No surprises there.
The Minor League Baseball season has already concluded, and on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants season will end. Which means that, for most players in the organization, competitive baseball is over for the foreseeable future. But not for a handful of prospects who will head to the desert for the Arizona Fall League, which begins on October 7 and runs through a championship game on November 16.
As they usually do, the Giants are sending eight players — the maximum allowed — to the Scottsdale Scorpions, the AFL team that is comprised of players from the Giants, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Toronto Blue Jays. And after much speculation, we finally know who those eight players are.
The headliner is someone we already knew would be headed to Arizona: first baseman Bryce Eldridge, the consensus top prospect in the Giants system, and one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball. When Eldridge was promoted to AAA Sacramento it was reported that he would head to the AFL after the season ended, so this news comes as no surprise.
By now, we’re all familiar with Eldridge’s story. Despite still being a teenager (he’ll turn 20 during the AFL season) the 2023 first-round pick worked his way through four levels this season. He hit .289/.372/.513 across those four levels, bashed 23 home runs (easily the most on the Giants farm), and finished as one of three finalists for Baseball America’s Hitting Prospect of the Year award. He looks destined for both an early 2025 MLB debut, and stardom. Let’s hope for each, especially the latter.
Here’s a little bit about the seven other players the Giants are sending to Arizona.
Bo Davidson (OF)
After Eldridge, Davidson might be the best story on the farm this season. He’s a recently-turned 22-year old left-handed hitter who signed with the Giants after going undrafted in 2023. Those aren’t players you expect to fly up prospect lists, but Davidson has done exactly that. He began the year in Low-A San Jose, where he played fairly well, hitting .275/.327/.451 through May 23, when he suffered an injury. After rehabbing in the Arizona Complex League, where he put up jaw-dropping numbers, Davidson returned to San Jose in late July, where he proceeded to play some of the best baseball that the Minor Leagues saw this year.
From his return on July 20 through the end of the season (which was, unfortunately, interrupted by more injuries), Davidson put up this line: 40-91, 7 home runs, 5 triples, 8 doubles, and 23 walks. Most undrafted players who have early success do it by being a bit older than their competition, or in unsustainable ways, such as punishing hittable pitches but still striking out a lot. That was not the case for Davidson, who was a hair younger than the average California League hitter, and had not-particularly-worrisome 23.9% strikeout rate in Low-A. He’s also one of the best athletes in the system, and plays strong defense at all three outfield spots.
Marques Johnson (RHP)
Like many players in the AFL, Johnson heads there to get some reps after a mostly lost season. A recently-turned 24-year old who was taken in the 11th round of the 2022 draft by the Boston Red Sox, Johnson was traded to the Giants last year for Mauricio Llovera. But an injury sidelined him for the bulk of the 2024 season. He didn’t make his debut until July 24, when he snuck in a rehab appearance in the penultimate game of the season for the Giants Arizona Complex League team. He stayed in Arizona for a while before heading to Low-A San Jose, where the reliever made five appearances and pitched 6.1 innings.
William Kempner (RHP)
Like Johnson, Kempner heads to the AFL to get some much-needed reps. Only his season wasn’t mostly lost … it was entirely lost. Kempner, 23, was the Giants third-round pick in the 2022 draft. He had a delightful 2023, working mostly in relief, as he began the year in Low-A San Jose and ended it in AA Richmond. But an injury kept Kempner from appearing in any games this season. It’s good news that he’s headed to the AFL, because it means he’s healthy enough to start pitching again.
Cale Lansville (RHP)
Lansville, who is just 21, had a successful first full season as a professional. He was a 14th-round pick in last year’s draft, and you don’t necessarily have high hopes for players drafted that late … but not only did Lansville pitch quite well this year, but he did so working as a starter, which is quite rare for a late-round pick. With the exception of two appearances in the Arizona Complex League while rehabbing a summer injury, Lansville spent the entire year with Low-A San Jose, where he had a 4.36 ERA and a 4.22 FIP, walked just 22 batters in 74.1 innings, and had a sky-high 51.5% groundball rate.
Elijah Pleasants (RHP)
Pleasants is one of the cooler stories on the farm this year. He signed with the Giants in June, after beginning the year with the Oakland Ballers, where the Giants scouted him and decided to give him a shot in the Minors. The 24-year old struggled with walks, but had a 2.33 ERA with Low-A San Jose, and a 62.2% groundball rate.
Charlie Szykowny (3B)
While not quite at Davidson’s level, Szykowny was one of the great breakout stories of the season on the farm. A left-handed hitter who turned 24 during the season, Szykowny didn’t have a ton of hype entering the year, after being drafted in the ninth round in 2023. But he showed that he can hit! Szykowny slashed .340/.405/.505 with Low-A San Jose, while sporting a very low 18.6% groundball rate. He cooled off a bit when facing tougher competition following a promotion to High-A Eugene, but still showed a ton of talent and potential.
Tyler Vogel (RHP)
Rounding out the group of prospects is another pitcher who lost time due to injury this year. Vogel, who was a 12th-round pick in the 2022 draft, had multiple stints on the IL, and finished the year with just 29.1 innings pitched. The reliever, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on the final day of the AFL season, struggled a bit in the innings he did pitch. That’s not surprising for a player battling through injuries, but Vogel’s talent has never been in question.
In addition to these eight players, AA Richmond manager Dennis Pelfrey has been named the manager of the Scorpions. Good luck to him, and to all the prospects!