Spring training 2018

[tzill]

Current 25, for me:

Bum
Shimmy
Shark
Strat
Kirk

Does Mark have a nickname yet? - CL
Strick
Tony
Dyson (I'm not as good at this as tzill)
Gear
O-Shit
RuleV

MVP
BB9
Dozens
Stamos
Longo
Twitch
AJax
Cutch

Nic
Specs
Panda
Mac
OG Shark

Special considerations to Pierce Johnson and Steven Duggar. Both are forcing the issue and are far from out of the race.

Nicely done. For me:

SP - Bum, JC, Shark, Strat, Party
BP - Dancin, Elementary, Vacuum, Strick, Hippy, O-shit, Dutch
IF - MVP, BB9, Dozens, Stamos, Eva
OF - Herk, Ajax, Cutch
Bench - Hundo, Panda, Specs, White Shark, Duggs

 

[tzill]

While Mac is having a stellar spring, I really don’t see him making the team. He has reasserted himself as a prospect, but he needs more ABs with his new swing. He will start in Sac Town, but will be up and starting before the end of the season.

And since Blanco, Duggar, Hernandez and (to a lesser extent) Slater are all the same type of player, I think Parker still holds thee inside track on the last OF job. Unless they only go with 4 OFers and go with d’Arnaud as a 3rd infielder instead.

Re: JPark -- before ST, I agreed with this take. Now, I think he gets DFA'd and likely resigned and sent to Sac. I think Duggar makes it.

 

[tzill]

I think both Williamson and Slater are at a disadvantage due to the fact they both have options left. Parker and Hernandez, I think, have the inside track but both could lose their spots if they continue to perform poorly in spring. If Hernandez struggles, I see Blanco pushing him off the roster. If Parker goes, though, I think its only because Williamson makes the team. They'll want that 5th guy to be a power bat. The Giants' outfield is a bit more of a question mark than the infield so I believe they'll carry 5 outfielders (unless they decide to go with an 8 man bullpen).

I think Shark pushes out Gorkys and Duggar pushes out JPark.

 

[SFGRTB]

I wonder what the cost would be to get him from Colorado. I know, the Rockies left him available to the Rule 5, so they must have not been that high on him. But I'd think they would be more willing to gamble on him not being ready to spend a full year on an MLB roster than to lose him completely. What do you think would interest the Rockies to let him stay in the Giants' farm system?

IDK, I'm trying to think of an example off the top of my head but I don't think it really happens that often. Tough to gauge value in that aspect. The only one I remember was because it involved the Giants. They lost Ben Snyder, and Texas traded Edwin Escobar to retain Snyder's rights.

Snyder was a polished lefty in AA at the time, close to the bigs, while Escobar was a 17 y/o raw lefty who hadn't pitched above rookie-ball yet.

 

[SFGRTB]

I do agree that the likelihood of Parker and/or Hernandez getting picked up elsewhere is much less likely than what it would have been in previous years. Some of the guys you cited have been signed (Rajai Davis and Eric Young, Jr) but there are still some names left. Of course, that doesn't mean no one would want to pick up a guy like Hernandez for a lot less than Bautista. The Marlins, for example, would probably be more interested in Hernandez.
I do believe, if I remember the rules, that since Hernandez has already been dfa'd by the Pirates, he could refuse the assignment and become a free agent. Parker wouldn't have that choice. So Hernandez may be in a better place than Parker, despite their awful spring numbers.
And that makes me wonder, in a battle like this, how much do the Giants really "invest" in spring numbers? With a free agent market like this, does that really sway much the Giants' decisions? They usually like to stick with their guys, even if they aren't producing. But they also have one of their guys in camp, in Gregor Blanco.
That leads me to thoughts about Pence. Its going to be hard for Bochy, I think, to see the writing on the wall about the amount of playing time. He'll give his veteran every chance to sink or swim. I think at-bats for Williamson or Parker or Slater (or whoever) would be slim for at least a month.
Now if Duggar does claim at least a platoon in center field right away, maybe Jackson steals some of Pence's ABs right away but that begs the question as to whether Jackson needs to be platooned or does he just take over in left field? Probably not, unless its Duggar and Blanco (or maybe Slater) who make the team. THere seems to be a lot of intrigue yet to play out this spring.
On an interesting note, I don't think anyone (except maybe Hector Sanchez, unless he is injured) has been reassigned from big league camp. Usually, the first set of cuts happen by now. However, this year, the Giants really limited the amount of guys invited as non-roster players and have just brought other players in on split-squad days. I wonder when the first round of cuts will happen.

I think I saw cuts were expected to happen today. I doubt any OFer gets cut, even longshots like Shaw. Might be more telling for the IF race though.

It's a cluster right now. At least it's seemingly solid players that are competing, and not washed-up vets like Aaron Hill and whatnot.

 

[SFGRTB]

Do cuts really mean anything anyway? It seems guys who were “cut” still make the opening day roster every few years.

Without looking it up, I'd say that doesn't happen often. At the very least, it signals a huge hill to climb, or maybe a serious injury occurred. Usually, the earlier a player is cut, the worse sign it is. I figured minor league camp games started already, but maybe they do this week. Teams typically send down the sure minor leaguers to get acclimated to their teammates and coaching.

 

[SFGRTB]

Nicely done. For me:

SP - Bum, JC, Shark, Strat, Party
BP - Dancin, Elementary, Vacuum, Strick, Hippy, O-shit, Dutch
IF - MVP, BB9, Dozens, Stamos, Eva
OF - Herk, Ajax, Cutch
Bench - Hundo, Panda, Specs, White Shark, Duggs

Three lefties? Interesting. I guess Dutch is more of the swingman.

Duggar and Blanco are so similar, but Boch did say that you can't have too much speed in SF so this would be plausible.

 

[LHG]

Do cuts really mean anything anyway? It seems guys who were “cut” still make the opening day roster every few years.

I would say yes. Usually, from what I remember, guys who make the roster after they've been cut are usually guys that need to fill a sudden roster spot opening due to a late spring injury or due to a guy not being ready after the team had hoped that he would be ready for Opening Day.

 

[LHG]

I think I saw cuts were expected to happen today. I doubt any OFer gets cut, even longshots like Shaw. Might be more telling for the IF race though.

It's a cluster right now. At least it's seemingly solid players that are competing, and not washed-up vets like Aaron Hill and whatnot.

I don't see very many cuts happening yet, which isn't too surprising for the first round. I expect that the following are good possibilities: Pitchers - Tyler Herb, Chase Johnson (assuming he doesn't go to the 60 day instead), Tyler Cyr, Jose Flores, Dereck Rodriguez, Madison Younginer; Catchers - Aramis Garcia, two of Trevor Brown, Justin O'Conner and Hector Sanchez; Infielders - maybe Ryder Jones, Andres Blanco, Orlando Calixte, and/or Kyle Jensen; Outfielders - none.

 

[calsnowskier]

Re: JPark -- before ST, I agreed with this take. Now, I think he gets DFA'd and likely resigned and sent to Sac. I think Duggar makes it.

You may be right, but I just see Blanco, Duggar and Hernandez as being redundant. No need for 2 of them to make it.

I think it is almost guaranteed that one of McParker makes it. Parker is purely a place-holder at this point, though. He has been weighed, he has been measured, and he has been found wanting. In what world could he possibly make this team long term?

 

[tzill]

Three lefties? Interesting. I guess Dutch is more of the swingman.

Duggar and Blanco are so similar, but Boch did say that you can't have too much speed in SF so this would be plausible.

I've got a buddy who keeps telling me that Dutch can be the next Biggie. That said, it's probably going to be Law instead of one of the last two lefties

 

[SFGRTB]

Here's the round of cuts from today:


Only two surprising ones stand out to me (and they aren't all that surprising), Okert and Pierce Johnson. Looks like the Giants like what they see in Osich. Holland is still around too.

 

[tzill]

Here's the round of cuts from today:


Only two surprising ones stand out to me (and they aren't all that surprising), Okert and Pierce Johnson. Looks like the Giants like what they see in Osich. Holland is still around too.

Nothing surprising here, except maybe Okert so soon.

Duggar homered again today. Vacuum shat the mound. Strat looked good.

 

[msgkings322]

Nicely done. For me:

SP - Bum, JC, Shark, Strat, Party
BP - Dancin, Elementary, Vacuum, Strick, Hippy, O-shit, Dutch
IF - MVP, BB9, Dozens, Stamos, Eva
OF - Herk, Ajax, Cutch
Bench - Hundo, Panda, Specs, White Shark, Duggs

I'm not embarrassed to say I have no idea who half of these nicknames refer to.

 

[LHG]

Here's the round of cuts from today:


Only two surprising ones stand out to me (and they aren't all that surprising), Okert and Pierce Johnson. Looks like the Giants like what they see in Osich. Holland is still around too.

A little surprised to see Okert and P Johnson sent down. Actually, mildly surprised that Gomez was the sole infielder to get sent down (when others haven't looked any better). I haven't paid much attention to Hanson, has he played more infield or outfield this spring?
On the flip side, its cool that Jensen made it past the first round of cuts. I wasn't too big on his signing but he's lit up spring so far, which makes him fun to watch for spring. Maybe he becomes this year's Chris Marrero (which would be both good and bad for him).

 

[LHG]

I'm not embarrassed to say I have no idea who half of these nicknames refer to.

 

[SFGRTB]

I'm not embarrassed to say I have no idea who half of these nicknames refer to.

 

[LHG]

I'm not embarrassed to say I have no idea who half of these nicknames refer to.

Here's my guessing, going from most well known/most obvious to, by process of elimination who I think he is referring to:

Bum - Bumgarner
Panda - Sandoval
JC - Cueto
MVP - Posey
Shark - Samardzija
Cutch - McCutchen
Strick - Strickland
BB9 - Belt
Dozens - Panik
Strat - Stratton
Stamos - Crawford
Herk - Pence
White Shark - Blanco
Hundo - Hundley
Duggs - Duggar
O-shit - Osich
Eva - Longoria (duh!)
Ajax - Jackson
Specs - Tomlinson (what happened to Clark Kent?)
The bullpen is where I'm really struggling with deciphering the nicknames:
Elementary - (my dear) Watson
Vacuum - Dyson
Dancin - Melancon
Dutch - Holland
Hippy - Gearrin????
There are times I have to just smile and nod when @tzill throws out one of his nicknames, not knowing who in the world he is talking about. My question for tzill is, what happens if both Blancos somehow make the roster? White Shark1 and White Shark2?

 

[SFGRTB]

Here's my guessing, going from most well known/most obvious to, by process of elimination who I think he is referring to:

Bum - Bumgarner
Panda - Sandoval
JC - Cueto
MVP - Posey
Shark - Samardzija
Cutch - McCutchen
Strick - Strickland
BB9 - Belt
Dozens - Panik
Strat - Stratton
Stamos - Crawford
Herk - Pence
White Shark - Blanco
Hundo - Hundley
Duggs - Duggar
O-shit - Osich
Eva - Longoria (duh!)
Ajax - Jackson
Specs - Tomlinson (what happened to Clark Kent?)
The bullpen is where I'm really struggling with deciphering the nicknames:
Elementary - (my dear) Watson
Vacuum - Dyson
Dancin - Melancon
Dutch - Holland
Hippy - Gearrin????
There are times I have to just smile and nod when @tzill throws out one of his nicknames, not knowing who in the world he is talking about. My question for tzill is, what happens if both Blancos somehow make the roster? White Shark1 and White Shark2?

Well, Sammy is just Shark, whilie Gregor Blanco is literally "White Shark", which in a way is even more confusing.

 

[calsnowskier]

Well, Sammy is just Shark, whilie Gregor Blanco is literally "White Shark", which in a way is even more confusing.

So we got Great White, And White and Shark...