2016 Top Prospects

[Mays-Fan]

We (I) keep talking about the system's top 3 prospects being Arroyo / Beede / Bickford.

But is it possible that our actual top prospect is Shaw? Dude was drafted in last years draft and is already in AA and killing it.

I know his defense and the fact that he is completely blocked in SF are major knocks against him, but that bat plays.

If he turns out to be a killer hitter at the ML level, could we move Belt to the OF? I know we've tried it, but if Shaw is overwhelmingly good, we should revisit that.

 

[tzill]

Baseball America just released its mid-season top 100 prospect list. For the first time since 1991, the Giants have FIVE players included:

#50 Phil Bickford/Bill Pickford
#56 Christian Arroyo
#81 Tyler Beede
#83 Chris Shaw
#91 Adalberto Mejia

At the beginning of the season, we had ONE (Arroyo at #62).

The only question: how many of these five will be in the org next month?

 

[calsnowskier]

Baseball America just released its mid-season top 100 prospect list. For the first time since 1991, the Giants have FIVE players included:

#50 Phil Bickford/Bill Pickford
#56 Christian Arroyo
#81 Tyler Beede
#83 Chris Shaw
#91 Adalberto Mejia

At the beginning of the season, we had ONE (Arroyo at #62).

The only question: how many of these five will be in the org next month?

And that is not counting McParker.

And I suspect they still roll their eyes at the Gs system.

 

[tzill]

And that is not counting McParker.

And I suspect they still roll their eyes at the Gs system.

Let 'em roll...while we collect trophies.

 

[SFGRTB]

Baseball America just released its mid-season top 100 prospect list. For the first time since 1991, the Giants have FIVE players included:

#50 Phil Bickford/Bill Pickford
#56 Christian Arroyo
#81 Tyler Beede
#83 Chris Shaw
#91 Adalberto Mejia

At the beginning of the season, we had ONE (Arroyo at #62).

The only question: how many of these five will be in the org next month?

Glad someone is finally noticing the system.

 

[Mays-Fan]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but I wonder if we should consider playing Parker in CF. Parker played a good bit of CF in SJ, and again in Richmond.

Certainly Span is better defensively, but his bat, or better his lack thereof, is not helping.

IMHO.

 

[tzill]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but I wonder if we should consider playing Parker in CF. Parker played a good bit of CF in SJ, and again in Richmond.

Certainly Span is better defensively, but his bat, or better his lack thereof, is not helping.

IMHO.

I dunno, he's slumping for sure, but I can't see Parker as a legit CF at our stadium. I could be wrong.

 

[Mays-Fan]

I dunno, he's slumping for sure, but I can't see Parker as a legit CF at our stadium. I could be wrong.

Also, for a leadoff hitter and a CF, Span looks like he should lose ten pounds.

 

[calsnowskier]

I heard an interview with Span today (I think it was with Marty) and he himself graded his season so far as a D. At least he is aware that he is struggling.

I was surprised to see his OBP as low as it is. My gut said that while he wasn't hitting, he was still getting on base. Nope.

 

[LHG]

I heard an interview with Span today (I think it was with Marty) and he himself graded his season so far as a D. At least he is aware that he is struggling.

I was surprised to see his OBP as low as it is. My gut said that while he wasn't hitting, he was still getting on base. Nope.

At a .282 clip in June. I hope he does better the rest of the season.

 

[SFGRTB]

My Top Prospects following trade deadline:

1. Christian Arroyo
2. Tyler Beede
3. Chris Shaw
4. Sam Coonrod
5. Steven Duggar
6. Bryan Reynolds
7. Andrew Suarez
8. Joan Gregorio
9. Clayton Blackburn
10. Heath Quinn


Still a lot of talent there. Beede and Arroyo can help out next year, Shaw, Coonrod, Duggar, Suarez the year after. Gregorio, Blackburn this year. We gave up a lot, but luckily we have a pretty DEEP system. I've said many times, it's not star studded (which is why we had to give up a huge volume), but it's deep with talent.

 

[Stokes1931]

My Top Prospects following trade deadline:

1. Christian Arroyo
2. Tyler Beede
3. Chris Shaw
4. Sam Coonrod
5. Steven Duggar
6. Bryan Reynolds
7. Andrew Suarez
8. Joan Gregorio
9. Clayton Blackburn
10. Heath Quinn


Still a lot of talent there. Beede and Arroyo can help out next year, Shaw, Coonrod, Duggar, Suarez the year after. Gregorio, Blackburn this year. We gave up a lot, but luckily we have a pretty DEEP system. I've said many times, it's not star studded (which is why we had to give up a huge volume), but it's deep with talent.

I like your list, but I think Blach is having a nice year at Sacto. He's developed every year since 2013. He has a possibility to make it as a Kirk Reuter type pitcher. Not over-powering stuff, but eats innings and doesn't walk many hitters, and overall does a serviceable job. He's a bit under the radar.

Ty Blach Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball

I like Suarez, but he's been miserable at Richmond.

I like what Grant Watson is doing at Augusta, another Reuter type. Giving up way too many hits, and has had several bad/terrible outings.

I would also put Blackburn ahead of Coonrod right now. After a miserable beginning, Blackburn pitched well in May and June, but July has not been kind to him, and his ERA is almost back up to 5.00. He and Blach are closer to being MLB ready than any other pitcher in the system, I think.

I really like the young OF at Salem-Keizer with Reynolds, Brusa, Quinn and Fullmer. They look very solid.

 

[calsnowskier]

My Top Prospects following trade deadline:

1. Christian Arroyo
2. Tyler Beede
3. Chris Shaw
4. Sam Coonrod
5. Steven Duggar
6. Bryan Reynolds
7. Andrew Suarez
8. Joan Gregorio
9. Clayton Blackburn
10. Heath Quinn


Still a lot of talent there. Beede and Arroyo can help out next year, Shaw, Coonrod, Duggar, Suarez the year after. Gregorio, Blackburn this year. We gave up a lot, but luckily we have a pretty DEEP system. I've said many times, it's not star studded (which is why we had to give up a huge volume), but it's deep with talent.

That seems close. I am not ready to rank Reynolds or Quin yet, though.

I wonder if Shaws face-plant in AA hurt the Giants chances of getting Miller, or cost them Fox in the Moore trade...

 

[SFGRTB]

I like your list, but I think Blach is having a nice year at Sacto. He's developed every year since 2013. He has a possibility to make it as a Kirk Reuter type pitcher. Not over-powering stuff, but eats innings and doesn't walk many hitters, and overall does a serviceable job. He's a bit under the radar.

Ty Blach Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball

I like Suarez, but he's been miserable at Richmond.

I like what Grant Watson is doing at Augusta, another Reuter type. Giving up way too many hits, and has had several bad/terrible outings.

I would also put Blackburn ahead of Coonrod right now. After a miserable beginning, Blackburn pitched well in May and June, but July has not been kind to him, and his ERA is almost back up to 5.00. He and Blach are closer to being MLB ready than any other pitcher in the system, I think.

I really like the young OF at Salem-Keizer with Reynolds, Brusa, Quinn and Fullmer. They look very solid.

Blach deserves mention, but I just worry so much about his complete lack of stuff. He has a good changeup, but has to rely on so many factors like his pin-point command, his defense, his ballpark. It's just not a great recipe, where as someone like Coonrod, Suarez, Gregorio etc. can at least miss some bats. When a guy puts up numbers though, like Blach, you can't just ignore it.

Watson is in the same boat, but he literally doesn't have a good pitch (by MLB standards), and he's not putting up numbers lately. I'm personally not a fan

All these pitchers are so close, it's tough to differentiate them, so I ranked them higher based on ceiling.

 

[SFGRTB]

That seems close. I am not ready to rank Reynolds or Quin yet, though.

I wonder if Shaws face-plant in AA hurt the Giants chances of getting Miller, or cost them Fox in the Moore trade...

2 college kids already crushing minor league pitching, I feel OK ranking them personally.

With Shaw, I wouldn't be shocked in that case, but we'll never really know. The Yankees wanted Dillon Tate, who's been struggling hard, but was a high draft pick last year. Fox just has higher upside, and the Rays have a couple guys with at Shaw's position in the minors they are high on.

 

[tzill]

My Top Prospects following trade deadline:

1. Christian Arroyo
2. Tyler Beede
3. Chris Shaw
4. Sam Coonrod
5. Steven Duggar
6. Bryan Reynolds
7. Andrew Suarez
8. Joan Gregorio
9. Clayton Blackburn
10. Heath Quinn


Still a lot of talent there. Beede and Arroyo can help out next year, Shaw, Coonrod, Duggar, Suarez the year after. Gregorio, Blackburn this year. We gave up a lot, but luckily we have a pretty DEEP system. I've said many times, it's not star studded (which is why we had to give up a huge volume), but it's deep with talent.

I bet Arroyo gets called up next month.

 

[calsnowskier]

I bet Arroyo gets called up next month.

I think there is a better than even chance of this. He needs to get his feet wet and the org needs to see if he is ready to take the job next year.

 

[LHG]

I think there is a better than even chance of this. He needs to get his feet wet and the org needs to see if he is ready to take the job next year.

Hmm, maybe I'll start a thread on this.

 

[calsnowskier]

I decided to create my own post-deadline top-10...

1 Christian Arroyo SS/3B

The third baseman of the future. It is believed that Duffy was made available because of how high the org is on Arroyo. His numbers in AA are rather pedestrian (.275/.319/.374/.692), but he is 3.3 years under the average age for the EL. He is expected to graduate at some time next season.

2 Tyler Beede RHP

While his numbers this year (3.13/1.343/107/42/120.2) are not bad, they are in a pitchers league (EL). However most scouting reports say that his stuff has been VERY good. He should at least get his cuppo by next year, with having a full rotation spot by the start of '18.

3 Chris Shaw 1B

A beast, pure and simple. A sandwich pick in the 2015 draft, he made a complete mockery of the California League, slashing .285/.357/.544/.902 with 16 bombs in 270 ABs. He struggled after his mid-season promotion to the AA EL, but recently he has begun to hit again, slashing .327/.403/.600/1.003 since 7/27. While he likely doesn't have much of a future with the Giants due to being blocked at first by Belt and not having the glove for the OF, he may just be a serious blue-chip piece for the org to flip for a major piece at next years deadline. Ceiling-wise, he may just be the orgs #1 prospect.

4 Steven Duggar RF/CF

Dude has exploded this year. A 6th round pick in last years draft, he has already made it to AA and excelled, slashing .322/.379/.421/.800 in 152 ABs. However, he has completely lost his power stroke since his mid-season promotion. He had 9 round-trippers in San Jose in 264 ABs, but has yet to go yard with Richmond.

5 Austin Slater LF

Another Giants OFer having a breakout season. Slater was drafted in the 8th round in 2014 out of Stanford. He stared 2016 in Richmond and got the mid season promotion after slashing .317/.413/.490/.902. That is a .413 OBP!! He doesn't have much base stealing speed, but with that OBP, I would have no problem slotting him in as the lead off guy. However, with his power, he may profile more as a #2.

6 Andrew Suarez LHP

Suarez was drafted in the second round in 2015 as a low-ceiling, high floor SP out of the U. He has not disappointed as he has shown that he is pretty much a "lock" to be a #3/#4 starter type, and should at least get his cuppo by next season. While his AA line this year is kinda ugly, since 7/2, he has posted 5 QS out of 6 while posting an ERA of 2.21 and a WHIP of 1.008in 40.2 innings with a 38/8 K/BB. That is averaging 6.2 innings per start.

7 Bryan Reynolds CF

The second rounder in this years draft, some have speculated that if the Giants kept their #1 pick instead of signing Sammy, they would have strongly considered taking him at that spot. As it is, most draft experts were very surprised that he was still available for the Giants at pick #59. Since starting his pro career, he has not disappointed. .328/.399/.557/.956 with 5 HRs in 122 ABs.

8 Sam Coonrod RHP

A 5th rounder in 2014, Coonrod got a lot of attention this past off-season as most scouts and prospect experts declared this kid one of the Giants top prospects (surprising many of us who really didn't have him on our radars). This year, though, he has really put up the numbers that have firmly placed him on ALL radars. Between San Jose and Richmond, he has put up an ERA of 2.43 and a WHIP of 1.146 in 118.2 IP. He is a bit wild, unfortunately, only putting up a 75/48 K/BB ratio. I think he needs to improve on both of those numbers before he will be in contention for a cuppo, so I don't see him getting one until 2018, earliest.

9 Aramis Garcia C

Garcia was taken in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft out of FIU. He was a rather surprising pick at the time because the org was already sooo strong at catcher, but he was rated, IIRC, as the #2 catching prospect in that draft, and we all know how this org loves them some catchers. Unfortunately, Garcia has a hard time staying on the field this season, only getting 110 ABs thus far. He missed 2 months due to a facial fracture suffered while on the base paths (he was attempting a takeout slide at 2nd and got a face full of knee). While this season is a relative wash for him stats wise, with the trade of Susac, he is pretty clearly the top-ceiling catcher in the org not named Gerald.

10 Pick 'Em

There are too many guys in contention for this spot to pick just one. We have a bunch of guys ready for graduation, but with very questionable ceilings (Blach, Blackburn, Stratton), relievers who seem close, but are too unknown (Black, Okert, Rogers), kids with HUGE potential but just too far away (Arenado, Ryder Jones, Brusa, Quinn, Cabrera, Heyward) and middling guys who I like, but just can't bring myself to rank this high (Gregorio, Bednar, Hinojosa, Davis).

One thing I noticed right off the bat... The Giants have ZERO Latin presence after the trades of Mejia and Fox. None. Just a few years back, more than half of the top 10 of the Giants prospects were NDFAs from down south. Now, the only guy in REAL contention is Gregorio (too many questions around Cabrera). And with the restrictions we still face after signing Fox, this trend will not change any time soon.

Another thing I noticed is that we are all of the sudden super strong in OF prospects. I did not consider McParker, because they are both essentially graduated at this point. But if you wanted to count them...

Mac
Parker
Duggar
Slater
Reynolds
Brusa
Davis
Quinn
Heyward
Cole
Jabevy
Cabrera
Edie

Those are all guys who have top 10 prospect potential, IMHO. And this does not include Duvall, who graduated last year and broke the Giants 30-something year old drought of not producing an all-star OFer this year (although, granted, he did not get the honor as a Giant).

 

[SFGRTB]

I decided to create my own post-deadline top-10...

1 Christian Arroyo SS/3B

The third baseman of the future. It is believed that Duffy was made available because of how high the org is on Arroyo. His numbers in AA are rather pedestrian (.275/.319/.374/.692), but he is 3.3 years under the average age for the EL. He is expected to graduate at some time next season.

2 Tyler Beede RHP

While his numbers this year (3.13/1.343/107/42/120.2) are not bad, they are in a pitchers league (EL). However most scouting reports say that his stuff has been VERY good. He should at least get his cuppo by next year, with having a full rotation spot by the start of '18.

3 Chris Shaw 1B

A beast, pure and simple. A sandwich pick in the 2015 draft, he made a complete mockery of the California League, slashing .285/.357/.544/.902 with 16 bombs in 270 ABs. He struggled after his mid-season promotion to the AA EL, but recently he has begun to hit again, slashing .327/.403/.600/1.003 since 7/27. While he likely doesn't have much of a future with the Giants due to being blocked at first by Belt and not having the glove for the OF, he may just be a serious blue-chip piece for the org to flip for a major piece at next years deadline. Ceiling-wise, he may just be the orgs #1 prospect.

4 Steven Duggar RF/CF

Dude has exploded this year. A 6th round pick in last years draft, he has already made it to AA and excelled, slashing .322/.379/.421/.800 in 152 ABs. However, he has completely lost his power stroke since his mid-season promotion. He had 9 round-trippers in San Jose in 264 ABs, but has yet to go yard with Richmond.

5 Austin Slater LF

Another Giants OFer having a breakout season. Slater was drafted in the 8th round in 2014 out of Stanford. He stared 2016 in Richmond and got the mid season promotion after slashing .317/.413/.490/.902. That is a .413 OBP!! He doesn't have much base stealing speed, but with that OBP, I would have no problem slotting him in as the lead off guy. However, with his power, he may profile more as a #2.

6 Andrew Suarez LHP

Suarez was drafted in the second round in 2015 as a low-ceiling, high floor SP out of the U. He has not disappointed as he has shown that he is pretty much a "lock" to be a #3/#4 starter type, and should at least get his cuppo by next season. While his AA line this year is kinda ugly, since 7/2, he has posted 5 QS out of 6 while posting an ERA of 2.21 and a WHIP of 1.008in 40.2 innings with a 38/8 K/BB. That is averaging 6.2 innings per start.

7 Bryan Reynolds CF

The second rounder in this years draft, some have speculated that if the Giants kept their #1 pick instead of signing Sammy, they would have strongly considered taking him at that spot. As it is, most draft experts were very surprised that he was still available for the Giants at pick #59. Since starting his pro career, he has not disappointed. .328/.399/.557/.956 with 5 HRs in 122 ABs.

8 Sam Coonrod RHP

A 5th rounder in 2014, Coonrod got a lot of attention this past off-season as most scouts and prospect experts declared this kid one of the Giants top prospects (surprising many of us who really didn't have him on our radars). This year, though, he has really put up the numbers that have firmly placed him on ALL radars. Between San Jose and Richmond, he has put up an ERA of 2.43 and a WHIP of 1.146 in 118.2 IP. He is a bit wild, unfortunately, only putting up a 75/48 K/BB ratio. I think he needs to improve on both of those numbers before he will be in contention for a cuppo, so I don't see him getting one until 2018, earliest.

9 Aramis Garcia C

Garcia was taken in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft out of FIU. He was a rather surprising pick at the time because the org was already sooo strong at catcher, but he was rated, IIRC, as the #2 catching prospect in that draft, and we all know how this org loves them some catchers. Unfortunately, Garcia has a hard time staying on the field this season, only getting 110 ABs thus far. He missed 2 months due to a facial fracture suffered while on the base paths (he was attempting a takeout slide at 2nd and got a face full of knee). While this season is a relative wash for him stats wise, with the trade of Susac, he is pretty clearly the top-ceiling catcher in the org not named Gerald.

10 Pick 'Em

There are too many guys in contention for this spot to pick just one. We have a bunch of guys ready for graduation, but with very questionable ceilings (Blach, Blackburn, Stratton), relievers who seem close, but are too unknown (Black, Okert, Rogers), kids with HUGE potential but just too far away (Arenado, Ryder Jones, Brusa, Quinn, Cabrera, Heyward) and middling guys who I like, but just can't bring myself to rank this high (Gregorio, Bednar, Hinojosa, Davis).

One thing I noticed right off the bat... The Giants have ZERO Latin presence after the trades of Mejia and Fox. None. Just a few years back, more than half of the top 10 of the Giants prospects were NDFAs from down south. Now, the only guy in REAL contention is Gregorio (too many questions around Cabrera). And with the restrictions we still face after signing Fox, this trend will not change any time soon.

Another thing I noticed is that we are all of the sudden super strong in OF prospects. I did not consider McParker, because they are both essentially graduated at this point. But if you wanted to count them...

Mac
Parker
Duggar
Slater
Reynolds
Brusa
Davis
Quinn
Heyward
Cole
Jabevy
Cabrera
Edie

Those are all guys who have top 10 prospect potential, IMHO. And this does not include Duvall, who graduated last year and broke the Giants 30-something year old drought of not producing an all-star OFer this year (although, granted, he did not get the honor as a Giant).

I like it. Slater was a pretty big omission from my list, deserves to be on it over Quinn for the time being. He has such a compact, short swing, a lot like Kelby Tomlinson. Almost no load, just quick to the ball, but he's stronger and has better bat speed so he should hit for more power. Solid utility profile, with positional versatility.

I really think Duggar can be the starting CF/RFer by 2018. He's never lacked the tools, he just wasn't really showing them in games while in college. Well since he's turned Pro, he's showing those tools. Pre-season, I likened him to have a Belt-like break out. Hasn't quite reached that level, but pretty close. Proud of myself there!

Hopefully the Giants can hit on one of these OFers as a starting-caliber player. It seems like Mac is close, and could have a pretty good shot next season.