Pair of tantalizing SF Giants outfielder prospects return from injury

A pair of tooled up outfielders in the SF Giants farm system have returned to full-season ball after missing the start of the season with injuries.

The SF Giants have sent outfielders Vaun Brown (Giants #6 prospect) and P.J. Hilson (Giants #35 prospect) to the San Jose Giants, the organization's Single-A affiliate. Hilson was expected to begin the season at San Jose while Brown is on a rare minor-league rehab assignment. He will presumably rejoin the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels after some time at San Jose.

Brown had one of the best statistical seasons of any Giants minor leaguer this decade in 2022. Brown, who only received a $7,500 signing bonus out of college turned into one of the most surprising breakout prospects from the 2021 MLB Draft class. He posted an OPS north of 1.000 at Single and High-A with 54 extra-base hits and 44 stolen bases, reaching Double-A before the end of the season.

There are no real comps for Brown's prospect career. He has legitimate 70-grade speed and power potential, and there's a five-tool ceiling if he can hit enough. With that said, he was also one of the oldest players in his draft class. It's just exceedingly rare for a player with those kind of tools to remain an amateur for as long as Brown did. Set to turn 25 in June, Brown will look to crush Single-A pitching once again before getting back on an upward trajectory in his first extended look at the upper minors.

Hilson spent the first five years of his pro career at the Arizona Complex League. The Giants sixth-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school, Hilson is one of the few prospects in the farm system who can match, and possibly exceed, Brown's athleticism. He is from a track family (his brother Kyle Clemons has won Olympic medals as a sprinter) and has 80-grade speed of his own. And he pairs it with one of the best arms in the farm system. If he can develop above-average instincts and consistency, he has the tools to be the best defensive outfielder in professional baseball.

Hilson has above-average power potential but took a long time to adjust to professional pitching. He finally broke through at the plate in the Complex last season, winning the league MVP award while leading the Giants affiliate to a championship. He hit .313/.399/.591 with 16 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, and 13 stolen bases in 56 games at the ACL and was promoted to San Jose late in the season. He held his own, hitting .313/.340/.458 with a reasonable 15.1% strikeout rate. He will look to continue building off that momentum this season and try to earn a promotion to High-A before his 23rd birthday in June.