SF Giants pitching prospects rundown (4/5 - 4/16)

SF Giants pitching prospects rundown (4/5 - 4/16)

Emeralds Pitching Prospects

Kyle Harrison: 2 G (2 GS), 9 H, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 16 K, 0.00 ERA
Randy Rodriguez: 1 G (1 GS), 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 HBP, 2 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Jake Wong: 1 G, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 19.29 ERA

Let's start off with the obvious one, shall we? Let's talk about Around The Foghorn's number one prospect Kyle Harrison. The left-hander is off to a spectacular start to the season with two statement starts against two of the better offenses in the Northwest League, Everett AquaSox which features Mariners superstar prospect Noelvi Marte and the Spokane Indians which features Colorado's top two prospects in Zac Veen and Drew Romo. Harrison improved his physique over the winter and his stuff looks as crisp as ever.

I have a player comp for Harrison when he ever becomes a reliever in Josh Hader but I don't have a comp for him when he sticks in the rotation. That is, not until now when I saw the Carlos Rodon comps and you know what, that makes sense but Harrison throws from a much lower arm slot than Rodon. However, the stuff looks awesome. I feel very glad that placing him ahead of Luciano is a good decision and I am glad that people are starting to ride the bandwagon that I was one of the first in the Giants community to hop in.

The Randy Rodriguez to the rotation role is off to an uneven start. He was a bit uneven in terms of control but he was also not helped by the defense behind him. The most concerning thing for me is the velocity more than anything. He started his season by throwing in the low-90s, peaking at 94 MPH, a far cry from when he served as the fireman out of the San Jose bullpen last season when he can touch 97 MPH. I'm chalking it all up with "weather too cold" and "first start nerves" but I'll definitely keep an eye on it throughout the course of the season.

I'll end the Emeralds pitchers rundown by shouting out Jake Wong. In case you guys are new to following Giants prospects, Wong is the third-round selection by the Giants in the 2018 draft from Grand Canyon University with a true four-pitch mix and a fastball that reaches the mid-90s. He did not pitch at all throughout the 2021 season and the reason for it is still unclear (I have missed the radio broadcast of his 2022 debut and there are some tight-lipped people who would not disclose why he missed the entire last season) but it's nice to see him pitch once again. I'll be posting a video of his appearance once he will pitch in a broadcast, either in Eugene or in Hillsboro. Welcome back, Jake!