Dylan Cumming leads three SF Giants prospects who are up for promotion

What a week it was for Giants fans everywhere as both the Majors and the Minors had been quite eventful. Down in the Minor League level, three Giants pitchers, including Dylan Cumming, received their well-deserved promotions after a strong start to their 2024 seasons.

Dylan Cumming leads three SF Giants prospects who are up for promotion

Let's start off with Cumming. The undrafted pitcher out of Liberty was the best pitcher on the Emeralds' staff and has a puncher's chance to be the best performer in the entire Giants organization so far. Cumming has taken a step in every facet of his game with a 1.87 ERA, 2.24 FIP, 38.5% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate, a 0.89 WHIP, and hitters just hit .175 off him.

The Giants brass thought that after his latest start last Wednesday where he tied a career-high in innings with five and a career-high in strikeouts with nine while allowing no walks is more than enough to warrant him a promotion to Richmond. Personally, I thought the Giants brass could have pushed him to Richmond earlier with his level of dominance.

Cumming's dominance is not quite like what Caleb Kilian did in 2021, but he was still shoving nonetheless. Cumming is a personal favorite of mine, and I had a chance to talk to him earlier this month about his pro career so far. If you have not jumped to the Cumming bandwagon, now is the perfect time to do so.

Next up in the promotion line is Nick Garcia. For a quick refresher, Garcia was drafted in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 draft last offseason from the Rockies organization. Let's just say that his stint in the Rockies organization went rocky, to say the least. A uniform change with better coaching, Garcia has looked better than ever with Richmond.

Garcia has a minuscule 1.31 ERA, a good six runs down from his 2023 ERA with Hartford. His strikeout and walk rates have been the best it's ever been as a pro as well as his other performance indicator stats. The Giants have un-Rockied Garcia and his talent as a 2020 third-round pick with a fastball that can touch 96 mph and a couple of sharp breaking balls has been fully unlocked with the Giants. What a steal it would be for the Giants if he pans out as well as they expect him to be.

Last but not least is Venezuelan pitcher Brayan Palencia getting the call to play in full-season ball after spending his last more than three seasons in the backfields. Palencia has been one of the better pitchers in the Arizona Complex League in the early season as he is tied for fifth in strikeouts with 19 in 14 innings of work, primarily as a starter alongside a respectable 3.86 ERA and a very strong 3.2% walk rate.

Palencia does not boast overpowering velocity as his fastball has been in the 91-94 mph range but he can generate good induced vertical break, reaching as high as 19", and his release height is also lower than average. His offspeed pitches also have potential as his high-70s slider and mid-70s curveball can have their standout moments but they lack consistency. Look out for his mid-80s changeup/splitter pitch though, as I think it is a good one with late drop. Palencia might not make any GIants' top 30 prospects rankings but he has enough going for him to be worth the follow.

Congratulations to the three Giants pitching prospects and I'll be back tomorrow covering the Players of the Week.