Community Prospect List: The final rankings

Well folks, we did it. And well ahead of schedule, I might add! With the election last week of left-handed hitting infielder Jean Carlos Sio, we have once again completed the annual Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List. As a community, we came together to jointly decide on the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.

It is, in my opinion, the strongest and most exciting CPL in the six years that I’ve been at the reins. And perhaps relatedly, it’s the most turnover I can recall having year-over-year in the CPL.

So with that said, let’s take a look at the final rankings. The number in parenthesis after each prospect is where they ranked on the list a year ago. Players with a “UN” next to their name were unranked last year, while players with a “N/A” were not yet in the system.

The top 44 prospects in the Giants system

1. Bryce Eldridge — 1B(1)
2. Josuar González — SS(5)
3. Jhonny Level — SS(6)
4. Bo Davidson — CF(11)
5. Dakota Jordan — CF(8)
6. Luis Hernández — SS(N/A)
7. Gavin Kilen — SS(N/A)
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP(2)
9. Blade Tidwell — RHP(N/A)
10. Keyner Martinez — RHP(UN)
11. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP(31)
12. Trevor McDonald — RHP(15)
13. Argenis Cayama — RHP(28)
14. Luis De La Torre — LHP(UN)
15. Trevor Cohen — OF(N/A)
16. Jesús Rodríguez — C(N/A)
17. Parks Harber — 3B/OF(N/A)
18. Carlos Gutierrez — OF(UN)
19. Drew Cavanaugh — C(UN)
20. Daniel Susac — C(N/A)
21. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP(36)
22. Josh Bostick — RHP(27)
23. Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B(N/A)
24. Will Bednar — RHP(42)
25. Yunior Marte — RHP(N/A)
26. Joe Whitman — LHP(9)
27. Joel Peguero — RHP(UN)
28. Alberto Laroche — RHP(UN)
29. Trent Harris — RHP(20)
30. Carlos De La Rosa — LHP(N/A)
31. Diego Velasquez — 2B(16)
32. Lisbel Diaz — OF(17)
33. Maui Ahuna — SS(23)
34. Cam Maldonado — OF(N/A)
35. Victor Bericoto — OF/1B(24)
36. Reid Worley — RHP(N/A)
37. Jack Choate — LHP(29)
38. Rayner Arias — OF(4)
39. Nate Furman — 2B(UN)
40. Jakob Christian — OF(30)
41. Juan Sánchez — LHP(33)
42. Jancel Villarroel — C(N/A)
43. Sabin Ceballos — 3B(18)
44. Jean Carlos Sio — 2B/SS(UN)

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

I hopefully speak for everyone when I say that list is pretty fun to look at, and that it’s missing a few key names as well! Let’s dive a little deeper into it.

Who is off the list, and where did they go?

We came oh-so-close to having a full half of the list be new names. As it is, it’s still a huge number: 21 of the 44 prospects on the CPL weren’t on last year’s list. That’s more turnover than usual: last year it was 19, and the year before it was 17.

Those with a degree in mathematics might know that 21 new names on the list means 21 players on last year’s list are no longer on this one. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword: having 21 prospects either elevate their play or enter the system is exciting, but seeing 21 players disappear is less fun. So where did those players go?

Interestingly, only two of those 21 players left the list due to graduation. That’s a very low number, especially given how much turnover there is this year. Last year, for instance, when there were 19 new players on the CPL, they replaced a whopping 10 graduates. But it’s just a pair this year, and even that undersells it: the only player who it really feels like graduated from last year’s CPL is right-handed pitcher Carson Seymour, who was No. 21 a year ago. The other graduate is righty Mason Black (No. 7), who only made one appearance for the Giants (but that was enough to get him to the threshold) and, even if he hadn’t, wouldn’t have been eligible this year because he was designated for assignment and traded early in the offseason.

In addition to Black, seven more of the players on last year’s list have not only departed the CPL, but departed the organization entirely. The highest profile is outfielder James Tibbs III (No. 3) who, along with right-handed pitcher Jose Bello (No. 44), was traded during the season to the Boston Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers deal (Tibbs has since been sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers). Outfielder Wade Meckler (No. 13), who had a disappointing year, was designated for assignment during the offseason, while righty Carson Ragsdale (No. 19) was DFA’d during the year (he caught on with two MLB teams, and is now playing in Japan).

Righty reliever Cole Waites (No. 32) and outfielder Hunter Bishop (No. 34) elected Minor League free agency at the end of the year. Waites has since signed with the Detroit Tigers, while Bishop remains unsigned. And finally, outfielder Jairo Pomares (No. 41) was waived during the Minor League season.

That leaves a very sizable group: a dozen prospects who simply fell off of the list for one reason or another. The good news is, most of those players occupied the back half of the 2025 CPL.

Lefty reliever Reggie Crawford (No. 10) is the third first-round pick to fall off the list (joining Tibbs and Bishop), and that was entirely due to the fact that he lost all of 2025 to a shoulder injury, then suffered a setback that required another surgery that will likely keep him out for all of 2026, too. Shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 12) returned from an injury of his own and had arguably the worst offensive season in the system, while Walker Martin (No. 14) made only modest improvements to his struggling offense, while also getting moved off of shortstop (and not looking great at third base).

Outfielder Jose Ortiz (No. 22) spent most of the year injured, while third baseman Robert Hipwell (No. 25) spent his entire age-22 season in Low-A with a high strikeout rate. Outfielder Jonah Cox (No. 26) was unable to take notable strides on offense, while utility player Ryan Reckley (No. 35) did little to reverse the downward trajectory of his prospectdom. Catchers Onil Perez (No. 37) and Adrián Sugastey (No. 38) had fine but fairly nondescript seasons, while other catchers rose (and appeared) around and ahead of them. Outfielder Oliver Tejada (No. 39) and catcher Yohendry Sanchez (No. 40) had fairly mediocre offensive years, while third baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43) was squeezed off the list by younger players at more advanced levels.

How were the players acquired?

Buster Posey has certainly put his fingerprints on the farm system. Despite being president of baseball operations for less than a year and a half — and only overseeing one draft during that time — a full 15 of the 44 players were acquired during Posey’s tenure. That said, the two highest-ranking prospects from that pool — shortstops Josuar González (No. 2) and Luis Hernández (No. 6) — were international free agents who reached agreements with the organization before Posey took over.

Thanks to the inclusion of outfielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35) and lefty Juan Sánchez (No. 41), the prospect list spans three regimes. Those two were acquired when Bobby Evans was at the helm, with the remaining 27 prospects coming to the organization under the oversight of Farhan Zaidi.

The Giants have used all sorts of different ways to acquire talent. They have a nearly even split between drafted players and prospects who were signed in international free agency: 17 of the former and 15 of the latter. What’s perhaps most surprising — relative to recent years — is that eight of prospects on the list are players the Giants traded for. That number is even more notable when you account for the fact that just one of those eight — lefty Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11) — was on last year’s CPL. Turnover abounds!

The Giants also have two prospects on the CPL who they signed as undrafted free agents — center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4) and righty reliever Trent Harris (No. 29). A third prospect, third baseman/outfielder Parks Harber (No. 17) also went undrafted, though he was signed by the New York Yankees and sent to the Giants in the Camilo Doval trade.

And finally, the Giants have one prospect on the list who was signed in Minor League free agency, as well as one prospect who was a Rule 5 selection: righty reliever Joel Peguero (No. 27) and catcher Daniel Susac (No. 20), respectively.

Who will we see this year?

Much of the excitement in the Giants farm system comes at the lowest levels. Between Josuar González (No. 2), Jhonny Level (No. 3), Luis Hernández (No. 6), and Gavin Kilen (No. 7), you could make a very compelling case that the Giants have the strongest collection of lower-Minors shortstops in all of baseball.

But there’s excitement at the upper levels, too. And if your favorite brand of prospect watching is “watch the prospects once they make the Majors,” then there are a lot of names on our list of 44 that should excite you.

The man at the very top of the list, first baseman Bryce Eldridge, ended the 2025 season in the Majors, and is currently in camp with an opportunity to earn an Opening Day role as the everyday designated hitter. Right-handers Blade Tidwell (No. 9) and Trevor McDonald (No. 12) have been among the most impressive players in camp for the Giants, and if the season were to start today, they might both be in the bullpen, while also serving as rotational depth.

Lefty Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8) has a less straightforward path to the Opening Day roster, but he made his MLB debut last year and will certainly be a factor in the Majors this season. Righty reliever Joel Peguero (No. 27) would have pole position for a spot in the bullpen were it not for an injury setback he’s currently dealing with.

Catcher Daniel Susac (No. 20) seems the betting favorite to win the Opening Day backup catcher role, but Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16) is also on the 40-man roster and battling for that role (Rodríguez has also been playing a bit of second base in Spring Training, so he may have multiple avenues to the bigs, and we’ll surely see him this year).

As for players that aren’t on the 40-man roster, relievers Will Bednar (No. 24), Trent Harris (No. 29), and Juan Sánchez (No. 41) are all in camp as non-roster invitees, and they’ve all shown some great signs. Bednar and Harris are almost certainly ticketed to start the year in AAA, while Sánchez probably is as well (but he has a better chance of making the Opening Day roster). Either way, I’d expect that we see at least two of those three at some point this year.

Outfielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35) has been the most impressive NRI in camp, and could absolutely work his way onto the roster over the summer. Center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4), third baseman/outfielder Parks Harber (No. 17), and second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39) are also in Scottsdale as NRIs. They’re all a little further away (Davidson has played just 42 games in AA, Furman just 22, and Harber none), but each could find themselves in the big leagues late in the year if they have a very strong season.

And that’s our 2026 Community Prospect List! A huge thanks to everyone who voted, discussed, and argued, and a special shoutout to all the McCovey Chronicles writers of the past who have led this delightful time-honored tradition.

Now bring on the baseball!