Josh Norris Calls Kyle Harrison “Best Pitching Prospect” In SF Giants System

Baseball America’s Josh Norris appeared on Roger Munter’s There R Giants podcast and called southpaw Kyle Harrison “the best pitching prospect” in the SF Giants system.

The SF Giants surprised a lot of people when they agreed to pay third-round pick, Kyle Harrison, a $2.5 million signing bonus to forego his commitment to UCLA. However, in the months since, it has become easy to see why they were so excited to bring in the left-handed starter. On this week’s episode of Roger Munter’s There R Giants podcast (highly recommended listen), Baseball America’s Josh Norris called Harrison, “the best pitching prospect in that system, without a doubt.”

Harrison was incredibly impressive at the instructional league in Arizona, showing immediate jumps in velocity from his high school playing days. Still, it’s surprising to see him ranked ahead of other top pitching prospects in the system, like Seth Corry. In Around the Foghorn’s most recent top 31 SF Giants prospects ranking, Harrison was ranked the 17th best prospect in the system and the sixth-best pitching prospect. He’ll obviously be much higher in the next update.

A local product drafted out of De La Salle High School, Harrison flashed an advanced feel for pitching and strong fastball command expected of prospects well beyond his years. His curveball has been considered his best secondary pitch, but in high school, none of his pitches were ranked as plus. However, on top of his jump in fastball velocity, according to Norris, the Giants player development staff is working with him on refining his curveball for a sharper break.

The SF Giants farm system lacks the high-end pitching talent they have on the other side of the ball, but there are still a bevy of intriguing arms that could become big-league contributors. Kyle Harrison is still just 19-years old and has yet to make his pro debut, but is already considered the best pitching prospect in the organization. Needless to say, an impressive rise for the young southpaw.