How the Giants evaluate the 7 prospects they acquired at the trade deadline

Want the latest Bay Area sports news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here to receive regular email newsletters, including “The Dime.”

When the Giants turned from buyers to sellers before the July 31 trade deadline, it was a dramatic shift behind the scenes but not one that caught everyone off guard.

General manager Zack Minasian, assistant GM Jeremy Shelley, and others in Buster Posey’s circle had to plan for buying, selling, and even a bit of both.

Buying was the dream, but with the team in a tailspin — losing 12 of 14 and getting swept in a six-game homestand — the brain trust pivoted to selling. While teams that were planning to sell all along had a head start in trade talks, the Giants were forced to catch up, but the legwork was in place.

“We’ve been around long enough to know things can change in an instant,” Minasian said. “Our preparation for the trade deadline starts way before the actual trade deadline. We will always prepare as both a buyer and seller, so we are covered regardless.”

During the process, pro scouting director Hadi Raad, player procurement director Josh Zimmerman, and analytics VP Paul Bien worked together, along with nine pro scouts and the Giants’ analytics group, to examine all potential trade pieces from the targeted farm systems.

“I think everyone felt extremely prepared,” Minasian said, “that if we were going to have to go the route of talking about prospect-type players that we’d have evaluations, opinions, recommendations and background information as to who these players are as people and competitors. It’s a pretty thorough process, and you try to mesh it together and make the best decisions possible.”

Posey and company, working out of an Oracle Park conference room, made three trades in two days, acquiring eight players, including seven prospects: four pitchers and three contact hitters with good on-base percentages and relatively low strikeout numbers.

To review: Tyler Rogers was traded to the Mets for pitcher Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert; Camilo Doval was dealt to the Yankees for catcher Jesús Rodríguez, third baseman Parks Harber, and pitchers Trystan Vrieling and Carlos De La Rosa; and Mike Yastrzemski went to the Royals for pitcher Yunior Marte.

The Rogers deal was completed a day before the deadline, and Posey and Yankees GM Brian Cashman talked for a couple of days about the Doval trade, so it wasn’t as chaotic as the Yastrzemski deal, which wasn’t consummated until the final minutes.

The new prospects are sprinkled across various minor-league levels and in the hands of Randy Winn and Kyle Haines, who oversee player development. Three are at Triple-A Sacramento — Tidwell, Gilbert, and Rodríguez — and have a chance to play for the Giants this season.

Here’s a look at who they are, where they are, and where they’re heading.

The right-hander, 24, made his Sacramento debut Tuesday night for the River Cats and tossed five innings of two-run ball while striking out nine. He has an over-the-top delivery and can throw in the high 90s but needs to improve his walk rate. He had a 4.31 ERA in Triple-A before the trade with 87 strikeouts and 32 walks in 79 innings.

The fact that he gave up 15 runs in 15 innings in four big-league appearances isn’t a major concern because it’s a tiny sample size. On the other hand, if he had thrown 15 scoreless innings for the Mets, he probably wouldn’t have been traded.

Minasian: “I think the type of raw ability he has can translate to the bullpen, but the definite preference is for him to be a starter. We feel he has the equipment to start. He has good velocity, can spin the baseball, and he’s competitive.”

The Giants love the Tennessee program. Which big-league team doesn’t? They liked Tidwell and Gilbert from the 2022 draft, both selected out of Tennessee: Tidwell in the second round by the Mets, and Gilbert in the first round by the Astros (later sent to the Mets in a Justin Verlander trade). Plus, the Giants’ first pick in last month’s draft was the Tennessee infielder, Gavin Kilen.

Like Tidwell, Gilbert is 24, a Yastrzemski type who can play around the outfield. His size sets him apart, just 5-foot-9, but he has physical strength and uses a high leg kick and slightly open stance to generate bat speed. He has some pop — five homers in July — and a .361 OBP (lots of walks and hit by pitches) and an .814 OPS in his pro career.

In his first three games for Sacramento, Gilbert went 6-for-12 with two triples, a double, and four walks.

Minasian: “Very well-rounded player. We think he’s a pretty good center fielder. He’ll show power. He’ll show contact. In our ballpark, being able to beat teams in a variety of ways can be very helpful. I think he can beat you defensively and can beat you offensively."

In the Yankees’ system, Rodríguez, 23, was buried behind many talented catching prospects but kept hitting his way up the ranks while playing various positions, including first base, third base, and left field. The Giants see him primarily as a catcher, and while they value his defensive upside, his bat could provide what the Giants lack: a good-hitting catcher.

The Venezuelan, who employs a crouched stance, was the designated hitter his first three games with Sacramento, going 2-for-11 and reaching base six times. It’s his fourth pro season and easily his best. He hit .317 with a .409 OBP and .839 OPS for the Yankees’ top farm team. He doesn’t have much power, but his bat-to-ball skills could play at Oracle Park.

Minasian: “We felt the ability and makeup were going to put this guy in a pretty good position to be a major-league player down the road. We see him as a pure hitter. He’ll use the whole field. He plays hard with a lot of energy. He’s always had to work his way into the lineup, and he has always hit.”

Harber, 23, is a big corner infielder (6-3, 225) who went undrafted after playing three years at Georgia and one at North Carolina. He’s shelved with a wrist injury but is expected to play soon, probably at Eugene — trainer Dave Groeschner and his medical staff weigh in on all trades and are especially leaned on when a deal includes an injured player.

In 20 games in Low A, Harber hit .304 with a .422 OBP. He’s relatively old for A ball but is in his second pro season and could move up once he gets a clean bill of health and continues hitting.

Minasian: “He’s really handled the bat well as a professional. Good contact and power. How he impacts the ball, it was very impressive for our group. We’ll get to know the defensive ability more and more as we have him, but he’s graded well at third base.”

The Giants got their final look at the 6-foot-4 right-hander a day before the trade deadline, when he faced their Double-A Richmond team and threw 77 pitches (50 strikes) in five innings. Now he’ll make his first start for Richmond on Wednesday night.

The Giants scouted Vrieling at Gonzaga in 2022 when the Zags had quite a pitching staff. Gabriel Hughes was the Rockies’ first pick, and Vrieling went in the third round, as did William Kempner, whom the Giants picked (and traded to Miami in January). So far, Vrieling has a 4.50 ERA in 12 games including 10 starts. Two more factoids: He missed the 2023 season with an elbow injury and grew up in Washington state a Giants fan.

Minasian: “Someone we scouted a lot as an amateur that we liked. He’s got a good delivery with a good pitcher’s frame, and his arm strength has been coming on of late, which was exciting for our group. He has several offerings, a nice pitch mix, and we’re comfortable with where he is from a health standpoint.”

The lefty is just 17 and had just 22 innings of pro ball to his name, all in the Dominican Summer League, but it’s not hard to be wowed by his 36 strikeouts. This is where clubs take chances, on the backside of a 1-for-4 trade, and the Giants relied on input from Joe Salermo and José Bonilla of the international staff, along with the analytics department — plus a lot of video.

Minasian: “He shows low to mid 90s at 17 for a physical left-hander who throws strikes, so we thought it’s a really good foundation to work from.”

Not the former Giants pitcher with the same name (circa 2022). That one is 30 and was last seen pitching in Japan. This one is 21 and was putting up impressive numbers in Low A with a 2.74 ERA, 79 strikeouts, and 20 walks in 82 innings over 19 starts. He was Pitcher of the Month in the Carolina League after dominating May with an ERA of 0.71.

Marte is 6-foot-5, throws in the high 90s, and will begin with Low A San Jose. Like the other three pitching prospects, he’ll be a starter for now.

Minasian: “To add another arm like that is exciting. Good fastball, changeup, he’s also physical and throws a lot of strikes. Another good foundation to work on and hand over to player development.”