Giants sending two impressive prospects to Futures Game

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- Tony Vitello’s primary focus is managing the Giants’ big league club, but he hasn’t stopped keeping tabs on a few rising prospects in the organization that he coached at the University of Tennessee.

Chief among them is shortstop Gavin Kilen, the Giants’ 2025 first-round Draft pick and No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline. Kilen has emerged as a standout at High-A Eugene this year, batting .289 with an .832 OPS, nine home runs and 63 RBIs over 73 games.

Those impressive numbers earned him two notable accolades this week, as he was named the Northwest League Player of the Week on Monday before being selected to represent the Giants at the 2026 All-Star Futures Game on Wednesday.

Kilen’s success isn’t much of a surprise to Vitello, who got to watch the 22-year-old infielder hone his elite bat-to-ball skills during his junior season at Tennessee in 2025.

“It was pretty cool, and I think a little bit of that has to do with how he finished going into the break,” Vitello said Friday. “He really got things rolling at the start, hit a little bit of a lull, and then as of late has really picked things up. Like we talked [about] with [fellow Tennessee alum] Drew [Gilbert], it's a little different. You want to make sure those guys are behaving [and] representing themselves the way that they should.

“The one thing I think fans will get familiar with is the way he plays. It's what we want in the organization. Some guys wear it on their sleeve a little bit more, but he's a silent assassin out there. He's a killer when he's playing. He's very sure of himself, and he wants to win. That'll be a game that's viewed by many -- an extra little bonus, an early glimpse for Giants fans.”

Kilen won’t be the only Giants farmhand who will be heading to Philadelphia to play in the Futures Game on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park. He’ll be joined by Eugene teammate Dakota Jordan, a power-hitting outfielder who is ranked San Francisco’s No. 5 prospect.

Jordan, a 2024 fourth-round Draft pick out of Mississippi State, entered Saturday batting .277 with an .811 OPS and 13 homers over 75 games for the Emeralds this year. The 23-year-old is viewed as one of the best athletes in the Giants' organization and possesses electric bat speed, which Vitello also saw firsthand while competing against him during his college days in the SEC.

“He had to tell me and [director of pitching] Frank [Anderson] to calm down one time when we had a dust-up with Mississippi State, and then he got right back up there and had an RBI base hit,” Vitello said. “It kind of speaks to who he is. You see how physical he is, and if you're around him, he's very intense.

"But his intensity to me is more about intent. He plays the game like a fun-loving Little Leaguer. I think he really enjoys himself out there. He's a dynamic athlete with how strong he is. He looks kind of like a version of Bo Jackson. He's got a lot of capability, and I know he's learning every day, too. He's made adjustments each year he's been in the organization, so I think he's somebody to be excited about.”