2012 Top Prospects

[mistgl]

Not sure Crick and Blackburn equate to Timmeh and Bum, but it is nice to have a couple studs down there again...

Not at all. Blackburn's ceiling as a prospect, imo (and I'm no scout), is Alderson before the wheels fell off the wagon. A strong 2-3 candidate who's ability to control all his pitches well compensates for his lack of upper 90s heat. Granted, topping out at 95-96 aint exactly chump change.

God knows what Crick is. He could be and ace, a legit number 2, or a colossal failure. I trust this org to develop a fairly un-ruined arm like Cricks (Only pitched his senior year of high school)

Mejia is the real farm difference maker, imo. If he keeps his shit together, the skies the limit for that guy. If anything, just having him hit that top 100 list to be mega trade bait.

Crick
Mejia
Heston
Blackburn
Agosta
Stratton

That's a lot of talented arms in the system right now.

 

[calsnowskier]

I am reserving excitement on Heston. I still have a feeling his ceiling is a 5/6. Basically Surkamp Jr.

Especially when compared to those other 5 guys.

 

[mistgl]

I am reserving excitement on Heston. I still have a feeling his ceiling is a 5/6. Basically Surkamp Jr.

Especially when compared to those other 5 guys.

He's more like Vogelsong than Kamp.

Low 90s fb - check
3 average to above average pitches - check
Control - check
Size - check

I think he has a better shot at being a 4/5 than Surkamp ever does.

 

[calsnowskier]

He's more like Vogelsong than Kamp.

Low 90s fb - check
3 average to above average pitches - check
Control - check
Size - check

I think he has a better shot at being a 4/5 than Surkamp ever does.

4/5 or 5/6. Close enough to say we agree.

However, if that is where you see him, why do you have him over Blackburn, Stratton and Agosta?

 

[Mays-Fan]

Average Major League Baseball Career 5.6 Years, Says New Study

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So, given a 25-man roster, that means, on average, every MLB club needs to produce 4 or 5 NEW major league ballplayers every year, year-in, year-out.

Otherwise, an individual club needs to pick up FA's and some other club needs to produce new players.

We should keep this in mind when judging the success of our minor leagues.

 

[calsnowskier]

Average Major League Baseball Career 5.6 Years, Says New Study

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So, given a 25-man roster, that means, on average, every MLB club needs to produce 4 or 5 NEW major league ballplayers every year, year-in, year-out.

Otherwise, an individual club needs to pick up FA's and some other club needs to produce new players.

We should keep this in mind when judging the success of our minor leagues.

We had a long discussion about this a couple years back. Not sure if it was here or Disney. The basic conclusion we came to, IIRC, was that the Gs have been doing their bit the last few years, especially when you weigh the impact of players graduating. Side note, I think dumpster dives can count as developing them yourself...

2012 - C3PO, Kontos, Blanco
2011 - Belt, Edlefsen, Vogey, Crawford, Stewart
2010 - Posey, Bum, Runz, AU, Casilla
2009 - Torres, Whitey, Downs, Sadowski
2008 - Timmeh, Panda, Ishi, Bowker, Romo, Burriss, Misch, Hinshaw, Ochoa, Holm, Bocock, Sadler
2007 - Nate, Lewis, Ortmeier, Rodriguez

Granted, some of these guys were in the majors only due to our AAAA status (look at 2008), but they were our guys/scrap heap finds...

 

[mistgl]

4/5 or 5/6. Close enough to say we agree.

However, if that is where you see him, why do you have him over Blackburn, Stratton and Agosta?

That was me just rattling off our impressive stock pile of pitching

If I had to rank them on ceiling alone

Crick
Stratton, Blackburn
Agosta
Heston

 

[calsnowskier]

That was me just rattling off our impressive stock pile of pitching

If I had to rank them on ceiling alone

Crick
Stratton, Blackburn
Agosta
Heston

Gotcha...

I would go...

Crick
Mejia
Blackburn

Stratton
Agosta



Heston

 

[mistgl]

Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 8 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's ERA= 2.95.

ZERO walks! Talk about a steal in the 2011 draft. He signed for 100k and college tuition, and is putting up better numbers, at a younger age, than some of the 1st round picks last year.

Keep in mind that he a Crick are on pitch count limits AND inning pitch count limits, so when either dominates and goes deep like this they were just flat out nasty.

 

[calsnowskier]

Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 8 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's ERA= 2.95.

ZERO walks! Talk about a steal in the 2011 draft. He signed for 100k and college tuition, and is putting up better numbers, at a younger age, than some of the 1st round picks last year.

Keep in mind that he a Crick are on pitch count limits AND inning pitch count limits, so when either dominates and goes deep like this they were just flat out nasty.

Oh yea, Blackburn looks to be a MAJOR steal. I am not even 100% sure
I would put Crick ahead of him right now...

 

[mistgl]

Oh yea, Blackburn looks to be a MAJOR steal. I am not even 100% sure
I would put Crick ahead of him right now...

I think Crick has the higher ceiling, but I think Blackburn is more polished atm.

They're both being babied, especially Crick. Like I said, both are on pitch counts and innings counts, AND both are pretty much on FB only diet. I read some where that they're only allowed a handful of change ups/breaking stuff in game.

I trust this org, though. Both these guys are built like Cain, and have the bodies of horses.

Their success this year at such a young age, the additions of Stratton, Johnson, Cabrera, Javier, and Agosta (if he signs) have been a major re-haul of talent in our system. I'd say we've jumped from bottom of the pack to lower middle.

 

[gp956]

San Jose Giants on TV tonight. Channel 104 on Comcast (Comcast Hometown Network).

 

[mistgl]

Don't look yet, but Brownie is surging forward in the stats column!

He's brought his average up to .273! Knock on wood, but if he continues this assault on AA pitching, he could very well be close to .300 by the end of the season.

His line for tonight:

3 for 5, 2B (2) 3B (1) 3 RBI, 1 SO, 0 BB

The power isn't really there, but that a wasn't why he was drafted. Was more of a pleasant surprise last year vs being his forte. He's hitting again, stealing bases, and he's still rocking a .340+ OBP in AA. I think it's safe to say he's back on track to being our lead off man of the future.

Even if he ends up being a clone of consistent Blanco (not this streaky guy who's been wearing Blancos skin during June) I think that's a clear win for where he was drafted and the ??? he had leading up to his pro debut.

 

[gp956]

On Brown:

Richmond hitting coach Ken Joyce said the organization had Brown change his timing mechanism at the plate. Though most hitters take a quick step toward the ball as the pitch is thrown, Brown had what Joyce called a "little pre-step" that was making him late. Good Double-A pitchers were exploiting Brown's extra move and jamming him.

The organization had Brown eliminate that first little step. Though he still keeps his hands back, almost hiding them from the pitcher, he is getting results.

"He's getting his bat through the zone and driving the ball better," Joyce said. "He's getting more doubles and putting more backspin on the ball than he was at the beginning of the season. We eliminated the pre-step to get him to relax a little bit. He's seeing the ball better than he did in the beginning of the season.

"He bought into what we're trying to do. It's a matter of making a change to make him a big-league hitter."

He is not expected to reach the big leagues soon. The Giants have a go-slow approach with the 23-year-old and might keep him in Double-A all year, just as they left him at Class A San Jose all of last year.

 

[gp956]

So Brown has made some adjustments in AA. Good, he needed to.

Question for the forum:

Do the inflated numbers in the PCL hurt the development of Giants prospects? I'm mean, if you're hitting .330/.365/.580 in Fresno, do you stop making adjustments because you think you've arrived, and thereby stop developing?

 

[Heathbar012]

So Brown has made some adjustments in AA. Good, he needed to.

Question for the forum:

Do the inflated numbers in the PCL hurt the development of Giants prospects? I'm mean, if you're hitting .330/.365/.580 in Fresno, do you stop making adjustments because you think you've arrived, and thereby stop developing?

I think that is where coaches really make their money. Obviously, there are more strategical moves throughout a game than some sports, but baseball is supremely psychological. Humbling without discouraging young men is an admirable trait.

 

[mistgl]

So Brown has made some adjustments in AA. Good, he needed to.

Question for the forum:

Do the inflated numbers in the PCL hurt the development of Giants prospects? I'm mean, if you're hitting .330/.365/.580 in Fresno, do you stop making adjustments because you think you've arrived, and thereby stop developing?

I don't think it fools anyone in the org, they're not idiots. It's their job to develop ML talent. I think it fools retarded fans more than anything, and 'amateur' prospect junkies who just look at the the slash line to determine how good someone is.

 

[gp956]

I don't think it fools anyone in the org, they're not idiots. It's their job to develop ML talent. I think it fools retarded fans more than anything, and 'amateur' prospect junkies who just look at the the slash line to determine how good someone is.

Obviously the org isn't "fooled," but Sabean has said on numerous occasions that he's not sure what PCL numbers mean anymore. But fooling the org, or anyone really, misses the point of the post. If you don't know what the numbers really mean, does a prospect tend to think he has "arrived" and doesn't need to make any further adjustments when he's putting up numbers well above anything he's done previously? Is there a tendency to "let up" a bit? Another way to think about it is, if your weaknesses aren't being constantly exposed, are you just leaving easily exploitable holes open to the next level?

 

[mistgl]

Obviously the org isn't "fooled," but Sabean has said on numerous occasions that he's not sure what PCL numbers mean anymore. But fooling the org, or anyone really, misses the point of the post. If you don't know what the numbers really mean, does a prospect tend to think he has "arrived" and doesn't need to make any further adjustments when he's putting up numbers well above anything he's done previously? Is there a tendency to "let up" a bit? Another way to think about it is, if your weaknesses aren't being constantly exposed, are you just leaving easily exploitable holes open to the next level?

I get what you're saying now. Don't think I have an answer for you. Maybe some guys get all hot and bothered by their PCL stats, and some probably get that it's a hitting hot bed.

But, I think EVERYONE understands that AA IS the first of two test. With the other being the jump to the MLB. I think it's good for a prospect to fave adversity in the minors, and get 'exposed' a bit. As far as Brown is concerned, these struggles helped the org remove an unnecessary part of his swing.

 

[gp956]

I get what you're saying now. Don't think I have an answer for you. Maybe some guys get all hot and bothered by their PCL stats, and some probably get that it's a hitting hot bed.

But, I think EVERYONE understands that AA IS the first of two test. With the other being the jump to the MLB. I think it's good for a prospect to fave adversity in the minors, and get 'exposed' a bit. As far as Brown is concerned, these struggles helped the org remove an unnecessary part of his swing.

Yeah, just throwing it out there for discussion.