SF Giants send 8 prospects to AFL including a trio of top picks and a top outfield prospect

The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is a great opportunity for teams to recognize some of their top prospects by sending them to compete against the best prospects in baseball. On Friday, the SF Giants announced that they will be sending eight prospects to join the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL.

SF Giants send 8 prospects to AFL including a trio of top picks and a top outfield prospect

There is plenty of intrigue in the group that the Giants are sending. San Francisco will be sending a trio of former top picks and a top outfield prospect:

Luis Matos, Logan Wyatt, Carson Whisenhunt, and Will Bednar headline the eight prospects that the Giants are sending. The selection process is not normally random. In the case of all four of those prospects, they all missed substantial time in 2022 due to a variety of reasons so the AFL assignment is an opportunity for them to gain some game repetitions.

Matos sustained a quad injury earlier in the year. His status was unknown for several weeks before the Giants clarified that he was dealing with the injury. That said, it was a disappointing season for the 20-year-old prospect as he registered a .211/.275/.344 (73 wRC+) line with 11 home runs, 43 RBI, and 55 runs in 407 plate appearances for the Eugene Emeralds. This includes a 6.6 percent walk rate against a 15.9 percent strikeout rate, so his struggles were not met with a spike in his strikeout numbers.

Wyatt and Bednar both hit the injured list for undisclosed reasons. Teams do not always reveal the nature of a prospect's injury and this was the case with these two prospects.

Wyatt missed the first half of the season but struggled mightily in his return. The left-handed bat posted a combined .530 OPS with zero home runs in 105 combined plate appearances across two levels. Bednar posted a 4.19 ERA in 12 starts with the San Jose Giants before hitting the injured list. The organization hopes that the former second-round pick in Wyatt and the former first-round pick in Bednar will realize the expectations that come with high draft capital.

Carson Whisenhunt missed the entire 2022 college season after a failed PED test but he did tally 7.2 scoreless frames after being selected by the Giants in the second round of this year's draft. I cannot remember the last that a Giants prospect was sent to the AFL in the same year that he was drafted.

Catchers Adrian Sugastey and Andy Thomas along with relievers Hunter Dula and Tyler Myrick round out the list of Giants prospects. Sugastey posted a .663 OPS in 340 plate appearances while being one of the younger players in the California League, whereas Thomas was acquired at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Curt Casali and Matthew Boyd.

Myrick recorded a 2.85 ERA with a 9.0 K/9 in 41 appearances split across two levels and Dula generated a 4.11 ERA with an 11.0 K/9 in 39 appearances across two affiliates as well.