The SF Giants 2022 Prospects Depth Chart

Depth Chart Strength

Outfield – Outfielders are a strength of the system not only because the group has top-end talent but also because of its impressive depth. Leading the pack are 55 FV Luis Matos and the only 50 FV prospects in the rankings Heliot Ramos and Jairo Pomares.

It does not contain any 45 FV prospects, but there are six 40 FV prospects and a couple of potential prospects that might shoot up to the 45 FV tier after a stellar 2022 season. Those potential breakout prospects in the 40 FV tier are Hunter Bishop, Grant McCray, and Alexander Suarez. There are also prospects below the 40 FV tier that could elevate themselves to another level if they exceed expectations in the upcoming season. These prospects include Victor Bericoto, Najee Gaskins, and Mauricio Pierre.

Also, the key thing that makes the outfield a strong demographic in the organization is the youth at the top of the group. Luis Matos will most likely join Jairo Pomares in Eugene, and they are still at least two years away from reaching San Francisco if everything goes as planned. Even if Heliot Ramos graduates from prospecthood this season, there is enough talent at the lower tiers to ease the impact of his eventual graduation.

Starting Pitching – After looking at the depth chart, it came as a surprise to see that starting pitching is a strength of the organization. It has not only a prospect in the 55 FV tier that is at least two years away from the big leagues in Kyle Harrison but it also has plenty of depth, even better than the outfield corps with four 45 FV and 11 40 FV starting pitching prospects. What you are reading is not a lie. There are 11 40 FV tier starting pitching prospects in the organization. Yes, that number will reduce to 10 once Sammy Long graduates in the not-too-distant future and possibly nine if Sean Hjelle graduates in 2022, but nine starting pitching prospects are still a lot.

The impressive depth shall be attributed to the investments that the Giants’ amateur and international scouting have made over the past three years in addressing the issue and the development of these said prospects. The most exciting thing to think of is that out of the nine prospects, only Ryan Murphy has the chance to graduate after the 2023 season.

There will always be a possibility that there are starting pitching prospects right now that will most likely move to the bullpen throughout their minor league careers (Swiney, Ragsdale, and Berroa are the more likely converters). However, there is more than enough youthful talent outside the 40 FV tier that will replenish the talent lost. Overall, the starting pitching depth is in a great place entering the 2022 season and it could be even better if the prospects outside the 40 FV tier will break out and move up to another level after the season (Black and Manzano are the likeliest candidates).

Relief Pitching – Like with starting pitching, relief pitching is also in an excellent place. Even though Camilo Doval, the organization's top reliever prospect, and Kervin Castro should graduate during the 2022 season, which will hurt the depth of the relief corps, it is the depth that makes the relief corps a true strength.

There are 11 relief prospects with 40 FV grades and if we take out Castro, Randy Rodriguez who will probably slide to the rotation, and potentially Gregory Santos if ever he comes back strong in 2022, there are still eight prospects who have the potential to make it to the big leagues given the perfect circumstances.

What is also impressive about the relief pitching group is that several relievers outside the 40 FV tier can replenish any eventual graduations and enter the tier after the 2022 season. Relievers like Enmanuel de Jesus, Clay Helvey, Mauricio Llovera, Austin Reich, Blake Rivera (he is a starter now, but he is more of a reliever), and Frank Rubio are currently outside the top 40 FV tier but have the potential to become big-league contributors.

There is also the 2021 pitching draft class that should be considered as well. Most of them pitched in relief last season but a couple or more slide to the rotation and potentially stick there like Mat Olsen and Rohan Handa. However, there are true relievers in the draft class that could enter the 40 FV tier after a strong 2022 season like Evan Gates, Joe Kemlage, and Landen Roupp.

Not A Strength but Not A Weakness Either

Catcher – Catchers initially placed as an organization strength but after giving it a deeper thought, it ultimately ended up a tier below because of a couple of reasons: Joey Bart’s eventual graduation and the lack of depth. The first reason, Joey Bart’s eventual graduation, is pretty self-explanatory. Joey Bart will be featured in the Giants’ lineup this season after the retirement of Buster Posey and his eventual graduation will hurt because of the gap between him and Adrian Sugastey in terms of FV (55 FV for Bart to 45 FV of Sugastey).

There is a high possibility that Sugastey will break out and leap to the 50 FV tier this season, but now the issue becomes depth. There are only four prospects outside of Bart that graded out as 40 FV prospects or better. Auerbach is placed at catcher because that is his primary position last season, and if the player development staff took Auerbach out of the crouch and focus him more in the infield or outfield, that only leaves the position with three prospects. And looking at the prospects outside the 40 FV tier that might move up, there is only one prospect with the potential to do so and that is Onil Perez after his stellar 2021 season in the Dominican Republic.

It all depends on Bart. If Bart is indeed the long-term solution for the catcher position, depth might not be an issue after all. If the opposite happens, there are at least three capable catchers at the moment who could be in play but are not as talented as the number two overall pick of the 2018 draft.

Shortstop – You might think of it as “why do I have the shortstop position as not a strength in the organization if Marco Luciano is in there?”. The answer is uncertainty. By now, you should already know that Luciano will most likely have to move out of the position for the best interest of the organization to win. That results in only five shortstops that are graded out as at least 40 FV. Good thing Arteaga is the highest of the five because he has the best chance of sticking in the position given his skillset in the dirt.

            Outside of Arteaga, though, the rest have questions to stick in the position long-term. Will Wilson is a better fit at second base over shortstop based on what he’s shown last season defensively, Diego Velasquez is also a better fit at second base than shortstop based on film study, and Ryan Reckley is still a tough evaluation at the moment because he has yet to play in pro ball to make a sound evaluation. Only Ghordy Santos has the best shot of sticking of the four and even he has some issues handling the position at times in San Jose that makes me pause a bit.

            There is also plenty of uncertainty and volatility for the prospects outside of the top 40 except Edison Mora because of their youth and their shaky 2021 season in Rookie ball. Even Mora is not a potential shortstop prospect because of the way the coaches use him defensively, especially in San Jose, where he played all over the field except shortstop. Overall, shortstop is a position with a lot of promise, but with the highest volatility and uncertainty in the entire organization, more volatile than the starting pitching.

Depth Chart Weakness (Hint: It's The Infield)

Third Base – Third base faces the same issues that the shortstop corps has: volatility and uncertainty. However, what put the third base as a weakness is the lack of high-end talent. Yes, Casey Schmitt is exceptional and is a sure-fire third baseman. Yes, Sean Roby might have contact issues, but he should stick at third base.

However, the decision to leave David Villar open for other teams to potentially acquire the Richmond third baseman via the Rule 5 Draft will hurt the depth of the position that only has three 40 FV and better third baseman prospects.

The prospects outside the 40 FV tier have issues of volatility and uncertainty that are akin to their shortstop counterparts. Outside of Yorlis Rodriguez and Will Toffey, who are more decent than spectacular, the young third baseman prospects in the organization have shown that they are still in the early stages of their development based on their 2021 seasons.

Elian Rayo, Irvin Murr, and Anthony Rodriguez all had shaky campaigns. Specifically, it’s tough to envision Rayo sticking at third base given his present body, and Rodriguez does not have a high ceiling as a prospect. Only Derwin Laya is the most likely prospect to break through and reach 40 FV after the 2022 season, but that possibility is slim after an up-and-down 2021 season.

The right side of the infield – Combining both first base and second base position groups is convenient because both positions face the same issue: a general lack of talent. Both the first and second baseman groups do not have a prospect with at least 45 FV to lead their group, unlike the other groups above. There is also not only very little depth in the position outside the 40 FV but also a lack of promising talent that could break through while primarily playing on the right side of the infield.

Looking at first base, Toribio is the leader of the pack, but he put on a disappointing performance last season in San Jose where he was left in the dust by the fellow Latino prospects that were still on par with him before the season started. Frankie Tostado or Garrett Frechette could pass him at the mid-season mark, especially Frechette if he could break out this season like what is expected of him to do.

Even though he played first base last season, Javier Francisco is not a first baseman at all. The coaching staff in the Dominican only put him at first base last season because they viewed him as too good to not be in any lineup but he’s blocked by the prospects who garnered a bigger signing bonus than him which is pretty unfair if you ask me. Francisco is a shortstop or a third baseman. That only leaves Wyatt and Layer who struggled mightily last season, though Layer was a key player for San Jose’s success last season and Wyatt’s a walks machine and just about it. There is a lack of talent and depth in the position that is coined as the “cold corner”, funny enough.

There is a brighter light at the end of the tunnel for the second baseman group, but it’s still not as bright as the other demographic aside from first base. The group has a nice trio of prospects who all could play in the big leagues one day. Whiteman’s speed alone might be valuable for San Francisco as a pinch-runner while Fitzgerald and Glowenke could hit and defend their way through the Minors.

Outside of the trio, though, lies the issue of depth and uncertainty. Jason Krizan could very well reach the Majors this season but his overall value is very limited as he’s already in his early 30s, Carter Aldrete is a worse Fitzgerald last season, Shane Matheny has a slim chance to make the big leagues because of his major hitting woes, and we still do not have the number of Damon Dues.

The light at the end of the tunnel comes from the prospects in the shortstop group moving over to second base like Edison Mora, Diego Velasquez, and Will Wilson that should boost the depth of the position but it will still not have the top talent that the position needs to at least not be a position of need.