2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 5

We’re moving right along in the 2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, coming together as a community to rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.

The fourth chapter featured a name that has been a staple on this list since joining the organization: center fielder Luis Matos, who has been voted as the No. 4 prospect in the system. It’s a drop of one spot for Matos, who finished No. 3 in last year’s CPL, and No. 5 two years ago.

2022 was a down year for Matos, who struggled with both performance and injuries in his age-20 season. He spent the whole year with High-A Eugene (save for two rehab games in the Arizona Complex League), and hit just .211/.275/.344, good for just a 74 wRC+.

Still, there were reasons for optimism if you look for them. Matos ended the season on a high note, with an .826 OPS in August. Despite the struggles, he struck out in just 16% of his plate appearances, and his .226 BABIP will surely bounce back in 2023. He played strong center field defense, and won Defensive Player of the Year in the Arizona Fall League.

But with the poor offensive performance, all eyes will be on Matos this coming season. Farhan Zaidi has already stated that, despite the tough year, he’ll begin 2023 in AA.

Now we move on.

The list so far

1. Kyle Harrison — LHP
2. Marco Luciano — SS
3. Casey Schmitt — 3B
4. Luis Matos — CF

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

On to No. 5!

No. 5 prospect nominees

Aeverson Arteaga — 19.9 year old SS, 101 wRC+ in Low-A (565 PAs)
Patrick Bailey — 23.6-year old C, 113 wRC+ in High-A (325 PAs)
Mason Black — 23.0-year old RHP, 4.52 FIP in High-A (77.2 IP), 2.66 FIP in Low-A (34.1 IP)
Vaun Brown — 24.5-year old OF, 189 wRC+ in High-A (195 PAs), 166 wRC+ in Low-A (262 PAs)
Grant McCray — 22.0-year old CF, 131 wRC+ in High-A (62 PAs), 130 wRC+ in Low-A (507 PAs)
Carson Whisenhunt — 22.2-year old LHP, 1.79 FIP in Low-A (4.2 IP), -0.41 FIP in ACL (3 IP)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page.