2022 Pre-Season SF Giants Top Prospects: 10-6

We have now entered the top ten San Francisco Giants prospects entering the 2022 season. Let's now take a peek behind the curtain to see who makes up the lower half of the top ten.

2022 Pre-Season SF Giants Top Prospects: 10-6

10. Matt Mikulski

Position: LHP
Age: 22
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Projected Level: Eugene (High-A)
MLB ETA: 2023

Tool Grades: (Present/Future)

FB 55/60 | CH 50/55 | SL 45/50 | CB 40/45 | CMD 30/45

PV 30 | FV 45

The second of the nine straight pitchers that were drafted in the first two days of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Giants, Mikulski greatly improved his stock in the past off-season after going undrafted into the five-round 2020 MLB Draft. The expectation for Mikulski is to have a taste of full-season ball this season, but the Giants coaches made the conservative choice of keeping Mikulski in the Arizona backfields.

Mikulski looked like a completely different pitcher after he made several positive strides to his craft last winter. His shortened arm action and improved physique turned his fastball from a low-90s pitch to a mid-90s offering that tops out at 98 MPH with plenty of tailing life generated by his low-¾ arm slot and deception from his unorthodox, herky-jerky mechanics.

Either of his slider and changeup is his preferred secondary pitch, with the latter flashing plus at times with good velocity separation and a fastball arm speed but only has solid fade while the former has late, two-plane break at its best. He can also flip a mid-70s curveball that flashes solid-average as his true fourth pitch.

Even though his refined mechanics helped Mikulski throw more strikes aside from his improved stuff, it needs good maintenance and he has a violent head whack that needs to be ironed out to improve his command. However, he has shown good pitchability this season, throwing any of his four pitches in any count against any hitter.

The fastball should touch triple-digits in a relief role, but Mikulski has the stuff while also throwing enough strikes to pitch in a rotation in the short term. As a senior signee, Mikulski projects to leap through the system and could be ready to help the big-league club in a couple of years if all goes well for him.

2022 Pre-Season SF Giants Top Prospects: 10-6

9. Casey Schmitt

Position: 3B
Age: 22
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 215 lbs.
Projected Level: Eugene (High-A)
MLB ETA: 2024

Tool Grades: (Present/Future)

Hit 30/45 | Raw Power 50/50 | Game Power 30/45 | Speed 40/40 | Arm 60/60 | Field 60/70

PV 30 | FV 45

When San Francisco selected Schmitt in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, they had zero hesitation to shelve his pitching duties and made him play third base full time. He was placed conservatively in San Jose at the start of the season, where he had a terrific stretch offensively from June to August. He was poised to be promoted to Eugene at the season’s end, but his 2021 campaign was cut short when he got hit by a pitch.

Schmitt’s calling card is his defense at the hot corner and is considered being the best defender in the farm system. His smooth footwork, sound glovework, impressive agility and athleticism for his size, exceptional first step and reaction time, and a strong arm that can deliver mid-90s fastballs on the mound work in unison for Schmitt to do the fundamental and spectacular defensive plays at third base. If there is one thing that limits Schmitt defensively, it is his subpar range where he would be occasionally a step late on throws to first base against a fast runner.

The Giants coaching staff emphasized adding loft in Schmitt’s line-drive swing and even though he stumbled out of the gate, everything clicked for him once the calendar flipped to June. Even with the added loft, Schmitt was a tough guy to induce whiffs on as he has impressive bat-to-ball skills and a good feel for the strike zone. The added loft was an effort to make Schmitt hit the ball out of the yard more often, but his in-game power is still limited because he does not fully use his legs when he swings.

Even if Schmitt provides 0 WAR offensively, his defensive value is good enough to give him a high floor as an everyday regular. Therefore, he is ranked higher than where other evaluators have him. If his power comes around next season while continuing to post a low whiff rate, there is legitimate breakout potential incoming for Schmitt.

2022 Pre-Season SF Giants Top Prospects: 10-6

8. Aeverson Arteaga

Position: SS
Age: 18
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Projected Level: San Jose (Low-A)
MLB ETA: 2025

Tool Grades: (Present/Future)

Hit 30/50 | Raw Power 45/45 | Game Power 20/40 | Speed 60/60 | Arm 60/60 | Field 45/55

PV 20 | FV 45

The Giants made Arteaga the club’s highest-paid prospect in the 2019 international free agent cycle. The Venezuelan made quite a statement with his first month in the Arizona backfields by hitting seven home runs and was a consistent hitter all season long where he finished his 2021 campaign by getting a taste of full-season ball in playoff-bound San Jose.

Aeverson (pronounced as “Iverson” like Allen Iverson) has a nice collection of tools. A plus athlete, Arteaga projects to stick at shortstop long term where his range, footwork, and strong arm are clean fits. His plus speed that gives him terrific range also plays on the bases where he is flashing good baserunning instincts. He typically shows the glovework to play the position, but his internal clock is a tick early during his cup of coffee in San Jose. He was often in a position to make the play and he projects to make the fundamental and the spectacular plays once the game slows down for him.

Even though Arteaga hit seven home runs in July, he did not hit another home run until the final day of August. Arteaga added muscle in his frame during the quarantine, but he only posted fringy exit velocities last season. His swing is currently more geared for line-drive contact, although he is working on adding more loft in the off-season to better tap his raw power. His approach is to swing early in the count or work the count until two strikes. Arteaga shows solid bat control, but his approach at the plate is still relatively raw.

Arteaga projects to be a glove-first prospect in the mold of Orlando Arcia. Once the game slows down for him on both sides of the ball, he is easily the best long-term fit at shortstop because of his potential defensive prowess. There are still plenty of questions with the bat that can only be answered by facing better competition, but if he does not show any red flags with his bat next season, he has the potential to be an everyday big leaguer.

2022 Pre-Season SF Giants Top Prospects: 10-6

7. Will Bednar

Position: RHP
Age: 21
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 229 lbs.
Projected Level: Eugene (High-A)
MLB ETA: 2024

Tool Grades: (Present/Future)

FB 50/55 | SL 55/60 | CB 45/50 | CH 40/45 | CMD 40/40

PV 30 | FV 45

San Francisco has selected a pitcher in the first round of the MLB Draft this year for the first time since 2015 and they have selected the College World Series Most Outstanding Player after carrying the Mississippi State rotation throughout the tournament and winning the CWS title for the first time in the school’s history. After getting drafted, he did not pitch until the end of August in Arizona and was promoted to San Jose to have a glimpse of post-season baseball at a professional level.

During the CWS tournament, Bednar looked like a legitimate mid-first round talent with the fastball sitting in the mid-90s with late-life that he gets whiffs at the top of the zone and his slider has hard, sweeping bite that he can manipulate east and west against any hitter to either get called strikes or whiffs. With the Giants, however, Bednar looked like a late-first round talent with his fastball in the low-90s with little life and his slider looked only solid at best.

Bednar is a solid athlete who has dynamic but refined mechanics with a pronounced crossfire that creates a unique tunnel for his pitches. His curveball was a consistent fringy to solid offering and while he did not need his changeup in college, it flashed as a fringy to an average offering.

Even though Bednar has a full repertoire to start, he needs to improve several facets of his game, like sitting in the mid-90s in a full-season, improving his inconsistent command although he fills the zone well. There is a possibility that Bednar would lower his arm slot from a true-¾ to a low-¾ arm slot to improve his fastball characteristics. However, it is tough to envision a velocity increase because he has little to no projectability. His fastball-slider combination gives Bednar a high floor as a two-pitch, late-inning reliever, but if everything comes together, Bednar has a legitimate mid-rotation ceiling.