There R Giants #8: Ryan Murphy

Photo Credit: Michelle Valenzuela | San Jose Giants

We’re into the There R Giants Top 50. Over the winter months, I’ll write a post on each of the fifty players in my rankings, leading us back to the much-needed spring. Our list of previously covered players is getting a little long, so from here on out I’m moving the links for the full list down the bottom of the post.

There are four pitchers in the Top 10 of my Giants prospect rankings. Three of them signed deals with bonuses collectively amounting to $7.35 million, ranging from a low of Matt Mikulski’s $1.2 million to a high of Will Bednar’s (yes, he’s in my Top 10, Surprise!) $3.65 million. That’s a sentence with a whole lot of “millions” in it, both rhetorically and financially.

The fourth of those pitchers, Ryan Murphy, signed a contract worth $22,000 to play pro ball — and he signed that deal less than two years ago. One of these things is not like the others! It was widely assumed at the time that his willingness to sign for such a low figure (helping the team keep Kyle Harrison from heading to UCLA) was as big a factor in his selection in the 5th round as his scouting report had been — and there is almost certainly an element of truth to that. But Murphy spent most of 2021 proving he was a lot more “like the others” than people — maybe even including Giants officials themselves — had expected, scoring a big victory for the overlooked, small college, off the beaten path underdog along the way. Therein hangs a tale…

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Ryan Murphy struck out eight on Friday vs Tri City, taking over the MiLB strike out lead

Now the question is: what should we be expecting of this smart, talented, and intense competitor in the years to come? Will this Cinderella story lead to the steps of the palace, or should our sights be set on a more prosaic outcome? One thing has been made certain over the past year: you doubt Murphy at your own risk. He, himself, knows what he is capable of and the heights he intends to reach.