Heliot Ramos became the first Giants "homegrown" starting outfielder since Chili Davis. Will he become Giants first leftfielder to start two opening days in a row in 19 years? That's a burning question for Buster Posey to answer this offseason.
MLB:
Heliot Ramos: There's a reason why the "Sophomore Jinx" is a time honored right of passage for young MLB players. If you are a hitter, pitchers find the holes in your swing. If you are a pitcher, hitters learn what you like to throw in certain counts and situations. It's the start of the endless adjustment and readjustment game that separates the players who have long careers from the flashes in the pan. As sophomore jinxes go, Heliot Ramos had a relatively mild one but it was there. The good news is he lowered his K rate and slightly increased his walk rate. The bad news is he made weaker contact and made a series of mental gaffes in the outfield and on the basepaths. He got hit with a few pitches which at one point seemed to get into his head a bit. The big question facing Buster Posey is does he believe Ramos is a player who will make the readjustment and enter the peak years of his career or has that peak come and gone? If it's the latter, Buster has a lot bigger job this winter than just building depth in the pitching staff. He might be willing to trust an internal option to emerge in right field. He can't do that with both right field and left field.
Luis Matos: Matos started the season as the fourth outfielder behind Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski. He did not get a lot of opportunities to play and and did not find traction. After YtY was traded he burst out to a .415 BA in August. Then, after a cold 2 weeks in September he was optioned out to Sacramento for Drew Gilbert who showed a lot of energy but little else. So where does that leave Matos who is out of options for 2026? Another burning question Buster has to make a decision on. It does not seem likely that if Buster were to move on from Ramos, he would put his faith in Luis Matos.
Marco Luciano: After a disastrous series of defensive gaffes while playing infield positions in 2024, the Giants former top prospect was moved to LF to concentrate on his hitting. The results were mixed. He hit 23 home runs in AAA and at one point I think he led the organization. He was patient at the plate and drew walks at a 15% rate which is excellent. But plate discipline is a tow-edged sword and his strike out rate remained over 30% and a .214 BA cut into his OPS. He is also out of options in 2026 and for all of Heliot Ramos struggles it's hard to see Buster tossing him aside to put his trust in Luciano.
Wade Meckler: It tells you something that a new player, Drew Gilbert, with a very similar profile Meckler got the call up and Meck didn't. In fairness, Gilbert seems to have just a bit bigger tools across the board and probably has more upside than Meckler. Meckler, like Matos and Luciano, is out of options and seems more likely to be DFA'd than to make the team out of spring training.
AAA:
None:
AA:
Scott Bandura: We've discussed Bandura's back story several time. He played well in A+ in his age 23 season and earned a promotion to the dreaded AA Eastern League where he predictably struggled. He has a year before he becomes Rule 5 draft eligible. Hopefully the experience he gained after his promotion will give him a head start on figuring out AA pitching.
Victor Bericoto: By Eastern League standards, Bericoto had a pretty good season splitting time between RF and 1B. Despite logging more innings at 1B, he's listed as an OF on the roster. If he goes unselected in the Rule 5 Draft, he could come to spring training as a longshot to win a roster spot in a right handed bat off the bench role.
A+:
Jakob Christian: Listed on the Eugene roster as an OF, he also split time at first base. Big guy with power potential. and some athleticism. Put up strong numbers at the plate in both A and A+ ball.
Damian Bravo: 15'th round draft pick. Assigned to A+ ball right out of the draft and wasn't overwhelmed batting .276 in 98 PA's.
A:
Lisbel Diaz: Bat took a slight step back in his age 19 season but still had 10 HR's and 23 SB's. Needs to build on that in 2026.
ACL:
Rayner Arias: Bonus Baby from 2023. Development delayed by a series of injuries. Needs to stay healthy and find traction in 2026.
DSL:
None.
Comment: Buster failed to sort out the outfield prospect logjam so has to try again with time running out on the option clocks for several players and to fill a gaping hole in right field. If Heliot Ramos isn't his left fielder going forward the job suddenly gets a whole lot tougher.