Recently, the San Francisco Giants decided to call up their top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, for his second stint in the majors. The Tony Vitello era has not exactly gotten off to the best start, with the team sitting at 14-23 and with a 2-8 record over their last ten games. There is good news and bad news, though, for the Giants faithful.
On the bright side, several Giants prospects could eventually provide the spark to their lineup that they hope Eldridge will bring. Unfortunately, it will take some time for those prospects to reach the show, as their second through sixth-ranked prospects have yet to even reach Double-A. One of those prospects is Jhonny Level, and while his MLB Pipeline ETA to reach the show is 2029, he has at least been playing well enough to move up to High-A in the near future.
Coming Soon to Eugene, Oregon: Jhonny Level
While the Giants have not had much success on the field over recent years, they have certainly had success on the international signing market. San Francisco signed the top position player in the 2025 class, Josuar Gonzalez, and the top player in the 2026 class, Luis Hernandez. In 2024, they signed Level out of Venezuela for just under $1 million, which, early in his career, is looking like a steal.
Level made his A-ball debut for the San Jose Giants last season as an 18-year-old, and in 31 games, he hit .236 with a .672 OPS and six extra-base hits. His debut in San Jose came after he was touted by a few scouts as the top prospect in the Arizona Complex League, which helped him rank as the organization’s number four prospect on MLB Pipeline entering the 2026 campaign. Well, not only has he looked more like a top prospect to start this season, but he’s looked every bit of a Top 100 prospect in baseball.
Through 24 games for San Jose this season, Level is hitting .336 with a .952 OPS, ten doubles, and four home runs. That is only the tip of the iceberg for how impressive the Giants prospect has been, as Tobey Schulman recently posted on X that Level is the only prospect under 20 years old to have a wRC+ of at least 140 and a contact percentage over 80% in at least 100 at-bats.
In the field, Level has always seemed much more advanced than his age would suggest. Not only does MLB Pipeline have the scouting grade for the young shortstop’s arm at a 60, but in over 407 innings in A-ball, Level has only committed five errors. Between him already being an advanced fielder and the fact that he has the tenth-lowest strikeout percentage in the California League (16.5%), Level looks more than ready to make the trip to Eugene to join the Giants’ High-A affiliate.
Level’s Future at Shortstop
For as strong as his fielding is, Level could eventually be moved over to second or third base on his journey to the Giants. Four of San Francisco’s top five prospects are listed as shortstops, and out of all of them, Level’s frame seems to be the one the Giants would be more willing to move around the infield. The experimenting with where Level will play the field could even start as early as his promotion to High-A.
While Gonzalez and Hernandez are both down in the Arizona Complex League, Level will soon be moving to an infield in Eugene that features the Giants’ #5 prospect, Gavin Kilen. To start the 2026 season, Kilen was in San Jose with Level for a brief period, prompting Level to start a few games at second base. When Kilen was promoted, Level took up permanent residence at shortstop, but with their impending reunion, the Venezuela native is likely to split his time between the two positions.
At the end of the day, as long as Level continues to hit the way he has been to start the 2026 season, then he should continue to advance through the system. Where Level will take the field with San Francisco whenever his call-up comes is a long way from being determined, but as it stands, he is certainly someone who could be a vital piece of the Giants’ next young core.
Main Photo Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
