Which SF Giants prospect improved his stock the most in 2024?

After being selected in the first round of the 2023 draft, Bryce Eldridge improved his stock considerably in 2024. However, no SF Giants prospect saw a bigger stock increase than pitcher Trent Harris according to MLB Pipeline.

Which SF Giants prospect improved his stock the most in 2024?

As the year comes to a close, MLB Pipeline is doing a reflection of the 2024 season. One installment for this was recognizing a prospect from each team that improved his stock the most. For the Giants, it was Harris.

You could certainly make the case for Eldridge as well. The power-hitting first baseman posted a .785 OPS with one home run and five RBI in 69 plate appearances with the San Jose Giants in 2023. This was a strong performance for a player in his age-18 season and resulted in him being regarded as one of the game's best prospects when this season began.

On the other hand, MLB Pipeline makes the case for Harris:

"Signed for $10,000 as a 24-year-old nondrafted free agent out of UNC Pembroke in 2023, Harris became one of the best pitching prospects in the Giants system this summer... He gets tremendous carry on a mid-90s fastball that hits 97 mph and also owns a pair of potential plus breaking pitches."

MLB Pipeline

It is hard enough to put your name on the map with a low draft pedigree. It is even harder to do so as an undrafted free agent. Harris did that in 2024.

The right-handed pitcher breezed through the lower minors, posting a 1.64 ERA with 104 strikeouts against 24 walks in 76.2 innings split between Low-A and High-A. He earned a late-season promotion to Double-A where he allowed two earned runs across three innings with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Harris is on the older side at 25, so the Giants were understandably aggressive when his performance warranted a promotion. Interestingly, many of his outings were multi-inning efforts. This could have been by design to stretch him out as a starter down the road.

The pitching prospect has a starter's pitch mix with a mid-90's four-seam fastball that gets plenty of carry through the zone. He pairs this with a 12-to-6 curveball with a tight slider. He often used the curveball as a swing-and-miss pitch in the zone and as a chase pitch.

The question will be, can he maintain that velocity through longer outings as well as maintain the solid command he displayed out of the bullpen?

There is a good chance that Harris receives a camp invite in 2025. From there, the Giants hope that he can become an option sooner rather than later.