2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 23

Feb 6, 2023 - 7:24 PM

Note: Today is nomination day, so head to the comments to add some new names to the pool!

We’re officially halfway through the 2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List. The goal is to rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization, and we have ranked 22 of them.

Coming in at No. 22 on the list is the second catcher to appear in this year’s CPL: Adrian Sugastey, who rose five spots after being No. 27 a year ago.

On paper, Sugastey’s 2022 wasn’t very notable. Save for a rehab stint in the ACL, the right-handed hitter spent the entire season with Low-A San Jose, where his numbers were fairly uninspiring, as he slashed .240/.329/.333, good for a 79 wRC+. But a deeper look shows reason for optimism. Sugastey was very young for the league, as he didn’t turn 20 until well after the season ended. He had excellent control of the plate, striking out in just 15.6% of his plate appearances, which is a fairly remarkable number for such a young player.

That continued in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit 10-26 and only struck out once. There have been positive reports about his defense and game-calling as a catcher, which is always good news. If Sugastey can add a little bit of power in his age-20 season, which will likely begin in High-A Eugene, he could rocket up this list.

Now on we march to add a 23rd name, and to nominate some new prospects.

The list so far

1. Kyle Harrison — LHP
2. Marco Luciano — SS
3. Casey Schmitt — 3B
4. Luis Matos — CF
5. Vaun Brown — OF
6. Grant McCray — CF
7. Aeverson Arteaga — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Reggie Crawford — LHP/DH
10. Patrick Bailey — C
11. Mason Black — RHP
12. Heliot Ramos — OF
13. Eric Silva — RHP
14. Jairo Pomares — OF
15. Cole Waites — RHP
16. Keaton Winn — RHP
17. R.J. Dabovich — RHP
18. Tyler Fitzgerald — INF
19. Ryan Murphy — RHP
20. Landen Roupp — RHP
21. Will Wilson — INF
22. Adrian Sugastey — C

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

On to No. 23!

No. 23 prospect nominees

Rayner Arias — 16.9-year old OF, yet to debut
Tristan Beck — 26.7-year old RHP, 4.28 FIP in AAA (97.1 IP), 3.34 FIP in AA (14 IP)
Will Bednar — 22.7-year old RHP, 6.26 FIP in Low-A (43 IP)
Trevor McDonald — 21.11-year old RHP, 3.30 FIP in High-A (11 IP), 3.74 FIP in Low-A (90.1 IP)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page.

Reminder: voting (and nominating!) is now in the comments!