SAN FRANCISCO – After finishing their fifth consecutive month with a losing record, the Giants appear ready to embrace a youth movement.

At least, as best a movement as their beleaguered minor league system can supply.

They do have a couple of promising hitters in the upper minors, and one of them will be joining the Giants when they begin a series at Philadelphia on Friday. According to a source, the team will purchase the contract of Austin Slater, and the 24-year-old is expected to get a tryout as a starting left fielder.

Slater, a Stanford product and former eighth-round pick, was hitting .322/.381/.460 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 174 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. He will become the first member of the Giants’ 2014 draft class to reach the major leagues.

Slater has played some center field this season, but is considered best in an outfield corner. Still, his ability to play all three spots could make struggling outfielder Gorkys Hernandez expendable.

In addition to Hernandez, Aaron Hill and Justin Ruggiano would appear to be candidates to be designated for assignment.

Slater would become the 10th different left fielder to start a game, and the 12th to play at the position, for the Giants this season.

Slater was a highly touted high school player in the Jacksonville, Fla., area and expected to be a top pick before he shattered his ankle while playing Ultimate Frisbee. The Los Angeles Dodgers took him in the 44th round but he decided to enroll at Stanford, where he rode the bench before breaking out as a sophomore.

More recently, Slater was slowed by a fractured hand that he sustained while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the hand injury tempered expectations for what Slater could do in spring training.

It didn’t take him long to heat up. Slater hit .354 with eight doubles and three homers in May. He has a 1.023 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.

The Giants are 22-33 and not only trail the NL-West leading Dodgers by 11 1/2 games but they are also 11 games behind the Rockies and Diamondbacks for the wild card. Although established players like Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik will continue to get their at-bats will keep the lineup from becoming an open tryout, others from the minors — third baseman Jae gyun Hwang among them — could be recalled as it becomes clear that this will not be a contending season.