Heading into 2021, the Giants' farm system bears little resemblance to years prior. San Francisco's front office has done a commendable job in revamping their minor league depth, and the team is already seeing some of that hard work come to fruition in players like Mauricio Dubon and Logan Webb.
Just a few years ago, the Giants had one of the worst minor league system in baseball. Now, with names like Marco Luciano, Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos, they quietly have turned the page and become one of the sport's most promising pipelines.
Seth Corry, a 22-year-old left-hander out of Alpine, Utah, is another name that is continuing to garner national attention. The Athletic's Keith Law released his Top 100 prospect rankings Thursday, and Corry joined Luciano, Bart and Ramos on the list, landing at No. 71 overall.
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This is encouraging for a variety of reasons. Although Corry's allure has always been intriguing, (MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 99 overall in 2020), Law's ranking is still considerably higher than what most would project, as Corry did not factor into the Top 100 rankings for either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. However, Law believes Corry could develop as high as a No. 2 starter.
"He’s now pitching at 94-96 [miles per hour] and the curveball is plus, although he doesn’t command the pitch well enough yet, and has improved his changeup enough to talk about him as a starter long term," Law wrote.
Despite finishing his 2019 campaign as the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year with Class-A Augusta, Corry was left off the Giants' alternate site roster last summer. However, the team stayed in contact with the young southpaw and invited him to the fall Instructional League in Arizona, where he fared well against some of baseball's best young up-and-comers.
Corry wields an exceptional curveball and indeed has improved his changeup. The two off-speed weapons should pair nicely with his fastball's increased velocity. Although he has struggled with command early on, he showed a remarkable turnaround in 2019, his first full professional season. Corry notched a 1.76 ERA over a 9-3 campaign with the Augusta GreenJackets, whiffing 172 batters over 122 2/3 innings and posting a 2.6 walks-per-nine-innings ratio. His strikeouts stood as not just a league-high, but an organization-high as well.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants have proceeded with caution since selecting Corry in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft, including having him play two years in rookie ball. Expect the team to stay par to the course for him this year, especially with the loss of the 2020 Minor League season and subsequent loss of development. Even though he clearly has plenty of raw talent, he isn't projected to reach the big leagues until 2022, which also doubles as the Giants' estimated year of contention.
RELATED: Luciano's stock is rising in 2021
Luciano (No. 31), Bart (No. 41) and Ramos (No. 58) rounded out Law's rankings for San Francisco. It's worth noting Luciano's rank is considerably lower than other projections, with many around the sport regarding the 19-year-old shortstop as a top-20, if not top-10 overall prospect. Baseball America lists Luciano as No. 12 overall, and MLB Pipeline ranks him at No. 16.
Given his age and lack of professional experience so far (he has yet to play above rookie ball), Luciano still has a way to go before he's Major League ready. Bart and Ramos are expected to start the year in Triple-A, but it's likely at least Bart will be with the Giants by the second half of the season.