The Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List is off and running, and in the coming weeks and months we’ll have so much to debate and argue over as we collectively rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization. But those debates and arguments have not started yet, because the opening chapter of this exercise was, as expected, a one-man show.
Yes, to the surprise of no one, shortstop Josuar González has been voted the No. 1 prospect in the Giants organization. That was never
really a question. What is a question is: will he be the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball at some point this year?
González, who was No. 2 on last year’s CPL, had a dream 2026 season. After dominating the Dominican Summer League in his rookie campaign in 2025, the switch-hitter came to the states this season, and the only thing that could slow him down was his body, as he suffered a few injury setbacks.
The hyper-athletic González, who turned 19 earlier this month, opened the year in the Arizona Complex League, where he hit .343/.451/.515 for a .966 OPS and a 139 wRC+ in 30 games. He ended the year with Low-A San Jose where, despite being three years younger than the average hitter in the league, he somehow improved his performance, hitting .357/.444/.566 for a 1.010 OPS and a 151 wRC+ in 31 games. Across the two levels, he hit five home runs in 275 plate appearances, and had 26 total extra-base hits.
It was a year in which González, who will likely start his age-19 season in High-A, showed off all the tools. His bat-to-ball skills were phenomenal, and he posted exit velocities that would make plenty of Major Leaguers jealous. He controlled the strike zone brilliantly, with a 14.9% walk rate and just a 20.0% strikeout rate across the two levels. He swiped 21 bases in 27 attempts and solidified himself as not just the best defensive shortstop in the system, but one of the best in Minor League Baseball. And he did it all while being the type of athlete — fast, strong, explosive, and twitchy — that just feels like a star in the making. With González, the stats suggest that he’s one of the best prospects in baseball … but if you watch him, you’re somehow left feeling like the stats aren’t capturing just how good he is.
The only questions for González are if he can maintain this performance as he climbs the Minors, and if he can stay healthy. If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then you’re looking at a player who should be a unanimous top-10 prospect this time next year. When the Giants signed him out of the Dominican Republic last year, there were some pie in the sky comparisons to Francisco Lindor; two seasons later, and those comps are looking far less outlandish than they initially did.
Now that I’ve got you all itching for the Minor League season to return, let’s add to our list. Picking the No. 1 prospect might have been easy, but chosing No. 2 will not be! As a reminder, voting now takes place in the comment section.
The list so far
- Josuar González — SS
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 2 prospect nominees
Jacob Bresnahan — 21.4-year old LHP — 2.92 ERA/4.32 FIP in High-A (98.2 IP); 5.06 ERA/3.60 FIP in AA (16 IP)
Bo Davidson — 24.3-year old OF — .861 OPS/122 wRC+ in AA (315 PA); .923 OPS/138 wRC+ in AAA (234 PA); .714 OPS/100 wRC+ in MLB (22 PA)
Jackson Flora — 21.5-year old RHP — 0.00 ERA/3.41 FIP in Low-A (1 IP); great numbers in a small sample in the playoffs (Low-A and AA)
Luis Hernández — 17.10-year old SS — .917 OPS/117 wRC+ in the ACL (228 PA); .594 OPS/48 wRC+ in Low-A (98 PA)
Jhonny Level — 19.6-year old SS — .968 OPS/134 wRC+ in Low-A (217 PA); .836 OPS/119 wRC+ in High-A (331 PA)
Ramon Marquez — 21.1-year old RHP — 1.86 ERA/2.67 FIP in Low-A (29 IP); 2.48 ERA/2.45 FIP in High-A (40 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 2026 season.
