Who were the best SF Giants position player prospects in the Cactus League?

Who were the best SF Giants position player prospects in the Cactus League?

Jimmy Glowenke

Glowenke was heavily featured towards the second half of spring, indicating that the Giants might be liking what they see from him so far. He struggled mightily against sliders but had a good feel for the fastball when he was batting.

He's hit a home run but it's still quite a stretch to think of him as a double-digit home run guy. The most interesting thing about Glowenke though is that he played defensively at third base this spring. He was solid or better as a second baseman but it might be a stretch to put him at third as he struggled a bit finding accuracy on his throws.

Carter Howell

Howell was not in the swinging mood for most of his plate appearances this spring as he struck out in all three of his at-bats while walking in his other two plate appearances. He had an at-bat where he tried to swing but he was late on fastballs thrown against a lefty sidewinder. Swing-wise, he does not have much tweaks done to it. It was also slightly inconclusive since he did not put the ball in play.

Lee Jung-hoo

In my opinion, Lee's first taste of big-league talents this spring is as expected. Lee was at times overmatched but those instances are much less compared to what he's shown at the KBO. He's had a good eye at the plate and he battles. He is quite comfortable in two-strike counts which I really like. The defense at center field also looks as advertised. He is not the quickest guy in the team but he is fundamentally sound and he is smooth out there. He will be the team's center fielder for as long as he is playing with the Orange and Black.

Marco Luciano

Luciano was in a big competition at shortstop with Nick Ahmed that eventually resulted in him not getting the Opening Day gig. Honestly, his spring training audition did not pan out as hoped. There were far too many swings and misses, especially early on. He finished strong though when he showcased his prodigal power potential when he connected.

He's still displayed the discerning eye at the plate that we saw from him last season. It looks like the path for him moving forward. The defense continues to look average where he can do some routine plays but it is not as smooth nor natural as one would expect at the position.

Grant McCray

McCray appeared in a lot of games this spring, oftentimes the first pinch runner out there whenever a guy gets on base. He was keen to show off his wheels and the defense in the outfield, in center or left field, was as advertised. He was very patient at the box, taking pitches at a high clip.

It led to plenty of two-strike situations that resulted in strikeouts with Eugene last year. This spring, however, he's found a way to put the ball in play and let his speed play. If he can carry that over in the regular season, then we'll be looking at a better McCray in 2024.

Who were the best SF Giants position player prospects in the Cactus League?

Wade Meckler

The Giants featured Meckler pretty heavily as one of the early backups early on but will miss out on being on the big league roster toward the final couple of games. One of the biggest issues with Meckler in his short big league stint last season is that he faltered hard against secondary pitches.

While he did well against fastballs and has shown the strike zone knowledge, there are times when breaking balls can still get him. In my opinion, it is a bit inconclusive. What is conclusive, however, is the questions about his defense. His overall defensive skillset (reads, first step, arm strength) is not great and has not improved over the winter. I mean it is hard to practice defense in the offseason but this might be what Meckler is in the long-term.

Ismael Munguia

It should come as no surprise that Munguia won the Barney Nugent Award for the best-performing player in his first spring training. He's been great with the contact ability, the surprising pop, and the infectious passion and energy around the dugout.

There are some issues that I have seen though amidst his great spring. He tends to expand the strike zone which results in swings and misses and weak contact. On defense, there were some issues as well in terms of reads and the routes that he took. There are also some concentration errors. I am not taking his achievements this spring away, but even the biggest fan of his (like myself) should temper expectations.

Chase Pinder

Pinder looked solid in the televised spring games that he played. There is not one standout tool but he puts the barrel to bad pitches with a clean-looking swing, and he bides his time and looks for a good pitch to hit. He has looked solid in defense as well. Overall, he is what you would expect from a seasoned pro player. I am not sure if he is a true big leaguer but if given the chance, could hold his own.

Jakson Reetz

Reetz struggled to get his bat going this spring. There are some tardy-looking swings but they are less than good-looking at-bats. He's done a solid job of controlling the strike zone even though the results were not there. Defensively, there were times when he struggled to control the strike zone with his framing, probably due to the lack of familiarity with the pitchers that he was catching as they played a level or two lower than him last season.

Who were the best SF Giants position player prospects in the Cactus League?

Diego Velasquez

I watched Velasquez a couple of times this spring and good thing that both his left-handed and right-handed swings are caught on tape. The swing still looks the same on both sides, with more loft in his left-handed swing and a line-drive swing in his right-handed version.

The batting stances look identical as well as his frame which might be a bit concerning if we are ever going to dream of him hitting more than 10 homers a year. He's also looked solid defensively with a good first step but I am not sure if the arm has enough zip to play anywhere beyond second at this point.

Will Wilson

Wilson has sort of fallen out of favor over the past two seasons due to his poor performance on both sides of the ball. He's looked solid this spring once again with a couple of home runs, though, I did not particularly notice anything different with the way that he swings or physicality-wise. He's also played solid defense at short where he was clean in terms of starting double plays but there are still struggles when trying to throw from deep to his right.

Brett Wisely

Wisely was heavily featured early this spring but was held back towards the second half, only playing in three games. The swings look a bit tardy but there are no discernable changes in his swing from what I saw. Defensively, he played second base and made routine plays look routine which is what you want to see. I do not think they will try him out again in the outfield like last season as he looked at home at second.

Logan Wyatt

Wyatt played towards the end of the season and had two televised games, playing as a first baseman. I have not noticed anything drastic from him offensively, he was exhibiting his signature patience at the box but was overmatched by fastballs even when he was ahead in the count.

The swings looked a bit tardy but that was expected when you have little familiarity with the opposing pitcher. Defensively, he's fine at first base but I noticed that he was not as flexible as other top-flight defenders at the position to aid in slightly erratic throws.