The Giants have a couple of notable minor league developments brewing in the Arizona Complex League and at San Jose, with Hayden Wynja back on the mound and Jose Astudillo continuing to stand out for all the right reasons.
Wynja made his rehab assignment in the ACL over the weekend, his first time pitching in a pro game since 2024. The left-hander missed time last year with a pair of injuries, including a torn UCL, and his return came with a scoreless outing.
A Giants undrafted free agent in 2022, Wynja had originally been taken by the Braves in the 30th round of the 2017 draft but never signed. He turned heads in 2023 with a big strikeout total, fanning 115 batters in 97.1 innings while posting a 4.16 ERA across two levels. The Giants then sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he struck out 16 and walked nine in 10 innings for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
He spent 2024 back at High-A and put up a 4.95 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP, 9.4 K/9 and a 2.57 SO/W rate over 56.1 innings. At 6-foot-9, Wynja brings a striking look on the mound, working from an over-the-top slot and getting easy extension.
His fastball sits in the low 90s, though it doesn’t show much carry or run through the zone. Even so, it gets on hitters quickly, especially left-handers.
He also mixes in a slider with two-plane tilt and a changeup that has worked before.
For Wynja, the next step comes down to efficiency. That will help determine whether he stays in a starting role or eventually shifts to the bullpen, since the stuff is usable but the control remains a work in progress.
Meanwhile, Astudillo has quietly become one of the more interesting bats in the system. The San Jose Giants infielder owns a 4.9 percent strikeout rate, which ranks second in minor league baseball behind only Nick Madrigal at 4.8 percent.
The Giants signed Astudillo during the 2021 international free agency period out of Venezuela, and his climb has been gradual. He spent parts of five seasons in the Dominican Summer League before reaching San Jose this year, where he has been one of the team’s pleasant surprises.
In 143 plate appearances, Astudillo is hitting .349/.397/.512 with a 127 wRC+, four home runs, 23 RBI and 27 runs. He also logged a two-game stint with the Sacramento River Cats.
His plate discipline stands out too: he has eight walks and seven strikeouts. That kind of bat-to-ball ability is exactly the sort of thing the Giants’ front office likes in a hitter.
Astudillo’s profile is built more on contact than impact. He doesn’t bring much raw power, so the ceiling there is limited. But he does spray line drives to all fields and has enough speed to chip in a few stolen bases.
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