Sunday, December 26, 2010

Down on the Farm: 2010 Giants Top 50 Prospect Review- #23 Jose Casilla

#23 Jose Casilla, RHP. Low A: 4-1, 1.16, 54.1 IP, 17 BB, 41 K's, GO/AO= 2.46, 14 Saves.

Casilla is the brother of Giants reliever Santiago Casilla. Jose has put up interesting numbers for quite awhile in the Giants system. The Giants have treated him with kid gloves in terms of total IP. He served as a closer for Augusta and again put up some serious numbers in limited IP. The package of a an extreme groundball tendency with decent K's and good walk rates looks like it should play at higher levels, including MLB. The Giants promoted him to San Jose for the Cal League Playoffs and he performed well. I saw him pitch in Rancho Cucamonga during the championship series and this is what I saw: 1. Sinking fastball that ran 89-92 with possibly one pitch as high as 94. This was more of a contact pitch than a swing an miss pitch and a couple of balls were hit hard. 2. A sharp breaking ball that RC batters couldn't hit. He'll turn 22 on 5/21. I imagine he will start the season in San Jose, but wouldn't be shocked if he skipped a level to AA. I see him as a middle relief/setup man at the MLB level. He should be adept at inducing DP's to get out of jams with less than 2 outs. Will probably move up in my 2011 list.

3 comments:

  1. I remember this guy! RC was a fun stadium to watch the championship in person. "Now batting, "MIKE TROUT!" Of course, there was another championship to savor at the big league level as well... Hehe, good going Dr. L!

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  2. Love the stuff and numbers, but can't figure out why the Giants are sooooooooooo cautious with his innings. He'll definitely move up -- I hope it's to AA.

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  3. Hey Thomas, is that you? That game at the Epicenter was about as much fun as I've ever had at a baseball game! Yeah, Mike Trout put on quite a show, didn't he? I'd love to have that guy in the Giants organization. The Angels have had trouble getting their hitting prospects to the majors in recent years though, so you never know.

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