Down on the Farm (2018)

[SFGRTB]

Great post SFGRTB! Solid choices all around. I may have picked Jebavy over Garcia just because the sheer awfulness of his numbers and the fact he was picked a round above Duggar in 2015. But Garcia followed up a generally successful debut in Richmond last year with a very meh 2018 (and it only got to meh with a hot finish).
Can I say that the offensive production from Augusta up and the pitching from San Jose up were just very disappointing this year, overall?

I seriously considered Jebavy as well, but frankly he hasn't shown it with the bat yet, so why should I expect him to now? Garcia was expected to jump after getting a taste of AA already. But yeah Jebavy was just flat-out terrible.

Sacramento was gutted by SF so it's understandable why they were bad, they just did have enough depth down the ladder to help them. I feel like they would have been good if they kept most of their guys (of course SF would be worse than the Orioles right now, then).

Yeah I'd say it was a pretty poor year for the system, even giving Sacramento a pass. I'm really happy with how all the half-season teams did, but man the full-season teams were ass.

 

[Stokes1931]

Good summary on Augusta by former Mouse Board Mod, BruteSentiment (aka Kevin Cunningham)

Post-mortem: The 2018 Augusta Greenjackets

And on Salem-Keizer

Post-Mortem: The 2018 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes

 

[Stokes1931]

A nice article by Baggs about Hjelle on the Athletic. I remember when Baggs signed with the Athletic that one of his hopes was to do less game stories and do more detailed and in-depth reporting. So far, he has done just that.

Giant steps: Sean Hjelle takes his first strides toward...

Here are the first few paragraphs. For the rest, subscribe!

Giant steps: Sean Hjelle takes his first strides toward becoming the tallest player in major league history

KEIZER, Ore. — The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes gathered to celebrate a comeback victory, and right-hander Sean Hjelle stood at the end of the high-five line. He stretched his arm as high as it would go.

Nobody slapped his hand. Nobody could reach.

When you stand a hair under 7 feet in your sweat socks, and are just beginning a professional career, and assured a place in baseball’s record books as soon as you throw your first major league pitch, you either embrace the novelty of your height or seek to hide from it.

“Yeaaah,” said Hjelle, his far-off gaze fixed somewhere beyond where his lodgepole legs ended as they stretched over a row of seats at Volcanoes Stadium. “I’m not so good at being sneaky.”

The Giants, appropriately enough, selected Hjelle (pronounced “Jelly”) with their second-round draft pick in June. He is a far stretch from pitching at AT&T Park. But if he reaches the pinnacle of his profession, he would become the tallest player in major league history.

Taller than Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who was 6-foot-10. Taller than Chris Young, another 6-10 pitcher who made an All-Star team and started 221 games over a 13-year career. Yes, even taller than the current record holder, journeyman reliever Jon Rauch, who was a towering, 6-11 presence on the mound.

The Giants measured Hjelle’s height and weight as part of his physical in June at the club’s minor league complex in Arizona. The draft database listed him as 6-11. He measured in at 6-11 ½. He swears he stood flat-footed.

“Got ‘em by a half an inch,” said Hjelle, smiling. “Yeah, 83 1/2 inches. It’s not how I dreamed of getting into Cooperstown. It’d be cool. But being a major league pitcher, that would be the dream come true.”

Hjelle wants to be known as a successful pitcher and not merely the tallest one, yet his height is the first thing anyone notices — and not just when he stilt-walks onto a baseball diamond or gallops like a giraffe on the savanna to cover first base or perches himself atop the mound while peering over his glove as if from a second-story window. It’s so much easier to cope with the gawkers and the jokesters if he maintains a sense of humor about it.

So … the high-five line, and an arm stretched to the stars for comic effect.

 

[SFGRTB]

Good summary on Augusta by former Mouse Board Mod, BruteSentiment (aka Kevin Cunningham)

Post-mortem: The 2018 Augusta Greenjackets

And on Salem-Keizer

Post-Mortem: The 2018 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes

I swear I didn't read these before I posted haha. They share some similarities though. Thanks for posting

 

[Stokes1931]

Scouting View: A Conversation with David Lee

 

[LHG]

Scouting View: A Conversation with David Lee

This statement was quite interesting:
"I haven’t run a final tally yet on offense at SRP Park compared to Lake Olmstead, but judging by my eye and a lot of trips there this season, I’d say it’s a good bit more hitter-friendly. The ball certainly jumps to left field a lot more. It’s still tough going to center and right, and right-center is a dead zone, but I think it will be much closer to neutral than Lake Olmstead. I know hitters are enjoying it more. Augusta’s hitting coach, Thomas Neal, played at Lake Olmstead and he’s noticed a difference."

 

[SFGRTB]

The Giants released a good number of minor leaguers today.

C Will Albertson
C Luis Alvarado
C Victor Cairo
INF Robert Antunez
INF Wascar De Leon
INF Dillon Dobson
INF Kevin Rivera
INF Hector Santiago
OF Christopher Burks
OF Jose Patino
RHP Keenan Bartlett
RHP Zach Becherer
RHP Victor Concepcion
RHP Alejandro De La Rosa
RHP Oliver Pinto
RHP Dylan Rheault
RHP Weilly Yan
LHP Alex Bostic
LHP Sidney Duprey

 

[LHG]

The Giants released a good number of minor leaguers today.

C Will Albertson
C Luis Alvarado
C Victor Cairo
INF Robert Antunez
INF Wascar De Leon
INF Dillon Dobson
INF Kevin Rivera
INF Hector Santiago
OF Christopher Burks
OF Jose Patino
RHP Keenan Bartlett
RHP Zach Becherer
RHP Victor Concepcion
RHP Alejandro De La Rosa
RHP Oliver Pinto
RHP Dylan Rheault
RHP Weilly Yan
LHP Alex Bostic
LHP Sidney Duprey

Not really surprised by any of them, except maybe Hector Santiago. He couldn't hit in the AZL but was still just 20 years old. I guess that the Giants decided that they had plenty of middle infielders ahead of him.

 

[Stokes1931]

The Giants released a good number of minor leaguers today.

C Will Albertson
C Luis Alvarado
C Victor Cairo
INF Robert Antunez
INF Wascar De Leon
INF Dillon Dobson
INF Kevin Rivera
INF Hector Santiago
OF Christopher Burks
OF Jose Patino
RHP Keenan Bartlett
RHP Zach Becherer
RHP Victor Concepcion
RHP Alejandro De La Rosa
RHP Oliver Pinto
RHP Dylan Rheault
RHP Weilly Yan
LHP Alex Bostic
LHP Sidney Duprey

No surprises, really. Rheault has pitched well, but he's already 26, pretty old for the Cal League.

 

[LHG]

No surprises, really. Rheault has pitched well, but he's already 26, pretty old for the Cal League.

Concepcion came back to pitch well in 9 relief appearances, after missing all of 2017. I guess the Giants didn't like what they saw in his return.

 

[calsnowskier]

De La Rosa was the return in a trade, wasn’t he?

 

[SFGRTB]

De La Rosa was the return in a trade, wasn’t he?

No, this De La Rosa was signed out of the DR in 2015. If you're thinking of Frandy De La Rosa, who was acquired for.... *checks notes*.... Clayton Blackburn? He was released in June

 

[calsnowskier]

No, this De La Rosa was signed out of the DR in 2015. If you're thinking of Frandy De La Rosa, who was acquired for.... *checks notes*.... Clayton Blackburn? He was released in June

Ah... gotcha.

 

[tzill]

Melissa Lockard just published her top 20 prospect list:

Down on the farm: Ranking the Giants' 2018 top 20 prospects

Bart/Ramos/Anderson at the top.

good read.

 

[SFGRTB]

Melissa Lockard just published her top 20 prospect list:

Down on the farm: Ranking the Giants' 2018 top 20 prospects

Bart/Ramos/Anderson at the top.

good read.

I'd put Canario much higher, but otherwise I like the list. Always happy to see my dude Doval get some attention

 

[calsnowskier]

Can someone post the list for those of us who are too cheap to pay for the content?

 

[SFGRTB]

Can someone post the list for those of us who are too cheap to pay for the content?

Joey Bart
Heliot Ramos
Shaun Anderson
Marco Luciano
Logan Webb
Chris Shaw
Sean Hjelle
Jalen Miller
Jacob Gonzalez
Seth Corry
Heath Quinn
Juan De Paula
Greg Santos
Abiatal Avelino
Jake Wong
Alex Canario
Conner Menez
Ryan Howard
Aramis Garcia
Camilo Doval

 

[Stokes1931]

Can someone post the list for those of us who are too cheap to pay for the content?

You mean with all the dog food, dog training and vet bills you can't afford $3/month?

 

[calsnowskier]

You mean with all the dog food, dog training and vet bills you can't afford $3/month?

I could afford it. I a man just a cheap bastard and choose not to pay it.

 

[calsnowskier]

Joey Bart
Heliot Ramos
Shaun Anderson
Marco Luciano
Logan Webb
Chris Shaw
Sean Hjelle
Jalen Miller
Jacob Gonzalez
Seth Corry
Heath Quinn
Juan De Paula
Greg Santos
Abiatal Avelino
Jake Wong
Alex Canario
Conner Menez
Ryan Howard
Aramis Garcia
Camilo Doval

I like Anderson, but I am not EXCITED about him. Is his ceiling really any higher than Suarez’? Is he more than a potential 3?

I suppose he is rated higher than Luciano based on proximity and the fact that Luciano has not played yet. I can’t really argue against that.