Sunday, August 28, 2011

Down on the Farm: 8/27/2011

AAA. Sacramento River Cats edged the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4:

Justin Christian- 2 for 4, HR(8), SB(32). BA= .332.
Brett Pill- 3 for 4. BA= .311.
Conor Gillaspie- 2 for 4. BA= .296.
Jason Stevenson- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.56.

Justin Christian has had a tremendous season and really seems like he could help a MLB team. Hopefully Stevenson gets a chance to stick around next year for a longer look.

AA. Richmond edged the Akron Aeros 3-2:

Darren Ford- 1 for 4, BB, 3 SB(6). BA= .254.
Wendell Fairley- 3 for 5, SB(2). BA= .280.
Ryan Verdugo- 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.11.

The Giants could use Ford's pinch running skills in Sept. Has Verdugo done enough this year to stay on the starter track? His K/9>9, but his BB/9 is around 4 which is too high.

High A. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes outlasted the San Jose Giants 8-7 in 14 innings:

Gary Brown- 2 for 6, 2 BB, SB(49). BA= .334.
Ehire Adrianza- 2 for 7, 2B, 3B, BB. BA= .304.
Tommy Joseph- 3 for 6, 2B, BB. BA= .270.
Ryan Cavan- 3 for 7. BA= .268.
Alex Burg- 3 for 7, 2B, HR(10). BA= .291.
Aaron King- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.

Burg's bat and versatility is an intriguing package. King finally makes it back to SJ and has a successful return. He still has a wild hair up his nose, though, as Kruk would say.

Low A. Greenville Drive pounded the Augusta Greenjackets 10-4:

Really nothing to see here. I'm surprised they got this one in with all the hurricanes a blowin'. Maybe they were far enough inland that they didn't get any of the storm. I would have thought it would be at least raining cats and dogs.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 6-1:

Joe Panik- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .337.
Brett Krill- 1 for 4, HR(6). BA= .318.
Jack Snodgrass- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 9/2. ERA= 3.02.
Keith Bilodeau- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Phil McCormick- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.91.

Rookie AZL Giants downed the Cubs 6-3:

Kelby Tomlinson- 3 for 5. BA= .348.
Jose Cuevas- 3 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .341.
Mike Merganthaler- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .382.
Christian Paulino- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(10). BA= .287.
Kyle Vazquez- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 7.36.
Derek Law- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.50.

I would expect Tomlinson to be the starting SS at Augusta next year with Panik in San Jose. Cuevas is repeating the AZL at age 23, but with much better results. Does he or Buechele get the 3B gig for Augusta next year? Merganthaler has been a surprise after being drafted in round 32 out of Richmond where he batted .307 but stole 18 of 20 bases. Paulino is a guy I think could make a big move next year. Does he get the Augusta 2B job over Kaohi Downing next year, or does Downing jump over Willoughby and grab the SJ job? Vazquez is in his 3'rd professional season. I think he may be coming off an injury though. I think this was his best game so far this year, maybe in his career.

14 comments:

  1. I don't normally post around Giants websites like MCC or the main forum on the Giants main website.

    But reading sometimes, I see a lot of negativity about Pill. Now I'm not going to sit here and act like I have the knowledge of a frickin' scout and that I know all the swing mechanics and what-not, but I do know baseball. And Brett Pill...he can play a little bit (saw him vs. River Cats). I understand that, sure, he probably is another career minor leaguer who puts up huge numbers in the PCL (aka Linden!) but why NOT at least give him a chance?!

    Seems like a lot of "fans" don't even want a week-long look at him. Which is odd when Huff is your 1B.

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  2. If Panik starts next year in San Jose, he shouldn't be there long. Any success needs to be met quickly with the Eastern League of Offensive Doom.

    I agree with the previous poster, that at least I'd like to see Pill given a few MLB ABs. Honestly, anything is better than watching Huff mail it in. But, regarding Pill, as I've said previously, Pill is a little older, and once you get off that prospect track, it is TOUGH to get back on it.

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  3. When and if the Giants are ready to give up on Huff, Belt would be first in line for the 1B position. It's really tough as an older prospect and it's really tough at 1B. The minors are littered with former 1B prospects who can hit as well or better than Pill. He does seem like a plus fielder at the position, so he has that going for him.

    So, it's not so much that folks don't like Pill, but more about being realistic about where he stands in the organization and in the overall landscape of baseball and realizing that the odds are against him at this point.

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  4. One quick way to get the Giants some offense immediately would be to bring up Gillaspie, put him at 3B and move Panda to 1B. I think Conor would hit and Panda would give his banged up body a rest. We would then also have some left-hand power off the bench with Huff.

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  5. I have my doubts about whether Gillaspie would hit. Gotta remember that the PCL is a fierce hitter's league and Gillaspie is not exactly tearing it up.

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  6. DrB great site! I think Conor will turn into a serviceable big leaguer. He's improved every year in the minors and is still young. I could see slash lines of .280/.350/.430 from him on a regular basis.

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  7. I don't see Gillaspie being able to pull anything close to that, plus he hasn't ever shown that power so I don't know where you're getting this .430 slg from. However, Huff is so marginal that it could be an idea for next year.

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  8. My greatest surprises of the year would have to be Gary Brown and Tommy Joseph. They have been excellent. If Joseph can keep his power going and his average up, it will be hard to keep Posey at catcher. Who knows, Posey could be forced to be 1b or 2b. From what I have heard he can play anywhere. I would be happy with this in no particular order:

    2012/2013 lineup

    Gary Brown CF
    Buster Posey 1b
    Pablo Sandoval 3b
    Joe Panik 2b
    Brandon Crawford SS
    Tommy Joseph C
    Brandon Belt LF/1b
    Francisco Peguero or free agent RF

    Any thoughts?

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  9. Roger,

    If Tommy Joseph continues to develop, it's gives the Giants enormous flexibility.

    I do think that by 2013 or 2014, the Giants have the potential to have an all home-grown starting lineup.

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  10. Conor had a .420 slg last year and a .446 this year so a .430 is not unreasonable. I think he will hit a few home runs but also hit a lot of doubles and his share of triples in the alleys.

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  11. I don't normally pay attention to this crap but I happen to be a fan of Vazquez. FYI - Vazquez is coming off shoulder surgery. There's nothing minor about it. Clearly this was not his best game of his career. If you know this is his 3rd professional season then you should know this was not the best game of his career.

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  12. Anon,

    You might want to learn to read better. Nowhere did I say Vazquez' injury was minor, nor did I state it was the best game of his career.

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  13. Just because Conor hit .430 in the minors does not mean that he can do that in the majors. Huge difference in pitching.

    For example, his .831 OPS is so low that he does not even rank among the top 100 hitters in the league. Nor does his SLG. Not many 23 YO who hit that low who make it either, don't see any in recent seasons in PCL.

    The problem with Pill is mainly that he's not on the 40-man roster. So who do you dump for him to see if he sticks to the wall? We just DFAed Clayton Tanner. Any further cuts will probably hurt more, unless they DFA Cabrera or something.

    Huff has been one of our best hitters since the All-Star game, he's finally figured out what was bothering him the first half of 2011, it appears, at least enough that he's one of the team's better hitter: http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats_team.cgi?full=1&params=half%7C2nd%20Half%7CSFG%7C2011%7Cbat%7CAB%7C

    He is fourth best by a good margin, if you want to shoot our chances to make the playoffs, by all means, sit Huff down now.

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  14. Huff, Beltran, Belt.....? The entire offense is so cold right now it's frozen over!

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