2017 Top Prospects

[LHG]

Larry Baer was on Tolbert and Lund this afternoon. They were talking about kids who may be a part of the future, and he said the biggest name that could become a major player is...

Steven Duggar

Did he say when he would be able to start playing this season? How severe is his injury?

 

[calsnowskier]

Did he say when he would be able to start playing this season? How severe is his injury?

No he didn't. So the fact that he was heeping all this praise on Duggar means one of 2 things.

1) He is a true stud prospect, and the Giants love him...

Or...

2) The Giants are shopping him and he was talking to other owners/GMs

I have a hard time believing that these thin tactics would work on other GMs, so I have to believe the Giants really like him.

 

[SFGRTB]

No he didn't. So the fact that he was heeping all this praise on Duggar means one of 2 things.

1) He is a true stud prospect, and the Giants love him...

Or...

2) The Giants are shopping him and he was talking to other owners/GMs

I have a hard time believing that these thin tactics would work on other GMs, so I have to believe the Giants really like him.

They love him. They have been singing his praise since his debut. The injury is really a shame, I think he would have been challenging for CF the way this season has been going. He's a perfect leadoff type guy, with power to all fields, though at AT&T probably gap power.

He has a flexor injury. Haven't heard in a long while about his progress.

 

[calsnowskier]

Spitballing here...

Clear top 3, with a bit of a shake up...

1) Arroyo - his cuppo was successful enough to raise his stock. He is still super young, and just has some details to work out. The game did not appear to be too big for him.

2) Shaw - The promotion to AAA has not been kind, but he struggled his first month or so in AA as well. But he has gotten a lot of attention due to his hot start in AA and subsequent promo to Sacto, and he has, by most reports, made a successful move to the OF and he may not be as stone-handed as the earlier reports indicated. He is the next "LFer of the future". But he actually has some legit prospect heat behind him, which not many of the previous title holder had.

3) Beede - moderate results this year, but there has not been a need for him to perform since Blach has done rather well in the rotation this year (his ship may have come down, though, unfortunately). While he has dropped in my rankings, that is more due to Shaw's rise than Beede's fall. I actually think Beede's prospect-ness is about the same as it was at the start if the season.

Big step down, but there is a lot of promise here. Even some guys who could legit blue-chippers as early as next year.

4) Gomez - Dude can hit. No one argues otherwise. Evans even hinted that his bat may be MLB ready now. But dude is still waiting for his glove to get through customs. They are playing him at 2B this year, but I haven't heard good things. He is 24, so age is starting to be an issue here. But IF he can learn a position, he may be a rather valuable asset. As it is right now, he may still have decent trade value to be dangled in a package for a young, controllable CF in the off season.

5) Slater - More due to "proximity" than due to ceiling. I have liked Slater for a while, but he just doesn't look like a starting MLB OFer. But when you look at his early MLB returns, you get reminded of Christian Yelich (in that just because a player doesn't LOOK like a player doesn't mean he isn't one). He has pretty much a dime-store version of a 5-tool player. He does everything well, but nothing extraordinarily well. On this team right now, though, that is enough to bat 3rd and be team MVP. I still place his ceiling at 4th OFer, though.

6) Suarez - He just got promoted to Sacto. He did well in Richmond, if not amazingly. My favorite stat from him is 67 IP in 11 starts. That is averaging more than 6 per start. I don't see him getting a cuppo this year, but next year almost certainly.

7) Duggar - I gotta admit, I don't like this placement. But with the open love the org is placing on him, you have to acknowledge him. He has apparently started working out again (based on what I heard discussed here, I have no new info on that), so hopefully we will see him in action within the next few weeks.

8) Krook - his season numbers are not good. Not good at all. But he has flashes, and I keep reading so much about him from writers/bloggers that I respect, I have to show him some love. He is known to be raw, though, so his numbers are less of a concern.

9) Reynolds - another placement I am not thrilled about. My gut just isn't sold on this guy. But that may just be the contrarian in me responding to all the premature love this guy got last year as a 2nd rounder. But he has been incredibly quiet so far this year in SJ. Sure he is batting .298, but he has a sub-.800 OPS. And coming from THE college program, you would expect a bit more polish in his first pro season.

10) Jones - should honestly be rated higher. He is probably a similar value to Arroyo, but no one has ever heard of him BECAUSE of Arroyo. But dude is a 23 year old in AAA who is shining enough to be close to kicking in the door to the majors. How are we not talking more about him?

Others - Howard, Quinn, Ramos, Crick, Fabian, Hinojosa, Garcia, Johnson, Slatton, Cyr, Heathcott, Calixte, Hwang (??), Brusa, Moronta

I only have Ramos as an HM right now because he is only 16 and has not taken the field yet. When I re-evaluate in the offseason, he will likely be a top 10, but not a clear top 10. I think these guys need to earn those top spots.

 

[SFGRTB]

Spitballing here...

Clear top 3, with a bit of a shake up...

1) Arroyo - his cuppo was successful enough to raise his stock. He is still super young, and just has some details to work out. The game did not appear to be too big for him.

2) Shaw - The promotion to AAA has not been kind, but he struggled his first month or so in AA as well. But he has gotten a lot of attention due to his hot start in AA and subsequent promo to Sacto, and he has, by most reports, made a successful move to the OF and he may not be as stone-handed as the earlier reports indicated. He is the next "LFer of the future". But he actually has some legit prospect heat behind him, which not many of the previous title holder had.

3) Beede - moderate results this year, but there has not been a need for him to perform since Blach has done rather well in the rotation this year (his ship may have come down, though, unfortunately). While he has dropped in my rankings, that is more due to Shaw's rise than Beede's fall. I actually think Beede's prospect-ness is about the same as it was at the start if the season.

Big step down, but there is a lot of promise here. Even some guys who could legit blue-chippers as early as next year.

4) Gomez - Dude can hit. No one argues otherwise. Evans even hinted that his bat may be MLB ready now. But dude is still waiting for his glove to get through customs. They are playing him at 2B this year, but I haven't heard good things. He is 24, so age is starting to be an issue here. But IF he can learn a position, he may be a rather valuable asset. As it is right now, he may still have decent trade value to be dangled in a package for a young, controllable CF in the off season.

5) Slater - More due to "proximity" than due to ceiling. I have liked Slater for a while, but he just doesn't look like a starting MLB OFer. But when you look at his early MLB returns, you get reminded of Christian Yelich (in that just because a player doesn't LOOK like a player doesn't mean he isn't one). He has pretty much a dime-store version of a 5-tool player. He does everything well, but nothing extraordinarily well. On this team right now, though, that is enough to bat 3rd and be team MVP. I still place his ceiling at 4th OFer, though.

6) Suarez - He just got promoted to Sacto. He did well in Richmond, if not amazingly. My favorite stat from him is 67 IP in 11 starts. That is averaging more than 6 per start. I don't see him getting a cuppo this year, but next year almost certainly.

7) Duggar - I gotta admit, I don't like this placement. But with the open love the org is placing on him, you have to acknowledge him. He has apparently started working out again (based on what I heard discussed here, I have no new info on that), so hopefully we will see him in action within the next few weeks.

8) Krook - his season numbers are not good. Not good at all. But he has flashes, and I keep reading so much about him from writers/bloggers that I respect, I have to show him some love. He is known to be raw, though, so his numbers are less of a concern.

9) Reynolds - another placement I am not thrilled about. My gut just isn't sold on this guy. But that may just be the contrarian in me responding to all the premature love this guy got last year as a 2nd rounder. But he has been incredibly quiet so far this year in SJ. Sure he is batting .298, but he has a sub-.800 OPS. And coming from THE college program, you would expect a bit more polish in his first pro season.

10) Jones - should honestly be rated higher. He is probably a similar value to Arroyo, but no one has ever heard of him BECAUSE of Arroyo. But dude is a 23 year old in AAA who is shining enough to be close to kicking in the door to the majors. How are we not talking more about him?

Others - Howard, Quinn, Ramos, Crick, Fabian, Hinojosa, Garcia, Johnson, Slatton, Cyr, Heathcott, Calixte, Hwang (??), Brusa, Moronta

I only have Ramos as an HM right now because he is only 16 and has not taken the field yet. When I re-evaluate in the offseason, he will likely be a top 10, but not a clear top 10. I think these guys need to earn those top spots.

Gotta find a spot for Quinn. Duded is straight mashing. I too am not sold on Reynolds and would probably flip them.

For Krook, his first 5 starts are going to cloud his stats all year, but he's been very good since then. 3.38 ERA last 6 starts after a 12.46 ERA in his first 5. He throws a hard sinker in the 90-93 range with 2 plus-plus potential breaking balls. He generates an incredible number of ground balls with his sinker and an above average amount of swings and misses too, a fantastic combination for a starting pitcher. Needs to find consistency with his release point, but doesn't need to be perfect to be good. If he perfects his mechanics and is able to put the ball where he wants, the sky is the limit (VERY unlikely-- Bum still goes through mechanical mishaps). He seems to at least be a solid bully arm that can go multiple innings and come into any situation. He probably has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the system right now. Don't let the stats fool you.

I'm a huge Ryder Jones fan. Been singing his praise as a Gonor replacement this year, except he actually has some defensive versatility to make his potentially more valuable than Gonor. He's probably having the best overall season in the system this year, batting .284/.381/.521. Excellent 11.7% walk rate, fine 20.3% K rate for a power guy, very nice .237 ISO, he's not a zero factor running the bases and as I mentioned plays 3B, 1B, LF and RF. I think he needs to be protected this offseason, but it's possible if the Giants go all in on youth we see him this summer. Huge dude, looks like a football player. He could be a very nice bench piece long term, whith an outside chance to start.

I'll be interested to see if Ramos plays. He's 17, turning 18 in August, so he's extremely young, but I think he's see a bit of time in the AZL League, which starts up sometime this month. I doubt he goes any higher than that, if he even makes it out of extended spring training. But it will be something to follow.

Don't forget Joan Gregorio. We will see him in SF sometime this season. Big stuff plays out better in the Pen where he probably ends up full time, but the Giants are going to have him in the rotation until the bitter end. Not a top-10 guy probably, but an HM.

 

[SFGRTB]

I'll mention it here too, Christian Arroyo was hit in the wrist/hand area yesterday and left the game. No word yet on the severity.

 

[calsnowskier]

I thought about swapping Quinn and Reynolds, but I am not there yet. Reynolds was picked earlier, and I weigh that pretty high on recent adds to the org. My gut tends to like Quinn more, but I am not ready to reflect that opinion in my lists yet. If he continues to hit with power and if he starts out-promoting .Reynolds, than I will leapfrog, but that is in the future. Of the bats in SJ from last years class, though, I think I may be MOST excited about Howard. SSS, but dude looks exciting.

I think Jones should be #7 on my list instead of #10. I was just too lazy to reorder in, what was intended to be, a quitely put together list.

Basically, though, everyone from #4 through the HMs could essentially be bulled from a hat. All have warts (or are just too young to get TOO excited about) and all have reasons to be excited.

 

[SFGRTB]

I'll mention it here too, Christian Arroyo was hit in the wrist/hand area yesterday and left the game. No word yet on the severity.

Update: X-Rays came back negative. Good news. Still unknown how severe it is.

 

[SFGRTB]

Heliot Ramos was making his rounds at AT&T Park before the game today. Bochy seems to like him a lot, wanted to see if he could take BP (jokingly).

He also said he wants to be back in "2 or 3 years".

Giants confirmed he will begin his career this weekend in the AZL.

 

[calsnowskier]

Boch won't be around when this kid is ready...

 

[SFGRTB]

Boch won't be around when this kid is ready...

Maybe not on the bench, but I think he'll still be around.

 

[calsnowskier]

Maybe not on the bench, but I think he'll still be around.

I can see that. He will step upstairs as an "adviser".

 

[SFGRTB]

Good news, Steven Duggar will be in San Jose tonight, DH'ing. It's expected he'll be there for about 2 weeks rehabbing, then head off.

This is both exciting, and a little disappointing. It's exciting because he's finally healthy, and he's a dynamic talent that could be pushing for CF next year in SF.

It's disappointing though because this basically signals that he was ticketed for Sacramento before the season, and if he wasn't hurt it's possible we would have been able to see him in SF right now. But so it goes, lets hope he gets to full strength and has a good rest of 2017.

 

[calsnowskier]

Good news, Steven Duggar will be in San Jose tonight, DH'ing. It's expected he'll be there for about 2 weeks rehabbing, then head off.

This is both exciting, and a little disappointing. It's exciting because he's finally healthy, and he's a dynamic talent that could be pushing for CF next year in SF.

It's disappointing though because this basically signals that he was ticketed for Sacramento before the season, and if he wasn't hurt it's possible we would have been able to see him in SF right now. But so it goes, lets hope he gets to full strength and has a good rest of 2017.

He could still get his cuppo this year. And if he were around, would Slater have been given his shot?

 

[SFGRTB]

Bryan Reynolds has been selected to play in the Futures Game during All-Star week. Congrats.

Also, Lucius Fox has been selected to play for the World team in the Futures game. Congrats.

 

[calsnowskier]

Bryan Reynolds has been selected to play in the Futures Game during All-Star week. Congrats.

Also, Lucius Fox has been selected to play for the World team in the Futures game. Congrats.

Fox will end up being the true cost of that trade.

 

[SFGRTB]

Fox will end up being the true cost of that trade.

Personally, that's what griped me the most. Duffy was expendable. But losing Fox (basically your entire international investment for 3 years) hurt. Still so far off, but a very interesting player.

 

[calsnowskier]

Personally, that's what griped me the most. Duffy was expendable. But losing Fox (basically your entire international investment for 3 years) hurt. Still so far off, but a very interesting player.

The fact he was so young, and thus, so far away, made me OK with the trade. The penalties were already spent. No connection to him anymore.

 

[SFGRTB]

The fact he was so young, and thus, so far away, made me OK with the trade. The penalties were already spent. No connection to him anymore.

Except he's the reason they were in the penalty, so they basically put all their eggs into his basket, and then traded him away. If we signed 2, 3, etc. guys that class, then it wouldn't all be on him. Just how I see it.

 

[calsnowskier]

Except he's the reason they were in the penalty, so they basically put all their eggs into his basket, and then traded him away. If we signed 2, 3, etc. guys that class, then it wouldn't all be on him. Just how I see it.

Sunk cost.

That is the same thinking as keeping RoRo around because of the contract. That money was sunk. If the team was going to be better without him, kick his ass to the curb.

The penalty was accrued. If the org could be improved by trading him, trade him.