Who is the 36th-best prospect on the farm?
Note: Today is nomination day! Head to the comment section to nominate the next group of youngsters for the CPL!
There’s a full squad of San Francisco Giants players in Scottsdale for Spring Training and, near them, a larger squad of players at Minor League camp. And while they play baseball, we pluck a few of them out to add to the 2025 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, which will see us rank the top 44 prospects in the system. And we’re almost done!
The last chapter wasn’t a close one. Earning a full 50% of the vote in a five-player ballot is second baseman Ryan Reckley, who has been voted as the No. 35 prospect in the Giants system. It’s a rise of nine spots for Reckley, who was the final name on last year’s list.
It’s been an odd career for the switch-hitter from the Bahamas, who was the shining star of the Giants 2022 international signing class. He came with a whole lot of hype — $2.2 million signing bonuses will do that to you — but struggled to live up to it. His debut season in the Dominican Summer League was limited by injuries to just 11 games, during which time he sported just a .592 OPS and an 86 wRC+, with only one extra-base hit (a double) in 46 plate appearances.
Still, due to his prospect pedigree, he was moved to the states for the 2023 season, and that’s where his status really took a hit. In 45 games in the Arizona Complex League, Reckley had just a .596 OPS and a 64 wRC+. He showed a tiny bit more power, with four home runs, but was completely lacking in line drives and damage in the gaps: in a shocking move given his speed, Reckley had just one double and no triples in 173 plate appearances. Much of that was due to the fact that he simply wasn’t making any contact. His OPS was propped up largely by a 19.1% walk rate, but when he swung the bat nothing happened: he had just a .164 batting average and a terrifying 37.6% strikeout rate.
To make matters worse, Reckley committed 23 errors — more than one every other game. The consensus seemed to be that shortstop was not his position. And that, combined with the offensive struggles, wiped away his exciting prospect status.
But some of that prospect status came roaring back in 2024. Reckley, who turned 20 at the end of the season, returned to the Complex League, this time playing second base. And for the first time in his career, he looked like the high-profile prospect the Giants thought they had signed in 2022.
His numbers exploded across the board, from .164/.335/.261 the year prior, to .283/.450/.489, good for a .939 OPS and a 145 wRC+. His walk rate stayed elite (20.0%), his strikeout rate was slashed dramatically (albeit to a still concerning 27.5%), and he started to find power and gaps, with nine extra-base hits in 120 plate appearances … and his defense at second base was much better than it had been at shortstop.
After the ACL season, the Giants moved Reckley to Low-A San Jose, where he’ll surely begin the 2025 season. He only had a brief cup of coffee in A-Ball, with mixed results. In 19 games he hit .243/.308/.343, for a .651 OPS and a 76 wRC+. Seeing him maintain a decent batting average was wonderful, though the strikeouts did return in droves, as he whiffed at a 38.5% rate.
2025 will be a critical year for Reckley, whom the Giants have also lightly experimented with in center field. If he can build on the great strides he made last year, he could quickly become one of the team’s most exciting prospects once more.
Now let’s add to the list, and don’t forget that it’s nomination day!
The list so far
- Bryce Eldridge — 1B
- Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
- James Tibbs III — OF
- Rayner Arias — OF
- Josuar de Jesus González — SS
- Jhonny Level — SS
- Mason Black — RHP
- Dakota Jordan — OF
- Joe Whitman — LHP
- Reggie Crawford — LHP
- Bo Davidson — OF
- Aeverson Arteaga — SS
- Wade Meckler — OF
- Walker Martin — SS
- Trevor McDonald — RHP
- Diego Velasquez — SS/2B
- Lisbel Diaz — OF
- Sabin Ceballos — 3B
- Carson Ragsdale — RHP
- Trent Harris — RHP
- Carson Seymour — RHP
- Jose Ortiz — CF
- Maui Ahuna — SS
- Victor Bericoto — OF/1B
- Robert Hipwell — 3B
- Jonah Cox — CF
- Josh Bostick — RHP
- Argenis Cayama — RHP
- Jack Choate — LHP
- Jakob Christian — OF
- Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
- Cole Waites — RHP
- Juan Sánchez — LHP
- Hunter Bishop — OF
- Ryan Reckley — 2B
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 35 prospect nominees
Gerelmi Maldonado — 21.1-year old RHP — did not play in 2024 (in 2023, 4.71 ERA/4.83 FIP in 65 Low-A IP)
Spencer Miles — 24.6-year old RHP — 4.91 ERA/2.79 FIP in ACL (7.1 IP)
Onil Perez — 22.5-year old C — .637 OPS/87 wRC+ in High-A (350 PA)
Adrián Sugastey — 22.3-year old C — .545 OPS/54 wRC+ in AA (191 PA)
Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2024 season.