Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Low-A San Jose Giants

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Low-A San Jose Giants

Pitchers (continued)

Alix Hernandez

Hernandez is the youngest and quite possibly the most intriguing pitcher in the San Jose pitching staff this year. His claim to fame is his slider that exceeds 3,000 rpm. It results in a slide piece that breaks very late but sharply away from righties with good sweep as he has a slinging arm action. He can also generate crazy arm-side movement with his changeup. The big issue however is that the fastball is only in the low 90s but he can experience an uptick or two if he can fill out his frame.

Cole Hillier

Hilier was signed by the Giants last August as a minor league free agent and he projects to be one of the relievers for San Jose. He has a pretty intriguing delivery with a slight giddy-up in his tempo that could throw hitters off balance. He needs it because his fastball only sits in the low 90s with a mid-to-high 70s curveball as his main offspeed pitch. He can struggle with control at times due to the difficulty of maintaining his giddy-up.

Thomas Kane

Kane was selected late in the third day of the 2023 draft and he has the look of a potentially intriguing reliever. He only throws in the low 90s but he can generate good life up in the zone because of his over-the-top release point and a quite funky mechanics. He pairs it up with a breaking ball that flashes above average with good depth to combat the rise that he can generate with his fastball. There are times when he can make the fastball sink just to change the eye level of the batter.

Cale Lansville

Lansville was once a top prospect in high school who struggled in college before being drafted by the Giants on the third day of last year's draft. He does not have great stuff but he pretty much throws everything. The fastball sits in the low 90s but he can cut, sink, and have it stay true. He also has a slider, curveball, and changeup that he can throw in pretty much any count. The control is fringy so he has to rely on mixing up his arsenal to succeed.

Ubert Mejias

Mejias was a solid pitcher last season in the backfields after signing back in 2022 out of Cuba. He has a low-90s fastball that has average movement characteristics and he pairs the pitch with a mid-80s slider with solid depth. He throws a good amount of strikes but the big worry is that the frame is already baked without much projection remaining. He also currently lacks a workable third pitch.

Cesar Perdomo

Perdomo is considered to be an older signing when he was signed as a 19-year-old back in 2021. He's been steading climbing through the ranks and has impressed with his ability to throw strikes. His fastball is only average but it plays up because of his small stature and a true 3/4 slot giving it a flatter path to the zone when thrown high. He has a promising changeup to pair his fastball with. The only issue is that he looks pretty set in his frame and will likely not gain more velocity as he ages.

Shane Rademacher

Rademacher is the most mysterious member of the SJ Giants squad this season having been signed as a NDFA last August. He was a starter for all four seasons at Chowan University but did not have the success that he would have wanted. He was far more effective in summer league action at the Coastal Plain League, however, which prompted the Giants to sign him.

Michael Rodriguez

Rodriguez has one of the best nicknames in the organization as he was being called at college as "The Nightmare", primarily due to his massive size on the mound. Listed at 6'5", 250 pounds, he brings the intimidation factor even if the stuff is not as impressive as the physique. He sits in the low 90s with his fastball but can get on top of hitters up in the zone due to his low 3/4 release point. He pairs it up with a slurve-type pitch that has plenty of depth and could be menacing against lefties.

Cody Tucker

Tucker was signed last July as a minor league free agent and has seen time in San Jose towards the end of last season. It's a tall and fall operation on the mound for Tucker as he throws his fastball with good life at the top of the zone. He pairs it with a slider that has a late break and great depth. It is a legitimate swing-and-miss offering for him. If he can be more consistent with his strike-throwing, he has a shot of becoming a big-league arm.

Esmerlin Vinicio

Vinicio enters his third straight season of pitching for San Jose where he keeps on bouncing around the Complex and the California League since 2022. His curveball is still an above-average pitch but he's never gone to fill out his very lanky frame where he can only produce fastballs in the high 80s, up to 91 mph at best. His changeup is a good pitch at times and is a good person so it's not hard to root for him.

Joe Whitman (#22 prospect)

Whitman has the potential to become one of the best left-handed pitchers in the organization but currently needs plenty of improvement. His fastball currently sits in the low-90s with decent shape though has touched 96 in college. His still slender frame gives him room to increase his velo a couple of ticks. His best pitch is his low-80s slider, a true plus offering with a high spin rate, great depth, and sweeping action. He also has a mid-80s changeup that needs plenty of work to become a third pitch. He struggled to find the zone with his fastball during his short stint for San Jose to end the season. Hopefully, he finds the control and a third pitch to not become a relief-only look.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Low-A San Jose Giants

Position Players

Maui Ahuna (#20 prospect)

It seems pretty crazy to think that not a lot of people are thinking highly of Ahuna when he has a similar skill set as Arteaga, just a year older, but is left-handed. Skills-wise, he is a sure-handed defender at shortstop with an easy plus arm, above-average range, sure hands, and with good instincts at shortstop. His speed does not necessarily translate to impact the game as a base stealer, though. In the box, he has an easy-looking swing that can get long often. If his good athleticism and body control turn into good balance in the box with a tweak to his swing mechanics, there is a path for him to succeed next season.

Estanlin Cassiani

Cassiani tore up the DSL a couple of seasons ago and has made steady progress throughout the complex leagues and into San Jose for this season. His standout tool is his pure hitting ability with a smooth lefty swing that can cover a lot of the strike zone. His strike zone is smaller than usual due to the crouch in his batting stance but he has solid plate discipline to show for. He does not hit for power though so expect extra bases than round-trippers.

Drew Cavanaugh

Cavanaugh was drafted on the third day of the 2023 draft from the same university that Vaun Brown called home. Cavanaugh's best tool is his defense as his catch and throw skills are on par with the best in the farm system. He's been voted as the best defensive catcher in the conference in his junior year so he is more than just a thrower. He lacks impact with the bat but he's shown solid knowledge at the batter's box.

Jonah Cox (#39 prospect)

Cox is recently acquired from the Athletics via the Ross Stripling trade. His best tool is his speed which gives him plenty of range at center field. Whether he stays at center is the true question. He has the range and fundamentals to do it but arm strength could be an issue and still yet to get a good feel for his route running. His swing is a bit funky with a downward path but he made it work in college. The big issue when he set foot in pro ball is the high strikeout rate in his cup of coffee. If that is just an outlier and the hitter that we saw in college is the one he trots out this year, he will shoot up the list.

Bo Davidson

Davidson is quite intriguing as an NDFA signee after the draft because of his pure athleticism and relative rawness coming from a football background. He's been a great performer in junior college but that will be tested in the pros. He is a nicely built athlete possessing good speed and power. He also has a simple batting stance in the box with a simple lefty stroke. There are plenty of kinks to iron out but this could be a prospect that could turn to relevancy in the next couple of years.

Bryce Eldridge (#3 prospect)

Eldridge has one of the, if not the, highest ceilings out of all the prospects in the organization in the Farhan Zaidi era. Even though he can pitch, he will be trotted out as a first baseman this year. On offense, he already has plus raw power that can potentially grow to plus-plus or more at peak. He's also shown better approach and contact ability than expected though he has to improve his breaking ball recognition. He does have great athleticism but badly needs to improve his lower half strength to improve his balance both in the batter's box. There is a world where Eldridge is better than both Luciano and Lee.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Low-A San Jose Giants

Position players (continued)

Cole Foster

Foster was one of the many middle infielders that the Giants drafted last year that comes with great potential. He is a smooth defender at both shortstop and second base with good footwork and solid arm strength though he can look a bit rough at the more premium position. He has power potential on both sides of the box as a switch hitter with more loft in his swing as a lefty. He has improved his patience in his junior college but was back to his free-swinging ways when he turned pro so that is the most important thing to monitor throughout the year.

Javier Francisco

Francisco stood out the most among his peers because of his all-around ability to hit for contact, power, and plate discipline in both the Papago backfields and in San Jose last season. He’s shown good under-the-hood data in Papago though some, particularly his power production, did not carry over in San Jose. If he can improve as well as show his versatility on defense, he can certainly make a name for himself in the upcoming season.

Ty Hanchey

Hanchey was brought onto the Giants as an NDFA and was interestingly slotted as a two-way player. Hanchey has a great arm behind the plate so the intrigue of him as a pitcher is there even if he has yet to pitch in pro ball. He has shown good patience at the batter's box though it might be hovering towards being passivity. He is a bit lanky for a catcher so the power potential is not great but he could be a reliable extra base hitter at peak.

Nadir Lewis

Lewis has suffered many injuries throughout his college career and the Giants scooped him up with their final pick in last year's draft. He has good intrigue though as he is a well-built athlete with good raw power and speed potential as he's shown when he hit for the cycle in his second career pro game. He's had good numbers against inferior competition in college but was a bit overwhelmed by pro pitching.

Cesar Quintas

Quintas exploded last season in the Complex League where he's showed a combination of contact ability and plate discipline. There are times when he struggled with breaking balls but his right-handed swing is aesthetically pleasing to watch. Do not also expect much power from him though as he has yet to hit above two home runs in a season, and is also only an average runner with a fringy base-stealing acumen.

Elian Rayo

Rayo has posted nearly identical numbers in the Complex League for the past two seasons and he's getting his shot at full-season ball this year. He is a stocky athlete who already looks fully baked since the time he was a teenager. It does give him raw power but his right-handed swing is more conducive to gap-to-gap contact than over-the-fence ability. He's a good contact hitter that tends to chase, limiting his on-base potential. His speed is below average or worse which limits where he could play. He has been a third baseman but expect him to move to first base or as a DH as he gets older.

Luke Shliger (#34 prospect)

Shliger will receive plenty of playing time as a lefty backstop option in the organization. He displayed his good approach at the box last season with good patience and bat-to-ball ability. He can also choose to be aggressive if he gets the pitch that he wants early in the count. There is not much power where he fits more as a doubles hitter. He is a solid defender behind the plate with an average but accurate arm.

Jean Carlos Sio

Sio was solid last season in the Arizona backfields where he posted great peripherals. He looks like a guy who has an idea of what he's going to do in the batter's box. His lefty swing is smooth with a pretty big leg kick. Do not expect much power from him though as he will likely top out at a handful of homers in a full season. He's played shortstop in the Complex League but that will change given the middle infield talent the team has.

Guillermo Williamson

Williamson was one of the more notable standouts in the ACL last season, nearly hitting double-digit home runs as well as solid overall offensive numbers. His lefty swing packs quite a punch as he takes vicious hacks in the batter's box. It can lead to strikeouts but also lead to average or better power numbers. He has shown enough patience in the box to draw out walks to make it a quite rounded profile. He plays in the outfield and his ability extends from fringy to solid but he could fare well as a DH down the line.