SF Giants AFL contingent includes power-hitting first baseman and pop-up outfield prospect

The Arizona Fall League published its rosters earlier this week. For the SF Giants, there contingent will be headlined by power-hitting first baseman Bryce Eldridge and pop-up outfield prospect Bo Davidson.

SF Giants AFL contingent includes power-hitting first baseman and pop-up outfield prospect

The AFL will return on October 7th with its 33rd installment. It has seen plenty of future big league talent since its inception, but most teams take this opportunity for their prospects to get more reps. It has certainly been helpful for the players who were injured during the regular season however long the lost time may be.

It is no different for the SF Giants as they have sent eight prospects to join the Scottsdale Scorpions. I'm here to give a quick rundown of the Giants contingent to get you up to speed before the league season starts.

Infielders: Bryce Eldridge, Charlie Szykowny

I don't think I have to break down Bryce Eldridge to you guys. But if you still want to have a good gist of who he is as a prospect, let's sum up in four words: he's really, really good. Instead, let's break down Charlie Szykowny. Szykowny enjoyed a great season, playing in both Low-A and High-A. He was stellar with San Jose, posting a 140 wRC+ powered by a .340 batting average, a .910 OPS, 16 doubles, six triples, and a couple of home runs.

While he struggled once he got to Eugene, his 119 end-of-season wRC+ is still third among all Giants' hitting prospects with at least 200 at-bats. He was sizzling in his final two months with San Jose, batting .369 alongside a .965 OPS. The lefty-hitting third baseman out of UIC should be a nice depth piece in the organization.

Outfielders: Bo Davidson

All the talk of the town during the second half primarily centered around Eldridge, as it should given his prospect pedigree. However, do you know that there is this undrafted outfielder out of Caldwell Tech Community College who went absolutely ballistic down in San Jose?

That's right, we're talking about Bo Davidson. Davidson struggled to find his footing in the first half of the season, batting .225 with just a .670 OPS in the first two months of the season before he got hurt and missed a month of action. After a rehab stint in the Arizona backfields, he returned in the second half of July and was like a man possessed.

Davidson's stats from his return to the San Jose lineup up to the postseason were bonkers as he batted .430 with a 1.368 OPS, eight doubles, five triples, seven home runs, a 1:1 strikeout-walk ratio of around 19%, as well as four stolen bases.

A quick assessment of what made his second-half surge look legit is the balance in the lower half of his body when he swings. It's a much more stable base that has resulted in a cleaner and more direct swing path as opposed to a more rotational/wrapped swing path in the first half of the season. A surge like that and he's easily inserted himself in top 30 conversations.

Pitchers: Marques Johnson, William Kempner, Cale Lansville, Elijah Pleasants, Tyler Vogel

Marques Johnson is set to return to the AFL as he was a participant last year. Acquired from the Red Sox last year in the Mauricio Llovera trade, Johnson sustained another injury that hampered his development.

It resulted in him returning to San Jose in late August and having only pitched 7.1 innings, including an inning of action in the ACL. At best, Johnson shows strikeout stuff with his mid-90s fastball and a tight, gyro slider but has struggled with his control upon his return to San Jose.

Another one of those pitchers who lost development time is Kempner, who missed the entire 2024 season due to injury. I was pretty high on him entering the 2024 season given the unique way he pitches even though the fastball velocity was mostly in the low-90s last year and the low-80s sweeper looked loopy at times. Unfortunately, he was not able to build on his solid 2023 season and is only starting to get his season going in the Fall League.

Lansville was set to become one of the big innings-eaters in the San Jose rotation but sustained an injury that kept him out of action throughout June. The 14th-round draftee last year posted ok numbers but looked strong down the stretch. In his final six outings, Lansville posted a 1.59 ERA with 25 strikeouts to just four walks while holding opposing batters to just a .212 average. He has shown a solid breaking ball along with having good life on his fastball up in the zone when he's at his best.

One of the most fascinating stories that came out this season is the rise of the Oakland Ballers amidst the tomfoolery of the Oakland Athletics and their relocation out of the Bay Area. The Ballers famously held an open tryout and one of their players, being Elijah Pleasants, ended up being good enough to be bought out of his Ballers contract to play in the Minors after posting 23 strikeouts to just four walks in 16.2 innings pitched. The 36th-rounder of the Kansas City Royals back in 2018 did not have strong, under-the-hood numbers with San Jose but the right-hander flashed good sink on his low-90s fastball alongside a sweeper that compliments his sinker well and a changeup.

Adding one more pitcher in dire need of reps is Tyler Vogel. Vogel missed two and a half months of action this season due to an injury and has struggled to bring back his stellar 2023 form. He particularly struggled with his control but the stuff that I am personally high on is still pretty much there. His mid-90s riding fastball at the top of the zone is complimented by a big 12-6 curveball alongside a solid-looking changeup.