2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 15

Note: Today is nomination day!

The 14th chapter of the 2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List is in the books, as we continue on our quest to rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization. And coming in at No. 14 on the list, winning the vote by a huge margin, is outfielder Jairo Pomares.

A left-handed hitter who turned 22 towards the end of the season, Pomares had a so-so season. In 2021 he dominated pitchers with Low-A San Jose (.372/.429/.693, 181 wRC+), but hit a shade below league average after a late-season promotion to High-A Eugene. He spent all of 2022 in Eugene, where he hit well, but not well enough to maintain the reputation he had a year ago (he was No. 7 on this list last year).

Pomares finished the season hitting .254/.330/.438, good for a 113 wRC+. Strikeouts are concerning, as he had a massive 32.9% rate, but he certainly has some pop — he now has 20 home runs in Eugene in under 500 plate appearances.

Seeing as how he’s a bat-first player, Pomares will need to have a strong season in AA Richmond to maintain his strong prospect status.

Now let’s find the next player on the list. And as a reminder, today is nomination day, so if you want to see some new players to vote for, head to the comment section.

The list so far

1. Kyle Harrison — LHP
2. Marco Luciano — SS
3. Casey Schmitt — 3B
4. Luis Matos — CF
5. Vaun Brown — OF
6. Grant McCray — CF
7. Aeverson Arteaga — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Reggie Crawford — LHP/DH
10. Patrick Bailey — C
11. Mason Black — RHP
12. Heliot Ramos — OF
13. Eric Silva — RHP
14. Jairo Pomares — OF

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

On to No. 15!

No. 15 prospect nominees

Tyler Fitzgerald — 25.3-year old INF, 100 wRC+ in AA (519 PAs)
Ryan Murphy — 23.3-year old RHP, 8.61 FIP in AA (8.2 IP), 2.31 FIP in High-A (31 IP)
Cole Waites — 24.7-year old RHP, 6.11 FIP in MLB (5.2 IP), 2.23 FIP in AAA (8 IP), 2.08 FIP in AA (21 IP), 1.37 FIP in High-A (12.2 IP)
Keaton Winn — 24.10 year old RHP, 4.34 FIP in AA (30.1 IP), 3.01 FIP in High-A (37 IP), 3.73 FIP in Low-A (40.2 IP)

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

Reminder: voting (and nominating) is now in the comments!