Giants prospects recap: Reggie Crawford debuts, Harrison deals

Erik Miller (Giants #31 prospect) continues his strong run of pitching against the unforgiving Triple-A environment. The left-handed fireballer appeared three times against the Dodgers this week, striking out four while holding the opposition hitless and only allowing just one walk. He was the hardest-throwing pitcher in all three games that he appeared in, topping out at 98.5 mph. Miller is on a roll over the past six outings, allowing just two hits and three walks in seven innings while striking out seven. This type of stuff that we are seeing from Miller warrants him a spot in the 40-man roster and we could see him throw on a big-league mound soon. 

Keaton Winn (Giants #18 prospect) had his best outing of the season last Wednesday with a season-high eight strikeouts in four innings of one-run ball where he also allowed four hits and one walk. It came after his worst start of the season where he allowed a season-high six earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. Winn's splitter has continued to look good and the fastball velocity is certainly there but the slider still has not looked like a legitimate third pitch to envision him other than a knockout, late-inning relief option.

Other pitchers of note: The strikeouts have dried up for Nick Swiney (Giants #40 prospect) once he got promoted to Triple-A where he only punched out four out of the 33 batters that he faced. It is interesting that he is still throwing his four-seam fastball more than any other pitch in his last two appearances. Chris Wright had a good week as he struck out six batters in three innings of one-run ball this week. 

SF Giants Double-A affiliate: Richmond Flying Squirrels

Hitters

Vaun Brown (Giants #6 prospect) had some rust to shed off in Eugene when he finally got the much-anticipated call-up to Richmond but when he did, the results have been good. Brown has logged a base hit in every game that he played in the Double-A level including the final couple of games down in Eugene. He's also flashed his muscle with a double, a triple, and a home run in his first six games though he has yet to try to steal a base so far. Strikeouts will be a big part of Brown's game (11 in his first 27 plate appearances) but the tools have been undeniable so far.

Brady Whalen has left quite a first impression since getting added to the Richmond roster last May 20. A 12th-round selection by the Cardinals back in 2016, the first baseman has always been a solid performer with a wRC+ above 100 for most of his stints in various levels of the St. Louis' farm system, including a 111 wRC+ in the Double-A level. He's logged five hits in his first four games for Richmond including a triple and two home runs. He was struggling to tap into his raw power for much of his stint with the Cardinals so hopefully this change of scenery will help turn his career around.

Other hitters of note: Hayden Cantrelle hit two home runs last Wednesday against Binghamton as a part of a three-hit effort. Marco Luciano (Giants #2 prospect) continues to put together solid at-bats but he's not getting the numbers that he's looking for with a .176 batting average, .690 OPS, and a 31.8% strikeout rate for the season. Wade Meckler (Giants #39 prospect) only appeared in the first game of the Binghamton series after sustaining an unknown injury. 

Pitchers

Don't look now but Carson Seymour (Giants #13 prospect) has had a strong stretch of pitching performance after stumbling out of the gates to begin his 2023 season. Piggybacking Landen Roupp (Giants #10 prospect) last Thursday, Ragsdale put up his best outing of the season as he pitched four scoreless innings of one-hit ball with no walks and a strikeout. Over his last five outings, Ragsdale has a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts and five walks allowed. Ragsdale might ultimately be a pitch-to-contact, sinker-slider pitcher at the next level, but there could be value as long as he stays consistent with his control.

Speaking of Roupp, the Giants still have to unleash him and have him receive the regular workload of most of his fellow pitching prospects, pitching under 50 pitches in his first four outings. It is understandable after sustaining an injury before starting his 2023 season. Roupp struck out a couple of batters in 2.2 innings of one-run ball where his sinker-curveball combination looks like the best in the 2021 draft class right now.

Largely an unassuming prospect, Wil Jensen had the best pitching performance for Richmond this week after throwing 3.1 innings of one-run ball with no walks and seven strikeouts. The 2020 UDFA from Pepperdine relied on his pitchability throughout his pro career and his best outing of the season is the best this season as he also generated a season-high 14 swinging strikes. 

Randy Rodriguez (Giants #25 prospect) has kept his nasty ways going with five strikeouts in his two outings against Binghamton this week. Over his past four outings, Rodriguez racked up 13 strikeouts in eight innings of two-run ball which continues to show the nastiness that he has though the control is still pretty much in question with six walks and only 60% of his pitches for strikes. 

SF Giants High-A affiliate: Eugene Emeralds

A friend of the site Kevin Cunningham was at Eugene this week to watch the Giants' prospects so be sure to check his Tweets as well.

Hitters

Adrian Sugastey (Giants #34 prospect) has been on fire throughout the month of May and this week is no exception with six more hits including a double and a couple of home runs. The Panamanian catcher has logged at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games that resulted in a .404 batting average, four doubles, three big flies, and a 1.110 OPS. He's inserted himself inside the top 10 of the Northwest League batting average leaders as a result. The 4.1% walk rate is something that should be worked upon in the future but it looks like Sugastey is on the rise once again.

Logan Wyatt continues his make-or-break 2023 season with an eye-popping 12-hit series against Everett including three doubles and a home run. While the first baseman is still drawing out his fair share of walks at a 14% clip, the biggest difference is that he is finally drawing out his raw power to games with a .188 ISO this season, undoubtedly the best of his career. He is also striking out at a 22.9% clip which is also a career-high excluding his stints in the Complex League but if Wyatt can continue to pump this kind of numbers this season, we might be talking about him once again as a legitimate prospect.

Victor Bericoto (Giants #32 prospect) continues to look good with yet another nine-hit week against Everett including two doubles. Even though he had his eight-game hitting streak broken last Sunday, the outfielder still enjoyed a strong month of May with a .323 batting average, six doubles, and five home runs. He's also improved his numbers against right-handed pitching this month as he is now hitting .272 against them with a .788 OPS. His outfield defense still needs plenty of work but the bat is turning out to be the real deal. 

Other hitters of note: Damon Dues hit an insane five doubles as part of a nine-hit week for him. Dues has also stolen four bases without getting caught. Jimmy Glowenke's five of his six hits this week went for extra bases with four doubles and a home run. Glowenke is banging on the drum for his Double-A promotion. 

Pitchers

Ben Madison was absolutely lights out this week as he racked up an amazing 10 strikeouts in just four hitless innings of work across two outings this week against Everett. The fastball was crisp and was consistently in the mid-90s while his slider helped him generate an eye-popping 16 swinging strikes across two outings. The 25-year-old has the kind of stuff that teams look for when the Rule 5 draft comes around so it will be interesting if the Giants envision him as someone worth protecting come winter.

His fellow reliever Jose Cruz (Giants #27 prospect) was not too shabby either this week racking up seven strikeouts across 4.1 scoreless innings pitched. Cruz topped out at 94 mph according to Kevin and both his sinker and changeup were highly effective against Everett hitting across his two outings this week. With a 1.62 ERA and a 35.8% strikeout rate so far this season, Cruz is in line for a mid-season promotion.

Even though Eric Silva (Giants #11 prospect) struck out a season-high seven batters for a second straight start, it was still an uneven start for the right-hander as he gave up two runs on four hits and allowed two walks. The slider looked great but the fastball velocity (he was mostly 90-94, up to 95 mph this season) and its control are the biggest knocks against him this season. I noticed that Silva made an adjustment to his pitching motion recently as he was not sinking on his back leg when he drives on the mound. That might be the reason why he was not hitting the 97 mph that we saw from him when he was an amateur. Still, Silva's been effective this season with a 2.88 ERA.

Carson Whisenhunt (Giants #9 prospect) had his worst outing at the High-A level this week against Everett last Thursday as he gave up three runs on five hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. The fastball did topped out at 95 mph but his performance is akin to his outing against Inland Empire a month ago where his fastball control was not pinpointed and his changeup was not the plus-plus pitch that we are used to seeing from him. 

SF Giants Low-A affiliate: San Jose Giants

Hitters

The hitting for the San Jose club has been incredible this season with five hitters inside the top 10 in terms of batting average and four in terms of OPS.

Carter Howell's big week where he went 9-23 with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs helped him propel to the second-best batting average in the California League, hitting .337 with a .898 OPS and eight steals. Howell is old for the level as an 24-year-old center fielder but there are some tools like his plus speed in the outfield as well as his controlled approach at the batter's box that could help him reach the upper-Minors.

Ranking third in batting average is Diego Velasquez (Just missed the list) with a .320 mark as he logged seven more hits in his 18 at-bats against Modesto this week. Velasquez has shown his maturity in the batter's box with a 9.6% walk rate and a 17.1% strikeout rate while also showing improvements in his defense up the middle. There will likely be little pop to his game but there is some utility-type potential for the contact-oriented Velasquez.

P.J. Hilson (GIants #35 prospect) only played three games this week against Modesto but he made the most of the opportunity with at least a hit in every game, including a couple last Sunday. Even though Hilson is rocking a 23.7% strikeout rate this season, he's done a better job in making more contact with just four strikeouts in his last 26 plate appearance though much is still left for desired for the athletic outfielder as he is sporting a .676 OPS in 16 games this season.

Other hitters of note: Alexander Suarez (Giants #41 prospect) saved his series against Modesto with a 4-5 game including a double and a home run. Nine out of the 27 hits that Suarez has this season have gone for extra bases. Andrew Kachel logged a home run and a double this week against Modesto as part of a 1.163 OPS performance. 

Pitchers

Reggie Crawford (Giants #12 prospect) made his much anticipated full-season debut this week against the Modesto Nuts. While he got his first taste of action last Wednesday as the DH where he went 0-3 and was hit by a pitch, it was his professional pitching debut last Saturday that piqued the most interest. Last year's first-rounder was in a strict pitch count in his debut on the mound, having only thrown 34 pitches, but he flashed the upper-first-round potential that he had last year had he not undergone Tommy John surgery. 

Crawford looked the part in terms of mound presence, his fastball looked crisp even though there are no radar readings today, and his secondaries flashed solid potential with the slider ahead of the changeup. The control also looked good which is essential for a guy who has not pitched for more than a year as he darted a couple of fastballs on the edge of the zone. Expect the Giants to be extremely cautious of Reggie's workload where he could not throw for more than 50 pitches in any outing this season. What we have seen last Saturday though is a promising first step towards his ascension to the top of the Giants' top prospects discussion.

Gerelmi Maldonado was the piggyback pitcher for Reggie Crawford last Saturday and was able to pitch the most dominant outing of his 2023 season, with four innings of one-run ball with two hits, a walk allowed, and a career-high six strikeouts. Maldonado's slider was at its sharpest which helped him generate a season-high 14 swinging strikes. Maldonado's two-pitch arsenal gives him a back-end relief potential when he finds consistency with his control.

Jack Choate had his finest outing last Friday since transitioning to the rotation in the middle of the month, pitching three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed, two talks, a hit batter, and four strikeouts. Choate has encountered much more traffic ever since pitching in the rotation with a 5.40 ERA and six walks in 10 innings pitched though he has also struck out 11 batters. This might not be the Choate that we saw in the first month of the season but there are still plenty to be excited with the slinging lefty.

Hayden Birdsong (Just missed the list) continued to rack up the strikeouts with eight more, a career-high, against the Nuts last Thursday which brings his total to 53 for the season, just one shy of the California League lead. Birdsong can throw strikes but there are moments where he will lose the feel for the zone which leads to a high walk rate, now at 12.6% for the season. Finding that fine line between control and command will be crucial for Birdsong's success moving forward.