Friday, August 3, 2012

Down on the Farm: 8/2/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies edged the Nashville Sounds 4-3 in 11 innings:

Ryan Lollis(CF)- 3 for 5, 3 2B, BB.  BA= .321
Brock Bond(2B)- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .343.
Eric Hacker(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.20.

I'm thinking all 3 of these guys could help some MLB team.  I was impressed by Hacker's start in SF early in the season.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Reading Phillies 2-0:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  B A= .287.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .301.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 8.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K's, GO/AO= 10/0.  ERA= 2.76.

Possibly the most dominant start of Kickham's pro career.  I would rate him at the top of 2'nd tier Giants pitching prospects.  2 or 3 more games like this and I might move him into the top tier.  Of the pitchers above A ball, he is currently, far and away, the best SP prospect in the system.

High A  Bakersfield Blaze came from behind to beat the San Jose Giants 9-8:

Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .279.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .254.
Jarrett Parker(CF)- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB.  BA= .250.
Jarrad Page(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .143.

Page reaches base 4 times in the last 2 games.  He is hitting .226 with a .314 OBP since being signed by the Giants.

Low A  Rome Braves pounded the Augusta Greenjackets 10-2:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 2 for 4, SB(35).  BA= .245.
Shawn Payne(.316), Brett Krill(.281), Devin Harris(.280)- 2 hits each.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.17.

Short Season  Vancouver Canadians blasted the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-4:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 3 for 4, BB, SB(6).  BA= .311.
Dashenko Ricardo(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .306.

Gotta be a bit excited by Hill's performance this year.

Rookie AZL  Dodgers blanked the Giants 4-0:

Tyler Hollick(CF)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(8).  BA= .349.
Zach Edgington(LHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Brandon Allen(RHP)- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 6/0.  ERA= 6.60.

Edgington has 16 K's against 0 BB's in 15 IP.  He's a college guy pitching in rookie ball though.

DSL  Giants topped the Phillies 4-3:

Richard Rodriguez(2B)- 3 for 5, SB(12).  BA= .252.
Hengerber Medina(SS-3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .342.
Royel Astacio(3B-1B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .242.
Eber Guzman(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.76.
Carlos Alvarado(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.11.

Alvarado is an older player.

12 comments:

  1. I essentially agree with your read on Kickham. I think he CLEARLY has a higher ceiling than Heston, but who is closer to their cup a' joe? I see Heston as starting '13 as the org's #6 starter. Will Kickham supplant him there by the end of the season? Surkamp obviously is in the discussion, but I think you have to write off his entire '13 at this point.

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    1. I pretty much agree with that. Heston seems to be struggling a bit here in the second half while Kicks is getting stronger. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season plays out. Surkamp waited so long to get his TJ, I would think the most he will play in 2013 is some rehab work in Arizona.

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    2. Who do you consider the top tier of SP prospects? Crick, Blackburn, Stratton, Mejia? Then 2nd tier would be Agosta, Heston, Kickham?

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  2. Im baaaaack!!!!! Shawn Payne is hitting what??? .316 with 45rbi's 40sb 47walks!!! I wonder is Payne thinking like I am, Sunny California here comes the PAYNE. Its not all about stats but then again it is, but from my eye as a baseball fan & watched him play, he is a raw athelete & That Krill guy is really getting into a Hot Streak with his bat as well. He started off the season slow for April May & June but has boosted his average to .281 & in july he batted .387 for the month & Payne hit .367 but Payne has been hitting the whole season. As everybody is always HYPED about their 1-20 round picks with this ceiling of growth, never forget about the Mike Piazzas of your team because they have more to prove than the folks the organizations put all that money in... Makes You Wonder HUH???

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    1. I like to follow late round draft picks to see if I can identify the rare gem here and there, but for every Mike Piazza, there are hundreds of guys who never so much as sniff a cup of coffee.

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    2. Hyped about rounds 1-20? Most hype peters out past rounds 5-10, depending on the draft, unless the guy just comes out the blocks performing like a first rounder, in which case he's hyped until he's not performing.

      DrB likes to get excited about prospects who did nicely, I don't see what the problem with that is. Anyone who reads regularly here, and particularly his Top 50 list, knows that he has a pretty good sense of how good any prospect is, that he is not just a "hyped out" fanboy. I see nothing wrong about celebrating nice performances and pointing out nice streaks that players are on. He does a great job keeping his audience informed about the Giants prospects who are doing well, which I like because those are the ones who might make it to the majors some day.

      Of course, if that bothers you, there are other places that discusses Giants prospects, maybe they are more your speed.

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    3. Was this Anon getting on my case or just making an observation about late round draft picks. Maybe I missed something here?

      Anyway, I think I have done my share of calling attention to the performances of Shawn Payne and Brett Krill, both of whom I think I've been higher on than most observers from the days they were drafted if that's what he's getting at.

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    4. I didn't think Anon was getting on your case but evidently ogc must have.

      Anon seems like an amateur minor league watcher like myself.. Sometimes we luck out and get to talk with a prospect but more likely we are more in touch with how the player plays the game. I don't believe there is a perfect stance for batting or perfect mechanics for pitching or else they would all be robots. I think it is important for me to see a player perform to make judgement on them. Stats don't always tell the true story. I know you attend the games and watch videos, so your word means more to me than my own evaluation. Just don't stop.

      Doc, yours is one of the very few blogs that I keep up with. Nirvana is also pretty decent but he is a stat whiz and seems pretty decent at it. But both you guys blogs don't have the sarcastic and aloof attitude. Patience is a value commodity for a blogger. Thanks for all the work you do to keep this site going. I know it is a lot of work.

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  3. http://bullpenbanter.com/scouting-report-giants-pitcher-kyle-crick/
    Opinions?

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    1. Nice write up. Very detailed. Appears to be knowledgeable. Very encouraging in many respects and about what I expected.

      I got a peak of a video of Kyle Crick pitching yesterday. Hate to say it, but the thick legs and baggy pants remind me more of Chad Billingsley than Matt Cain. Not that Billz is a bad guy for a pitcher in low A to be comped to.

      There was an extensive article on Crick earlier in the season in BA about how well his changeup is coming along and how much more he was using it. Wonder what happened to that?

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    2. It's funny, but all the way up the minors, all the prospect experts were agog over Billingsley whereas Cain was always second-best, always the ugly step-brother, yet now, after 6 or so seasons, whereas Billz has, if anything, regressed to averageness, Cain elevated himself to be among the elites in the game.

      And that was basically the story of the Dodgers vs. the Giants through most of the 2000's, the Dodger's scouting and players were touted to be much better than the Giants, yet when the 2000's ended, the Giants had a rotation of roughly top of rotation starters in Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, and Sanchez, and the Dodgers only had Kershaw, due to Billz back slide. Prospects like Edwin Jackson, Greg Miller, Scott Elbert, James McDonald, Ethan Martin, Josh Lindblom, all underachieved and never reached the heights expected of them or the accolades that LA's scouting department got.

      Just goes to show that no matter how much good information that prospect experts provide and have at their disposal, even the top ones, like BA, BP, KLaw, MLB's Mayo, Shandler's group, are wrong a lot about the top prospects and the top farm systems, and are not infallible. And I would still read their materials, because there is a lot of good info there, but just have to keep in mind that not only is nobody perfect, but there is still plenty of room for disagreement of opinions about prospects. Remember, many of these did not have Sandoval on their Top 20-30 prospect list even though he broke out that year and made the majors, even though it was clear that he had some good qualities, which is why I drafted him for my keeper league at that time, and pretty early too.

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