SF Giants sleeper prospect Victor Bericoto has big breakout potential
Very few SF Giants fans recognize the name Victor Bericoto. Bericoto is an unheralded corner bat in the Giants system that joined the organization back in 2018. After spending the 2019 and 2021 minor-league seasons in rookie ball, the right-handed hitter spent last season at Single-A, hitting .265/.353/.395 with 12 home runs in 107 games.
While Bericoto's numbers were far from exceptional, there's a case to be made that he is a definitive case that aside from the stellar seasons of Vaun Brown and Grant McCray, Victor Bericoto is one of the best hitters on the San Jose squad, and in the Giants farm system overall, this year. It's time to dive under the hood to see why that is the case.
Bericoto was one of only three players at one of the Giants full-season affiliates last season with both a double-digit walk rate and a strikeout rate below the MLB average of 22.4%. The other two prospects (Tristan Peters and Patrick Bailey) are multiple years older than Bericoto.
Despite not turning 21 until December, Bericoto's plate approach data was quite comparable to Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski last season. Bericoto swung at 63.7% of pitches in the strike zone (Yaz's was 63.5), made contact on 84.5% of his swings at pitches in the strike zone (Yaz's was 84.4%), and only swung at 23.5% of pitches outside the zone (Yaz's was 22.0%). Obviously Yastrzemski faced far tougher competition than Bericoto last season, but it shows that the young prospect was putting together veteran plate appearances.
On the power side of things, Bericoto had his flashes as well. Bericoto only recorded 19 doubles and 12 home runs, posting an average .130 isolated power. However, the exit velocity numbers hint at a much higher ceiling. His average exit velocity of 85.8 MPH and 90th percentile exit velocity of 102.5 were both above-average in the system. But most impressive of all, Bericoto posted a maximum exit velocity of 120.2 MPH.
120.2!
In the big leagues, only Oneil Cruz posted a better exit velocity. Yes, it's just a one-time thing, but at his absolute best, Victor Bericoto can post as good of an exit velocity as the best power hitters in the sport such as Giancarlo Stanton, Shohei Ohtani, and Aaron Judge.
So how can Bericoto tap more into that oozing power potential? Hit the ball in the air.
Bericoto's flyball rate last season was only 33.6%, significantly lower than his 48.5% groundball rate. Many hitters have been able to tap into another level of power production by creating more loft in their swing. It seems obvious that Bericoto should try to do exactly that.
Victor Bericoto is one of the SF Giants' most well-rounded hitters in the minor leagues with a patient approach, strong contact skills, and promising power potential. Likely ticketed for High-A Eugene next season, he will look to begin tapping into his power potential more consistently.
