San Francisco Giants: What Happened to their Farm System Pitchers?

Many believe the San Francisco Giants have one of the weakest farm systems in the MLB. The masses may have a case, especially when it comes to pitching.

The Giants blew 32 saves last year, including two in the playoffs. That number still stings. With those stats, pitching should be at the forefront of their minds. Yet the farm system is painting a different, rather worrisome picture.

What happened to the solid pitching talent that we saw come out of the San Francisco Giants minors before 2010? There were the likes of Noah Lowry, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Wilson, and Sergio Romo in the timespan of 2005 to 2010. That floodgate seemed to shut with the addition of ace starter Madison Bumgarner, and durable talent has been hard to find since in the SF minors.

Presently there is a fair amount of pitchers on the Giants’ roster that have ascended from their minor league system. Derek Law, Ty Blach, Josh Osich are just a few. Sure, they will need time to prove their stuff in the majors, but that list doesn’t seem to compare to the absolute talent and energy of the one above.

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Since Bumgarner, the farm system has not produced a long-lasting starting pitcher of great significance. In other words, with regard to pitching, the Giants might have the worst farm system in the majors. For an organization that won three World Series rings thanks to the guys on the mound, that’s laughable.

Their farm system should be swimming with raw pitching talent, since they know just how far it can take you in post season, right? Sadly, that’s not the case. But, there are at least a few guys ready to make a considerable impact on the organization in the future, right? Eh, not so fast.

San Francisco has just one prospect in the top 10o, and no, it’s not a pitcher. Rather, it’s infielder Christian Arroyo. Again, the farm system is lacking in ready and exciting talent compared to the rest of the league, but their top pitching prospects are even further down the list. They have no prospects in the top 10 for right-handers or left-handers.

Currently, the Giants best pitching prospect is Tyler Beede. Remember, they traded away previous top pitching prospect Phil Bickford to the Brewers for reliever Will Smith in a trade that hasn’t turned out so well in hindsight. Beede does have three relatively solid pitches, but consistency is his Achilles heel. Finding the strike zone and keeping pitches down are a real cause for concern here. But Beede is certainly the most major-league-ready at this point.

Sam Coonrod is next on the pitching depth chart, and he has a longer way to go. Consistency is another problem with Coonrod, as he likes to throw hard and fast. He is 24 and needs serious fine tuning before he hears his name called to play with the big kids. Most likely, he would be a relief pitcher for the Giants.

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The difficulty isn’t the number of pitching prospects the Giants have in their minor league, they actually have a fair number – it’s the quality of those pitching prospects. After Beede and Coonrod the list drops off significantly. Recently they have done a superior job of cultivating outfielders and substantial position players, but pitching has become a sore thumb.

The 2016 season was a hard one to swallow, in large part due to watching the bullpen implode. Developing quality and sustainable pitchers in their farm system must become a top priority for the organization if they want to watch the confetti fall at the end of the season. Just look how well it worked for them in 2010, 2012, and 2014.