They might be Giants again in 2023, but 2022 was a weird year by the bay. Buster Posey is the best defensive catcher I’ve ever seen. Easy to underrate his value on a day to day basis. His absence was felt in the win/loss column. Still, they’ve got a smart front office with plenty of money to spend, so it shouldn’t be long before they’re pushing the Padres and Dodgers again.
1. SS Marco Luciano | 21 | A+ | 2023
Luciano has lost some of that new-car shine over the years as people settled into the reality that he was unlikely to steal many bases, but I think 2022 was his most encouraging season as a pro. Nothing was particularly loud (.263/.339/.459), but his plate skills looked okay (9.6% BB, 22.2% K) and he was 20 percent better than league average against older players during something of a grind-it-out season with a two-month injury slicing it down the middle.
2. LHP Kyle Harrison | 21 | AA | 2023
Harrison will likely be first or second on every public-facing list, and he’s earned it. For what it’s Werthers, I won’t have him in any league just because he should be ranked really high on all the real-baseball lists. Not many 20 year-olds rolling through Double-A with 127 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA in 84 games. Even fewer 20-year-olds bringing three easy plus offerings from the left side (fastball, slider, changeup). Should work well in San Fran.
3. OF Vaun Brown | 24 | AA | 2024
Incredible outcomes in 2022 from Brown, a 6’1” 215 double-plus athlete who hit 23 home runs and stole 44 bases across two levels, slashing .346/.437/.623 in 103 games. Sure, he was old for his levels, but you can’t fake that kind of dominance. Brown reminds me a little of Hunter Pence in that he looks different doing it, but his actions are all so quick-twitch that he can be deceptive. I might be higher than other sites on Brown and McCray, but some of that is non-fantasy pitcher inflation, and some is that this group of three through six is too tight for the ultimate landing spots to matter much.
4. OF Grant McCray | 22 | A+ | 2024
McCray turns 22 today, so happy birthday, Grant! Always brings me a smile when it lines up this way. Best to stay positive on his special day and ignore the strikeout problem, which he might not even have to solve to hang onto a big league gig thanks to plus athleticism, defense, power and excellent base running skills. McCray went 23/43 last season. Did get caught stealing ten times in Low-A but zero times in eight attempts at High-A. I didn’t watch enough to know, but I might chalk some of that Low-A stuff to learning to exploit the three-throws-over rule.
5. OF Luis Matos | 21 | A+ | 2025
My apologies to everyone who went after Matos on my recommendations. His slash line of .211/.275/.344 undercut most if not all the dynasty value he brought into the 2022 season. That’s not to say he can’t rebuild it. The premium bat speed remains. He just needs to develop better plate discipline. He has the hands to make contact with most pitches, so he swings at most pitches. That has to change. Development is not linear. He’s got time.
6. SS Aeverson Arteaga | 20 | A | 2025
Not related to Allen Iverson but does prefer you avoid the subject of practice. A prototype shortstop at 6’1” 170 lbs with smooth defensive actions and plus athleticism, Arteaga is just scratching the surface on his baseball life.
7. 3B Casey Schmitt | 24 | AAA | 2023
Mighty Casey strikes out in the end, yet he’s the only name that lives on from the poem. I mean what the fuck. Not even the writer. If I started talking about Ernest Thayer right now, you’d think he was a relief prospect the Giants are going full pitch-lab on. Jimmy Blake tears the cover off the ball in that game, by the by. He’s the only reason Casey even gets to the plate. Anywho, Schmitt is fine. Not like capital PH PHINE but, ya know, he aight. Corner bat. Plate skills and power. Might have enough of both at 6’2” 215 lbs. But now I’m thinking about Frankenstein and Shelley and what cultures remember and pass down and quickly becoming disillusioned. Onto the next player. My daughter has been sick for a month, and I am very tired.
8. LHP Carson Whisenhunt | 22 | A | 2025
Carson Whisenhunt used to call plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers then spent a season or two coaching Kurt Warner in Arizona. Helluva run. Can’t believe he’s only 22. 66th overall pick of this year’s draft. 6’3” 209 lbs. Fun to watch due to Bugs Bunny changeup and plus command. Probably a pick-up and flip for dynasty purposes as he dominates the lower levels.
9. LHP Reggie Crawford | 22 | CPX | 2026
Crawford’s the kind of guy you want in the dugout in case of a brawl. At 6’4” 235 lbs of pure unadulterated man muscle, Crawford can throw a baseball 99 miles per hour and hit a baseball 99 miles. How that all pans out on the field is anyone’s guess, but I’m eyeball emojis ready for it. Man I hate that emoji. OMG four straight eyeball emojis!? Guess I’ll certainly have to watch these 200 players who received such emoji-fueled analysis today!
10. OF Jairo Pomares | 22 | A+ | 2024
Sorry for the all the salt in here this week, but things are not Pom-wonderful in Itch-ville. They’ll get better. Could always get worse, of course. Only time knows. What a rush! Pomares took a step back this year. Or rather, he failed to remedy the strikeout ills that plagued his late 2021. Strikeout rate rose from 31.7 percent to 32.9 percent. Could make a case for another twenty players at this spot, but Pomares posted a 113 wRC+ despite the strikeouts, and it wouldn’t take much improvement for him to look like a premium prospect again with a couple hot months as a 22-year-old at Double-A.
Thanks for reading!
