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2015 Top Prospects

SFGRTB

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That inverted W in his delivery is clear as day. It's extremely worrisome for injury, but he's been healthy to this point.
 

SFGRTB

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Short leash, but that's just the way All-Star games work. Mella was confused why he was taken out so soon. Didn't thrown many strikes, but he was missing down, which is fine with his sinker.
 

GiantsPackersChamps2011

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A lot of talk about Mella being a future late-inning reliever.
If that becomes the case, a lot of names


Crick/Mella/Strickland/Black/Okert/Cordier/Hall/Law
 

SFGRTB

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A lot of talk about Mella being a future late-inning reliever.
If that becomes the case, a lot of names


Crick/Mella/Strickland/Black/Okert/Cordier/Hall/Law

I could totally see it. He's pretty much a fastball/curveball pitcher, but he's such a smart pitcher and has the strength to go deep into games that makes it worth trying him there as long as possible.
 

MarcoPolo

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I could totally see it. He's pretty much a fastball/curveball pitcher, but he's such a smart pitcher and has the strength to go deep into games that makes it worth trying him there as long as possible.

Besides, he gets a lot more practice as a starter (sees more batters, throws more pitches).
 

calsnowskier

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I "promised" this a couple weeks back, here it is. My current top 10 Giants prospects...

I judge primarily on proximity to the Majors, but that is really more that I have a hard time listing guys not at least in Richmond. I do not get to see these play, so I base my rankings on stats, pedigree, level-movement, age v level, and anecdotal stories I read. I am not including any of the 2015 draft class in my top 10, but I will talk about a few of them specifically...

1) Tyler Beede - The Giants first round pick in 2014 is the consensus #1 in the system right now. I have been touting that he may be ready for a rotation spot to start 2016, but that may be a bit premature. I certainly think he could be ready by mid-2016, though. He has still pitched well since his mid-season promotion to Richmond, but given that the EL is very pitcher-friendly, I was hoping for better numbers. In AA, he has had 6 starts, but 2 of them were blow-up bad (4.2 IP with 4 ER and 5.2 IP with 7 ER). His other 4 starts were rather dominant, though, so maybe his bad starts were just due to young inconsistency. I expect him to be a top #2 starter / lower end #1 (think Matt Cain-like productivity).

2) Christian Arroyo - The first rounder from 2013 out of high school has had some minor injury issues, but I dont think they are anything to be concerned with. He is super young and I dont think the Giants want him putting in a ton of game time at this point anyway. Reports have him being another Posey-like clubhouse presence; he commands the room, and owns the team. I am not sure he has a future with the Giants due to their solid, young infield, but he has a legit MLB career in front of him.

3) Chris Stratton - The 2012 first rounder looks to have been doing a rope-a-dope up to this point. He has been written off by most lunatic-fringers over the last couple years because his numbers simply were not consistent with what was expected of a 1st round college senior. Until this year, though, it appears that the Giants were restricting his repertoire so he could basically only throw his new pitches. This season, they have let him loose and allowed him to use all his weapons, and he has burst on the scene. He likely is not an Ace, but I think he can be a low-end #2 / sold #3.

4) Keury Mella - By the numbers, he is a good prospect, but not a blue-chip. He is a strike-out pitcher with a good WHIP. But all scouting reports say this kid will be something VERY special. He throws mid-to-high 90s with control. As SFGRTB said, he is a TJ waiting to happen, though, as he used the "inverted W" throwing motion. Personally, I am hesitant on this kid. His numbers, while well beyond pedestrian, are not OMG while at the same time still at a low level and is an apparent injury risk. I will trust other's opinions on him, though.

5) Adelbeto Mejia - He missed the first half of '15 due to a PEDs test, but all reports I have heard say it was an honest (if stupid) mistake. He used some OTC diet pills that have some banned ingredients. He is a 22 year old lefty throwing up solid numbers in AA, though. Yes, please...

6) Mac Williamson - Our 3rd rounder in 2012, he had TJ in 2014. Although, as an outfielder, that is not expected to be much of a deterrent for him moving forward in his career, except MAYBE limit him to LF for the next few years. He is not having a good year, though. Between AA and AAA, he is slashing .285/.369/.419/.788 with 6 HR. He is only 24, and coming off a rather major injury, but those are not numbers that get LFers promoted to the majors. I am not writing him off by any means, but his stock is falling in my book.

7) Kelby Tomlinson - Matt Duffy 2.0. A 12th rounder in 2011, Tomlinson is a nose-to-the-grindstone player that the Giants have fallen in love with over the last few years. He likely being groomed for either a trade or to take over the Util1 spot in SF next year. He has + to ++ speed (49 SB in 2014) that is VERY important to have on the bench in the playoffs, but he has solid extra base power (.818 OPS) which could allow him to start ALA Matt Duffy, though he will need the opportunity on a team that is willing to let a guy with zero pedigree take the job for a while. I am not sure if he has the arm for 3B (ignorance, not rating) as he has primarily been a SS/2B in his professional career.

8) Clayton Blackburn - He is not having a great year, so he needs to step it up to avoid the AAAA stigma. a 16th rounder in 2011, Blackburn has been a top Giants prospect almost since day 1. His ceiling, however, has always been that of a #3 to #5 starter. While he is no MadBum, he is still an asset, and teams need to produce these types to be able to put money in other roster-spots.

9) Kyle Crick - Yikes! I seriously did not want to include him on my top 10. He has completely blown up this year. I can only assume he has a MAJOR case of the yips as his BB/9 has rocketed to 9.8 this season (up from 6.1 in '14 and 5.1 in '13). He has officially been moved to the bullpen, but I am not sure that can help. I almost think it would best for the Gs just to shut him down and write this season off.

10) Aramis Garcia - The next in the long line of Giants big catcher prospects. I did not want to include him because he is only in A-, but 13 HR in 297 PA cant be ignored. He is slashing .268/.350/.475/.825. Reportedly he still needs work on his game calling, but this is his first full season as a pro. I expect him to be rated much higher next year. This kid is legit.

The real fun in the Giants system, though, is in the 2015 draft class and the low minors.

Phil Bickford - the Giants first rounder has been compared to Max Scherzer by at least one writer at BA. While I am not expecting that from him, he was expected to be well off the board by the time the Giants picked at #18, so he has some added pedigree. I expect that if I were to include this year's class in my rankings, he would probably be #3 or #4.

Chris Shaw - The Giants Comp pick for losing Sandoval. He is a 1B who is described as having ELITE power. I heard a few interviews with the kid, and I was super impressed. I am not she he would be rated yet, but I think he has a very high ceiling.

Jabevy, Miller, Vizcaino - High ceiling guys taken in the top 10 rounds who all had some signability issues going into the draft. Miller, in particular, has started out very well in his first month of pro-ball.

Other young kids and Latin dandies...

Gustavo Cabrera, Luscius Fox, Rafael Rodriguez (finally), Nathaniel Javier, Mikey Edie, Francisco Medina, Mecky Coronado, Kelvin Beltre, Raffi Vizcaino, Johneshwy Fargas - Cabrera, Edie and Fox are probably the cream of this group, but any of them have the potential to be TOP prospects in the coming years.
 

calsnowskier

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Sorry to break it to you Cal, but RafRod retired.
Did he? He was actually finally putting up some numbers. And at only 22, I thought he was finally putting it together.

Well, he got his big bonus from the Giants when he signed. I guess he is happy :(
 

SFGRTB

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I'm with you on Crick, I have him on mine based on talent alone but I didn't feel good about it. It's not really fair to guys like Blach or Blackburn or Stratton (btw, I like the confidence in him. Good reports from AAA).

Amazingly, Crick has some trade value as an unknown commodity, throw-in type.
 

Mays-Fan

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An "M" motion would be that the arms are vertically down, which would be terrifying. The arms in a "W" are at an angle.

So then it's a "W", not "an inverted W". No?

W - double u

M - inverted W
 

Mays-Fan

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An "M" motion would be that the arms are vertically down, which would be terrifying. The arms in a "W" are at an angle.
miami_marlins_logo_detail.gif
 

SFGRTB

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What's more impressive is that Garcia is doing this in one of the worst hitting environment in minor league baseball, and his defense is leaps and bounds better than when he was drafted. Early in the season, when the hits weren't falling, he was still drawing walks and working ABs. Now, he's showing his promise.

He's the complete package with the bat, and he is showing the ability to stick at catcher. I'm a full-believer in this kid. He could see San Jose before the year is over, and should vault up the prospect charts. He could fetch a piece in a trade, or allow the Giants to dangle Susac :brick:
 
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