Who is the 19th-best prospect on the Giants farm?
Spring Training is right around the corner, so the smell of baseball is in the air. And as we take those glorious deep inhalations, we move forward with the 2024 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, which will see us rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.
Coming in at No. 18 is right-handed pitcher Landen Roupp, who slides up two slots from his placement at No. 20 in last year’s CPL.
Roupp, who turned 25 in September, was the Giants 12th-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. He’s battled injuries, but when he’s been on the field he’s been nothing short of dominant.
2023 was a prime example of that. Roupp spent the year with AA Richmond, where he made just 10 starts before his season came to a conclusion at the end of June. But his numbers in those 10 starts were nothing short of jaw-dropping: in 31 innings, the 6-foot-2 righty allowed just 22 hits, nine walks, and one home run, while striking out 42 batters. He ended the year with a 1.74 ERA and a 2.15 FIP, with 12.2 strikeouts and just 2.6 walks per nine innings. His groundball rate was the lowest of his career, but still a quite lovely 45.5%.
With a great curveball, a good slider, and strong command, Roupp’s path might depend on how good his fastball can be. That — and health — may determine whether Roupp can continue to move forward as a starter, or if his future is in the bullpen.
It will also be interesting to see where the Giants place Roupp. He ended 2022 in AA, so he has a total of 15 starts and 57.1 innings with Richmond. Given how good his numbers have been there, an opening assignment with AAA Sacramento may be the move.
Now let’s add to the list, and we’ve got some new names to welcome today!
The list so far
- Kyle Harrison — LHP
- Marco Luciano — SS
- Bryce Eldridge — RF/RHP
- Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
- Rayner Arias — CF
- Keaton Winn — RHP
- Walker Martin — SS
- Reggie Crawford — LHP/1B
- Hayden Birdsong — RHP
- Mason Black — RHP
- Wade Meckler — OF
- Grant McCray — CF
- Heliot Ramos — OF
- Aeverson Arteaga — SS
- Tyler Fitzgerald — UTIL
- Joe Whitman — LHP
- Vaun Brown — OF
- Landen Roupp — RHP
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
On to No. 19!
No. 19 prospect nominees
Victor Bericoto — 22.1-year old OF — .771 OPS/106 wRC+ in AA (204 PA); .886 OPS/132 wRC+ in High-A (309 PA)
Gerelmi Maldonado — 20.1-year old RHP — 4.71 ERA/4.83 FIP in Low-A (65 IP)
Trevor McDonald — 22.11-year old RHP — 0.96 ERA/2.85 FIP in High-A (37.2 IP)
Erik Miller — 25.11-year old LHP — 2.77 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA (52 IP); 0.87 ERA/1.53 FIP in AA (10.1 IP)
Carson Seymour — 25.1-year old RHP — 3.99 ERA/3.45 FIP in AA (112.2 IP)
Kai-Wei Teng — 25.1-year old RHP — 4.22 ERA/4.38 FIP in AAA (79 IP); 4.75 ERA/3.40 FIP in AA (47.1 IP)
Diego Velasquez — 20.3-year old 2B/SS — .821 OPS/125 wRC+ in Low-A (517 PA)