#4 Thomas Neal. OF. B-R, T-R. BD: 08-17-1987. 6'1", 205 lbs.
2008 Stats: High A: .337/.431/.579 with 22 HR's. Arizona Fall League: .284/.384/.392 with 12 SB's in 74 AB's.
Thomas Neal had a true breakout season in 2008. Drafted out of Poway(CA) HS in 2005, he played a season of JC ball at Riverside City College and then signed with the Giants as a draft and follow just before the 2006 draft. He was still 18 at the time, so he did not need to be added to the 40 man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this year. Neal has always played well, when he played, in the Giants system, but missed a lot of time to injury. Finally healthy in 2008, he hit .276 with 15 HR's and excellent plate discipline for low A Augusta. He seemed to be on the verge of a breakout season in 2009 and he did not disappoint. On top of he breakout offensive numbers, he showed excellent OF defense leading the Cal League in OF assists from LF with the San Jose Giants. Then, to top it off, he showed a whole other side in the Arizona Fall League by running wild on the bases finishing second in the league with 12 SB's in just 79 AB's.
So what we have here is a 5 tool player, hitting, hitting for power, catching, throwing, running. Add in the excellent plate discipline and you have as close to a can't miss prospect as you can get, provided he stays healthy. The only mystery is why he spent the whole season in San Jose. The most likely reason is the Giants ownership of the San Jose Giants franchise, the interest in the A's moving to San Jose and the Giants wanting to deliver a Cal League Championship. With that out of the way, Neal should start 2010 in AA Richmond. If he continues to rake there, he could easily be in SF by the end of the season. Barring injury, I believe Thomas Neal is the Giants LF of the future. His size and hitting prowess remind me of an underrated Giants player from the 1960's, Jim Ray Hart, except Thomas seems to be a much more well rounded player.
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Wow, 12 SB in the AZ Fall League. That's an enticing prospect. He'll start in VA but he'll be back in CA for Fresno, but I'd be surprised if he got more than a September cup of coffee. Have you seen his ZiPs projection?
ReplyDeleteI looked up the Giants ZIPS projections over on baseballthinkfactory.com. I didn't see Thomas Neal on the list. It looks like they only included players on the 40 man roster.
ReplyDeleteI don't put much stock in ZIPS projections. I seem to recall that Pablo Sandoval didn't look too good on those, while Josh Phelps looked like a near All-Star.
Interesting that Fred Lewis, a guy who the organization and a lot of Giants fans are very down on, has a better ZIPS line than Mark DeRosa. I thought Eli Whiteside's line, while no great shakes, was surprisingly optimistic.
That really looks like an anemic offense, huh? Gotta think that if a guy like Thomas Neal or Roger Kieschnick really rakes in the minors, they are going to get some kind of a chance before the season is done, but I agree, we most likely won't see Thomas Neal before September.