We’re all sitting around waiting for the San Francisco Giants to make some moves. It seems they won’t, so let’s instead look at the prospects, and continue on with our Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List. We’re almost halfway through ranking the top 44 prospects in the system!
The next name to come off the board is one of the best stories from the 2025 season: outfielder Carlos Gutierrez, who has been named as the No. 18 prospect in the system in his CPL debut.
Gutierrez, a left-handed hitter from Mexico who turned 21 in August, was given one of the most challenging opening assignments of any Giants prospect, despite not being the most heralded player.
After making his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, Gutierrez was brought over in 2024 for his stateside debut in the Arizona Complex League, but only played in three games due to injury. Despite that, the Giants — perhaps for logistical purposes, or perhaps because of Gutierrez’s preternatural contact skills — decided to have him start 2025 with Low-A San Jose, a shocker given his age and lack of experience.
It turns out the Giants knew what they were doing. All Gutierrez did with the Baby Giants is hit, hit, and hit some more. He sported an outrageous .351 batting average on the year and, thanks to a high walk rate (12.6%), his on-base percentage was .445.
Add in the modest .452 slugging percentage, and Gutierrez ended the year with an .896 OPS and a 150 wRC+.
That’s not the only good news, either! Gutierrez, as one might expect with a great contact hitter, rarely whiffed, with a very tidy 13.7% strikeout rate.
His speed was on display, as he stole 26 bases in 60 games, while getting caught just three times, and he played a high quality outfield (mostly in the corners, but occasionally spelling Dakota Jordan in center).
There were a few warts. Injuries once again limited Gutierrez, who played in fewer than half of San Jose’s games. He’s only played 85 games in his three-year career, which is a very low number even when you account for two of those years being short-season ball.
And there’s a distinct lack of power for Gutierrez, who hit two home runs in 293 plate appearances. Fangraphs gives him a 30/40 on both raw power and game power, and those numbers might be a little generous.
But there’s no arguing with the bat-to-ball skills. Among the 89 California League hitters with at least 200 plate appearances this year, Gutierrez ranked first in batting average (by a mile), third in on-base percentage, 31st in walk rate, third in strikeout rate, ninth in walks per strikeout, fourth in OPS, and third in wRC+. He can hit!
Given how well he played this year — and how the Giants started him in A-Ball despite the lack of rookie ball experience — I’d certainly assume that he’s ticketed for High-A Eugene next year, where he’ll likely form a high-profile outfield with Jordan, Lisbel Diaz, and Jakob Christian. He’ll be fun to watch this season.
Now let’s add to the list, and a reminder that voting is now handled in the comment section, using the “rec” system.
The list so far
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 19 prospect nominees
Josh Bostick — 24.1-year old RHP — 3.71 ERA/4.59 FIP in High-A (119 IP)
Drew Cavanaugh — 23.10-year old C — .511 OPS/34 wRC+ in AAA (53 PA); .677 OPS/116 wRC+ in AA (56 PA); .904 OPS/149 wRC+ in High-A (162 PA); 1.006 OPS/170 wRC+ in Low-A (131 PA)
Trent Harris — 26.10-year old RHP — 5.44 ERA/4.69 FIP in AAA (41.1 IP); 1.69 ERA/1.73 FIP in AA (16 IP)
Gerelmi Maldonado — 21.11-year old RHP — 3.97 ERA/4.65 FIP in Low-A (59 IP)
Lorenzo Meola — 21.11-year old SS/2B — .784 OPS/109 wRC+ in Low-A (70 PA)
Daniel Susac — 24.6-year old C — .832 OPS/94 wRC+ in AAA (407 PA)
Joe Whitman — 24.2-year old LHP — 5.29 ERA/3.61 FIP in AA (117.1 IP)
Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.
