Heliot Ramos, the Giants’ 2017 first-round draft pick, is the club’s top prospect according to a list released on Monday by MLB.com. Ramos, 18, is a centerfield prospect with five-tool potential and according to MLB “has the highest ceiling of any Giants prospect since Buster Posey.”
Ramos joins three other outfield prospects in the Giants’ top five, including No.2 Chris Shaw, No.3 Steven Duggar, and No.5 Austin Slater. Starting right handed pitcher Tyler Beede is also included in the top five at No.4.
This year’s list looks slightly different than the 2017 version, that featured Christian Arroyo and Bryan Reynolds. Arroyo was shipped off to Tampa Bay this offseason as part of the Evan Longoria trade, while Reynolds was traded to Pittsburg in the Andrew McCutchen deal.
As of right now, Duggar is the only of the club’s top five prospects expected to feature prominently with the big league squad at the start of the season. Though he hasn’t seen a single pitch at the major league level, Giants executive Brian Sabean said on KNBR last week that Duggar is an above-average MLB center fielder right now, and that he is the club’s pick to be the starter against right handed pitchers.
Beede also has an outside chance to make the squad considering the Giants are currently holding open competition for the final two spots in their rotation. Beede, who struggled at AAA Sacramento last season, is far from the favorite to win one of those spots, however, with Ty Blach, Chris Stratton, Andrew Suarez all likely ahead of him.
Left-handed pitcher Garrett Williams experienced the biggest year-to-year jump going from 28th to 9th, while right-handed pitcher Jordan Johnson had the biggest fall, going from 9th to 29th. According to MLB, Miguel Gomez is the best hitter on the list, while Shaw has the most power. Eighteen of the 30 prospects were selected through the draft.
Here’s MLB’s full list:
