Yesterday, I started to take stock of some of the highest-ranking San Francisco Giants prospects. I planned to look at how the stock had changed for the top 44 prospects, as determined by our preseason Community Prospect List. I only made it halfway through, then decided it was best to break this into two articles.
So here’s the second half, as we look at the prospects ranked 23 through 44 by our community. As was the case yesterday, I’m judging their stock based on how they were ranked by the community, not how I individually ranked them or how prospect outlets did.
23. Maui Ahuna — SS
Stock: Up…?
ACL: 15 games, 54 PA, .239/.321/522, 2 home runs, 9.3% BB rate, 33.3% K rate, 2 SB, 106 wRC+
Low-A: 37 games, 168 PA, .266/.375/.427, 3 home runs, 11.3% BB rate, 25.0% K rate, 9 SB, 124 wRC+
High-A: 11 games, 52 PA, .311/.404/.467, 0 home runs, 13.5% BB rate, 26.9% K rate, 1 SB, 142 wRC+
MiLB: 63 games, 274 PA, .269/.370/.453, 5 home runs, 11.3% BB rate, 27.0% K rate, 12 SB, 124 wRC+
Ahuna’s season was hard to judge. He hit the ball well, though his pre-draft concerns of a swing highly susceptibly to whiffery certainly were on display. He didn’t play quite well enough to get promoted to High-A Eugene on merit, but went there anyway to accommodate Gavin Kilen and Jhonny Level’s arrivals in Low-A San Jose, and then he made the absolute most of it.
The best part of Ahuna’s season was that, after spending nearly all of his debut season as a designated hitter due to an injury, he finally spent some time on the dirt, showing off his magical defensive chops in the middle of the diamond. It’s hard to knock a guy who hit well at both A-Ball levels and looks like the real deal defensively. But it’s hard to give too much props to a player who, a year after only playing 34 games, was limited to 63 and still has a huge issue with strikeouts.
24. Victor Bericoto — 1B/OF
Stock: Slipping
AA: 93 games, 393 PA, .267/.351/.433, 12 home runs, 10.9% BB rate, 23.4% K rate, 2 SB, 131 wRC+
AAA: 11 games, 46 PA, .196/.196/.283, 1 home run, 0.0% BB rate, 19.6% K rate, 0 SB, 17 wRC+
MiLB: 110 games, 464 PA, .271/.343/.448, 15 home runs, 9.5% BB rate, 22.8% K rate, 3 SB, 126 wRC+
Bericoto rebounded from a rough 2024 in which he hit almost exactly league average in a full season with AA Richmond … after already getting 204 plate appearances at the level the year prior. In fact, he hit quite well in the Eastern League this season.
And yet, it felt like treading water at best. Bericoto was a thrilling power prospect when he arrived in Richmond as a 21-year old who had just beaten the brakes off of High-A. Now he’s still at the level, about to turn 24, and headed for Minor League free agency.
This year was a case of Bericoto not growing as much as his surroundings. He earned an early-season promotion to AAA, but quickly suffered an injury. By the time he was healthy again, Bryce Eldridge was the everyday first baseman in AAA, and Bericoto was returned to Richmond, where he would ride out the end of the season … and perhaps his Giants career. Even with a bounceback year, his path to the Majors — at least with this franchise — feels much more tenuous than it did a year ago.
25. Robert Hipwell — 1B/3B
Stock: Sideways
Low-A: 102 games, 429 PA, .241/.374/.450, 11 home runs, 15.6% BB rate, 31.2% K rate, 3 SB, 127 wRC+
Hipwell’s first full season was a mixed bag. He showed off a keen eye, with a very high walk rate. He displayed the type of power you hope to see from a corner infielder, with 11 home runs (eighth in the Cal League), 28 doubles (third), and six triples (third), good for a .209 isolated slugging (second, minimum: 200 plate appearances). He also had a modest batting average and struck out 31.2% of the time, which isn’t really what you want from a college bat in a full season of A-Ball, especially since he had 29 games of seasoning after being drafted in the sixth round last year. As happens with a lot of prospects after their first full year, Hipwell’s ceiling looks higher than before, but his floor looks lower.
26. Jonah Cox — OF
Stock: Slightly down
High-A: 126 games, 597 plate appearances, .257/.333/.398, 10 home runs, 9.0% BB rate, 22.4% K rate, 58 stolen bases, 102 wRC+
Cox mostly held serve in his second season with the organization but, as was the case with Bericoto, the players around him simply did more. Cox’s main calling card is his center field defense, but the organization had him spend the bulk of the year manning a corner so that Bo Davidson could play in the middle. And while Davidson and fellow young outfielder Scott Bandura worked their way to AA during the year, Cox spent the entirety of the season in Eugene.
He hit will enough for a glove and leg-first player. He did a good job cutting into his strikeout rate and doubled his home run total, while hitting right at league average. He also took a small step backwards on the basepaths, though: his 58 stolen bases matched his 2024 total, but he played 26 more games (and had two more attempts). All in all, a good year … but not as good as the players around him.
27. Josh Bostick — RHP
Stock: Up
High-A: 24 games (23 starts), 119.0 innings, 3.71 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 10.51 K/9, 2.95 BB/9
Bostick’s line is a little funny. I’m not used to seeing someone post quality strikeout and walk rates and have their FIP still be trailing so far behind their ERA, but that’s a story for a smarter person than I. It’s hard to say Bostick did anything other than raise his stock when he moved up a level, lowered his ERA, FIP, and walk rate, and raised his strikeout rate and groundball rate (the one knock is that his home run/fly ball rate nearly doubled, which is probably a big part of the FIP).
But the overall numbers don’t really tell the whole story. The second half of Bostick’s season was some of the best baseball that we saw on the farm this year. From the start of July through the end of the season, Bostick made 11 starts and pitched 62.1 innings, while allowing just 47 hits and 17 earned runs. Most impressively, though, was that in those 62.1 innings he struck out 76 batters … and walked just 10.
28. Argenis Cayama — RHP
Stock: Way, way up
ACL: 12 games (12 starts), 48.0 innings, 2.25 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 10.31 K/9, 3.38 BB/9
Low-A: 6 games (3 starts), 14.1 innings, 8.16 ERA, 6.93 FIP, 4.40 K/9, 6.28 BB/9
MiLB: 18 games (15 starts), 62.1 innings, 3.61 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 8.95 K/9, 4.04 BB/9
Cayama entered the year with a lot of momentum after there were plenty of offseason reports of how high the organization was on him. And he only built on that momentum in his first season stateside. He struggled mightily in a late-season promotion to Low-A, but you can throw that out … he was just 18 while in the Cal League (he since turned 19), and was nearly three times over the innings total from his debut season in 2024. The numbers in the Complex League were very strong, and the reports from scouts were even stronger. Along with Luis De La Torre and Keyner Martinez — two players we won’t talk about today since they weren’t on the CPL — Cayama is part of an utterly dynamic trio of young arms.
29. Jack Choate — LHP
Stock: Slightly down
AA: 29 games (24 starts), 102.2 innings, 3.51 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 10.78 K/9, 4.47 BB/9
Choate had a pretty solid season from start to finish, so why the stock down? Part of it is, in keeping with the theme of this article, that the players around him simply took bigger steps forward. Choate was clustered on the CPL with Bostick, Cayama, and Jacob Bresnahan, and it’s hard for me to see him still being viewed as in that cluster, to make no mention of the players who came roaring up from behind, like the aforementioned De La Torre and Martinez. But, of greater concern, part of it is that it’s just harder to see him being a quality Major Leaguer than it was a year ago. Choate is funky — and effective — but his fastball just isn’t MLB caliber. I’m not sure he’s funky enough to be a starter without a good fastball, and barely anyone can be a reliever without a fastball. The Giants seemed to recognize this issue when they moved Choate to the bullpen late in the year, only to throw him back in the rotation a few games later.
30. Jakob Christian — 1B/OF
Stock: Up
Low-A: 70 games, 318 PA, .272/.355/.460, 10 home runs, 10.1% BB rate, 28.3% K rate, 12 SB, 121 wRC+
High-A: 23 games, 92 PA, .304/.380/.570, 4 home runs, 8.7% BB rate, 34.8% K rate, 3 SB, 154 wRC+
MiLB: 93 games, 410 PA, .279/.361/.484, 14 home runs, 9.8% BB rate, 29.8% K rate, 15 SB, 128 wRC+
If I had to guess, Christian will rank lower on this year’s CPL than on last year’s. But that’s less about his stock, and more about how many improvements the farm has made … both in terms of development from within the system, and the addition of talent from outside it. All in all, it was a very strong first full season for the 2024 fifth-round pick, who showed an ability to draw walks, hit for average, and hit for power, while even throwing in some stolen bases. His strikeout rate is way too high, but then again, we’re at the part in the CPL where you expect a few warts in a player’s profile.
31. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
Stock: Way up
Low-A: 22 games (22 starts), 93.0 innings, 2.61 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 12.00 K/9, 4.16 BB/9
Bresnahan was a highly-intriguing teenage southpaw when the Giants acquired him in the Alex Cobb trade last year, but his performance upon entering San Francisco’s system was a disaster. But this year? Oh my goodness. Bresnahan, who turned 20 over the summer, established himself as one of the most exciting arms in the system. I don’t think I’d put him quite in that trio with Cayama, De La Torre, and Martinez, but he’s a 1B to their 1A. His 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings ranked 10th out of the 81 Cal League pitchers who threw at least 50 innings.
32. Cole Waites — RHP
Stock: Down (and sad)
ACL: 1 game, 1.0 inning, 0.00 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 0.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
AAA: 4 games, 3.2 innings, 0.00 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 7.36 K/9, 4.91 BB/9
MiLB: 5 games, 4.2 innings, 0.00 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 5.79 K/9, 3.86 BB/9
The good of Waites’ season is that he tied a Minor League record for lowest ERA. And that’s where the good news ends. Waites, who once possessed one of the best fastballs on the planet, returned from Tommy John surgery after missing all of 2024. But he played just one game in July upon his return, before being shut down for two more months. He finally returned in September, and played a few games before the year ended. The lack of good health is concerning, and the lack of life on his once-electric fastball is equally concerning.
33. Juan Sánchez — LHP
Stock: Stagnant
Sánchez didn’t play at all this year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. But, unlike fellow injured pitchers such as Waites and Reggie Crawford, he didn’t have any injury setbacks, either. He was out all year, as expected, and will be healthy for Spring Training, as expected.
34. Hunter Bishop — OF
Stock: Down
AAA: 96 games, 356 PA, .252/.316/.406, 7 home runs, 7.6% BB rate, 29.8% K rate, 11 SB, 87 wRC+
As I mentioned in the intro, I’m evaluating every player relative to their ranking by the community, and let’s be honest: we did Bishop dirty here. Placing him in the CPL last year was a bit of a stretch; I don’t think his stock actually dropped relative to last year, I think he just got thrust into a spot too high. As is, Bishop had another tough year, though he was fully healthy, which was great to see. But he hit below league average, his plus-plus power and speed tools, which earned him a first-round selection back in 2019, weren’t on display, and by the end of the year the Giants were using him very sparingly, as it was clear he was an afterthought on the team’s outfield depth chart. Hopefully there’s a resurgence in there somewhere, but Bishop hasn’t had a good year since his short draft season, and is headed for free agency and likely a new team.
35. Ryan Reckley — 2B
Stock: Down, again
ACL: 14 games, 48 PA, .306/.479/.472, 1 home run, 25.0% BB rate, 22.9% K rate, 3 SB, 155 wRC+
Low-A: 43 games, 170 PA, .171/.276/.212, 0 home runs, 12.9% BB rate, 28.2% K rate, 4 SB, 45 wRC+
MiLB: 58 games, 219 PA, .197/.320/262, 1 home run, 15.5% BB rate, 27.4% K rate, 69 wRC+
Reckley continues to be a savant at drawing walks, and his defense improved considerably upon a move from shortstop to second base, with occasional outings in the outfield. But other than that? It was another ugly year for a player who has never lived up to the hype after being one of the most notable international free agents in recent memory for the Giants. He showed some flashes late in the year after some time focusing on development rather than playing in games, but it feels like his time is running out, which is pretty shocking.
36. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
Stock: A little down
Low-A: 23 games, 20 starts, 59.0 innings, 3.97 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 10.53 K/9, 6.71 BB/9
Maldonado made his return after missing the entire 2024 season with Tommy John surgery. And upon his return, he was still extremely electric. His strikeouts were down from his 2023 in the Cal League, though not by too much (11.22 per nine vs. 10.53), and his groundball rate spiked (47.1% to 57.4%). His ERA was strong, in part because he was allowing less hard contact, with a home run rate that was more than slashed in half. The walks were awful, though, and while one expects struggles with command after Tommy John, Maldonado was already working from a bad place in that regard. It’s encouraging that his fastball is still hitting triple digits, but even in a post-TJ season, you hope for a player to not spend a full year at a level they’ve already spent a full year at.
37. Onil Perez — C
Stock: Sideways
High-A: 43 games, 177 PA, .271/.401/.361, 2 home runs, 16.4% BB rate, 12.4% K rate, 7 SB, 121 wRC+
AA: 18 games, 62 PA, .189/.290/.245, 0 home runs, 12.9% BB rate, 4.8% K rate, 2 SB, 65 PA
MiLB: 61 games, 239 PA, .249/.372/.330, 2 home runs, 15.5% BB rate, 10.5% K rate, 9 SB, 106 wRC+
Perez had a nice season, but kind of just held serve. He kind of conquered High-A, but also was returned to Eugene after a short stint in AA, which suggests either that his stats have outpaced his development, or the Giants have just prioritized Drew Cavanaugh over him (or both). He still has a preternatural ability to both draw walks and limit strikeouts: his per-nine stats there ranked 10th and third, respectively, out of the 58 Giants prospects with at least 200 plate appearances this year. But he just doesn’t do a lot of damage when he hits the ball, and likely never will. It was a good year, but one that still highlighted how good he’ll have to be defensively to carve out a role in the Majors.
38. Adrián Sugastey — C
Stock: A little up
AA: 92 games, 355 PA, .231/.284/.343, 8 home runs, 6.8% BB rate, 11.0% K rate, 4 SB, 84 wRC+
On the surface, it might seem unfair that I’m giving Sugastey a better stock grade than Perez, when he had a considerably worse offensive year (though his came at a higher level, while being the slightly younger player). But the reality is that, as with Perez, Sugastey will likely never be a good enough hitter to make the Majors unless he’s standing out defensively. So we should focus on standing out defensively … which Sugastey did. It started in Spring Training, where Sugastey earned rave reviews for how well he worked with the coaching staff. And then it continued into the season, where Sugastey had a phenomenal defensive year that featured 50 — yes, 50 — runners caught stealing. He looks like a Major League catcher, and there were enough flashes on offense to inspire a little confidence there, as well. He should start 2026 as the primary catcher in AAA, assuming Jesús Rodríguez is in the Majors.
39. Oliver Tejada — OF
Stock: Sideways
ACL: 57 games, 230 PA, .258/.371/.389, 1 home run, 9.1% BB rate, 20.9% K rate, 7 SB, 103 wRC+
The overall numbers weren’t too notable for Tejada, but those walk and strikeout rates are pretty impressive for an 18-year old in his stateside debut. I wouldn’t say he did enough for us to be excited about him, but he certainly did enough to warrant his placement on last year’s CPL, and make him a prospect worth keeping an eye on.
40. Yohendry Sanchez — C
Stock: Down
DSL: 42 games, 170 PA, .275/.359/.394, 1 home run, 10.6% BB rate, 13.5% K rate, 0 SB, 101 wRC+
Sanchez earned the highest bonus in the team’s 2024 international class, even ahead of Jhonny Level. And he was thoroughly dominant in his 12-game rookie sample before suffering an injury. But his second year was a splash of cold water. The walk and strikeout numbers were quite good, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling campaign, as he hit right at league average with limited power. We’ll have to wait until he’s in the states to get a better feel for his defensive abilities.
41. Jairo Pomares — OF
Stock: Way down, and way gone
AA: 76 games, 299 PA, .209/.268/.352, 9 home runs, 7.4% BB rate, 26.8% K rate, 9 SB, 82 wRC+
A few years ago, Pomares was a top-10 player on the CPL, but it’s been a slow and steady downhill fall since then. His 2025 was far and away his worst season as a pro, one which saw him struggle to fix his strikeout issues, while barely staying above the Mendoza Line, and not flexing much of the power that made him such an intriguing prospect early in his career. As a result, he was released during the season, and didn’t even catch on with another team.
42. Will Bednar — RHP
Stock: Excitedly up
AA: 36 games, 50.2 innings, 4.97 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 14.92 K/9, 6.75 BB/9
AAA: 2 games, 1.2 innings, 27.00 ERA, 7.57 FIP, 0.00 K/9, 5.40 BB/9
MiLB: 38 games, 52.1 innings, 5.68 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 14.45 K/9, 6.71 BB/9
Well, all credit to the community on this one. If I were ranking Bednar based on my preseason projects, the stock would have risen a lot higher, because I didn’t think he belonged within a stone’s throw of the CPL last year. He was absolutely awful in AA in 2024, sporting a 7.71 ERA and walking well over a batter per inning.
Something clicked this year, and then something else clicked midway through the season. Bednar boosted both the velocity and movement of his fastball, and became a highly dynamic reliever. His 14.92 strikeouts per nine innings led the 101 Eastern League pitchers who threw at least 50 innings, with Mets phenom Jonah Tong the only player in his same stratosphere. And even accounting for his struggles in AAA, his 14.45 strikeouts per nine innings across the year was eighth in all of the Minor Leagues, among the 1,383 pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown. He’ll have to figure out the walks, but even that featured a big improvement as the year went on: in his final nine appearances with Richmond, he had 26 strikeouts against just five walks in 13 innings. In an era where most relievers need to throw gas to succeed in the Majors, Bednar looks like he could be part of patching up San Francisco’s relief corps, perhaps as early as mid-2026.
43. Charlie Szykowny — 1B/3B
Stock: Mildly up
High-A: 124 games, 549 plate appearances, .276/.339/.478, 21 home runs, 5.3% BB rate, 18.6% K rate, 5 SB, 120 wRC+
Szykowny had a slow start to the year, but went on an absolute tear to end the season, as he really found his offensive groove. After having just two home runs in both April and May, he had five in June, four in the break-shortened July, and eight in August. And he had one of the best power years in the system while striking out at a very tidy rate. So why only slightly up? Despite the success — and despite it being his age-25 season — the Giants kept him in Eugene all year, a sign that his numbers were perhaps outpacing his development. And he switched from exclusively being a third baseman to being a first baseman who occasionally played third, which puts even more pressure on his bat to succeed. Still a good year, though.
44. Jose Bello — RHP
Stock: Sideways all the way out of town
ACL (SF): 8 games, 18.0 innings, 2.00 ERA, 1.89 FIP, 14.00 K/9, 1.50 BB/9
FCL (BOS): 5 games, 1 start, 14.1 innings, 3.14 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 10.05 K/9, 3.77 BB/9
Low-A (BOS): 7 games, 4 starts, 23.1 innings, 3.09 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 6.56 K/9, 5.79 BB/9
MiLB: 20 games, 5 starts, 55.2 innings, 2.75 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 9.86 K/9, 3.88 BB/9
Bello, along with Cayama, made for a pair of intriguing pitching prospects who were gaining a whole lot of momentum and attention as the year began. I think, had Bello stayed in town, he would have been supplanted by Martinez and De La Torre in that grouping, but he was off to an utterly dynamic start to the year when he was shipped to Boston in the Rafael Devers trade. He pitched notably worse for the Red Sox.
Now that we’ve looked back on last year’s CPL … it’s time start this year’s! We’ll be back tomorrow to do exactly that.
