SF Giants News: Top 3 non-roster minor league pitchers to follow in camp

The SF Giants published its list of non-roster invitees last week. While it includes a handful of the organization's top prospects, there are plenty of lesser-known intriguing players as well. We will start by looking at the non-roster minor league pitchers.

SF Giants News: Top 3 non-roster minor league pitchers to follow in camp

Of course, the Giants brought in a pair of experienced major league arms in Joe Ross and Sean Newcomb. They have had varying levels of success in the majors, and to an extent, are known players.

However, we are going to take a look at some of the lesser-known players. Typically, players with minimal major league experience who are not considered top prospects. The baseball season is a grind of 162 games and that organizational depth plays a huge role getting to the finish line.

The roster at the end of the season often looks way different than the Opening Day roster. This is due to a number of factors like promotions, demotions, trades, waiver claims, and injuries. So, the Giants have brought in 37 non-roster invitees who have some degree of a shot at being added to the active roster at some point in 2023.

1. Mauricio Llovera

Giants fans briefly saw Mauricio Llovera last year. The right-handed hurler posted a 4.41 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, 11.0 K/9, and a 2.50 SO/W ratio. This was not his first stint in the majors.

Llovera appeared for Philadelphia Phillies in 2020 and 2021, tallying a 12.91 ERA in a brief sample of just seven appearances.

However, the Giants must have liked what they saw from the 26-year-old pitcher. With San Francisco, Llovera flashed a mid-90's sinker that generated plenty of ground balls as well as a slider that was tough on opposing hitters. Opposing hitters registered a .182 batting average against his slider in 2022. I think his command was better than what we saw as well.

He began the winter on the 40-man roster, but he was non-tendered and re-resigned with the club on a minor league deal.

Llovera will likely begin the season with the Sacramento River Cats. He pitched for them last year where he registered a 0.00 ERA (excuse me?), 0.85 WHIP, 12.6 K/9, and a 7.00 SO/W ratio across 20 Triple-A innings. If he continues to perform at that level, he will get another shot with the Giants in no time.