The Giants announced Wednesday that they’ve added lefty Caleb Baragar, outfielder Alexander Canario and right-hander Sam Wolff to their 60-man player pool. They still have one vacancy if they wish to make another addition. Of the bunch, Canario is the most highly regarded prospect, but his inclusion is surely just for developmental purposes, as he is just 20 years old and has yet to play above short-season Class-A.
Baragar, 26, was the Giants’ ninth-round pick in 2016. He’s pitched in three Triple-A games but spent the vast majority of the 2019 campaign in Double-A, where he pitched to a 3.45 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 0.9 HR/9 in 120 innings as a starter. He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher, evidenced by a tiny 28.7 percent ground-ball rate in those 120 frames.
Wolff, 29, is a pure reliever who came over to the Giants organization in the 2017 trade that sent Matt Moore to the Rangers. Despite his age, he’s scarcely pitched in Triple-A (28 1/3 innings), but he posted strong numbers in Double-A last year when he compiled a 1.78 ERA and a 42-to-11 K/BB ratio in 35 1/3 innings of work.
Canario signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in the 2016-17 international class, and the Giants look to have found something of a gem (relative to his meager $60K signing bonus, at least). He ripped through opposing pitchers in Rookie ball and Low-A, posting a combined .318/.377/.623 batting line with 16 home runs, 20 doubles and a pair of triples in just 265 trips to the plate.
Canario ranks in the club’s top 10 prospects at Baseball America (fifth), MLB.com (sixth) and FanGraphs (ninth) thanks to considerable raw power, average or better speed and a plus throwing arm. FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen notes that he needs a lot of work on his approach at the plate but has a “huge ceiling if the hit/approach component improves.”
I didn’t see Tyler Bede’s name on the list of 60. Did I miss it or is he injured and out or has he been left off?
He had TJ Surgery in March.
Beede had Tommy John surgery back in March of this year.
Canario is gonna be raw
Agreed, but it’s a nice problem to have with a 20 year-old with those skills who could be a major league contributor before he’s 23.
Austin Slater is 10X better than any of them. Slay Dog could throw 100 MPH and his exit velocity is something to brag about.
Slater will get plemty of opportunities this year. Canario is a special player though. He has all-stat potential by 2022-23. For the guy talking rebuild, uh yeah, most Giants fans realize this. Our minor league system has vastly improved. We will continue to support the Major League club and wait for that talent to come to fruition.
Really hope he gets a good look this year, that swing he was using looks pretty good. Hes earned it.