We’re so close to two very pivotal things! The start of baseball, and the end of the Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List. On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants play their first Cactus League game of the year. On Wednesday, we wrap up the communal rankings of the top 44 prospects in the organization.
Taking home the most votes on the last ballot is catcher Jancel Villarroel, who makes his CPL debut as the No. 42 prospect in the system.
Villarroel, a right-handed hitter, is one of the newest prospects on the farm, as he came over just before the start of camp in the Kai-Wei Teng trade. So we’ve yet to see him don a Giants jersey.
The recently-turned 21-year old signed with the Houston Astros late in 2022 out of Venezuela, and had a strong 2025. He spent the bulk of the year with Houston’s Low-A affiliate, where he posted a .746 OPS and a 123 wRC+, with six home runs in 85 games, and 20 stolen bases in 27 attempts. That earned him a late-season promotion to High-A, where his numbers came down a bit: he had a .699 OPS, a 91 wRC+, two home runs in 15 games, and no stolen bases.
While Villarroel didn’t post a great batting average (.259 across the two levels), like so many players the Giants have targeted lately, he kept the strikeouts in check, running just a 17.8% rate, made even better by a 10.4% walk rate.
There are questions about how Villarroel will perform as he climbs the ladder. He’s a very short player, listed at 5’8 and probably not much taller than that. He’s played all over the diamond (he has a not-insignificant amount of time at first base, second base, and all three outfield spots), but his lack of speed and agility make it hard to see him playing up the middle, and his lack of power makes it difficult to envision a career at a corner, so it’s probably catcher or bust. But catchers who can hit are always valuable, and that’s the hope with Villarroel, who should open the year as the primary catcher for High-A Eugene. It will be fun getting familiar with one of the organization’s newest members!
Now let’s add to the list. For the final time, we have some new names to choose from.
The list so far
- Bryce Eldridge — 1B
- Josuar González — SS
- Jhonny Level — SS
- Bo Davidson — CF
- Dakota Jordan — CF
- Luis Hernández — SS
- Gavin Kilen — SS
- Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
- Blade Tidwell — RHP
- Keyner Martinez — RHP
- Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
- Trevor McDonald — RHP
- Argenis Cayama — RHP
- Luis De La Torre — LHP
- Trevor Cohen — OF
- Jesús Rodríguez — C
- Parks Harber — OF/3B
- Carlos Gutierrez — OF
- Drew Cavanaugh — C
- Daniel Susac — C
- Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
- Josh Bostick — RHP
- Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B
- Will Bednar — RHP
- Yunior Marte — RHP
- Joe Whitman — LHP
- Joel Peguero — RHP
- Alberto Laroche — RHP
- Trent Harris — RHP
- Carlos De La Rosa — LHP
- Diego Velasquez — 2B
- Lisbel Diaz — OF
- Maui Ahuna — SS
- Cam Maldonado — OF
- Victor Bericoto — OF/1B
- Reid Worley — RHP
- Jack Choate — LHP
- Rayner Arias — OF
- Nate Furman — 2B
- Jakob Christian — OF
- Juan Sánchez — LHP
- Jancel Villarroel — C
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 43 prospect nominees
ScottBandura — 24.6-year old OF — .626 OPS/88 wRC+ in AA (186 PA); .838 OPS/136 wRC+ in High-A (373 PA)
Sabin Ceballos — 23.5-year old 3B — .670 OPS/102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)
Reggie Crawford — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 1.04 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA in 2024 (8.2 IP); 4.66 ERA/4.93 FIP in AA in 2024 (9.2 IP)
JoseOrtiz — 21.7-year old OF — .803 OPS/134 wRC+ in Low-A (66 PA)
Jean CarlosSio — 21.10-year old INF — .808 OPS/130 wRC+ in High-A (122 PA); .821 OPS/129 wRC+ in Low-A (385 PA)
Charlie Szykowny — 25.7-year old 3B/1B — .816 OPS/122 wRC+ in High-A (549 PA)
TylerVogel — 25.3-year old RHP — 18.00 ERA/6.47 FIP in AAA (2 IP); 1.13 ERA/2.42 FIP in AA (16 IP); 2.83 ERA/3.86 FIP in High-A (41.1 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 2025 season.