Not all prospects are burdened with the same expectations. Take Bryce Eldridge, the Giants’ 2023 first-round pick. He turned 19 last October, and he’s struggling a little bit with Low-A San Jose, but that’s not cause for concern yet. He’s two years younger than the average player in the California League, and it’s not as if he’s a part of the plans at the major-league level for several years. He’s a redwood seedling in the ground, and the Giants will be patient and make sure he gets plenty of sun and water.
Now take Mason Black, who has a 1.19 ERA in five Triple-A starts. The Giants are watching every outing with an electron microscope because he might be able to help right now. As in, before this is published.
This is a brief look at Black and two other prospects who could possibly be Giants within the next week or so. Are they playing well enough in Triple A to merit a promotion?
Mason Black, RHP
It’s not just Black’s shiny ERA that’s impressive, but he’s doing it in ways that aren’t typically done in the Pacific Coast League. He’s allowed one homer, and it came in Reno, which means it should technically count as a half-homer. He’s walked five of 87 batters, even though the PCL is using robot umps with a tight strike zone. The average BB/9 for the league is 4.7; Black’s BB/9 is a cool 2.0.
It’s a matter of when, not if. If Black had pitched like this in the spring, it’s possible that he would’ve made the Opening Day roster instead of Landen Roupp, and you know the Giants will need innings sooner than later.
Takeaway: He’ll be up soon, and he might not go back down.
Even with Blake Snell on the IL, this is trickier than it should be. Black needs to be added to the 40-man roster, and while there are players on there who aren’t exactly in the Giants’ long-term plans, the front office doesn’t want to jettison a player for no good reason. Still, if they get tired of using Sean Hjelle and Mitch White as tandem starters in Snell’s place, expect Black to be the next one up.
Based on their springs, it wasn’t wacky to think this was the year Matos and Wade Meckler would entrench themselves in the Giants’ present and future outfield plans. They would complement each other so well. In theory.
We’re a long, long way from that reality, though. Meckler hasn’t played at all after being hit by a pitch at the end of spring, and Matos is scuffling. Austin Slater’s miserable start should’ve led to a “Where’s Matos?” chorus, but in a league where the average hitter is slashing .268/.361/.447, Matos is at .229/.333/.374. The walks are still there, but the hits and homers aren’t yet.
Takeaway: If the Giants need a right-handed outfielder soon, it’ll probably be Heliot Ramos who gets the call.
Ramos is hitting a robust .309/.395/.606. While the strikeout rate remains too high (27.5 percent), it’s hard to ignore the production. Well, it should be hard to ignore the production, but I’m sure the Giants will find a way. One of these years, we’re going to find out exactly what Ramos did at that holiday party to get him blacklisted. Until then, we’ll just have to wonder.
The Giants told Luciano to be more patient and get better pitches to hit. He said, “Sure thing,” and now he’s a walking machine. Sometimes you just have to ask nicely. He’s already walked 21 times, which gives him a .423 OBP to go along with his .292 BA.
Except the part in the Black capsule is relevant here, but in reverse. The robo-umps make it easier for hitters to get rewarded for taking close pitches, so the spike in his walk rate doesn’t have to translate to a high OBP in the majors. Another issue is that Luciano’s apparent passivity has come at the expense of his power; he has just one homer in 111 PAs. That doesn’t have to be a permanent tradeoff, but it’s worth noting that it’s happening now, and he’ll have to adjust.
The biggest roadblock to Luciano returning to the majors might not even be the defensive prowess of Nick Ahmed, who leads the NL in Outs Above Average (tied with Thairo Estrada), but the quality play from Tyler Fitzgerald on both sides of the ball. Luciano has all the offensive upside in the world, but Fitzgerald can play a strong center field, and he was showing off at shortstop on Sunday. Add in the speed, and the Giants have to be extremely happy with what Fitzgerald is bringing right now.
Takeaway: The Giants are likely to let Luciano be a 22-year-old in Triple A for most of the season.
If a need arose, they might even go with Brett Wisely, who’s hitting well in Sacramento and can play all over the field. Luciano’s 2024 debut won’t likely be soon, but if the homers start coming in bunches, that could change quickly.
(Photo: Rick Scuteri / USA Today)
