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Giants reassign former first-round pick, option top-5 prospect

Originally posted on FanNation Giants Baseball Insider
By Marc Delucchi | Last updated 3/16/23

The SF Giants continued trimming their spring training big-league roster on Wednesday, reassigning catcher Patrick Bailey and optioning outfielder Luis Matos to the minor leagues. Two of the better-known prospects in the Giants system, both Matos and Bailey saw their prospect stock fall in recent years, but remain intriguing talents. Matos is currently the fourth-best prospect in the Giants' farm system while Bailey ranks as the 21st-best prospect in the system, per Giants Baseball Insider's latest rankings.

Matos was one of the biggest breakout prospects in the minors back in 2021, hitting .313/.359/.495 with 35 doubles, 15 homers, and 21 stolen bases as a 19-year-old at Single-A. Heading into last season, Matos was a consensus top-100 prospect with many evaluators expecting him to shoot up rankings.

Instead, he was easily the least productive everyday player at High-A. He hit .211/.275/.344 last season and seemed to lose some of the standout bat speed and athleticism that had turned heads the year prior. Still, despite those struggles, Matos just turned 21 in January and remains young for a prospect. He will likely return to High-A Eugene this season and hope to return to his 2021 form. This spring, Matos hit .250/.250/.375 with a home run and five strikeouts in 24 plate appearances.

The Giants drafted Bailey with the 13th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of North Carolina State. Coming out of college, Bailey was considered a borderline top-100 prospect expected to move quickly through the minors. However, he has struggled to adjust to professional competition. This spring, Bailey appeared in nine games, hitting .308/.308/.385 in 13 plate appearances with four strikeouts.

A switch-hitter, Bailey has been abysmal against left-handed pitching, posting a .460 OPS against southpaws last season. That said, in his second season at High-A, Bailey did post an above-average .252/.370/.481 line with a 15.7% walk-rate and 19.7% strikeout-rate against righties. He still has all the tools to be an excellent defensive catcher but has also struggled with inconsistency on that side of the diamond as well. Bailey will likely start the season at Double-A. He will turn 24 in May.

Neither Patrick Bailey nor Luis Matos was going to make the SF Giants Opening Day roster. However, they both received some valuable experience against big-league and upper minors competition this spring that will hopefully help them bounceback from recent struggles to live up to their prospect pedigree.

This article first appeared on FanNation Giants Baseball Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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