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Shortstops are often the most athletic players on the diamond, from youth teams all the way to the major leagues. They’re the captains of the infield. Usually team leaders. In the middle of the action. With strong arms. There’s a lot to like about shortstops.
The Giants have plenty of good ones.
They added another gem to their system when 17-year-old Venezuelan Luis Hernández signed Thursday, MLB’s international signing day, at the organization’s Felipe Alou Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic.
The Giants handed Hernández a $5 million bonus, because he’s no ordinary shortstop. He was widely considered the top prospect in Latin America, highly mature and athletic for his age, and his bonus was the biggest distributed by any of the 30 teams on the first day of the international signing period.
It’s the second straight year the Giants snagged the top prospect from Latin America. Josuar Gonzalez was No. 1 in 2025 and signed for nearly $3 million. Like Hernández, Gonzalez plays shortstop.
“I don’t know if we can make this a habit — it’s a tough market, but we’re going to try,” said an elated Joe Salermo, the Giants’ senior director of international scouting, whose staff invests years in acquiring Latin American talent: Gonzalez was 13 when the Giants first spotted him, and Hernández was 12. “We’re having meetings as we speak to set up the board for 2027, and hopefully we can surprise you next year with some top talent.”
Despite the large bonuses, patience is key for these prospects. Hernández is the age of a high school junior, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants place him in the Dominican Summer League when the 2026 season opens. That’s where Gonzalez played in 2025.
But Salermo is dreaming of the two playing together stateside soon. The final call is up to Buster Posey and Zack Minasian and their player development staff, including Randy Winn and Kyle Haines.
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“I hope that he goes the nontraditional way and goes right to the USA,” Salermo said of Hernández. “It would be an exciting time, a fun time, to see Josuar and Hernández on the same field — one playing second, one playing short, another day flip-flopping.”
Shortstop also is Gavin Kilen’s position. He was the Giants’ top draft choice in July, the 13th overall pick after playing for Tony Vitello at Tennessee. Jhonny Level, the prize of the Giants’ 2024 international class, also is a shortstop.
“The number of shortstops from A ball down, it’ll probably be hard for any team to match what we have,” said Haines, the Giants’ senior director of player development, who attended Hernández’s signing. “We’ve got to be one of the strongest groups, if not the strongest, in baseball right now.”
Gavin Kilen was the Giants’ first-round draft pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2025. | Source: Wade Payne/Associated Press
The trick is where to play everyone. Gonzalez spent last season in the Dominican Summer League, playing 46 games at shortstop. Level played 25 games at short at San Jose after getting promoted from the Arizona Complex League. Kilen opened his career at San Jose late in the season and played six games at short and three at second.
There’s also Maui Ahuna (fourth round, 2023 draft), another product of Vitello’s Tennessee program, who also played short at San Jose, 31 games. Walker Martin (second round, 2023) played the most games at short in San Jose, 41, and 50 more at third base.
Other shortstops in the lower levels are Lorenzo Meola (fourth round, 2025) and Zane Zielinski (ninth round, 2024), who was at High A Eugene last year and probably is the most advanced defensively in the bunch, though his glove is way ahead of his bat.
The Giants have plenty of depth at the position and, therefore, plenty of trade chips when it comes to improving the big-league roster.
Asked about the young Latino shortstops in particular, Salermo said, “Some believe Level can stay at shortstop, and some say he might not, but I think everyone believes 100% that Josuar and Hernández can stay at short.”
There are only so many shortstop jobs, and it’s not like everyone’s immediately getting bumped to Double-A Richmond or Triple-A Sacramento. All will play shortstop in 2026, but all are expected to play at least one other position as well to increase their versatility and value and improve their chances of climbing the minor-league ladder.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Haines said. “You never want the problem of not having enough good shortstops. It raises the bar and the competition, instead of telling someone, ‘You’re the shortstop’ and having no one challenging. If we’re going to win [in the big leagues], we’re going to win with pitching and defense, and defense starts with the catcher and shortstop. It’s hard to win without a plus catcher and plus shortstop. Then you go into center field as well.”
The Giants aren’t as deep at shortstop at the upper levels, but that’s OK. They’ve got a guy in the big leagues playing the position who’s signed through 2031: Willy Adames.
The Giants’ international bonus pool was relatively tiny, $5.44 million, after $1 million was forfeited as a result of the Adames signing, based on the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer. All but $400,000 went to Hernández, a 5-foot-9, 175-pounder who played 104 games in an advanced Venezuelan league (Liga Mayor de Béisbol Profesional) and hit .346 with a .386 on-base percentage and .452 slugging percentage.
The Giants announced the signing of two other prospects: Mexican pitcher Alexis Gallego and Venezuelan center fielder Angelo Ugueto.
It’s nothing new for the Giants to stockpile shortstops. It was typical of Brian Sabean during his run as baseball operations chief. For instance, beyond drafting Brandon Crawford, he drafted shortstops Joe Panik and Matt Duffy, both of whom switched positions by the time they reached the majors. Posey himself played shortstop in college.
That all worked out quite well.
“A good shortstop gives you the best combination of athletic ability, arm strength, footwork, and, when combining the total package, you can’t have a weakness, because that gets exposed,” Haines said. “The distance of throws, angle of throws, quickness needed, and range — all the demands of the position — you can’t have a weakness. At second base, if you’re a little short on arm, you won’t get exposed. At third base, if you’re a little short on range, you won’t get exposed. But at shortstop, with those weaknesses, you’re hurting the team.”
The Giants, thanks to a stunning lottery win, will select fourth overall in next summer’s draft. Among the most highly touted draft-eligible players are UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, Alabama’s Justin Lebron, and high schoolers Grady Emerson, Jacob Lombard, and Tyler Spangler, the latter out of De La Salle in Concord.
All are shortstops.