Could San Francisco Giants have eight Top 100 prospects by 2020?

The riser: LHP Seth Corry
Confidence Level: 50%

In my midseason prospect rankings, Seth Corry ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the San Francisco Giants system. I wrote this in my report:

"Over his minor-league career, Corry has missed plenty of bats with 178 strikeouts in 152 innings, and he has limited hard contact with only 110 hits and five home runs allowed. However, severe control issues have hampered his progression and he’s walked 97 batters for a 5.7 BB/9 rate. Corry has always had a better handle on his off-speed pitches than his fastball, which makes me bullish on his ability to eventually control all his pitches. His control has progressed as the 2019 season has gone on. In his last five starts, he’s thrown 24.2 innings, striking out 29 while allowing just four earned runs and, most importantly, only seven walks."

Since writing that, it appears the southpaw has indeed taken a necessary step forward.

While he’s still over a year younger than the average player in the South Atlantic League, Corry has the lowest ERA (1.64) in all of minor league baseball.

In his last 11 starts going back to June 13, Corry has an absurd 0.92 ERA with 79 strikeouts (12.1 K/9) and just 13 walks (2.0 BB/9) in 59 innings.

Given the slew of recent promotions, it would make sense for Corry to be next.

However, Giants farm director Kyle Haines pumped the brakes on that idea in a recent podcast with Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He acknowledged that Corry is forcing their hand, but he’s also cautious not to mess with his rhythm.

Kevin Cunningham over at McCovey Chronicles addressed Corry’s prospect status in a recent edition of the Giants Prospect Roundup (highly recommended). He makes the argument that Corry’s lack of elite velocity and inconsistent track record will keep him off top-100 prospect lists.

While I agree with Kevin when it comes to this offseason, Corry’s pedigree as a third-round pick who signed for over-slot money and his dominance this season will have him on the edge of those lists at the start of the 2020 season. Haines even mentioned in his interview with Schulman that he could breeze through the upper minors.

A strong start to 2020 would give prospect experts enough to move Corry onto those lists.