Five Giants prospects who could join youth movement in 2023

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- It wouldn't have surprised anyone if Patrick Bailey had spent the final week of June in Reading, Pennsylvania, leading the Giants' Double-A affiliate against the Fightin Phils. A normal progression through the upper minors would have given Bailey a few months in Double-A, but instead, he was already established as the big league starter by the time the Giants visited Toronto that week.

Before one of the games, Bailey walked out onto the field and called former teammate Vaun Brown on FaceTime. The two talked about baseball, life and Bailey's young daughter, who had made the trip to Canada.

"That was really cool," Brown said last week. "We're a close-knit group of guys in this organization, and that's really something special."

The wave of prospects finally arrived at Oracle Park this season, and it has included two players -- Bailey and Luis Matos -- who started the year in Double-A. Their former teammates and friends are watching closely, and they know they're part of an organization that is ready to turn things over to the next generation and has moved quickly this season when players have seemed ready for the next step. 

Bailey played just 28 games in the minors before his promotion and Matos got 55. Casey Schmitt arrived after 32 games in Triple-A and hasn't returned.

The top prospects still in the minors are paying attention to how others have been handled, but they're not the only ones. Brett Wisely, Ryan Walker and Tristan Beck weren't really on radars six months ago, but all have been regulars in the big leagues this season. 

As the Giants work through their deadline plans and try to figure out where they need help in the second half, here are five prospects in the upper minors who have a chance to join the youth movement, starting with an obvious choice and the most-talked-about player in the system: 

Kyle Harrison

Since the middle of last season, Farhan Zaidi has been inundated with questions about his top prospect's timetable. When he met with the media just before the All-Star break, Zaidi admitted that Harrison had actually been headed for a July cameo.

"It would be nice to have that bullet to fire at some point, particularly before the deadline, just to have a better sense of what we have," Zaidi said. "We won't be able to do that now in all likelihood."

Harrison has a hamstring strain that the Giants described as "moderate." They haven't offered much as far as severity, but it seems likely that Harrison at least misses July, keeping the Giants from taking a look before deciding whether they have to add more pitching at the deadline.

The timing of the injury put the Giants in a tricky spot when it comes to the left-hander's development. Harrison has been on a strict pitch count, and when you throw in the hamstring uncertainty, it's hard to imagine him getting properly built up this season to get deep into games down the stretch. But Zaidi did say the Giants "expect him to pitch for us at some point this season."

Could Harrison end up being the Giants' version of a young David Price? The hard-throwing lefty made five appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays in September of 2008 and then got some huge relief outs during a World Series run. The next year, he joined the rotation for good.

Marco Luciano 

The 21-year-old has long been on the same path as Matos, who was part of the same international signing class and his teammate in the low minors. They were supposed to start the year together in Richmond, but a back injury kept Luciano out of spring training games and he didn't make his season debut until May 3. 

The most important thing right now is health, and Luciano said his back is fine. 

"I feel good," he said last week. "Everything is normal."

Luciano has a .789 OPS overall and 11 homers in 202 at-bats. He has played a solid shortstop, continuing to push back on the perception that he'll ultimately move off the position. The numbers haven't jumped off the page yet, but Matos showed that even a 21-year-old can zoom through the upper minors when it all clicks into place. 

"He's in a really good spot right now," Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey said of Luciano. "He's progressed tremendously defensively since coming to Richmond and he's only going to get better. He's starting to get some confidence. The at-bats are really good. The swing is incredible when he makes contact, but he doesn't chase and it's going to help him out down the road. The numbers aren't showing what he really is but it's just a matter of time.

"It's kind of like the Patrick Bailey scenario where next month he may hit .500 and be in the big leagues by the end (of the season). It would not surprise me one bit."

Vaun Brown

There weren't many Giants prospects who forced the issue last year. Brown was a notable exception, quickly proving that he was too good for Low-A and High-A. The 25-year-old center fielder might have battled Matos for that June outfield promotion had it not been for knee discomfort that cost him spring at-bats and kept him out of Double-A games until May 18.

Brown has a .812 OPS in a tough league for hitters, with eight homers and 10 stolen bases. Across three levels this season (he did a rehab assignment in A-ball), he's 15-for-15 on the bases, and he said his knee "feels great."

Matos was promoted in part because of improved plate discipline, and Brown is working to cut down on the strikeouts -- he has 56 to just nine walks -- and have a more consistent approach.

"I'm working on not flying open and spinning, and really just staying true up the middle and to the opposite field, which is what I'm used to doing," he said. "Obviously sometimes you can rotate a little too hard and spin off some. I'm just tweaking my lower half to make sure I stay true to the middle of the field."

Brown is a plus runner and defender who can play all three outfield spots. If he gets hot at the plate, he could move very quickly given the lack of right-handed outfield depth in the organization.

Mason Black

Last year, if you asked team officials or roving instructors to name a player nobody was paying enough attention to, the choice was just about always Black. Taken in the third round of the 2021 draft, the right-hander posted a 3.21 ERA across both A-ball levels last year, with a solid walk rate and 136 strikeouts in 112 innings. 

Black had a 5.79 ERA after giving up six earned in his final start of May, but he allowed just 15 hits and four earned runs over his next seven starts, striking out 42 in 30 1/3 innings. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A, where he threw five shutout innings -- with eight strikeouts, four walks and two hits -- in his debut. 

"He's progressively gotten better and better every time out," Pelfrey said. "He's very in-tune with his body and how his body works and the pitches that he's throwing. He's really focused on the details and understanding what he can do and what he can't and he's pitching to his strengths more than not."

Black topped out at 97 mph in his Triple-A debut and sat at 94-95. Like Harrison, he's working on two sliders, a tighter one and also a sweeper. 

"It's just about understanding how to use them," Pelfrey said. "Obviously the fastball is going to play and he moves it around the zone well, which opens up the door for virtually everything else he's got."

The Giants have a seemingly endless number of "bulk innings" options at the big league level, but Black looks poised to join the group of Keaton Winn, Beck and Sean Hjelle, who have filled the gaps when the big league club has needed bullpen or rotation help.

Tyler Fitzgerald 

Triple-A players often play out of position, but there was something different about Fitzgerald starting in center field a month ago. There are evaluators in the organization who have long wondered if the tall, speedy shortstop could thrive in a utility role, and the River Cats have now used him at short, second, third and in the outfield. After posting a .999 OPS in Double-A, he has a .805 OPS with 10 homers in Triple-A. 

Drafted in the fourth round in 2019, Fitzgerald has flashed solid power in the minors, but it's another trait that could make him interesting when rosters expand in September. He has 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts this season and is 56-for-64 in the minor leagues. In college, he was 45-for-53.

"It's just confidence, just going whenever I get on," he said last month. "Last year I had a lot of success but I didn't go as much as I should. Seeing at big league camp how much the Giants value stolen bases, I figured I would come in this year more aggressive and use that and not just have it be another part of my game, but one of the key parts of my game."  

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