Down on the Farm (2017)

[SFGRTB]

This article is well worth a read:

Chris Shaw Adjusting To Life In Left | BaseballAmerica.com

 

[Stokes1931]

Rivercats scored 13 in one inning against the Sky Sox today.

Orlando Calixte went 5-6, 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs, a double and two homers (12 total bases)

Austin Slater went 3-6, 3 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 2 doubles

Lots of good hitting today, good to see.

 

[calsnowskier]

This article is well worth a read:

Chris Shaw Adjusting To Life In Left | BaseballAmerica.com

It may just be smoke, but it does say that he seems to be better in left than he is at first.

He may not have a long career in the OF (dude is a giant), but if he can just play out there for 2-3 years, that will be all that is needed.

 

[SFGRTB]

It may just be smoke, but it does say that he seems to be better in left than he is at first.

He may not have a long career in the OF (dude is a giant), but if he can just play out there for 2-3 years, that will be all that is needed.

Shaw is massive, built like Pat Burrell. And hey, it's an old trope, but if he could do it....

Coming from the AA managers mouth, I'm not exactly sure what to think. On one hand, he's not going to say "my god, he's terrible out there and I'm only doing it because I'm bring forced to by management". But, he did say he thinks he's only an okay 1st baseman, so it's not like he's afraid to talk down on him. I tend to think what he's saying is mostly true.

FWIW, I've heard every step of the way (and saw first hand extensively in San Jose) that Shaw is a bad 1st baseman. The footwork just isn't there, he gets tangled up a lot. He's a natural OFer though and looks comfortable out there. The worry is the utter lack of foot speed, but as shown with Duvall it's not the end of the world and can be worked on. Good first steps can make up a lot of the difference, and this article alludes to the fact that the Giants are really working on that. Exciting stuff.

It is interesting to think where he ranks in terms of Giants hitters right now? He'd probably at least 8th/9th best on the team if called up today..... maybe even top 5?

 

[Stokes1931]

I can understand going from 1b to the OF. But going from the OF to 1B is a larger jump. The ball comes quicker in the infield. 1B is a demanding position, lots of defense, lots of plays, bunt plays, pickoff plays, double play issues.

If Shaw was a RF in college, he will be fine in LF in the majors, and maybe switch to RF when Herk moves on. If he can hit, he can find a place.

Besides, he's blocked by BB9.

The Giants REALLY need a CF who can run and cover a ton of ground. Span is not it. Pagan was not it. I am not sure Gorkys is it. A fast CF can make up for slower corner OF's.

When I was a wee lad, I remember the OF of Matthews, Maddox and Bonds. Sarge was not exactly fast, but he didn't need to be, as Maddox could almost cover 2/3 of the OF with his speed.

 

[SFGRTB]

I can understand going from 1b to the OF. But going from the OF to 1B is a larger jump. The ball comes quicker in the infield. 1B is a demanding position, lots of defense, lots of plays, bunt plays, pickoff plays, double play issues.

If Shaw was a RF in college, he will be fine in LF in the majors, and maybe switch to RF when Herk moves on. If he can hit, he can find a place.

Besides, he's blocked by BB9.

The Giants REALLY need a CF who can run and cover a ton of ground. Span is not it. Pagan was not it. I am not sure Gorkys is it. A fast CF can make up for slower corner OF's.

When I was a wee lad, I remember the OF of Matthews, Maddox and Bonds. Sarge was not exactly fast, but he didn't need to be, as Maddox could almost cover 2/3 of the OF with his speed.

I don't want to see Shaw having to track balls in triples ally, or RCF in Chase, Coors or Petco.

Having an athletic RF is just as important as an athletic CFer in the NL West IMO.

 

[calsnowskier]

I don't want to see Shaw having to track balls in triples ally, or RCF in Chase, Coors or Petco.

Having an athletic RF is just as important as an athletic CFer in the NL West IMO.

This.

RF, particularly at AT&T, is ALMOST more challenging than CF. having to react to the bounces off the wall is like trying to guard Steph.

 

[SFGRTB]

Thursday 5/11

Pitching Line: IP-H-R-ER-BB-K

Sacramento River Cats AAA WON 17-7 (13-20)

Orlando Calixte 5-6, 2 HR (5, 6), 2B, 4 RBI, 4 R. Woah. Played 2B
Austin Slater 3-6, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R. Played RF
Chris Marrero 2-5, HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB. Played 1B
Fed-X 3-5, 2B, 1 BB, 3 RBI, 2 R. He's batting .400, with a 1.000 OPS. Lookout Trevor Brown?
Mac Williamson 1-5, 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Played LF

The Cats erupted for 13 runs in the 7th.

Dan Slania 5.0-2-5-5-4-3
Matt Reynolds 1.0-1-0-0-0-3
Tyler Rogers 1.0-1-0-0-0-0


Richmond Flying Squirrels AA lost 5-3 (13-19)

Hunter Cole 1-5, HR (1), 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 K.
Chris Shaw 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Played LF. 10th in 29 games, 4th out of 5 games.

Matt Lujan 6.0-10-5-5-1-4
Jose Flores 2.0-0-0-0-0-3. This Richmond bullpen continues to blow my mind. It would be historically amazing if it was happening in the majors. (Unfortunately it's not, but it would be cool to see a ML Pen used this way)


San Jose Giants A+ WON 3-2 (15-19)

Jalen Miller 2-4, 2 K.
Daniel Carbonell 1-3, HR (4), 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 K. Yes, he's still around. No where closer to the bigs than he was 3 years ago.
Johneshwy Fargas 1-2, HR (2), 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB. No, it was not an inside the park job.

Mike Connolly 8.0-3-2-0-2-5
Ryan Halstead 1.0-0-0-0-0-2


Augusta Green Jackets A lost 4-3 (11-22)

Jacob Heyward 1-3, HR (4), 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Kelvin Beltre 1-4, 2B, 1 R
Sandro Fabian 1-4, 1 SB (2), 1 R, 1 K

Matt Solter 6.0-7-4-3-2-3
Sandro Cabrera 2.0-0-0-0-2-4
Cesar Yanez 1.0-0-0-0-1-0


Probable Pitchers:

AAA: TBD
AA: Cory Taylor
A+: Heath Slatton
A: Melvin Adon

 

[SFGRTB]

Friday 5/12

Pitching Line: IP-H-R-ER-BB-K

Sacramento River Cats AAA lost 4-1 (13-21)

Mac Williamson 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R.
Ryder Jones left the game early. Hopefully he's alright (no, he was not recalled to SF)

Tyler Beede 4.2-10-4-3-1-5. Looks like Beede was a little bit too much around the zone today, or there were a ton of cheap hits.
Dusten Knight 1.1-0-0-0-1-1
Ryan Webb 1.0-1-0-0-1-0
Kyle Crick 1.0-0-0-0-0-1


Richmond Flying Squirrels AA was rained out (13-19)




San Jose Giants A+ lost 5-4 (15-20)

Jalen Miller 1-4, HR (3), 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 K. Played SS
Aramis Garcia 2-5, 1 RBI
Gio Brusa 2-4, 2B, 2 R

Heath Slatton 4.0-5-4-3-4-3. Yuck


Augusta GreenJackets A was cancelled due to... power outage? Who forgot to pay the bills? (11-22)

 

[SFGRTB]

Saturday 5/13

Pitching Line: IP-H-R-ER-BB-K

Sacramento River Cats AAA won 11-2 (14-21)

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3-6, HR (1st), 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI. Hwang finally shows a little bit of pop.
Mac Williamson 2-5, 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Stay hot, your time is soon
Austin Slater 4-4, HR (2nd), 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 CS. Played CF
Carlos Moncreif 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (3rd)
Juan Ciriaco 2-5, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, E (2nd)

Juan Gregorio 6.0-4-2-2-5-6. Didn't have his sharpest command today, didn't matter. 2.04 ERA.
Roberto Gomez 2.0-0-0-0-0-3
Tyler Rogers 1.0-1-0-0-0-0


Richmond Flying Squirrels AA lost Game 1 of the double header 2-1 in the final inning (13-20)

Bleh. Shaw sat out game 1

Cory Taylor 5.0-2-0-0-3-5
Carlos Alvarado 1.0-0-0-0-0-1
Reyes Moronta 0.2-1-2-1-2-0. Also committed an error. No ball was hit particularly hard, but was not sharp at all with his command and Bowie walked off nonetheless.


Richmond Flying Squirrels AA won Game 2 of the double header 4-1 in "extra innings" (14-20)

Miguel Gomez 2-4, HR (3rd), 2 RBI, 1 R, E (9th). Go-ahead homerun in "extra innings" (the 8th inning).
Slade Heathcott 2-4, 1 R. Slash line up to .303/.377/.468 with great defense in CF. Former super prospect with the Yankees derailed with off the field issues, maybe he finds his way in SF. Exciting player. 4th OFer?
Tyler Horan 2-3, HR (1st), 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R.
Chris Shaw 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K. It's happening, folks. 11th out of 30 games in LF, 5th of 6.
Jeff Arnold 1-3, HR (1st), 1 R, 1 RBI

Matt Gage 7.0-6-1-1-1-4. Matt Gage pitches a wonderful performance, refusing to let "extra innings" slow him down....
Tyler Cyr 1.0-1-0-0-0-4


San Jose Giants A+ lost 3-2 (15-21)

Matt Winn 3-3, 1 RBI, 1 RBI, PB (4th-!)
Aramis Garcia 1-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K. Still limited to 1B/DH for now.

Matt Krook 4.2-2-3-2-5-6. This ends up being an encouraging line. Which says a lot.
Connor Kaden 3.1-2-0-0-1-4
Dylan Rehault 1.0-2-0-0-0-2


Augusta GreenJackets A lost 3-2 (11-23)

These kiddies are just not playing well lately.

Caleb Baragar 5.0-5-1-1-2-4
Garrett Williams 2.0-1-1-0-1-3. Very solid debut for Williams. Hope to see him in a rotation soon.

 

[Stokes1931]

Sunday, 5/14 (Happy Mothers Day!)

Sacramento (AAA) (15-21) WON 4-2

Orlando Calixte 1-5, ruin (.274)
Jae-Gyun Hwang 2-4, run, 2 RBI, double, homer (2) (.305)
Austin Slater 1-4, double (.308)
Mac Williamson 2-4, run (.274)
Kyle Blanks 2-4, run, RBI, double (.227)

BASERUNNING
SB: Calixte (10, 3rd base off Kohlscheen/Susac).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Marrero, C (Noriega at 2nd base).

Michael Roth 6.0-6-2-2-0-4 (4.54)
Tyler Rogers (W, 1-1) 1.0-0-0-0-1-1 (1.46)
Matt Reynolds (H, 4) 1.0-0-0-0-0-1 (1.13)
Kyle Crick (S, 3) 1.0-0-0-0-1-1 (3.52)

Richmond (AA) (15-20) WON 4-1

Slade Heathcott 2-5 (.307)
Miguel Gomez 2-5, run, RBI, double (.328) This guy has DH written all over him
Hunter Cole 3-5, double (.225)
Brandon Bednar 2-5, 2 runs, double (.308)
Dylan Davis 2-4, (.193)
Ali Castillo 3-4, 2 RBI (.275)

BASERUNNING
SB: Heathcott (4, 2nd base off Barker/Castillo).

Jordan Johnson (W, 2-2) 6.2-4-1-1-2-4 (2.62)
D.J. Snelten (H, 3) 1.0-1-0-0-1-1 (0.50)
Carlos Alvarado (S, 1) 1.0-1-0-0-0-1 (1.17)

San Jose (A+) (15-22) lost 5-2

Daniel Carbonell 1-3, run (.263)
Bryan Reynolds 2-4, double, triple (.252)
Johneshwy Fargas 1-3, double (.202)

FIELDING
E: Reyes, M 2 (2, throw, pickoff); Arenado (7, throw).

Mark Reyes (L, 1-5) 4.1-4-4-3-5-3 (5.77)
David Owen 4.1-5-1-1-2-4 (5.16)
Ryan Halstead 0.1-0-0-0-0-1 (0.49)

Augusta (A) (11-24) lost 7-1

Nothing good to see here.

BASERUNNING
SB: Heyward (2, 2nd base off Vines/Dini); Paulino, C (2, 2nd base off Vines/Dini).
CS: Rivera, K (1, 2nd base by Vines/Dini).
PO: Fulmer (1st base by Vines).

FIELDING
E: Rivera, K 2 (8, fielding, fielding); Ewing (3, throw); Kirby (4, fielding).

Scheduled Pitchers Tomorrow (Monday)

Sacramento (AAA) Stratton (0-0, 5.12)
Richmond (AA) Suarez, An (2-3, 3.48)
San Jose (A+) Suarez, An (2-3, 3.48)
Augusta (A) Woods, Step (2-3, 2.51)

 

[SFGRTB]

Sunday, 5/14 (Happy Mothers Day!)

Sacramento (AAA) (15-21) WON 4-2

Orlando Calixte 1-5, ruin (.274)
Jae-Gyun Hwang 2-4, run, 2 RBI, double, homer (2) (.305)
Austin Slater 1-4, double (.308)
Mac Williamson 2-4, run (.274)
Kyle Blanks 2-4, run, RBI, double (.227)

BASERUNNING
SB: Calixte (10, 3rd base off Kohlscheen/Susac).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Marrero, C (Noriega at 2nd base).

Michael Roth 6.0-6-2-2-0-4 (4.54)
Tyler Rogers (W, 1-1) 1.0-0-0-0-1-1 (1.46)
Matt Reynolds (H, 4) 1.0-0-0-0-0-1 (1.13)
Kyle Crick (S, 3) 1.0-0-0-0-1-1 (3.52)

Richmond (AA) (15-20) WON 4-1

Slade Heathcott 2-5 (.307)
Miguel Gomez 2-5, run, RBI, double (.328) This guy has DH written all over him
Hunter Cole 3-5, double (.225)
Brandon Bednar 2-5, 2 runs, double (.308)
Dylan Davis 2-4, (.193)
Ali Castillo 3-4, 2 RBI (.275)

BASERUNNING
SB: Heathcott (4, 2nd base off Barker/Castillo).

Jordan Johnson (W, 2-2) 6.2-4-1-1-2-4 (2.62)
D.J. Snelten (H, 3) 1.0-1-0-0-1-1 (0.50)
Carlos Alvarado (S, 1) 1.0-1-0-0-0-1 (1.17)

San Jose (A+) (15-22) lost 5-2

Daniel Carbonell 1-3, run (.263)
Bryan Reynolds 2-4, double, triple (.252)
Johneshwy Fargas 1-3, double (.202)

FIELDING
E: Reyes, M 2 (2, throw, pickoff); Arenado (7, throw).

Mark Reyes (L, 1-5) 4.1-4-4-3-5-3 (5.77)
David Owen 4.1-5-1-1-2-4 (5.16)
Ryan Halstead 0.1-0-0-0-0-1 (0.49)

Augusta (A) (11-24) lost 7-1

Nothing good to see here.

BASERUNNING
SB: Heyward (2, 2nd base off Vines/Dini); Paulino, C (2, 2nd base off Vines/Dini).
CS: Rivera, K (1, 2nd base by Vines/Dini).
PO: Fulmer (1st base by Vines).

FIELDING
E: Rivera, K 2 (8, fielding, fielding); Ewing (3, throw); Kirby (4, fielding).

Scheduled Pitchers Tomorrow (Monday)

Sacramento (AAA) Stratton (0-0, 5.12)
Richmond (AA) Suarez, An (2-3, 3.48)
San Jose (A+) Suarez, An (2-3, 3.48)
Augusta (A) Woods, Step (2-3, 2.51)

Real nice outing for Johnson. He was topping out at 96 with his fastball. When he's on and in command, he can be really good.

Shaw missed a homer by a few inches, the wind knocked it down and the fielder made a jumping catch at the top of the wall. Played LF again. Today, Bochy acknowledged that Shaw has looked okay in LF (obviously, not knowing himself but his scouts have told him).

Bryan Reynolds needed a game like today. He's had a rough go.

Sorry Pence, but I'm almost hoping you go on the DL just to get Mac up here for good. He has a good swing going. The time is ripe.

Hwang homering back-to-back nights. He's finding the power stroke.

I really wonder of Slade Heathcott is an upgrade over Gorkys right now. Calixte might be too.

 

[calsnowskier]

I really wonder of Slade Heathcott is an upgrade over Gorkys right now. Calixte might be too.

Are they good defensive CFers? That is the role that he (supposedly) fills on the team. Wasn't Calixe signed as an infielder? Does he have the defensive chops to get the call as an outfielder?

Heathcott looks like he may have been a great reclamation project. I would not be surprised to see him in SF before the end of the season. He MAY even have some kind of out in his contract since he did bring a bit of a name with him...

 

[SFGRTB]

Are they good defensive CFers? That is the role that he (supposedly) fills on the team. Wasn't Calixe signed as an infielder? Does he have the defensive chops to get the call as an outfielder?

Heathcott looks like he may have been a great reclamation project. I would not be surprised to see him in SF before the end of the season. He MAY even have some kind of out in his contract since he did bring a bit of a name with him...

Calixte plays every position, outside of P (he's even an emergency C). He's a great defender in the infield, but I haven't heard much about his overall defense in the outfield, which he's played a fair amount of. I hear his name come up in highlight plays, but that's probably to do more with because he has good athleticism. Does he take good routes, make the easy plays easily? etc. I don't know. He's being groomed as a super sub though, a guy that allows the Giants to only carry 4 OFers, or 13 pitchers or whatever.

Heathcott is a very good CFer. I agree that it's possible he ends up in the majors. If he keeps producing, there's nothing he has to prove really. He had to prove that he can still play.

 

[Stokes1931]

Monday, 5/15

Sacramento (AAA) (15-22) lost 6-4

Jae-Gyun Hwang 1-4, run, double (.303)
Austin Slater 1-4, run (.306)
Kyle Blanks 1-1, run, 3 RBI, homer (3) (.239)

FIELDING
E: Slater (2, fielding)

Chris Stratton (L, 0-1) 3.1-6-6-4-4-4 (5.96)
Kraig Sitton 1.2-0-0-0-0-2 (3.54)
Ryan Webb 1.2-2-0-0-1-3 (3.77)
Dusten Knight 1.1-1-0-0-1-2 (2.08)

Richmond (AA) (16-20) WON 3-1

Slade Heathcott 2-4, run (.314)
C.J Hinojosa 1-4 (.231)

FIELDING
E: Suarez, An (1, pickoff)

Andrew Suarez (W, 3-3) 6.2-5-1-1-0-7 (3.12)
Jose Flores (H, 2) 0.1-0-0-0-0-1 (1.69)
Reyes Moronta (H, 1) 1.0-0-0-0-0-0 (3.46)
Tyler Cyr (S, 3) 1.0-1-0-0-0-2 (2.03)

San Jose (A+) (15-23) lost 5-4

Daniel Carbonell 2-5, double (.269)
Ryan Howard 2-4, run, RBI (.310)
Bryan Reynolds 2-5, run, double (.258)
Dillon Dobson 2-4, run (.284)
Gio Brusa 2-4, 2 RBI, double (.200)

Jake McCasland (L, 0-4) 5.0-6-3-3-4-5 (5.65)
Carlos Diaz 3.0-3-2-2-2-3 (3.24)
Caleb Simpson 1.0-0-0-0-1-2 (5.74)

Augusta (A) (12-24) WON 2-1

Ashford Fulmer 1-4 (.250)
Sandro Fabian 1-4 (.250)
Frandy De La Rosa 1-4 (.244)
Shawon Dunston Jr. 1-2 (.300)
Cristian Paulino 2-3, run, RBI (.176)

BASERUNNING
SB: Paulino, C (3, 3rd base off Gomez, O/Dini).

FIELDING
Pickoffs: Mazza (Castellano, A at 1st base).

Domenic Mazza (W, 2-4) 7.0-8-1-1-1-5 (4.95)
Nolan Riggs (H, 1) 1.0-0-0-0-0-1 (3.72)
Patrick Ruotolo (S, 3) 1.0-0-0-0-0-1 (1.98)

Scheduled Pitchers Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Sacramento (AAA) Slania (0-4, 8.79)
Richmond (AA) Coonrod (1-3, 4.91)
San Jose (A+) Menez (2-1, 3.73)
Augusta (A) Myers (1-3, 3.34)

 

[SFGRTB]

Shaw's 6th straight game in LF, 7th out of 8 and 13th out of 32 games. It's a thing, folks.

I wonder if Heathcott get's promoted to AAA soon.

Heath Quinn made his debut yesterday, 1-4 with a 2B and K, played RF.

 

[calsnowskier]

Shaw's 6th straight game in LF, 7th out of 8 and 13th out of 32 games. It's a thing, folks.

I wonder if Heathcott get's promoted to AAA soon.

Heath Quinn made his debut yesterday, 1-4 with a 2B and K, played RF.

So you gotta think he is being targeted to take over left by next year. So where does that leave Mac? Did he just miss his window? Is he slated for right next year/2019? Any chance Pence moves to CF this year or next?

 

[Stokes1931]

Shaw's 6th straight game in LF, 7th out of 8 and 13th out of 32 games. It's a thing, folks.

I wonder if Heathcott get's promoted to AAA soon.

Heath Quinn made his debut yesterday, 1-4 with a 2B and K, played RF.

I wonder how long Suarez stays in Richmond, and also Cyr. Both are young, but I'd like to see them move up.

Not sure the Slania as starter experiment will continue long, he's a much better reliever.

And I am pleased to see that Crick has gotten a clue as to where the strike zone is. Although not great, he has 7 walks in 15.1 IP, that is way better than the walk per inning rate he has had in the recent past. He also has 17 K's in those 15.1 IP, so that's positive.

The walks are what will hold Gregorio back, he has 24 walks in 39 innings.

 

[calsnowskier]

I wonder how long Suarez stays in Richmond, and also Cyr. Both are young, but I'd like to see them move up.

Not sure the Slania as starter experiment will continue long, he's a much better reliever.

And I am pleased to see that Crick has gotten a clue as to where the strike zone is. Although not great, he has 7 walks in 15.1 IP, that is way better than the walk per inning rate he has had in the recent past. He also has 17 K's in those 15.1 IP, so that's positive.

The walks are what will hold Gregorio back, he has 24 walks in 39 innings.

You gotta think Gearrin's rope is getting shorter and shorter. There will be an opening for a righty in the pen sooner rather than later.

 

[SFGRTB]

So you gotta think he is being targeted to take over left by next year. So where does that leave Mac? Did he just miss his window? Is he slated for right next year/2019? Any chance Pence moves to CF this year or next?

They've got nothing but time with Shaw, but not so much with Mac, so he should be getting the 1st crack at anything. But there is a possibility long term of Shaw in LF and Mac in RF. Mac is certainly athletic enough to play out there.

I'm still thinking next summer for Shaw at the earliest as it stands right now. If tears a hole through AA (he's been great, but it's still mid-May) and there is a need maybe things change. But the Giants still have guys they can run out there in LF on the depth chart through 2018, so his chances are slim.