SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Players in Giants camp who fail to make the team and get sent to the minors surely will be disappointed, but they will have a salve: a higher salary and a new housing allowance.

The Chronicle has learned the Giants will raise salaries for their minor leaguers this season, a year sooner than a plan approved by owners last week, and add what could be a first-of-its-kind housing allowance.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi confirmed the increases, which will cost the organization at least $500,000 a year, possibly in the high six figures.

The new compensation package will not stanch criticism that minor leaguers are still not paid adequately, nor paid at all during spring training and at instructional leagues, but the Giants believe it will put them at or near the top of the industry.

Giants Triple-A players will receive the biggest raises, from a minimum of $502 a week to $750, which is $50 more than the league’s new minimum starting in 2021. They also will get a $500-a-month housing allowance.

Players at Double-A Richmond, Va., also will get the $500 housing allowance and a minimum weekly salary of $600, up from $350.

Class A San Jose Giants players will get a rise from $290 to $500. They will not get a housing allowance but be matched with host families as before. The Giants will, however, provide free housing for the first time to prospects at low-A Augusta, Ga., while raising their minimum pay from $290 to $500 as well.

Younger prospects with the short-season team in Salem-Keizer, Ore., and the Scottsdale, Ariz., rookie-league team will receive an increase from $290 to $400.

The weekly minimums rise slightly if a player returns to any level for subsequent seasons.

“This is something I’ve increasingly felt was an adjustment that makes sense,” Zaidi said. “It’s just been a topic of conversation for me in my year in the organization, and we moved on it.

“For us, there’s no reason not to do it now instead of waiting another year.”

The Giants are not the first team to raise pay for minor leaguers unilaterally. The Toronto Blue Jays did so last year.

All the pay hikes from Double-A down are the same as those being mandated by Major League Baseball, just starting a year sooner. The MLB plan does not include money for housing, a big issue for many players who have to share apartments with multiple teammates.

Minor-league pay has become an increasingly divisive issue. The league and 22 of its teams, including the Giants and A’s, are facing a class-action lawsuit aiming to raise salaries at least to state minimum wage, force teams to pay players during spring training and provide back pay.

Many fans have been surprised to learn how little minor leaguers make, but others argue that the athletes knew what they were getting into when they signed and someday could earn millions if they reach the majors.

Major League Baseball has kept minor-league salaries low for a simple reason: It can. Prospects have no collective bargaining rights.

The league argues that playing baseball is far different than other jobs subject to minimum wage, and there is no way to account for the players’ hours and overtime as in other industries.

Zaidi hopes the pay hikes and changes in housing will help the organization in the long run by making the players more comfortable and better rested, while allowing them to afford better nutrition than the fast food they often eat.

“We as an organization have made a deeper commitment to player development,” Zaidi said, referring to facilities, equipment and coaching. “There’s a softer benefit as well, which is making players feel valued and appreciated and respected.

“Those are things that will allow these guys to focus more on their jobs and the task at hand, and that will ultimately help the organization.”

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman