2015 Top Prospects

[tzill]

As far as next year's rotation goes:

We have Bum, Cain, Heston, and Peavy locked in. As a realist, I'd like to think Lincecum, Hudson, and Vogelsong are all gone. I think all of our other minor leaguers are an additional year away. Which means we not only need a strong front-end guy, but have the money to do it. It could be Leake, but could also be someone more expensive, like Samardzija.

I'd be surprised if we don't re-sign Leake, so let's say that's now five starters. Allows Beede another year to develop and replace Peavy either mid 2016 or 2017. BT will be in Seattle, Huddy will be retired. Tron may end up as a back of the bullpen guy with that 94 mph FB.

 

[SFGRTB]

Welcome. I don't usually feel the need to post very much.

I was at Heston's game on Monday and continue to be impressed with the kid. Amazing to think with this veteran team we likely have 2 of the top 4 ROY candidates (Bryant, Heston, Pederson, & Duffy).

Easily the second best starter. I don't want to imagine where we'd be without him.

It is a very weird feel to this team (in a good way). It's a veteran team, but we have a lot of young players. Homegrown infield, 25 year old Ace, but these guys have been through a lot.

 

[calsnowskier]

Welcome. I don't usually feel the need to post very much.

I was at Heston's game on Monday and continue to be impressed with the kid. Amazing to think with this veteran team we likely have 2 of the top 4 ROY candidates (Bryant, Heston, Pederson, & Duffy).

Take a closer look at Bryant's numbers. He is having a good year, and may actually have the brightest future of all NL rookies this year, but his numbers don't compare to Duffy, Pederson or Grichuk. As for Pitchers, Thor and Heston are the clear class of the class.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Awesome trade! We get one of the best arms still on this year's trading block, and give up not much of anything. We won't need a 3B or 1B in SF any time soon and I heard that his defense at 3B was absolutely horrible (Duvall). Mella could be a stud in a few years, but he is years away and the org has loads of arms currently lined up in the minors. Leake pitches pretty deep into games, so he'll give our pen a needed rest. Leake is exactly the type of pitcher that will love AT&T: pitches for contact, and a ground ball machine. And it gives the team several months to woo Leake ('live' the dugout/locker room mood/feel)

w00t!

 

[calsnowskier]

Awesome trade! We get one of the best arms still on this year's trading block, and give up not much of anything. We won't need a 3B or 1B in SF any time soon and I heard that his defense at 3B was absolutely horrible (Duvall). Mella could be a stud in a few years, but he is years away and the org has loads of arms currently lined up in the minors. Leake pitches pretty deep into games, so he'll give our pen a needed rest. Leake is exactly the type of pitcher that will love AT&T: pitches for contact, and a ground ball machine. And it gives the team several months to woo Leake ('live' the dugout/locker room mood/feel)

w00t!

He grew up a Giants fan as well, so If the Giants want him, he should be back. I have no idea what kind of contract to expect, though. Is he a 20M guy? He is 27, so a long contract should not be a problem. Maybe 5/80? 5/85?

 

[MarcoPolo]

I always wince at long contracts for FA starting pitchers. I'd hate to pay more than 4/75, and would prefer 3/60.

 

[SFGRTB]

He grew up a Giants fan as well, so If the Giants want him, he should be back. I have no idea what kind of contract to expect, though. Is he a 20M guy? He is 27, so a long contract should not be a problem. Maybe 5/80? 5/85?

Probably somewhere in the 4/60 range. Ervin Santana got 4/54 this last offseason, and he had a qualifying offer attached. I could see him taking a shorter-term deal in the 3-4 year range, and put himself in a position to sign one more lucrative deal in his early 30s.

 

[calsnowskier]

If we could get him on a 4-year deal, I would MUCH prefer that. We would have him in his 28-31 years, then move on and possibly even get a QO out of it...

 

[tzill]

He grew up a Giants fan as well, so If the Giants want him, he should be back. I have no idea what kind of contract to expect, though. Is he a 20M guy? He is 27, so a long contract should not be a problem. Maybe 5/80? 5/85?

I think he'll be much closer to 4/50. Unless he wins WS MVP, of course....

 

[calsnowskier]

This is my write-up on Mella from a couple weeks back...

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.

And from SFGRTB...

2. Keury Mella - Throws a 95mph with natural downward movement, generating tons of ground balls. He's a strike thrower, with a great feel for pitching. The concern is his limited offerings. With the fastball, he throws a power curve and changeup, both average to plus. He's never going to be a big strikeout guy unless he comes up with another pitch, but he should be a serviceable mid rotation starter. The other concern is his delivery. He throws with the "inverted W", which leads to a lot of UCL injuries, which leads to Tommy John (this is the inverted W, and this is Mella pitching). Some guys though have good genes and avoid these injuries (Mariano Rivera, Clayton Kershaw, Felix), others don't (Wainwright, Strasburg, Mark Prior, Zach Wheeler). Mella has been healthy so far, so only time will tell.

The Gs were able to turn this into a young (27 yo) current #3 (with upside) in the middle of a race is just mind-blowing.

Best FO in the game. Hands down.

 

[Stokes1931]

Tyler Beede got lit up today. Again.

5.1 IP

5 H

6 R

6 ER

4 BB

7 K

5.51 ERA

He's walked 23 in 49 innings,

 

[SFGRTB]

Tyler Beede got lit up today. Again.

5.1 IP

5 H

6 R

6 ER

4 BB

7 K

5.51 ERA

He's walked 23 in 49 innings,

His fastball command lately has been pretty bad. As a pitch he has come to rely on so much this season, it's not going to end well for him if he can't control it.

But, this could be a good thing for him. He needs to learn to use all his pitches, and work through the issues he's having with command. It could very well be a stamina issue. He's in his first full season, pitching with an all-new delivery the Giants taught him, with 2 new pitches. He's had a long season already.

I'm not too worried about his recent slump.

 

[Stokes1931]

Pitcher Tyler Beede shows promise for Giants | sfgiants.com

 

[Stokes1931]

Giants sign Nick Noonan to a minor-league deal, because of course they did - McCovey Chronicles

 

[LHG]

Giants sign Nick Noonan to a minor-league deal, because of course they did - McCovey Chronicles

What's with the accumulation of middle infielders?

 

[SFGRTB]

Chase Johnson (who just came off a 14 K night) promoted to AA Richmond, Andrew Suarez (our 2nd round pick this year) promoted to San Jose.

 

[calsnowskier]

Chase Johnson (who just came off a 14 K night) promoted to AA Richmond, Andrew Suarez (our 2nd round pick this year) promoted to San Jose.

I guess that since none of the kiddie-teams are in playoff hunts, they are making these late moves (as LHG mentioned).

Definitely a benefit of not having "winning" teams.

 

[Stokes1931]

 

[Stokes1931]

I guess that since none of the kiddie-teams are in playoff hunts, they are making these late moves (as LHG mentioned).

Definitely a benefit of not having "winning" teams.

I think all of the Giants' teams are at or above .500, so they are "winning" teams. They are not, for the most part, playoff teams. Perhaps the Giants see the minors developmentally rather than winning %. So pitchers can learn new pitches, get hit around for a while, and become better pitchers. Hitters can adjust their swing, and flail a lot, but become better hitters. I like the Giants' Way.

 

[SFGRTB]

By most accounts, Suarez is an advanced pitcher. The Giants also do like to test guys by putting them in playoff hunts. This pretty much guarantees that Suarez will start in San Jose next year. If he can keep injures behind him, he'll be a "fast-track" guy.