Baseball America’s annual Top 100 Prospects list featured five Giants, led by young shortstop Marco Luciano.
Luciano, San Francisco’s 20-year-old phenom from the Dominican Republic, came in at No. 17 in Baseball America’s rankings. He’s the only Giants prospect to crack the top-70.
Catcher Joey Bart, outfielders Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos, and left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison also cracked the top-100.
Luciano had a strong 2021, recording a .815 OPS in Eugene and San Jose, though he struggled a bit during the Arizona Fall League, where he struck out in 28 of his 87 plate appearances. The shortstop was ranked No. 12 overall heading into the 2021 season, meaning he slipped five spots.
The righty was the top middle infielder in the 2018 international class, and he has among the best raw power of any prospect, according to MLB.com. He’s not expected to make his big league debut until 2023.
Bart — whom BA pegged at No. 71 — is expected to at least play a major role, if not start from Opening Day, on the big league roster in 2022. The second overall pick from the 2018 amateur draft has big shoes to fill with Buster Posey’s retirement.
Two slots after the power-hitting Bart in Baseball America’s rankings comes Luis Matos. The 19-year-old from Venezuela hit 15 home runs in 109 games last year for San Jose. Like Luciano, he isn’t expected to play at Oracle Park this upcoming season.
Heliot Ramos (No. 94) and Kyle Harrison (No. 95) rounded out San Francisco’s prospects on the list. The Giants selected Ramos with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft, and the right-handed hitter is expected to contribute to the big league club in 2022. Harrison, meanwhile, is the top pitching prospect in SF’s farm system.
It’s noteworthy that Luciano, Bart and Matos each dropped from last year to this in Baseball America’s rankings. But rankings are just rankings. San Francisco’s farm appears to be in healthy shape, as MLB tabbed it the eighth-best in MLB before last year — before SF inked highly touted international prospect Ryan Reckley.