International prospects thriving in Giants camp

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants have a proud tradition of international stars that dates to signing Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal along with the Alou brothers in the 1950s. But after landing Pablo Sandoval in 2003, they didn't get much out of the global market for more than a decade.

That began to change in 2018, when San Francisco's international department, led by Joe Salermo and Felix Peguero, assembled a potentially special class. Four years later, Dominican shortstop Marco Luciano and Venezuelan outfielder Luis Matos are Top 100 Prospects and Cuban outfielder Jairo Pomares is coming off a .334/.378/.629 season with 20 homers in 77 games between Single-A and High-A.

Luciano signed for $2.6 million, while Pomares received $975,000 and Matos earned $725,000. They all could arrive at Oracle Park by the end of 2023.

"Those guys came in with a lot of prospect hype," Giants farm director Kyle Haines said. "It's a huge credit to our international department to add three players like that from three different backgrounds in one class. It's also a huge credit to our development staff to help them improve every year and become three of our best prospects."

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Luciano's bat speed and raw power rank among the best in the Minors and he matched his age with 19 homers between Single-A and High-A in 2021. His pop overshadows his natural hitting ability but he possesses a lot of the latter. The only real question is whether he'll remain quick enough to stick at shortstop.

"There's zero plan to play Luciano at a different position at this point," Haines said. "That's the area of his game that probably needs the most polish, but he can play shortstop. He has good hands and plenty of arm to play on the left side. He makes the plays he should make and is making good progress at shortstop."

The youngest and best pure hitter of the trio, Matos turned 20 in January and owns a career .332/.388/.520 batting line as well as the 2021 Low-A West MVP award. He has solid speed and good instincts that make him a factor on the bases and in center field, and he's developing more pop than the Giants initially expected. He drilled 15 homers and 51 extra-base hits in his full-season debut last year and looks like he'll become at least a 20-homer threat.

"Matos has filled out a lot without losing any of his athleticism," Haines said. "He's always had the bat-to-ball skills and while he doesn’t have the raw power of the other two guys, he hits the barrel so consistently that he'll hit home runs. And he's plenty athletic enough to play center field."

Pomares is the oldest of the group at age 21 and has produced the loudest career numbers (.330/.372/.561) thus far. He's also the most aggressive at the plate and may need to temper his approach after striking out 33 times and walking just once in 26 High-A games.

"Pomares is kind of a left-handed-hitting version of Luciano," Haines said. "He has impressive bat speed, impressive power, impressive bat-to-ball skills. He was much more a hard line-drive hitter when he signed and he's filled out a lot since. Now those doubles are turning into home runs that go over the wall."

There's a sleeper in San Francisco's 2018 international class who also bears watching. Matos' cousin and fellow center fielder Alexander Suarez has the potential for solid or better tools across the board. He led the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in runs (43), hits (60) and extra-base hits (23) last summer while batting .311/.379/.503.

Camp standout: Hunter Bishop
The 10th overall pick in the 2019 Draft, Bishop has barely played since a solid pro debut because the pandemic wiped out the 2020 Minor League season and a strained throwing shoulder limited him to just 16 games last year. He has the upside of a 25-25 center fielder and the Giants are anxious to see what he can do with a fully healthy season.

"He's playing very well and it's really encouraging to see," Haines said. "He's hitting home runs off left-handers and right-handers in live batting practice and games, and he's making loud contact every day. He's still got to be the best athlete in the system."

Breakout potential: Casey Schmitt
The third baseman on MLB Pipeline's 2022 All-Defense team, Schmitt shines in the field with range to both sides, soft hands and a strong arm that also made him a star closer at San Diego State. He dealt with a lot of adversity at the plate in his 2021 pro debut, batting .121 in May, playing through a broken nose when he was hit by a pitch and having his season end prematurely when another errant pitch injured his left wrist in August. The Giants believe he's much better offensively than his .247/.318/.406 line in Single-A might indicate.

"It's a Gold Glove third baseman with right-handed power at the plate," Haines said. "I think he could have a really big year. He's looking great this spring."

Deep sleeper: Nick Sinacola
Right-hander Ryan Murphy went from a fairly anonymous fifth-round pick out of NCAA Division II Le Moyne in 2020 to ranking third in the Minors in strikeouts (164), fourth in whiff rate (13.8 per nine innings) and sixth in K/BB ratio (6.3) during his pro debut in 2021. Righty Nick Sinacola has a similar background as a mid-round pick from a Northeast college program, going in the seventh round out of Maine last July after placing second in D-I in strikeout rate (15.9 per nine innings, behind only Giants second-rounder Matt Mikulski).

"Sinacola could have a Ryan Murphy-type season," Haines said. "Those Northeast guys seem to be late bloomers. He doesn't have top-end velo, but he could be low- to mid-90s to go with a wipeout slider, and he throws a ton of strikes."