Get to Know Giants’ Prospect Brian Ragira

The San Francisco Giants‘ farm system has been called pretty soft. There isn’t the big-name, top-notch star quality that most teams like, but the farm is packed with mid-level prospects who, with the right coaching, could become something special. Among those fringe players is Brian Ragira.

Ragira, a 22-year old (23 later this month) first-baseman, was drafted by the Giants in 2013 in the fourth round of the amateur draft. That was his second time being drafted, as the Texas Rangers selected the Arlington, Texas-native in the 30th round in 2010 out of James W. Martin High School. Ragira declined the initial offer, and elected to play for the Stanford University Cardinal instead.

In his three years at Stanford, Ragira padded his resume with great stats and a myriad of awards. In 2011, he was named to the Freshman All-American team by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, while earning the honor of Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. The next season, he was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, and named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. In 2013, he was force on the field, leading his team in long-balls, runs driven in, hits, and total bases.

Overall in his time wearing the famed Cardinal jersey, Ragira played 167 games, hitting 17 home runs, 32 doubles, and driving in 135 runs. He also finished with a very admirable triple-slash-line of .324/.360/.463.

Besides the honors and accolades at Stanford, Ragira also racked up quite the amateur National career. In 2009, he was a part of 18-and-under Team USA in the Pan-American games. On the gold medal-winning team, Ragira batted .241 with 2 home runs and a team-leading 12 RBI’s. In 2010, he joined Team USA again, this time for the Junior World Championships. He would lead the team with 17 RBI’s and .649 slugging percentage, while batting .386. In 2011, Ragira acted as an alternate for Team USA in the Baseball World Cup.

Ahead of the 2013 draft, some circles had Ragira listed as a top-five first baseman prospect, and thought he could be a potential first-round pick. He would fall to the fourth round, however, where the Giants took the flyer on the young man.

Ragira began his journey in the Arizona Rookie League, where he would play just seven games. He batted .357 (10-28) with a double, triple and six RBI’s. He also struck out six times. His stay in Arizona was short-lived, as after those seven games, he was promoted to Low-A Salem Kaizer. He played 47 games as a Volcano, batting .263 (47-179) with 12 doubles, three home runs and 36 runs driven in. He also struck out 54 times. His slash-line overall was quite impressive, as he finished .263/.371/.391.

In 2014, Ragira was promoted to Advanced-A San Jose, which is a big promotion for a player with just a half-season under his belt. Despite no longer being a Volcano, in San Jose, Ragira’s power would truly erupt. In 120 games, he led the team in home runs (20) and RBI’s (82), while tying for second on the team in doubles (24). He posted a slash-line of .260/.320/.444, while striking out 127 times.

An odd note from Ragira’s 2014 season can be seen when his splits are examined. Against left-handed pitchers, the right-handed hitting Ragira hit just .196 with one home run. Against righties, he ramped the average up to .279 while mashing 19 home runs.

More from San Francisco Giants

• Thank you SF Giants for a fun, wild, surprising 2020 season
• SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs
• SF Giants: Mike Yastrzemski named 2020 Willie Mac Award recipient
• SF Giants: Chadwick Tromp placed on IL with shoulder strain
• SF Giants: Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners postponed

One problem that is visible just by looking at the statistics is the strikeouts. In 2013, over his 207 at-bats, he struck out 28.9% of the time. The next year, that figure dropped slightly, but was still high at 27.7% over 459 at-bats.

Mechanically, Ragira has a strong, flat swing. And anyone who listens to Mike Krukow talk about Brandon Crawford knows how valuable a flat swing is. He also has a very quick front foot, as he gets his lead leg down with plenty of time to react to the pitch, and he stays well-balanced. But Ragira is an awkward player, as his lanky 6’2″, 190-pound frame suggests. Awkwardness is not always a bad thing, however. Watch Hunter Pence play a full game, and it’s clear that awkward just works sometimes.

Ragira is packed with tons of power potential. He began to tap into that potential in 2014, as evidenced by his 20 home runs. As he continues to mature, he could become a legitimate deep-ball threat that can stake claim to a spot in the middle of any lineup.

While Ragira is a first baseman, and has been primarily throughout his life, he has begun to play corner outfield as well. It seems likely that he will become more of a permanent corner outfielder as his career continues, as his body is more suited for an outfield position. He is a pretty good athlete with good speed (his parents, Elijah and Abigael, are both Kenyan distance runners.) However, if his body continues to fill out and he can pack on some muscle, first base might continue to be his permanent residence.

The jury is still out on Ragira. He has shown he can hit with some pop, and hit for a middling average, but he has come with his struggles. Adjusting to better breaking balls as he continues to advance will be a great necessity, to prove that he can compete at a higher level.

The Giants’ farm is fairly short on legitimate hitting prospects. However, as Ragira continues his ascent, he could become the next superstar from out of nowhere.