Cody Hall

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #29 prospect in 2016
  Of all the big league debuts in 2015, Hall's had to be one of the unlikeliest. He gave up on the game as a high school junior, frustrated that he had never cracked his high school team's lineup. That would have been the end of the story, but while at Baton Rouge CC as a student, Hall discovered they had a baseball team and decided to try out and give baseball one more chance. After seeing him pitch for the junior college Southern coach Roger Cador was impressed enough with the big righthander's arm speed to bring him to campus. Giants roving pitching coach Lee Smith works with the Southern program and saw Hall there and put him on the Giants' radar. Four years later, he was a big leaguer--the first white player to reach Major League Baseball, the NFL or the NBA out of a historically black college. Hall credits playing at Southern, where he had black, white and Latino teammates, as a preparation for the melting pot that is pro baseball. How much of an impact Hall will make is still hard to discern. His above-average fastball sat 91-95 mph in 2015 after showing a tick more velocity in 2014, but it still has good movement down in the zone. Neither his changeup nor slider grade out as better than fringe-average. He also sporadically mixed in a splitter that could turn into a better offering than his changeup. Hall's control is below-average, which limits his upside, but after making his big league debut in 2015, he heads to spring training with a shot to compete for a job as a middle reliever. in 2016, especially if he gets back some of the velocity gains he showed in 2014.
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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #19 prospect in 2015
  Hall has proven to be yet another scouting-and-development find for the Giants. whose roving pitching instructor, Lee Smith, stops in to help Southern's pitchers prior to spring training. A 19th-round pick who didn't even play high school baseball, Hall's arm strength intrigued the Giants, who figured they could work out some of the kinks in his delivery. Even after some tweaks, his delivery has plenty of effort and recoil as he finishes, but he repeats his motion and has average control. Hall's plus fastball sits at 94-97 mph, but it was at its best last year when he learned how to pitch down in the zone with it. He could then mix in the occasional elevated four-seamer for a swing and a miss. Hall has a sinking changeup that flashes average, as well as a slider that has gotten tighter but is still a fringy pitch. Hall spent most of August on the disabled list but returned healthy and dominated in winter ball, tossing 17 scoreless innings in Venezuela. That earned him a spot on the 40-man roster, and he's ready for Triple-A Sacramento.
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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #27 prospect in 2014
  Hall has compiled some incredible statistics in two-plus professional seasons, including a combined 1.80 ERA and 0.78 WHIP between high Class A San Jose and Double-A Richmond in 2013, but the Giants never know quite what they'll get from him. That was never more evident than Aug. 29, when he threw the first pitch of an intentional walk over the head of Richmond catcher Tyler LaTorre for a walkoff wild pitch against Reading. Hall has prototype closer stuff and mentality. He's physically imposing with aggressive body language on the mound, and his fastball ranges anywhere from 92-97 mph. But he didn't play baseball in high school and barely had any formal pitching instruction before arriving at Southern in 2010. He doesn't have much consistency with his slider and he's still learning his delivery. He tends to muscle up in big situations, and thus far he's had enough fastball to escape most of them. The Giants made some changes to Hall's mechanics before sending him to the Arizona Fall League, where he worked on establishing a better breaking ball and a more consistent release point. He probably return to Richmond to open the season.
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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #26 prospect in 2013
  Hall was among several power arms the Giants took in the middle to late rounds of the 2011 draft, and while he had less pedigree than some of the others, coaches knew early on that they'd give him first chance to close at Augusta. Hall is a physically imposing reliever who doesn't have any trouble maintaining a mid-90s fastball that hits 97 mph on occasion. He had a tremendous year in low Class A, earning a promotion for the stretch run and California League playoffs. He is a prototypical closer, with exaggerated body language on the mound and hyper-competitiveness that sometimes gets the best of him. He would rate higher if he had a dependable breaking ball. His slider is a raw pitch and he'd rather power his way through lineups with his four-seamer. He made more progress with his changeup, which probably rates as his second best pitch for now. Hall had barely any formal pitching instruction before arriving at Southern, where ex-big leaguers Dave Stewart and Lee Smith regularly provide preseason coaching assistance, so he has everything to learn. He is set to return to high Class A, likely as the closer.