SF Giants’ Arizona Fall League participants headlined by 2 first-round picks

Two-way player Reggie Crawford and RHP Will Bednar are among 8 Giants prospects heading to the AFL

The San Francisco Giants will send eight prospects to the Arizona Fall League, baseball’s annual six-week development camp for young players, led by a pair of recent first-round draft picks.

Reggie Crawford, the two-way player San Francisco selected 30th overall last July, is the most notable name and one of the most intriguing prospects in the AFL. Crawford, who returned from Tommy John surgery this season to pitch in 13 games for Single-A San Jose and High-A Eugene with a 2.84 ERA, will bat exclusively in the fall.

Crawford, 22, threw 19 innings but only had 17 at-bats, recording four hits, including his first full-season home run. Following his promotion, his hitting was all but shut down, and he will now shift gears in the AFL. His pitching progression is finished for the season, according to farm director Kyle Haines, so his focus in the fall league will be on hitting reps.

Will Bednar, the other first-round pick, has also been hampered by injury. Bednar, the 14th overall pick in 2021 and younger brother of Pirates All-Star closer David Bednar, hasn’t pitched since last June, with the exception of four appearances this year in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, due to a stress reaction in his back.

They will be joined by 22-year-old LHP Jack Choate, a ninth-round pick in 2022; 23-year-old RHP Marques Johnson, acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Mauricio Llovera; 23-year-old catcher Zach Morgan, a seventh-round pick in 2021; and OF Carter Howell and LHP Hayden Wynja, two 24-year-old undrafted free agents from the 2022 class.

Choate, listed at 6-foot-6 and 249 pounds, pitched in 68 innings for San Jose and Eugene and had a 2.25 ERA. He hasn’t pitched since June. Johnson, a San Jose native drafted by Boston in the 11th round in 2022, did not allow an earned run in 1813 innings with the organization after joining in June.

Despite playing exclusively in the outfield for San Jose and Eugene, Howell was listed on the roster as an infielder. Haines explained that it was a clerical error.

Prospects from the Giants, Cardinals, Phillies, Nationals, and Angels will all play for the Scottsdale Scorpions. The play begins on October 3 and runs through November 11.