four hits, gave up three runs, and only struck out one batter. Ryan Murphy (Giants #23 prospect) also struggled a bit as he allowed four runs in four innings of work. On a positive note, Mason Black (Giants #8 prospect) was business as usual in his only start this week with four innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts. He has now struck out 11 batters while not allowing a single walk in his first two starts this season.
SF Giants High-A affiliate: Eugene Emeralds
Hitters
Let's start with the excellence of Wade Meckler (Giants #39 prospect). The Giants have been known to find hidden gems in the later rounds of the draft for the past three years, and the eighth-rounder out of Oregon State might be the best of the bunch. Meckler has a four-game multi-hit game streak, and he's had a multi-hit game in six out of the seven games that he's played this season. As a result, it pushed his OPS to 1.192, good for fifth-best in the Northwest League and his .500 batting average is good for second-best. Quite honestly, I personally feel his bat is ready to take on the challenge of the Double-A level.
Another big topic for this week has been Logan Wyatt's strong start this season. The first baseman has largely been a disappointment since he was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2019 draft. Much of it has been injury-related, but a big reason is his inability to produce and hit for power at a position where production is paramount. This year, it looks like he is turning a corner with a strong series against Spokane with a four-game hitting streak highlighted by his performance last Saturday where he hit two doubles, a home run, and also drew a walk. After two weeks of play, Wyatt is inside the Northwest League's top ten in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, and walks. This might be the start of something positive for Wyatt.
Both Jimmy Glowenke and Luis Toribio (Just missed the list) have continued their hot start to the 2023 season with another strong performance against Spokane. Glowenke pummeled four doubles this week that resulted in a 1.254 OPS so far this season. Primarily a second baseman, Glowenke has also seen time in both third base and shortstop. On the other hand, Toribio managed to produce a 1.292 OPS largely due to his two home runs and a double that he hit against Spokane. While he is still a work in progress at third base, he'll see plenty of time at the hot corner for much of this season.
Other hitters of note: Grant McCray (Giants #5 prospect) has scuffled against Spokane where he's seen his batting average drop below the Mendoza line while also striking out 11 times in 35 plate appearances. Joining McCray are Aeverson Arteaga (Giants #7 prospect) and Adrian Sugastey (Giants #34 prospect) as they have seen their OPS drop to .639 and .300, respectively. One consolation prize for Arteaga this week is that he's hit his first home run of the season. For Sugastey, on the other hand, his strikeout rate is still at 10% though he still may be in need of a return to San Jose.
Pitchers
Carson Ragsdale (Just missed the list) continues to pitch well as he gets further and further away from the thoracic outlet surgery last season. He went to the fifth inning in his start last week against Spokane with four hits, two runs (both earned), seven strikeouts, and crucially, no walks. He induced 13 swinging strikes and pounded the zone as he threw 51 of his 68 pitches for strikes. It won't be long until Ragsdale gets promoted to Richmond and enters the top 30 rankings at the mid-season mark.
2022 was a rough year for 2021 second-rounder Matt Mikulski, and it came as a surprise that he was assigned to Eugene this season based on his numbers last season. Based on his 2023 debut though, it looks like a good decision as he threw three hitless innings with only two walks and a hit batter as the baserunner while also striking out three batters. The Fordham alumni regressed on all fronts (velocity, control, pitch movement) last season and we still have yet to catch a film of him pitching this season, but this is a good start.
Eric Silva (Giants #11 prospect) induced eight swinging strikes on his way to striking out three batters across four innings of one-hit ball with just a hit batter being the only other baserunner that he allowed. Silva only has four strikeouts across eight innings this season which is concerning, but we have yet to see a good film of him pitching to get a definitive answer if there is a reason for the lack of strikeouts from the guy who struck out 99 batters across 85.2 innings last year.
Other pitchers of note: Seth Lonsway (Giants #42 prospect) is off to a tough start to his 2023 season with eight earned runs in just seven innings of work and only three strikeouts across two starts this week. Brett Standlee is one of the best performers for Eugene this week as he threw four scoreless innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts across three outings.
SF Giants Low-A affiliate: San Jose Giants
Hitters
Andrew Kachel has started his 2023 season with a solid seven-game hitting streak and has been one of the better-performing bats in the San Jose lineup with a .333/.455/.556 triple slash, six doubles, and an even strikeout-to-walk ratio. Drafted in the 16th round last year, Kachel has seen time in both second and third base as well as the designated hitter for a couple of games. He is not a star but it is nice to see the production in the early going.
Kachel's college teammate and 2022 seventh-rounder Zach Morgan continued to flash a solid eye at the plate with four more walks this week. It brings his season total to seven and his OBP to .444. He's also been a serviceable catcher behind the plate though the four passed balls that he allowed need to be corrected. It was noticeable that Morgan has logged the most games behind the plate so far this season over Onil Perez though his four passed balls allowed in two fewer games indicate that Perez also needs more work.
Other hitters of note: Both Diego Velasquez (Just missed the list) and Alexander Suarez (Giants #41 prospect) struggled to get the bat going against Modesto pitching this week. Even though Velasquez walked four times this week, he also struck out in eight out of 14 at-bats with just one hit to show for it. On the other hand, Suarez has also been a strikeout collector with six strikeouts in 19 at-bats, though three out of his four hits have gone for extra bases.
Pitchers
It was a treat to see Gerelmi Maldonado pitch twice this week and boy, was he electric. In his first start of the season last Tuesday, he was untouchable in his first two innings of work but the control unraveled in the final two innings. In his second start to close out the series, he was even better with just one walk, and he struck out four batters in 3.2 innings of one-run ball. Maldonado's fastball caught up to hitters quickly as he can touch 98 mph alongside a low-80s sweeper with plenty of depth. He can take a bit of velocity off his slider and turn it into a curveball with more depth but with similar sweeping action. His power stuff shall make him a top-30 prospect at the mid-season mark if he can find consistency with his control.
Manuel Mercedes (Just missed the list) is off to a much better start this season compared to last year with four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts and crucially, no walks allowed. Control has been Mercedes' biggest issue last season as he only threw strikes at a 56% rate. In his start against the Nuts this week, 39 out of 59 pitches were for strikes, 13 of which are called strikes.
I have noticed that Mercedes has a smoother transition from his leg kick to leg drive this year compared to last year where he will hold his front leg at its peak and then rush his leg drive. The smoother transition resulted in a better tempo on the mound which is the likely cause of his improved strike-throwing. It is weird to see more flyouts than groundouts for a sinker-slider pitcher, but Mercedes looks to be finally on track to hit his promising potential.
Carson Whisenhunt (Giants #9 prospect) encountered plenty of traffic in his only start this week as he threw 2.2 innings of two-run ball, but only one run was earned. Modesto hitters were hunting for his fastball early in the count for most of his outing so he relied once again on his trusty changeup as he induced the majority of his 13 swinging strikes with the pitch though a couple of hits were recorded off hanging changeups. His fastball control was slightly off but it also drew a couple of swinging strikes.
Liam Simon (Giants #38 prospect) struck out four in his two innings of work this week. The majority of his swinging strikes came from the elevated heater that he heavily leaned on as he did not have the feel for his offspeed pitches for most of his outing. Hayden Birdsong (Just missed the list) struck out four batters in three innings this week where he fastball-curveball combination that looked plus at best. He also threw a changeup that had plenty of movement but was clearly not comfortable with the feel of the pitch.
Capping off this week's prospects recap is Jack Choate producing yet another eye-popping performance this week where he struck out six straight batters to start his three scoreless innings of work with no hits and just one walk allowed. The tall left-hander was causing plenty of trouble to the Modesto lineup largely due to his tall frame, funky mechanics, and a low 3/4 arm slot. Even though his fastball is only around 90-93 mph, hitters were often late because of his deception and the flat plane that his fastball has as a result. His sweeping slider and his changeup also had good moments. Choate still has to work on plenty of things to make sure it carries over to the higher levels, but there is promise in his game. His first outing puts his name on the map, his second outing puts him to prospect legitimacy.
