Pop-up SF Giants pitching prospect makes Fangraphs’ pick to click list for 2027

Over the weekend, Fangraphs published its picks to click list for 2027. Pop-up SF Giants prospect Keyner Martinez was among those to make the cut.

Pop-up SF Giants pitching prospect makes Fangraphs’ pick to click list for 2027

What is a pick to click? Well, Fangraphs released its preseason top-100 prospect list last week. The Giants had three prospects make that list, including Bryce Eldridge, Josuar Gonzales, and Jhonny Level.

A pick to click is a focus on what the list could look like this time next year. Fangraphs also surveyed its scouting sources to supplement its list. 

This group is much larger. Luis De La Torre, Nien-Hsi Yang, Parks Harber, Nate Furman, Jacob Bresnahan, and Alberto Laroche were among the Giants prospects to receive a vote. De La Torre was one of the few prospects to receive multiple votes. The lefty pitching prospect is relatively new to pitching, but is only getting better with experience. 

On the other hand, Fangraphs shared a brief bit on Keyner Martinez that highlighted his breaking ball:

"Martinez was a pop-up arm on the Arizona complex last year. A good athlete, he touches 97 and flashes a plus slider."

Fangraphs on Keyner Martinez

Martinez, along with De La Torre and Argenis Cayama, headlined the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Giants rotation last summer. That pitching staff comfortably led the league with a 3.48 ERA while falling just shy of winning the ACL title. Martinez played a big role in that. He pitched to a 1.90 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 10 walks in 47.1 innings of work.

Once the ACL concluded, the right-handed pitcher moved up to the San Jose Giants. He recorded a 2.86 ERA in 22 frames in the California League to finish out the season. By the end of the year, Martinez had emerged as one of the Giants' top pitching prospects, ranking as the No. 10 prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline.

Given Martinez's age (20) and relative inexperience, there is a good chance that he returns to San Jose to start the 2026 season. That should be an exciting team to follow for Giants fans.

On the mound, the pitching prospect flashes a fastball that sits in the mid-90's. He pairs it with a slider that gets quality, two-plane movement and a developing changeup to give hitters a different look. Martinez is also a fiery competitor.