San Francisco Giants Southpaw Shows Consistent Growth to Start Career

The San Francisco Giants have a intriguing pitcher on their farm system that has consistently proven to be a potential

Jack Choate delivers a pitch as the Bravehearts take on Westfield during their home opener on Wednesday. / Gannett Staff Photo/Ashley Green via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The San Francisco Giants took a chance on a small school prospect a couple of years ago and they have started to look smart for it.

As Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report looked around the MLB farm systems for breakout players, Jack Choate was found to be the guy for the Giants.

"A ninth-round pick in 2022 who is trying to become the first player from Assumption College in Massachusetts to reach the majors, Choate has put together a quietly excellent season, albeit a bit behind the developmental curve," said Reuter. "He started the year with a 2.90 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 77.2 innings at High-A before earning a promotion to Double-A earlier this month."

The 23-year-old had a nice season in High-A before being called up to Double-A earlier in August.

He didn't get off to the hottest start with the Richmond Flying Spiders, but ended his time with the Eugene Emeralds with a solid stretch.

Over his 77.2 innings pitched with the Emeralds, he had a 2.90 ERA with batters slashing just .217/.279/.309 against him.

He's shown great potential as someone that can mow down other lefties, but San Francisco could have higher hopes for him than a bullpen role.

The Florida native has had at least 70 pitches in 10 games this year and only below 50 twice.

Though he isn't currently ranked within the Top-30 prospect in the MLB Pipeline right now, that will likely change after the season.

There are only four southpaws in the Top-30, meaning that he is still a valuable player for the Giants, as they need more lefties.

As he continues to cut down on his walk rate, the strikeout numbers haven't seen that much of a dip.

During his time in college he averaged an absurd 16.0 strikeouts per nine innings. While he hasn't been that good in the farm system, he certainly hasn't fallen too far.

This past year, he has had a 10.1 K/9 with 2.3 BB/9. A 1.098 WHIP is also impressive.

The good part about his game isn't that he hasn't jumped out of nowhere to prove his baseball prowess, rather showing it consistently during his career.

He has a 2.69 ERA over 154 innings since the start of 2023. His current 3.07 ERA is as high as its been since 2021 outside of a brieft-yet-rough Fall League stint.

The Giants should continue to develop Choate's arm as he could figure into their pitching situation sooner rather than later.