SF Giants farm system: Updated top 31 prospect rankings

SF Giants prospects: Midseason 2021 rankings
12. Prelander Berroa, RHP

Age: 21
Highest Level: Low-A (San Jose)
Acquired: Trade (2019)
Future-Value Grade: 40+

The SF Giants acquired Jaylin Davis, Kai-Wei Teng, and Prelander Berroa in a trade with the Minnesota Twins at the 2019 MLB trade deadline. While Davis and Teng garnered more attention with strong conclusions to the 2019 season, Berroa’s breakout 2021 has made him the best prospect of the bunch.

Berroa has recorded a 3.05 ERA, 119 strikeouts, and 43 walks, in 85.2 innings at Low-A this season, but was absolutely dominant during a 10-start stretch spanning nearly all of June and July. Across 46.2 innings, Berroa posted a 1.93 ERA and racked up 68 strikeouts against 16 walks. It was easily his best stretch as a pro but still came with plenty of long innings and some struggles working deep into games.

Berroa has long been on scouts’ radar with an impressive arsenal. At his best, Berroa features a fastball that sits between 94-96 mph and has touched 98, a mid-80s power curveball, and an 88-91 mph changeup. All of his pitches complement each other well and he might have the best three-pitch mix of anyone in the organization. However, Berroa’s well below-average command will have to come a long way for him to become an impact starting pitcher in the major leagues.

In his four professional seasons, Berroa has never surrendered walks against fewer than 10% of opposing hitters. Still, he’s roughly the age of a college prospect from this year’s draft class and is striking out roughly a third of the batters he’s facing at Low-A. If he can find consistency with just one of his off-speed pitches, he should be able to stick in the rotation. If he does have to move to the bullpen, Berroa has the stuff to be an elite high-leverage arm.