The Giants found their next SECRET WEAPON...

The Giants spent almost $8 million on two teenage shortstops. Joshua Gonzalez got just under $3 million, while Luis Hernandez got just under $5 million. And every Giants prospect conversation starts with them. But there's a third one. He signed for less than a million, he played more than either of them this year, at a higher level, and he won his league's top prospect award as the youngest player in it. His name is Johnny Level, and I think the Giants just found their next secret weapon. By the end of this video, you'll know why the scouts keep ranking him higher, the one flaw that could hold him back, and where he actually fits on a team that's loaded with shortstop prospects. Now, really quickly before we get going, roughly 75% of you guys who watch these videos are not actually subscribed to the channel. It's completely free, takes just a second of your time, and we're really trying to hit 6,000 subs. If you enjoy the video, make sure to go down below and hit that subscribe button. And you know what? I want to hear your pick right now. Before you hear this video, go down below, let me know who you think has a better big league career, Johnny Level or Joshua Gonzalez. Drop it in the comments and we'll see if you change your mind by the end of today's video. Here's where the three of them sit on MLB Pipeline's Top 100. Gonzalez is 7th in all of baseball, Hernandez is 25th, Level is 43rd. Baseball America has them in the same order, Gonzalez 18th, Hernandez 36th, Level 50th. So yes, he's 3rd in line, but look at how he's got to 50. He came in at 98, that was the biggest jump on the entire list. On Pipeline, it's the same story. He started this year just outside the top 100, snuck on in April when another prospect graduated at around 96. Now he's 43rd. So why does he get forgotten compared to the other two young shortstops in this organization? Well, two reasons. He's 5'8", and he plays in the same system as those two most-hyped teenage shortstops in baseball. MLB.com said it back in April. He was likely flying under the radar because of his size and other more touted prospects in San Francisco's deep system. And honestly, at the time he signed, nobody saw it coming. A little under a million dollars is a nice bonus, but it's a third of what Gonzalez got and a fifth of what Hernandez got. Here's how it all happened. In 2024, at 17, he hit 10 home runs with a 9-10 OPS in the DSL. In 2025, at 18 years old, he came stateside and put up an 8-68 OPS in the ACL and got named the league's top prospect. Then he got his first taste of single A in San Jose at the end of last season, and it didn't go great. 31 games, a .236 average, that's the one stop where he didn't hit. Then, 2026 happened. He went back to San Jose, and in his first 11 games, he hit .412 with 4 home runs and an OPS of 1.258. MLB.com wrote that you could argue no one in baseball was swinging a hotter bat, not in the minors, in baseball. He ended up playing 44 games in San Jose, .325, 10 home runs, a .968 OPS. On June 2nd, the Giants promoted him to High-A Eugene, and he walked in as the youngest player in the entire Northwest League. Here's what general manager Zach Minassian had to say that week, quote, for being a quote unquote smaller guy, he's always been able to get to some impact. Then he kept hitting 69 games in Eugene, a .302 average, a 119 wRC+. That means he was 19% better than an average hitter in a league where he was the youngest guy on the field. Put the whole season together, a .311 average, 18 home runs, 39 doubles, 26 stolen bases, and a 125 wRC+, at 19 years old. When the season ended, the Northwest League named him an all-star and its top MLB prospect. The Emeralds put it simply, he was a hit machine at just 19. Now compare that to the other two. Gonzalez hit better when he played a 146 WRC+, but a hamstring limited him to 279 plate appearances. Hernandez is 17 and finished at a 96. Level had 548 plate appearances, almost double either of them, and he's the only one of the three who made it to high A. Of course, in that conversation, he did have a little bit of an advantage because he started a year earlier. However, that's the secret. He's not the flashiest of the three. He's the most proven. So what do scouts actually see? MLB Pipeline grades him a 55 hitter, 50 power, 55 speed, 55 glove, and a 60 arm. On the 20 to 80 scale, 50 is a big league average and 60 is a plus. His overall grade went from a 45 when he signed to a 50 to a 55 this year. Before he signed, scouts compared him to Rafael Furcal, the three-time All-Star shortstop. Pipeline's newest report says it now looks like he'll have more impact at the plate than Furcal ever did. The one thing that every report brings up is his bat speed. Pipeline said he had some of the best bat speed in his entire international class, and he's a switch hitter with a big leg kick from both sides. Here's the part I absolutely love. Every single scouting report says he's better from the right side. Just Baseball says it, MLB Pipeline says it, and this year, he flipped it. Batting left-handed against righties in San Jose, he had a 1.042 OPS in Eugene 875 from the right side and a lot fewer plate appearances around 720. JustBaseball.com and RM Layton noted that if he could make his left-handed swing look more like his right-handed one, there could be room for even more consistent production. This year, it was flipped. The left side carried him. And the contact is real. On Prospect Savant against every high A hitter, he's in the 81st percentile in strikeout rate, the 83rd in contact on pitches in the zone, and his overall Prospect Savant score is a 90. 5'8", and he still hit 18 home runs and 39 doubles. Pipeline thinks he could be a 20 homer threat once he gets the ball in the air more, and Just Baseball says he already changed his swing path heading into the season to do exactly that. Now the flaw, because there is one, and it's the same everywhere you look. He swings at everything. On Prospect Savant, his swing rate is in the 91st percentile. His chase rate swinging at pitches outside the zone was 38.7%, and that's the 9th percentile. Only 1 in 10 high A hitters chased more. And you can see it in the walks. In 2025, he walked in 12.3% of his plate appearances. This year, it was 7.8%. Just baseball grades his plate discipline a 35 right now, with a 45 future. That's below average, even when he's done developing. At high A, pitchers will throw him strikes, just trying to get in the zone. At AA and AAA, in the higher levels, they'll make him chase. That's the test for 2027. The other question is position. Just Baseball says his throwing accuracy can be inconsistent. Baseball America thinks he ends up at second base. And the Giants already started moving him around. He started 17 games at second in Eugene, splitting time with Gavin Keelan. But here's the thing. Even the worst case scenario for Johnny Level is a good player. Just Baseball says he can fall back on utility role, as switch-hitting infielder with a plus arm who can play anywhere as a big leaguer. So where does he fit? Because this is the craziest part. Willy Adames is signed at shortstop through 2031. Gonzalez and Hernandez are both shortstops. Gavin Keelan is even a shortstop. The Giants traded for Marcelo Meyer in August. That's a lot of shortstops. And everyone sees it. Even MLB Pipeline said it. The Giants are overflowing with young shortstops, so the outfield could be a possibility for him, and he has the bat to profile as a regular all over the diamond. And that's why I call him the Giants' next secret weapon. Gonzalez and Hernandez are being developed to be shortstops. Level can be whatever the Giants need. Whether it's shortstop, second, third base, maybe even the outfield, his GM already said he handled shortstop in a way that was super encouraging. That type of flexibility is worth a lot, especially when you're trying to build a winner with and after Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, and Matt Chapman. And I hate to say it, but he could be a trade chip too, with Buster Posey and Tony Vitello saying they think they can contend in 2027. If the Giants go out and get a starting pitcher, a top 50 prospect who's already at high A is exactly the kind of player that teams ask for. Either way, he has a ton of value. As for when, MLB Pipeline and Just Baseball both have his ETA at 2029, but he's moved a level every year so far, and I don't think anybody would be surprised if he got there quicker. He also recently signed with Aguilas del Zulia back home in the Venezuelan Winter League. If he hits against older pitchers in Venezuela this winter and starts 2027 in AA, he's not going to be the forgotten one for much longer. Now, I would be lying if I sat here and said I think he has a higher ceiling than Joshua Gonzalez or maybe even Luis Hernandez, but it is extremely encouraging to see the way he damages the baseball so early in his professional career. Of course, the two higher-ranked shortstops are younger, so it's gonna be tough for them to put more damage on the baseball more consistently, but if Joshua Gonzalez and Luis Hernandez do not put the ball in the air more or put the ball out of the yard more, then it wouldn't be crazy to see Johnny Level have a better big league career. Of course, the defensive side of things from Level will also determine a lot of his future, But either way you look at it, the San Francisco Giants, for the first time in probably 15 years, have one of the best and brightest farm systems in Major League Baseball, which of course is extremely encouraging. Gonzalez and Hernandez get the headlines, Johnny Level gets the at-bats, and that's what makes him the Giants' secret weapon. So let me know, did you change your mind whatsoever? Who do you think has the best career of the three? Joshua Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez, or Johnny Level? let me know in the comment section below. And again, if you're one of the 75% who still isn't subscribed, make sure to hit that button. Thanks again.