SF Giants: Five prospects other teams should target

SF Giants prospects to target: 5. Ricardo Genoves, C

Before getting promoted to Eugene, there was a strong case to be made for Ricardo Genoves as the best player in the San Jose Giants roster. Genoves’ San Jose stats are excellent where he had a batting average of .338, a near 1.000 OPS, six home runs, 13.7% walk rate, and just a 18% strikeout rate. His numbers for Eugene this season have not been eye-popping, but he’s hit four home runs in recent weeks at High-A (giving him 10 total on the season) and is walking at a well above-average rate.

The improvement in Genoves’ offensive game has been a big revelation to everyone. However, the renowned defense of Genoves has now become a bit of a liability this season. Genoves’ catch and throw skills are still excellent with a 43% caught stealing rate. However, his blocking and receiving has largely been the issue for him all season. His 19 passed balls are easily the highest of his career and he’s allowed more than a handful of wild pitches where he could have easily blocked it traditionally with his torso but instead tried to pick the ball in the dirt.

With the game hinting towards adopting the electronic strike zone in the future, catchers who can control the run game while also provide all-around value offensively have become an asset now and will be more valuable in the future. While trading for catching prospects is not common recently, Indians prospect Francisco Mejia was dealt a couple of years ago to the Padres for Brad Hand. While Genoves would not command the same value as Mejia, a team could easily fall in love with Genoves’ skillset to flip a deal for a solid big leaguer, and the Giants would not really empty up the catching depth chart with former second overall pick Joey Bart ready for another shot at the big-league level, Adrian Sugastey doing well in Rookie ball, Patrick Bailey in the fold, and super-utility man Brett Auerbach being more than able to handle the position.

The SF Giants will have plenty of decisions to make at this year’s MLB trade deadline. Teams will surely covet some of their most premium prospects, but besides the biggest names, Alexander Canario, Ricardo Genoves, Seth Corry, Jairo Pomares, and Camilo Doval could all end up intriguing a team enough to get them to pull the trigger on a trade.