3 San Francisco Giants prospects who should not be traded and 3 who should

Trade: Reggie Crawford - LHP

Teams love trying to stockpile pitching prospects when they are sellers at the trade deadline, so it seems like a good idea to have at least one available to get a key deal done. It is very tempting to try and hang on to Reggie Crawford, though, as he has a fastball that can touch triple digits and a devastating slider that has a ton of movement that also serves as an out-pitch.

The first issue is that Crawford already had very limited pitching experience when he was drafted and missed the 2022 season after having Tommy John surgery. The injury itself isn’t the biggest issue as tons of great pitching prospects have gone under the knife, but delaying his development as a pro has lengthened his expected development time significantly even though he was drafted as a college guy. His upside is tremendous, but feels like a long-term project that has some real reliever risk. Sending him to a team that has the time to let him develop and that loves his upside seems like a good use of him as an asset if the return is right.

Keep: Carson Whisenhunt - LHP 

Keeping a second left-handed starting pitching prospect may seem to be a bit redundant and risky given how volatile pitching prospects can be, but Carson Whisenhunt is likely worth keeping around. He has a weird profile as he isn’t a flamethrower and his breaking ball needs work, but his changeup is so good that he has been slaying minor league hitters with regularity anyways and has been promoted twice this season already.

The fastball being a low 90’s type of pitch means that he is going to really command it to prevent big league hitters from teeing off on him, but again…the nice thing about Whisenhunt is that he has such a good changeup that it should keep hitters honest. Unlike Harrison, Whisenhunt probably needs time in the minor leagues this season to keep improving his breaking ball and refine his fastball usage, but a 2024 debut seems like it could be in the cards and having another lefty in the rotation that can get swings and misses is a worthy investment. 

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