SF Giants bring back former top pitching prospect on minors contract

The SF Giants welcomed back a former top pitching prospect recently. According to the team's transaction log, Seth Corry has returned on a minor league deal.

SF Giants bring back former top pitching prospect on minors contract

It is not known whether Corry's deal includes a camp invite, but it is unlikely given that he has no experience above High-A. A few weeks ago, we highlighted Corry since he was surprisingly unsigned with spring training right around the corner.

The left-handed pitcher became a free agent at the end of the 2023 season. He had reached six years of minor league service time, so he was eligible to reach free agency. Interestingly, Corry joins Heliot Ramos as the only Giants prospects from the 2017 draft class to still be with the team.

The caveat to that last statement is that both Keaton Winn and Blake Rivera were drafted by the Giants in 2017, but did not sign. Both were selected again by San Francisco in 2018 and signed. Rivera was the fourth-round pick that year with Winn following one round later as each improved his respective draft stock compared to 2017.

For years, Ramos had been considered one of the Giants' best prospects. However, Corry began to receive recognition as well. Earlier in his pro career, the Giants were cautious with his workload given that he was a high school draftee.

Corry did not reach full-season ball until the 2019 season. In Low-A, he put together one of the more impressive seasons by a Giants pitching prospect since Madison Bumgarner was the Minor League Pitcher of the Year there in 2008.

With the Augusta GreenJackets, Corry tallied a 1.76 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 12.6 K/9, and a 2.97 SO/W ratio across 122.2 frames. The lefty pitcher carved up Low-A hitters with a quality mid-90's fastball, changeup, and curveball. However, his stuff played down due in part to below-average control, but that trait did begin to improve in his lone season with Augusta.

That year created a bit of hype for Corry as he was ranked as the No. 99 prospect by MLB.Com prior to the 2020 season. However, injuries, continued control issues, and the canceled 2020 season stalled his development after that.

The southpaw pitcher struggled to the tune of 5.99 ERA with nearly as many walks (63 ) as innings pitched (67.2) during his stint with the Eugene Emeralds in 2021. He underwent shoulder surgery in 2022 that kept him off of the mound for much of the 2023 season as well.

When Corry did return, he registered a 5.03 ERA in 34 innings last year. Most of those innings where rehab outings in Rookie Ball. At one point, the 25-year-old pitcher flashed some promising upside and the Giants hope that he can rediscover some of that in his return.