SF Giants Prospects Rankings: 10 Who Just Missed The List

SF Giants Next 10 Prospect Rankings
33. Prelander Berroa

Age: 20
Highest Level: Low-A (Salem-Keizer)
Acquired: Trade (2019)
Future-Value Grade: 35+

Acquired from the Minnesota Twins as a part of the Sam Dyson trade last summer, Prelander Berroa remains one of the hardest arms to project in the system. From an evaluation standpoint, the loss of the minor-league season played a big role in the uncertainty that continues to surround the 20-year old.

A high-variance righty, Berroa has a potential plus fastball, average slider, and above-average changeup. His command is still a work in progress and there is definite reliever risk. That said, the 5’11” Berroa has been called a dead-ringer for Fernando Rodney and that wouldn’t be a bad outcome either.

His three-pitch mix does have starter potential, but his mechanics and current lack of command continue making it a hard path to envision. At the moment, his stuff does not appear to be strong enough to overcome those shortfalls in a rotation. Granted, Rodney struggled as a starter too before finding the next gear necesarry when he moved to the pen.

The unlikely, but still conceivable, outcome that Berroa can put it all together and be a mid-rotation starter arm him as the last player in the 35+ grouping in the rankings. But again, a minor-league season in 2020 could have gone a long way towards answering that. Had he continued to struggle at Low-A or even been converted to a full-time reliever, he’d easily be tiered down. He’d still be an intriguing potential reliever, but just wouldn’t stand above a number of the other players in the system.