Giants Baseball Insider

How one sleeper SF Giants pitching prospect is standing out at Single-A

Manuel Mercedes may not be one of the SF Giants best prospects, but he’s leading the minor (and major) leagues in one key stat this season.

Marc Delucchi

How one sleeper SF Giants pitching prospect is standing out at Single-A
How one sleeper SF Giants pitching prospect is standing out at Single-A /
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Prospects throughout the SF Giants farm system have been turning heads so far this season. However, while several of the organization's top prospects have already reached the major leagues, there are plenty of sleepers throughout the minor leagues. In a conversation with Giants Baseball Insider, San Jose Giants pitching coach Dan Runzler highlighted several pitchers on the team, including right-handed pitcher Manuel Mercedes.

"A guy who was here last year, Manuel Mercedes, has taken extreme strides forward in his ability to control the strike zone, understand his arsenal, and repeat his delivery," Runzler said.

Runzler pointed to Mercedes' elite ability to generate ground balls from opposing hitters. While Mercedes has only recorded 30 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched, the 20-year-old righty has posted a 3.00 ERA by limiting walks (16) and inducing soft contact.

Mercedes' has posted a 65.1% groundball rate this season, the top mark among pitchers who have completed at least 45 innings pitched this season in the minor or major leagues entering play on Monday. In fact, only eight pitchers have eclipsed a 60% groundball rate (Marcus Stroman and Logan Webb are the only big leaguers).

The Giants signed Mercedes during the 2019-20 International Free Agency period out of the Dominican Republic for a $400,000 signing bonus. While the canceled 2020 minor-league season prevented him from appearing in an official game until 2021, Mercedes quickly began garnering attention from scouts

As a teenager, Mercedes' was already generating mid-90s velocity from a projectable 6'4'' frame with a decent feel for a breaking ball and the strike zone. After a promising debut in the Arizona Complex League, the Giants challenged him with a full-season assignment in 2022.

Mercedes struggled against Single-A competition last year, recording a 5.13 ERA with nearly as many walks (63) as strikeouts (67) in 80.2 innings pitched (25 games). However, even with underwhelming numbers, it's worth noting that Mercedes' stayed healthy and handled a relatively heavy workload as a teenager.

Back at San Jose this season, Mercedes' has primarily relied on an impressive 93-95 mph power sinker alongside a sharp slider. A little bit younger than the average college prospect in this summer's draft (he turns 21 in September), Mercedes has already taken some significant strides forward and is on pace to throw roughly 100 innings this season.

Mercedes' lack of strikeouts may be a sign that his ultimate future as a prospect will be in the bullpen, where his power sinker could potentially reach the upper-90s. However, given Manuel Mercedes' youth and the noteworthy steps he's already taken forward, there's no reason for the SF Giants to give up on his potential as a starter anytime soon.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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