It’s very early days in the 2027 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, which will see us rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization. But we’re already seeing some very close elections, including the most recent one to round out the top five.
But only one player can emerge victorious, and that player is right-handed pitcher Ramon Marquez, who has been voted as the No. 5 prospect in the system. And if you need evidence as to how much the farm system has been reworked
and remade, you can find it right there: that’s two players in the top five who were acquired in the summer.
Marquez came to the Giants in the Luis Arráez trade, and serves as the bow on Arráez’s glorious but short Giants tenure. Now the question is: can that bow blossom into a fortune?
Not only is Marquez one of the top pitchers in the system, but he’s one of the top stories. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him out of Mexico for just $10,000 last year, and he was on the older side for an international signing. But he immediately opened eyes. Once he was in the professional setting of Minor League Baseball, and teams were able to put their high-tech equipment to use analyzing his pitches, it became abundantly clear that he was special.
Marquez, who turned 21 in September, had a strong debut season in the Complex League and in Low-A last year, but it was in 2026 that he really took off, and ascended onto the national radar. He opened the season in Low-A, where his numbers jumped off the page: a 1.86 ERA, a 2.67 FIP, and 47 strikeouts in just 29 innings, with only 10 walks.
A promotion to High-A didn’t slow him down; in fact, it seemed to accelerate him. In six starts with Philadelphia’s High-A affiliate, Marquez posted a 1.50 ERA and a 1.99 FIP, with 46 strikeouts in 30 innings, and just nine walks. He faded a touch upon the trade to the Giants, as he made just two starts with High-A Eugene (where he had a 5.40 ERA, a 3.82 FIP, and 12 strikeouts against one walk in 10 innings), before being shut down to rest and prepare for 2027.
Those numbers all look good, but they’re even better when you contextualize them and weigh them against the competition. Combining his numbers with both organizations, Marquez was one of 355 Minor League pitchers to throw at least 40 innings in High-A this year. Among those 355, he was 12th in ERA (2.48), first in FIP (2.45), 17th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.05), 25th in walks per nine innings (2.25), and 33rd in ground ball rate (53.4%). And he did it all while being more than three years younger than the average pitcher at the level.
Those numbers are, in a word, elite. In a few words, elite and exciting.
Marquez, who I would assume will open 2027 in AA despite having made just eight starts in High-A, does it all with a fantastic fastball/slider combo, which is backed up by his best pitch, an utterly destructive changeup. His mechanics are a little funky and violent, which is either a good thing (a foreign look for hitters) or a bad thing (harder to maintain consistency) depending on your view point. Either way, he’s a must-follow prospect next year … he’s only pitched twice for the Giants organization, and we’re all itching to see more!
Now let’s add to the list! Head to the comment section to vote on the next prospect.
The list so far
- Josuar González — SS
- Jackson Flora — RHP
- Luis Hernández — SS
- Jhonny Level — SS
- Ramon Marquez — RHP
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 6 prospect nominees
Carson Bolemon — 19.7-year old LHP — yet to debut
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)
Argenis Cayama — 20.1-year old RHP — 4.87 ERA/4.27 FIP in Low-A (57.1 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)
Dakota Jordan — 23.5-year old OF — .879 OPS/125 wRC+ in High-A (355 PA); .697 OPS/87 wRC+ in AA (88 PA)
Gavin Kilen — 22.7-year old SS — .811 OPS/112 wRC+ in High-A (349 PA); .811 OPS/112 wRC+ in AA (143 PA)
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.
