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After a year in which prospects either were at home or hidden away at alternate sites, there is a great deal of uncertainty concerning just about all of them.
Still, across the major media rankings, the Giants were represented well.
MLB Pipeline was the latest to announce its big list, with four Giants cracking the top 100. Three can be found on just about any big board — shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 16), catcher Joey Bart (23), outfielder Heliot Ramos (82) — while outfielder Hunter Bishop (83), their 2019 first-round pick, also received some acclaim.
The top three prospects are ranked in the same order by the major publications, though the rankings themselves vary greatly. Baseball America had Luciano 12, Bart 41 and Ramos 83. The Athletic had Luciano 31, Bart 41 and Ramos 58, while lefty Seth Corry, at 71, made a top-100 appearance.
The rankings mean nothing, but they’re interesting nonetheless. Everyone agrees that Luciano, with a lightning-quick bat and excellent raw power, has the potential to be a future star. But at just 19, there is a lot of growing for him to do that will determine whether he stays at shortstop or has to move over.
Bart is a major league catcher whose floor is naturally higher than other Giants prospects. But in his debut last season, he showed holes in his swing that major league pitching attacked (41 strikeouts in 111 plate appearances) and is expected to start 2021 in the minors.
Ramos, at 21, is still growing and thus not a certainty to remain in center. But he’s a tooled-out prospect who does everything well and should start the season in Double-A.
The 22-year-old Bishop similarly is a center fielder whose weight might push him to a corner. He possesses power that few have but needs improved bat-to-ball skills. He hasn’t played above short-season ball, so he has time.
Corry, meanwhile, is the Giants’ top pitching prospect, but the lefty had to stay home in Utah while other prospects were at the alternate site. The Giants felt pitching prospects could better approximate practice on their own, while hitters needed to see pitchers to be able to grow. Corry grew anyway and was pitching with increased velocity (touching 96 mph) in the fall league.