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Eric Cross' ranks and discusses his top 10 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization for fantasy baseball. These are the prospects to monitor and target in dynasty leagues.
Welcome to my 2024 team-by-team prospect rankings. Over the next few months, I'll be going through all 30 MLB farm systems, ranking my top 10 in each system, and discussing the profiles and long-term outlooks of these players.
We close out the National League West with the San Francisco Giants. While this organization lacks a ton of firepower at the top, the Giants have plenty of prospects that have already debuted or are Major League ready, plus some value targets that you can acquire for cheap in your dynasty leagues.
Check out the rest of the Top-10's throughout the offseason here.
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San Francisco Giants Top Prospects
1. Kyle Harrison, P
Age on 4/1/2024: # | Highest Level: X | ETA:
if you've followed my work for longer than 15 seconds, you should already know that I'm not quite as high as most on Kyle Harrison. While I still rank him as a top-100 overall prospect and believe he could be a high-end #3 starter long-term, I just don't believe he has ace potential like others seem to believe.
Harrison's fastball averages 93.6 mph with solid riding action, but he wasn't able to miss bats at a high clip with his slurve which has been his go-to secondary offering for most of his career (slider then changed to slurve). I've also yet to see him fully establish the changeup, which he's going to need to do if he wants to be more than a mid-rotation starter. I'm also still fairly concerned with his overall command and control, although, he did look better in that department to close out 2023.
2. Rayner Arias, OF
Age on 4/1/2024: 17.9 | Highest Level: DSL | ETA: 2027
Every year, we have several breakout names in the Dominican Summer League that vault considerably up rankings and approach or enter top-100 overall status. In 2023, Rayner Arias was one of those prospects. We can't and shouldn't go too crazy with his ranking as it was just 16 games, but in those 16 games, Arias slashed .414/.540/.793 with 12 extra-base hits, four home runs, four steals, and more walks (15) than strikeouts (11).
Now, Arias isn't ranked as highly as he is strictly due to this small sample size. That would be both risky and a bit foolish. Instead, he's ranked this highly as he is because the profile is impressive and he began showing that in the DSL this season. Arias has plus or better raw power with a swing that generates natural loft and also displayed a sound approach at the plate. He's also around an average runner who could add double-digit steals annually as well. But we'll have to see how the frame fills out over the next few years.
3. Marco Luciano, SS
Age on 4/1/2024: 22.5 | Highest Level: MLB | ETA: Debuted
For me, Marco Luciano is basically my hitting equivalent to Kyle Harrison in the sense that he's a good prospect but gets overvalued and over-ranked. Luciano possesses plus or better raw power and has shown that fairly consistently throughout his professional career. However, I have considerable doubts about his contact skills and whether or not he's going to provide more than the rogue steal or two.
Luciano's contact rates were below 70% in the minors last season and he's hit just .250 over the last three MiLB seasons. His solid QoC metrics will certainly help, but I'm not sure Luciano is more than a .240-.250 hitter right now with 25 home runs and a few steals annually. In 74 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Luciano hit just .223 with a 31.3% strikeout rate. There are also some concerns with his durability.
So, again, he could be a solid player for fantasy purposes, but there are more red flags than green flags in Luciano's profile.
4. Carson Whisenhunt, P
Age on 4/1/2024: 23.4 | Highest Level: AA | ETA: 2024
It's unfortunate that Carson Whisenhunt was limited to 16 starts in 2023 because he was putting together a very good season. In 58.2 innings across Lo-A, Hi-A, and Double-A, Whisenhunt posted a 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 9.8% walk rate, and 35.3% strikeout rate. He was one of seven pitchers (50 IP minimum) to have a K-BB rate above 25% and a BAA under .180. And if you add in a FIP threshold under 3.00, Whisenhunt was one of just two to reach all three thresholds.
When I saw Whisenhunt live last fall, his elite changeup was a thing of pure beauty. It's one of the best changeups in the minors and a legit double-plus offering. Outside of the changeup, Whisenhunt has a low-90s fastball and upper-70s curveball, both of which are average to above-average offerings, and has shown solid command and control as well. The upside is a mid-rotation starter.
5. Bryce Eldridge, 1B/P
Age on 4/1/2024: 19.4 | Highest Level: Lo-A | ETA: 2026
After Whisenhunt, the rankings for this system get really interesting. You could go numerous ways in this 5th spot, but I'm giving the nod to 2023 first-round selection and potential two-way player, Bryce Eldridge. The Giants took Eldridge 16th overall this past summer, making him the second-straight two-way player they selected in the first round following Reggie Crawford in 2022.
While I'm not sure we see Eldridge hit and pitch in the Majors, I'm at least incredibly intrigued by the raw power he shows at the plate. Eldridge is a 6'7 left-handed hitter with double-plus raw power and he flashed that power at the Complex Level after the draft with a .353 ISO, .647, SLG, and five homers in 16 games. There have been some questions surrounding how much AVG he'll hit for and you always have to worry about higher strikeout rates from these bigger prospects, but Eldridge has shown solid patience at the plate and could wind up as a nice asset in OBP leagues as well.
On the mound, Eldridge will generally sit in the low to mid-90s with a nice downhill plane on his fastball and mix in a slider, curveball, and changeup with the slider being the best secondary offering. Even if San Francisco has him focus solely on hitting down the road, Eldridge profiles as a slugger and potential 30-homer bat annually.
6. Grant McCray, OF
Age on 4/1/2024: 23.3 | Highest Level: Hi-A | ETA: 2025
If you look at Grant McCray's stats, you'll probably wonder why he's not higher than 8th in this system after posting a 23/43 season in 2022 followed by a 14/52 season in 2023. Yes, the power/speed blend is highly intriguing and gives McCray plenty of upside for fantasy. However, there are two considerable red flags in his profile with his contact rate and strikeout rate.
McCray ran a contact rate of around 65% this season while striking out over 29% of the time for the second straight season. So, while the upside is a 20-homer, 30-steal outfielder, I have questions about how much average he'll provide and if he'll hit enough to be a Major League regular. The 2024 season should be a big one for McCray one way or another as he advances to Double-A.
7. Mason Black, P
Age on 4/1/2024: 24.3 | Highest Level: AAA | ETA: 2024
A 3rd round selection back in 2021, Mason Black has put together back-to-back solid seasons. However, the 6'3 right-hander still doesn't get ranked overly highly in prospect rankings. This was something I was guilty of as well, but I now have Black within my top 200 overall.
In 29 starts this season between Double-A and Triple-A, Black registered a 3.71 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 30.3% strikeout rate. His walk rate did jump to 10.2% but Black's command and control have generally been pretty good and are of no concern moving forward. But what is a concern is whether or not Black can establish his changeup enough to stick as a starter. The fastball and slider are both plus offerings and Black will turn over the four-seamer as well, but Black's changeup has been inconsistent throughout his professional career. If Black's changeup can be a consistent third offering, he could settle in as an SP 3/4 type. And if it doesn't, Black could still carve out a nice role in San Francisco's bullpen.
8. Walker Martin, SS
Age on 4/1/2024: 20.1 | Highest Level: High School | ETA: 2026
If we were to fast forward a year, there's a decent chance that Walker Martin will be several spots higher in these rankings, maybe even occupying the top spot. Martin was taken in the second round this past July and projects as a well-rounded offensive shortstop.
Currently listed at 6'2 and 180 pounds, Martin has already displayed solid power potential with quick bat speed and has the projection to add more bulk and power to his frame. He's also an above-average runner and athlete who could absolutely stick at shortstop long-term. Many evaluators leading into the draft also praised Martin's feel for hitting and ability to drive the ball to all fields. While he may never stand out in any one area, Martin projects as a player who can make an impact in many facets of the game.
9. Vaun Brown, OF
Age on 4/1/2024: 25.8 | Highest Level: AA | ETA: 2024
All those concerns I had with Grant McCray above present themselves here with Vaun Brown as well. In fact, I'm much more concerned about Brown's hit tool moving forward. Brown played 50 games for Double-A Richmond this season, hitting .221 with a 6.3% walk rate, 37.5% strikeout rate, and a contact rate below 60%. Not only are those major red flags, but the flag itself is on fire. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Brown had a whopping 22.1% SwStr rate this season. For reference, the worst rate in the Majors was Nick Castellanos at 18.7%.
As was the case with McCray, Brown possesses above-average or better raw power and plus to double-plus speed, but the contact rate and swing-and-miss issues have me quite skeptical heading into 2024.
10. Victor Bericoto, OF/1B
Age on 4/1/2024: 22.3 | Highest Level: AA | ETA: 2024
After putting himself on the mad with his DSL performance back in 2019, Bericoto sunk back into the shadows over the last two seasons after a wrist injury limited him to just seven games in 2021, and his 2022 performance, while solid, was nothing that stood out. But in 2023, Bericoto put his name back on the map by cranking 27 home runs in 122 games with a .272/.329/.511 slash line between Hi-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond.
While Bericoto doesn't bring any speed to the table, he's shown decent enough contact skills, can keep the strikeout rate in check, and projects as a 20-25 homer bat long-term. That doesn't stand out overall, but a 90th-percentile outcome for Bericoto is a fantasy-relevant player.
If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see the full top 40 along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.
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