Lefty Harrison leads Giants Organization All-Stars

Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each organization and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in each farm system. Next up in our 2023 Organization All-Stars series are the San Francisco Giants.

2023 organization summary:
Triple-A Sacramento: 67-82
Double-A Richmond: 74-64
High-A Eugene: 66-66
Single-A San Jose: 77-55
ACL Giants Black: 33-23
ACL Giants Orange: 30-26
DSL Giants Orange: 30-23
DSL Giants Black: 27-26
Overall record: 395-374 (11th among MLB organizations)
Midseason Farm System Rankings: 14

Giants 2023 Organization All-Stars

C: Onil Perez (SF No. 24)
A/A+: .299/.360/.393, 75 G, 2 HR, 37 RBI, 50 R, 26 BB, 23 SB
The 21-year-old showed an impressive feel for the strike zone in his first full season, recording an 11.5 percent strikeout rate. Perez didn’t find much power but showed good bat-to-ball skills after being promoted to Eugene, posting a .289 average and .666 OPS. The Santo Domingo native was also one of only six primary catchers to record at least 20 steals this season. Behind the plate, he threw out 24 of 87 would-be base stealers.

1B: Logan Wyatt
A+/AA: .258/.355/.436, 117 G, 17 HR, 65 RBI, 62 R, 58 BB, 1 SB
Wyatt was finally able to break out after being limited to 109 games since 2021. The 25-year-old built off the momentum of a strong Arizona Fall League season last year and really tapped into his power. He also maintained an impressive walk rate (12.5 percent), which has long been his headlining attribute. Though he saw his on-base percentage dip at Richmond, the rest of Wyatt’s offensive numbers were nearly identical after the promotion.

2B: Diego Velasquez (SF No. 20)
A: .298/.387/.434, 111 G, 8 HR, 69 RBI, 76 R, 56 BB, 23 SB
The Giants challenged Velasquez by giving him a shot at San Jose in his age-18 season last year. He returned to the California League and led the circuit in doubles (32) while finishing second in batting and extra-base hits (41) and seventh in OPS (.821). The 6-foot-1, 150-pound infielder doesn’t possess much over-the-fence power, but he lowered his ground ball rate and made quality contact, particularly to the opposite field, throughout the year.

3B: David Villar
AAA: .272/.371/.498, 75 G, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 54 R, 44 BB, 5 SB
Count Villar among a number of Giants’ prospects that made multiple appearances in the Majors this season. The 26-year-old hasn’t been very productive in the big leagues, but his past two seasons in Sacramento prove he’s worthy of the opportunities. After being optioned for the fourth time in July, Villar finished out the year with the River Cats and batted .281 with an .885 OPS and 10 homers over his final 46 games of the season.

SS: Tyler Fitzgerald (SF No. 30)
AA/AAA: .292/.365/.511, 121 G, 22 HR, 78 RBI, 87 R, 54 BB, 32 SB
Fitzgerald earned his first big league promotion in September after putting together the only 20-30 season in the Giants’ system. The 26-year-old was one of only seven Minor Leaguers with at least 20 homers, 25 doubles and 30 stolen bases this season. Fitzgerald struggled with Richmond in 2022, batting just .229 in 125 games. But he needed just 19 games this year to earn a promotion to Sacramento, where he hit .287 with an .857 OPS.

OF: Wade Meckler (SF No. 11)
A+/AA/AAA: .371/.456/.510, 83 G, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 62 R, 49 BB, 13 SB
Giants player development director Kyle Haines said that Meckler’s bat-to-ball skills and quality at-bats “overwhelmed” Minor League pitchers, leading to the 23-year-old’s first big league promotion in August. Meckler was named the Giants’ Hitting Prospect of the Year after hitting for the highest average and third-best on-base percentage among all Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances. He batted .354 with a .965 OPS in 24 total games during two separate stints in Sacramento.

OF: Grant McCray (SF No. 7)
A+: .255/.360/.417, 127 G, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 101 R, 72 BB, 52 SB
McCray wasn’t quite as consistent as in his brilliant 2022 season, but the 22-year-old was one of only five Minor Leaguers with at least 50 steals and 100 runs scored. McCray, who would be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if not added to the 40-man roster this offseason, had more punchouts (171) than any other Giants prospect, while leading the system in runs and stolen bases and finishing second in walks.

OF: Victor Bericoto
A+/AA: .272/.329/.511, 122 G, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 76 R, 43 BB, 1 SB
The 21-year-old overcame a difficult start to his Double-A tenure, during which he hit .178 in his first 25 games, to finish atop the system in homers and RBIs. He had a tremendous first half in Eugene, where he batted .296 with an .886 OPS and 16 homers in 71 games. After his initial slump in Richmond, Bericoto turned things around to bat .292 with a .968 OPS over the final 26 games of the regular season.

RHP: Hayden Birdsong (SF No. 10)
A/A+/AA: 2-5, 3.31 ERA, 100 ⅔ IP, 149 K, 44 BB, .213 BAA, 1.22 WHIP
The 2022 sixth-rounder earned California League All-Star honors after posting a 2.16 ERA in 12 outings with San Jose at the start of his breakout year. Haines anticipated that Birdsong might lose some steam toward the end of his first full season. And the 22-year-old did post a 5.48 ERA in his final eight starts with Richmond. But he also compiled a 12.9 K/9 in his first Double-A action.

LHP: Kyle Harrison (SF No. 1, MLB No. 20)
ROK/AAA: 1-3, 4.52 ERA, 67 ⅔ IP, 109 K, 48 BB, .210 BAA, 1.48 WHIP
Harrison had a truncated workload in the Minors as he navigated injuries, including a hamstring strain that kept him out of the Futures Game and likely delayed his Major League debut. But he was one of the best strikeout artists in the Minors. He was one of only 11 Minor Leaguers to reach 100 punchouts in fewer than 70 innings and his 14.5 K/9 ranked second among all pitchers to complete at least 65 innings.

RP: Erik Miller (SF No. 29)
AA/AAA: 3-1, 15 SV, 2.45 ERA, 62 ⅓ IP, 88 K, 45 BB, .143 BAA, 1.20 WHIP
Acquired from the Phillies in January for right-hander Yunior Marte, the 2019 fourth-rounder held Pacific Coast League batters to a .150 average in 52 innings with the River Cats. Although his walk rate was still a bit high, he had the fourth-best BAA in the Minors among all pitchers to complete at least 60 innings. Miller, who shifted to the bullpen for the first time last year, is also a candidate for Rule 5 protection.