Who were the most exciting SF Giants pitching prospects in the Cactus League?

Who were the most exciting SF Giants pitching prospects in the Cactus League?

Mat Olsen

I have not seen anything much different from Mat Olsen in the two televised games he pitched. It was still a herky-jerky motion with great tempo and was able to extend his body so forward from the rubber that it helped his fastball "look" faster. Even though in actuality, the fastball velocity is likely only in the 91-96 mph range. The hard curveball also looked good for his other primary pitch. I did not really worry about blowing the save situation against Kansas City but it's something to keep in mind whenever he gets the ball in the ninth at the Minor League level.

Randy Rodriguez

Rodriguez greatly struggled with his control in his early spring performances where he got yoinked by the Giants out of Scottsdale to return to Pagago. Even though Rodriguez was all over the place at Scottsdale, he's shown to get on top of the ball more this season compared to last year. Hopefully, that allows his power stuff to be thrown in the strike zone more consistently. Rodriguez does not need to be a perfectionist in the strike zone to be an effective pitcher. Just throw the ball in the vicinity of the zone and let the natural stuff play.

Tommy Romero

Romero pitched quite a bit this spring and it gave us a sneak peek into what kind of pitcher he is. He is a pitcher who throws over the top in a similar way that former Rays pitcher Matt Garza throws as he tilts his body a bit to create the release point. It allows him to give his fastball plenty of backspin for it to play up in the zone and generate swings and misses. He pairs it with a slider that spins like a bullet, more of a vertical drop gyro variety rather than the sweeper. With average control, Romero should be sniffing an opportunity in the big leagues if it ever arises.

Landen Roupp

There is no denying that Roupp is one of the biggest stars of the spring training for the Giants. He struck out a lot of batters, his curveball was on full display, and most importantly, he's shown that any ailments or injuries that he had last season are completely behind him. He's looked great. I honestly did not see any changes in his approach, his mechanics, or his pitch arsenal.

One thing that Roupp should improve this season is his fastball control. He struggled to locate his sinker plenty of times and though he can essentially steal strikes with his curveball, he has to establish his fastball in the zone to become an effective big leaguer. Nonetheless, Roupp's fully healthy and ready to rock as he was included in the Opening Day roster, and deservedly so.

Juan Sanchez

You can find my Juan Sanchez thoughts here.

Carson Seymour

From the looks of things, Seymour is still the Carson Seymour that was the main workhorse for the Richmond pitching staff last season. He's still pumping power sinkers and power sliders from his high release point. The control was an issue for him this spring, something that he controlled pretty well last season. There was also one pitch that looked like a splitter or sort, a pitch with plenty of tumbling action but was located high in the zone. If that is a splitter, it could serve as his third pitch to aid his chances as a starter.

Eric Silva

Silva has pitched in an untelevised game as far as I remember this spring but we are here to talk about that one clip. Yes, that is the friend of the site Roger Munter's behind home plate view and SFGProspects' CF angle.

It showed Silva constantly hitting 95 and up to 97 mph with his fastball which was in line with his 2022 self. Last year, he sat in the low 90s. He's also looked much more fit this season compared to last year. The slider also had its crispy sweeping action back and the changeup had its moments. Now, will it be enough for Silva to go back as a starter? Most likely, yeah. Now, can he fix his biggest issue of 2022 which was sequencing and having enough control to throw his fastball up in the zone? That we will see.

Ethan Small

Small was on the top step of the podium as the Giants' second lefty reliever behind Taylor Rogers but was hit by an oblique strain, leaving his status in question. When he pitched this spring though, he looked awesome. His mechanics' funkiness is definitely there, his fastball was there, and the astounding changeup was getting both lefties and righties out. The good Ethan Small was there. If the good Ethan Small shows up in the big leagues, then it's a steal of an acquisition by Farhan Zaidi.

Nick Swiney

Swiney only faced so few hitters whenever he stepped on the mound this spring so we are only going to talk about a small sample size here. However, the very few instances that he pitched left me quite a bit disappointed as he was still essentially the same pitcher. He's a junkballer with high-80s velocity in his fastball but greatly favors throwing his changeup and curveball much more to hide his now below-average velocity. The control is also an issue with him throwing so many secondaries, or primaries in his case.

Keaton Winn

It is always nice to see Keaton Winn back and healthy, ready to take that fifth rotation spot. Winn has been relying heavily on his power splitter which is good as he was inducing a lot of groundballs with the pitch. The effectiveness of his heater though is a slight worry but the pitch is only the set-up pitch for the big boss that is the split. We do not need to worry about him.

Chris Wright

I am going to be frank here, Chris Wright's only appearance in spring training was not a good look for him. He faced the Angels in late February, struggled with his control, and the fastball velocity was in the low 90s like last season. For the most part, it is the same issues he had last season in the high-Minors. If he can't fix those issues, the chances of him becoming a big leaguer are getting slim.