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

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

3. Ford Proctor

Giants fans saw a bit of Ford Proctor at the end of the season. The left-handed bat recorded three hits in 18 at-bats for San Francisco down the stretch. This included his first major league home run:

Proctor was removed from the 40-man roster early in the offseason. However, he remains an interesting option given his versatility that includes experience up the middle and at catcher.

The 25-year-old was not known as a power hitter at Rice University, but he has experienced a modest power spike in recent seasons, reaching 12 homers in each of the last two minor league seasons. He came over to the Giants in a minor midseason trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays had a roster crunch on the 40-man roster, so the Giants swung a trade for a player who fits what they like in terms of at-bat quality and versatility. Proctor slashed .229/.348./349 with 12 home runs, 42 RBI, and 46 runs in 459 plate appearances split between the Giants and Rays Triple-A affiliate in 2022.

This includes a fantastic 14.8 percent walk rate but with a 28.9 percent strikeout rate. The overall slugging percentage and strikeout rate are alarming, but Proctor is one of the few left-handed-hitting middle infielders in the organization.

There is a role for him if his bat can show improvement. He has the plate discipline that the organization wants in its hitters, but he needs to hit with a little more consistency.