2014 Top Prospects

[SFGRTB]

We are pretty stacked with relievers on the farm. Hembree, Hall, Johnson, Bochy, Strickland, Black, McVey, Okert...

"Losing" Law hurts, but we still have plenty of arms.



I am not saying Law is lost, but TJ is a big knock...

I love our relievers in the system. It's going to be interesting to see if they break through. Strickland and Hembree could help this year, Hall, Okert, Black next year. So many power arms.

 

[calsnowskier]

Mikey Edie.

Kid is 17 (just turned yesterday, happy birthday!) playing in the DSL (average age is approx 19.5). We signed him last year right after his 16th bday (not sure what the bonus was and I don't remember the name being mentioned here).

He is currently batting .318/.440/.436 with 2 HR, 5 DBS and 11 steals in 137 PAs.

He is supposed to have tools on top of tools. Dr B just declared him our #1 position prospect and possibly our #1 overall prospect. I personally think that is a stretch for a 17 yo kid having a nice 150 PAs in a league that is not traditionally tough at all, but he does appear to be AT LEAST radar-worthy.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Mikey Edie Minor League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com

 

[GiantsPackersChamps2011]

Kendry Flores past 3 starts: 20 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 2 BB's, 30 K's

 

[tzill]

Sandy Rosario activated in Fresno, Mason Tobin released.

 

[tzill]

Mike Kickham seems to be rounding into form in AAA.

Despite a seemingly rough outing on June 15 at home against Omaha, posted phenomenal numbers in June, which included a 1.86 ERA with just 16 hits allowed over 29 innings. Opposing hitters managed a .154/.248/.212 slash line against.

 

[tzill]

Matt Lujan had a breakout start for San Jose last night. Playing in his hometown (Stockton) in front of his whole family and many friends, he struck out 13 in 7.1 innings, giving up just one run.

Lujan has a great back story. He started this year in Augusta and was the starting pitcher in the Sally League All-Star game. Then he was promoted to SJ, so he hasn't been there long.

Why is a 25-year-old college pitcher just now making it to the Cal League? Well, in his final year at USF, he blew out his elbow right before the NCAA tournament, had Tommy John surgery, and wasn't drafted at all. He was signed a year later (June 2012) as an undrafted free agent by the Giants and spent all last year in Augusta, where he had a fine season. However, the logjam of younger, more prospect-y starters headed to SJ kept him in Augusta to start this season.

Lujan is supposed to be a tremendous young man and a great team leader. Hard not to root for a guy like that. Oh, and it goes without saying--he's a lefty!

 

[calsnowskier]

Matt Lujan had a breakout start for San Jose last night. Playing in his hometown (Stockton) in front of his whole family and many friends, he struck out 13 in 7.1 innings, giving up just one run.

Lujan has a great back story. He started this year in Augusta and was the starting pitcher in the Sally League All-Star game. Then he was promoted to SJ, so he hasn't been there long.

Why is a 25-year-old college pitcher just now making it to the Cal League? Well, in his final year at USF, he blew out his elbow right before the NCAA tournament, had Tommy John surgery, and wasn't drafted at all. He was signed a year later (June 2012) as an undrafted free agent by the Giants and spent all last year in Augusta, where he had a fine season. However, the logjam of younger, more prospect-y starters headed to SJ kept him in Augusta to start this season.

Lujan is supposed to be a tremendous young man and a great team leader. Hard not to root for a guy like that. Oh, and it goes without saying--he's a lefty!

And the Giants LOVE clubhouse guys. I think Lujan is certainly radar-worthy, but be carful getting too excited.

Anyone know what his prospect-status was before he blew out his elbow?

 

[calsnowskier]

Looking closer at his numbers (and remember, minor league numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt)...

He is an EXTREME groundball pitcher (consistently about 3.0), but his K/9 is rather pedestrian(<9.00). However his K/W is good at approx. 3.0+. It does look like he has simply been a victim of the lower-level pitching depth that we have had the last couple years.

 

[tzill]

And the Giants LOVE clubhouse guys. I think Lujan is certainly radar-worthy, but be carful getting too excited.

Anyone know what his prospect-status was before he blew out his elbow?

IIRC, he was projected to go in the 4-7 round area.

 

[Mays-Fan]

2014 San Francisco Giants Minor League Affiliations | Baseball-Reference.com

Some reasons for future optimism down in the minors:

Cumulatively, our farm clubs have a W-L of 341-299.

Cumulatively, we have scored 3137 runs, and given up 2885. Only at San Jose have we given up more runs than we have scored, 541-586, yet they have a winning record, 63-57.

I know the real focus on the minors is to produce MLB-ready ballplayers. But, all else being equal, better ballclubs have better players. There is some depth there, for sure - a good sign. Hopefully, if we don't trade them away, they will continue to emerge at the ML level.

 

[calsnowskier]

Updated, off-the-cuff top 10 prospects...

Our system has gone through a lot of changes since the start of the season (mainly from prospect values changing, but also from additions and injuries)

1) Beede
2) Crick
3) Carbonell
4) Arroyo
5) Blackburn
6) Williamson
7) Edie
8) Flores
9) Chuckie
10) Horan

I will obviously put one together in the off season with more thought, but this is kinda where I see our top-10 right now. The top 7 was relatively easy.

Flores is there purely on his ceiling because he has not had a good year. Chuckie and RafRod are both having good years which have, IMHO, put them both right back into prospect discussions. Horan has had his breakout season, but I am not sure it is enough to really keep an eye on him. I have him #10 here, but I am not sure I like him that much.

Mac and Cabrera are in similar situations, but Cabrera's injury is MUCH more severe. I have not heard anything about him since the time of the accident. They were hoping at the time, best-case-scenario, that he may be able to play at the very end of this season. Well, we are the end of the season, and we still have not heard anything. Mac "only" had TJ, and that is not a huge injury for OFers (outside of relegating him to LF early). He was having a strong season at the plate even when his arm was bothering him. I think he is still a high-level prospect.

 

[tzill]

Updated, off-the-cuff top 10 prospects...

Our system has gone through a lot of changes since the start of the season (mainly from prospect values changing, but also from additions and injuries)

1) Beede
2) Crick
3) Carbonell
4) Arroyo
5) Blackburn
6) Williamson
7) Edie
8) Flores
9) Chuckie
10) Horan

I will obviously put one together in the off season with more thought, but this is kinda where I see our top-10 right now. The top 7 was relatively easy.

Flores is there purely on his ceiling because he has not had a good year. Chuckie and RafRod are both having good years which have, IMHO, put them both right back into prospect discussions. Horan has had his breakout season, but I am not sure it is enough to really keep an eye on him. I have him #10 here, but I am not sure I like him that much.

Mac and Cabrera are in similar situations, but Cabrera's injury is MUCH more severe. I have not heard anything about him since the time of the accident. They were hoping at the time, best-case-scenario, that he may be able to play at the very end of this season. Well, we are the end of the season, and we still have not heard anything. Mac "only" had TJ, and that is not a huge injury for OFers (outside of relegating him to LF early). He was having a strong season at the plate even when his arm was bothering him. I think he is still a high-level prospect.

Good list. Here's mine:

1. Crick
2. Beede
3. Mejia
4. Mella
5. Carbonell
6. Blach
7. Blackburn
8. Stratton
9. Garcia
10. Williamson

 

[calsnowskier]

Good list. Here's mine:

1. Crick
2. Beede
3. Mejia
4. Mella
5. Carbonell
6. Blach
7. Blackburn
8. Stratton
9. Garcia
10. Williamson

No prob with any of the guys you included. They all made my short list.

But no Arroyo? Seriously?

 

[SFGRTB]

Blackburn, Cordier, Okert, Strickland, Carbonell, Duffy, Blake Miller all headed to the Arizona Fall League. That is a good group, all 6 will probably help the big club someday.

4 pitchers, and all 4 will be in Spring Camp next year, and 3 have a real shot at making the bullpen (Cordier, Strickland, Okert). Blackburn is probably the new 7th starter (Edwin Escobar's role).

Duffy is an easy choice, as he's looking to take the utility spot next year. Carbonell is an easy choice as well, want to get him as many AB's as possible for him to take over in the OF next year. Blake Miller is interesting, very similar to Duffy/Panik. He works hard with the few tools he's got, but he fits the mold of the type of guy the Giants have favored in recent years: high grade on the "hit" tool. The guy isn't the most athletic, not the most powerful, but he can hit and the Giants have shown a lot of preference in that. And why not? If you can hit, you'll find your way to the bigs, a la Panik and Duffy. He is also very versatile, which helps. Plays all over the field.

 

[SFGRTB]

And all of them, except for Noonan, are going to get the true award (he already got his). Interesting Dominguez MVP. Wonder if he's a big clubhouse leader.

 

[calsnowskier]

So far this year, the Giants have had 5 MLB debuts...

Panik
Duffy
Duvall
Susac
Strickland

With Parker getting on the roster for 1 game, and Escobar getting his cuppo with the Red Sox.

We now have 5 guys on the roster waiting for their cuppos...

Cordier
Brown
Dominguez
Bochy
Heston


I think it safe to assume all these guys will get at least 1 appearance in a game. That means we will have had 10 cuppos (with arguably 12) in a season that we AT LEAST contended for a playoff spot deep into the season. I would rate at least half of those 12 at having the potential for at least a decent MLB career (Panik, Susac, Duffy, Escobar, Brown, Duvall).

That's pretty incredible. And we really havent made a real dent in the higher levels (prospect-wise) of our farm.

 

[Mays-Fan]

We are apparently, according to Gammons, among the frontrunners for Yasmani Tomas:

Gammons Notes: Latest Dodgers? drama, Yankees, Yasmani Tomas and more - GammonsDaily.com

Yasmani Tomas

There will be at least two dozen teams represented this weekend at the Giants’ complex in the Dominican Republic to see slugging Cuban outfielder Yasmani Tomas. “He’s a pure power guy, a really good hitter,” says one international scouting director. The early favorites are the Giants, who were in hard on both Jose Abreu and Rusney Castillo, the Phillies, Padres, Rangers and the Tigers. But that can change, in a hurry.

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

It would be a stretch to think we would be able to sign both Tomas and Sandoval. But who really knows what the revenue / cash flow / budget situation is outside of a few people in the FO?

 

[calsnowskier]

There is a LOT of noise that Panda already has his bags packed.

If we sign him (and I think there is a legit sht of that), we would actually have a bit of a logjam in the OF. Carbonell looks like he will be ready sooner rather than later, and I would not be shocked to see Mac ready for some MLB time sometime next season. A logjam is a good problem to have, though, especially with Glass Angel in center.

 

[Mays-Fan]

There is a LOT of noise that Panda already has his bags packed.

If we sign him (and I think there is a legit sht of that), we would actually have a bit of a logjam in the OF. Carbonell looks like he will be ready sooner rather than later, and I would not be shocked to see Mac ready for some MLB time sometime next season. A logjam is a good problem to have, though, especially with Glass Angel in center.

Agreed about the logjam. However, when you break it down, the only certain, quality OF we have right now is Pence.

While Blanco has picked it up nicely here, he can't be relied on to do that over a 162-game season.

Pagan, as you say, is getting more and more injury prone.

Morse will only decline, even more quickly on defense.

Moving Belt there is a crapshoot defensively.

Perez has had his chances, and has yet to come through, and is now looking unlikely.

That's a lot of question marks for our OF next year, and that means opportunity for Carbonell/Mac/Tomas.

Although it may be easier to re-sign Panda and find another OF just on sheer number of players, as opposed to trying to find another quality 3B.