With Spring Training just around the corner, the Giants’ prospect conversation continues to heat up - and today, we land on a name that’s as intriguing as it is unconventional: left-handed pitcher Jack Choate, who checks in at No. 37 on the latest Community Prospect List.
Choate’s drop from No. 29 last year might raise some eyebrows, but don’t be fooled - his 2025 season was anything but disappointing. The 6’8” southpaw put together a solid campaign at Double-A Richmond, logging 29 appearances (24 starts) with a 3.51 ERA, 4.17 FIP, and an impressive 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He crossed the 100-inning threshold for the second straight year, showing durability and consistency.
So why the slide in rankings? It’s less about regression and more about projection - or the uncertainty around it.
Choate is a bit of a unicorn in today’s pitching landscape. While most arms are lighting up radar guns with mid-to-upper 90s heat, Choate’s fastball rarely flirts with 90.
That lack of velocity would usually be a red flag, but Choate’s delivery is anything but ordinary.
He throws from a low release point, which, combined with his towering frame and elite extension, creates an angle and deception that’s tough for hitters to pick up. It’s a funky, almost optical-illusion style of pitching that’s been highly effective at the lower levels - especially against younger hitters who haven’t seen much like it.
But Double-A is often the first real test of whether a pitcher’s stuff will translate, and Choate’s 2025 gave us a mixed bag. The strikeouts were still there, but so were the walks - and they weren’t a small issue.
After walking just 2.2 batters per nine in High-A Eugene to close out 2024, that number jumped to 4.8 in a brief stint with Richmond late that year. In 2025, he brought it down slightly to 4.5, but that’s still a concerning trend.
Combine that with a low groundball rate (36.8%), and you start to see the outline of a pitcher who may struggle if the strikeouts don’t keep coming at a high clip.
And that’s the big question with Choate: Can he keep fooling hitters as he climbs the ladder? Or will more advanced bats adjust to the deception and force him to rely more on command and velocity - two areas where he’s not elite?
The Giants did experiment with Choate in a relief role toward the end of last season, perhaps hoping a shorter stint might unlock a little extra juice on the fastball. It didn’t. His velocity stayed more or less the same, and while the bullpen look didn’t hurt him, it didn’t offer a clear new path forward either.
So what’s next? That’s one of the more intriguing storylines heading into 2026.
Choate wasn’t among the group of pitchers sent to Triple-A Sacramento at the end of Richmond’s season - a small but notable detail. Does that mean he’s headed back to Double-A for a third go-round, with hopes of refining his command and maybe finding another gear?
Or do the Giants challenge him with a spot in the River Cats’ already-crowded rotation to see if his deceptive style can still miss bats against more seasoned hitters?
Either way, this feels like a pivotal year for Choate. He’ll turn 25 as the season begins, and while age isn’t everything, it does raise the stakes a bit.
There’s still a chance he carves out a role - maybe as a crafty back-end starter, maybe as a matchup lefty or long reliever. But the margin for error is narrowing, and 2026 could go a long way in determining whether Choate’s unique approach can find a home in the big leagues.
As for the Community Prospect List, Choate joins a growing group of arms and position players who are keeping the Giants’ farm system one of the more intriguing in the league. With just one more CPL installment before Spring Training kicks off, we’re about to get a fresh wave of data, development, and decisions - and prospects like Choate will be right in the thick of it.
The CPL so far:
- Bryce Eldridge - 1B
- Josuar González - SS
- Jhonny Level - SS
- Bo Davidson - CF
- Dakota Jordan - CF
- Luis Hernández - SS
- Gavin Kilen - SS
- Carson Whisenhunt - LHP
- Blade Tidwell - RHP
- Keyner Martinez - RHP
- Jacob Bresnahan - LHP
- Trevor McDonald - RHP
- Argenis Cayama - RHP
- Luis De La Torre - LHP
- Trevor Cohen - OF
- Jesús Rodríguez - C
- Parks Harber - OF/3B
- Carlos Gutierrez - OF
- Drew Cavanaugh - C
- Daniel Susac - C
- Gerelmi Maldonado - RHP
- Josh Bostick - RHP
- Lorenzo Meola - SS/2B
- Will Bednar - RHP
- Yunior Marte - RHP
- Joe Whitman - LHP
- Joel Peguero - RHP
- Alberto Laroche - RHP
- Trent Harris - RHP
- Carlos De La Rosa - LHP
- Diego Velasquez - 2B
- Lisbel Diaz - OF
- Maui Ahuna - SS
- Cam Maldonado - OF
- Victor Bericoto - OF/1B
- Reid Worley - RHP
- Jack Choate - LHP
Nominees for No. 38:
- Rayner Arias (OF, 19.9 years old) - .173 OPS / -42 wRC+ in Low-A (30 PA); .699 OPS / 87 wRC+ in ACL (178 PA)
- Sabin Ceballos (3B, 23.5 years old) - .670 OPS / 102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)
- Jakob Christian (OF/1B, 23.4 years old) - .950 OPS / 155 wRC+ in High-A (92 PA); .815 OPS / 119 wRC+ in Low-A (318 PA)
Let the voting - and the prospect debates - begin.