New San Francisco Giants Top Prospect List Sees Major Shakeup in Latest Rankings

MLB Pipeline released their new top 30 prospects lists, and the San Francisco Giants saw a pretty big shakeup.

Jul 26, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants 2023 first-round pick Bryce Eldridge before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park. / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

MLB Pipeline updated their prospect lists on Tuesday with both their top 100 and top 30 for teams. Usually the midseason lists for the team portions aren't that different from the preseason versions, but the San Francisco Giants saw a big shakeup to their new list. Along with the new draftees added, there were some notable graduations and a new number one.

The biggest names to have graduated this season are Kyle Harrison and Marco Luciano. Both prospects were considered top 30 in the game, and were ranked as the top two Giants prospects by MLB Pipeline going into the season.

Harrison made the Opening Day roster and while Luciano has been up and down, both have contributed to the team in big ways this season.

Most of the top five of the system has changed, with two from the preseason being present still. Carson Whisenhunt, a left-handed starter, was initially ranked at three, but has since fallen to four. Currently on the 7-day IL in Triple-A, he has made 19 starts this season with a 5.84 ERA. However, his bread and butter is still there: the strikeout.

With 102 strikeouts in 77 innings, his 11.9 K/9 is right around his career mark, however his walks are up from 3.5 per nine last season to 5.0 this year. The PCL is a difficult enviornment to pitch in, though, and not a lot of pitchers have success numbers wise.

The other holdover was Bryce Eldridge, a first baseman, who made the jump from four to number one on the list. Standing at 6-foot-7, the 19-year-old has plus raw power and has been raking at Single-A. With 13 homers and an .848 OPS, Eldridge was invited to the Future's Game and has been flying up prospect boards.

The rest of the top five is new, however. Hayden Birdsong jumped all the way up to number two in the system, but given that he is now in the Giants' rotation that shouldn't last much longer. Birdsong has been one of the best rookie pitchers in baseball despite his rough outings in his last two starts.

Two of the Giants 2024 draftees also cracked the top five. The 13th overall pick, James Tibbs III, made his first appearance at number three. Tibbs was considered one of the safest college bats in the draft after winning ACC Player of the Year and is likely to be a quick mover.

The lefty has played four games at Single-A to begin his career and is 5-for-18 with a double and two RBIs. Pipeline puts his MLB ETA at 2026, so it shouldn't be long before he makes his debut. If he continues to be the steady hitter he was at Florida State, he couldn't even get the call by next year.

The second draftee from this past draft to make the top five is outfielder Dakota Jordan. Jordan was widely considered one of the biggest steals of the draft after being selected in the third round.

The 21-year-old is extremely toolsy, with both plus power and plus running, and elite bat-speed. However, the plate discipline scared teams off and there is a lot of swing and miss. This is an upside ranking, and if he hits it, he could be an exciting prospect in the near future.

The rest of the Giants list did not change a whole lot, with players like Rayner Arias and Joe Whitman moving just a couple spots. There were a couple of notable fallers, with right-handed pitcher Carson Seymour falling nearly ten spots as well as Vaun Brown and Kai-Wei Teng falling off the list completely.

Some newcomers entered the fold at the back end of the list as well. Oliver Tejada, an outfielder in rookie ball makes an appearance at 29. As do Bo Davidson and Jose Ortiz who crack the back half of the list.

The San Francisco minor league system has improved in the past few years. However, after years of having guys like Harrison, Luciano, Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos in the top five, this is the first real shakeup in a long time.