For an organization that has not seen much consistent talent emerge from the minor league system, Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi and his staff must be thrilled with the most recent Baseball Prospectus Top 50 prospect rankings.
A trio of Giants' prospects was featured on the list, all of whom were acquired within the last three seasons.
Joey Bart, No. 19
Baseball Prospectus on Bart's upside: "Bart has a rare combination of upside, polish, and defensive ability for a catcher. There's big bat speed and big raw power. He's an advanced receiver, to the extent that we can reliably observe such things about low-minors catchers. Basically, the bar for a two-way catcher is quite low these days, and Bart might exceed it by quite a lot."
Bart was the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, and many see him as the heir apparent to franchise cornerstone Buster Posey. Bart spent the fall in Arizona and has been with the San Jose Giants for the entire first half of his first full professional season. While he currently is hitting below .250 in California League play, Bart has managed to hit six home runs and tally four doubles despite missing 45 games with a fractured left hand suffered in mid-April.
In addition, four of his six big flies this season have come after his return from injury, demonstrating that the hand is clearly not a detriment to his play. He got his first professional multi-home run game on June 8 when he crushed two home runs against the Stockton Ports.
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Bart also appeared in this year's MLB Futures Game, where he came off the bench and made a tremendous defensive play to throw out a runner trying to steal second base.
Heliot Ramos, No. 33
BP Staff on Ramos' upside: "After an underwhelming 2018 on both a tools and performance level, reports have been much better on the still teenaged Ramos. The bat speed isn't too far off the top of the scale, and there's plus power that comes with it. While the rest of the offensive profile is more of a work in progress, he's held his own in the Cal League, and there's a not-overly-optimistic outcome where it's plus hit as well."
Ramos had a public goal of advancing to the major leagues in three years, a lofty goal for any prospect, especially one who came into the organization at just 17 years old. But Ramos has been a solid contributor for San Jose this season along with Bart, as he has 57 hits and nine home runs in 191 at-bats. While it is just Advanced-A competition, Ramos' batting average of .298 is a dramatic step up so far from his .245/.313/.396 campaign in 2018 with the Augusta Greenjackets in the Class-A South Atlantic League.
The center fielder appeared in the 2019 Futures Game alongside his teammate Joey Bart and got a single up the middle in his only plate appearance.
Marco Luciano, No. 48
BP Staff on Luciano's upside: "Contestant number four was one of 2018's top international signings, receiving a bonus of $2.6 million. Buzz from scouts started growing on Luciano before he even signed, and it has only grown since he came stateside. Like Robinson, you can dream on it all: hit, power, and speed. It's very early, but his current numbers in the Arizona League look like he's playing MLB: The Show on rookie difficulty. We keep hearing too many good things to not have him on this list."
[RELATED: How Heliot Ramos compares to other Giants who dominated in San Jose]
Luciano has been making mincemeat out of Arizona Fall League competition at just 17 years old. The Dominican Republic native has already connected on seven home runs in his first 17 games in Arizona. The talented teenager has shown more than just a big stick, as he is slashing .368/.456/.779. These impressive qualities have drawn comparisons to another Dominican-born player who appeared in more than a handful of MLB All-Star games.
