This time next month, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Scottsdale for Spring Training. Among those pitchers and catchers will be prospects galore \u2026 some who are already on the roster, some who are non-roster invitees, and some who are headed to Minor League camp. We won\u2019t be done with the 2026 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List when Spring Training rolls around, but we\u2019ll be a lot closer to completing our list of the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.<\/p>\n
The next name on the list is someone who figures to feature prominently at Spring Training, and be a big part of the 2026 roster: it\u2019s right-handed reliever Joel Peguero, who has been voted as the No. 27 prospect in the system in his inaugural CPL. Conveniently, our Steven Kennedy just wrote about him<\/a>.<\/p>\n Peguero, who turns 29 early in the upcoming season, was one of the best stories from the Giants 2025 campaign. The powerful right-hander was first signed out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager by the Tampa Bay Rays \u2026 back in 2015. He debuted in 2016 in the Dominican Summer League, and floated around the Minors after that. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2022, elected free agency and signed with the Washington Nationals in 2023, elected free agency again and signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2024, and finally, at long last, elected free agency for a third time and signed with the Giants last offseason, ahead of his 10th season of Minor League Baseball. Despite that long journey, and despite a fastball that ticked 100, Peguero had never made it to the Major Leagues, or even been placed on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n A strong showing in Scottsdale generated buzz that perhaps Peguero could break camp with the team, but instead, he was sent to AAA Sacramento for another season of Minor League Baseball. His numbers with the River Cats weren\u2019t great \u2014 he made 35 appearances and had a 5.10 ERA with a 4.79 FIP, while struggling with command and walking 4.89 batters per nine innings. But there was some crystal clear electricity in his arm: in AAA, his four-seam fastball (the most used of his three regular pitches) averaged 99.9 mph, while his sinker (the least used) averaged 100.1 mph.<\/p>\n In August, with the Giants struggling and having traded Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers, Peguero got the call to make his Major League debut, after his decade of work in the Minors. He took advantage of it, appearing in 17 games and posting a 2.42 ERA and a 3.85 FIP. The strikeout stuff was down \u2014 he only punched out 17 batters in 22.1 innings \u2014 but he also limited the walks, issuing only eight.<\/p>\n Peguero figures to be a big part of the bullpen this year, given that the team didn\u2019t really replace Doval or Rogers, and will likely be without Randy Rodr\u00edguez for the entirety of the season. And Peguero still has three option years remaining, so he can stick around even if he doesn\u2019t make the Opening Day roster.<\/p>\n In order to maximize his potential, Peguero will have to make his fastball less hittable. Despite the velocity, AAA hitters teed off on the four-seamer, posting an expected batting average of .386 and an expected slugging of .662, with a whiff rate of just 22.4%. That stands in stark comparison to his excellent slider, which had an xBA of .188, an xSLG of .246, and a whiff rate of 35.5%.<\/p>\n Those numbers held fairly steady in his brief MLB campaign. Major League hitters had just a .133 average and a .200 slugging against his slider, and a .154 average and .192 slugging against his sinker \u2026 but a .350 average and a .650 slugging against his four-seam fastball. Part of why his numbers were better in the Majors than in AAA was because the coaching staff and Gold Glove catcher he worked with moved him a little bit away from the four-seamer \u2026 with Sacramento, he threw that pitch 42% of the time. In the Majors, that number dropped to 32.7%. But you can\u2019t just get rid of a fastball, let alone a triple-digit one, so I\u2019d expect the Giants to work on the shape and location of that pitch, rather than just converting Peguero to a full sinker\/slider guy.<\/p>\n With the blatant trend towards bullpen velocity sweeping across the Majors, Peguero \u2014 while still being unpolished in many ways \u2014 stands out among a Giants corps that is a bit behind the times. Having someone who can light up radar guns is not just nice, but a necessity \u2026 and one I expect to see the Giants run with this year by featuring Peguero more.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s add to the list! As a reminder, voting now takes place in the comment section, using the \u201crec\u201d feature.<\/p>\n Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.<\/p>\n Rayner<\/a> Arias<\/a> \u2014 19.8-year old OF \u2014 .173 OPS\/-42 wRC+ in Low-A (30 PA); .699 OPS\/87 wRC+ in ACL (178 PA)<\/p>\n Carlos<\/a> De La Rosa<\/a> \u2014 18.1-year old LHP \u2014 4.73 ERA\/2.30 FIP in DSL (32.1 IP)<\/p>\n Lisbel<\/a> Diaz<\/a> \u2014 20.5-year old OF \u2014 .725 OPS\/96 wRC+ in Low-A (561 PA)<\/p>\n Trent<\/a> Harris<\/a> \u2014 26.11-year old RHP \u2014 5.44 ERA\/4.69 FIP in AAA (41.1 IP); 1.69 ERA\/1.73 FIP in AA (16 IP)<\/p>\n Alberto<\/a> Laroche<\/a> \u2014 20.1-year old RHP \u2014 2.11 ERA\/3.12 FIP in DSL (38.1 IP)<\/p>\n Diego<\/a> Velasquez<\/a> \u2014 22.3-year old 2B \u2014 .677 OPS\/107 wRC+ in AA (566 PA)<\/p>\n Note: Each player\u2019s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This time next month, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Scottsdale for Spring Training. 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