Friday, August 10, 2012

Down on the Farm: 8/9/2012

AAA  The PCL was idle.

AA  Harrisburg Senators outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1 in 13 innings:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(31).  BA= .286.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.60.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 0 H 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.68.

Brownie back in the lineup.

High A  San Jose Giants downed the Stockton Ports 7-3"

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .292.
Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 4, HBP.  BA= .293.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(13), BB.  BA= .246.
Alex Burg(DH)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .272.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.64.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.52.

Panik is hitting .500 over his last 10 games.   Cody Hall gets the callup from Augusta.

Low A  Delmarva Shorebirds edged the Augusta Greenjackets 6-5:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 4, 3B, 2 SB(45).  BA= .315.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.05.
Demondre Arnold(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.56.

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes held off the Spokane Indians 7-6:

Kentrall Hill(DH)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .291.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 3 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .327.
Lorenzo Mendoza(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 5.08.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.89.

Williamson is at his appropriate level as a college draftee.  So far, BA has not been an issue for him and he has continued to show the power he showed in college.

Rookie AZL  Giants crushed the Royals 11-1:

Tyler Hollick(LF)- 2 for 6, SB(11).  BA= .365.
John Polonius(SS)- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .343.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .292.
Shayne Houck(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .263.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .330.
Randy Ortiz(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .241.
Matt Lujan(LHP)- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

DSL  Giants topped the Yankees1 4-3:

Nicol Parra(LF)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .250.
Emmanuel Hernandez(3B)- 3 for 3, 2B.  BA= .311.
Luis Pino(LHP)- 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.69.

23 comments:

  1. Doc B, good to see you back. I always read your blog but rarely post from out here in Oklahoma.

    We have tickets to the 4 game set of the Grizzlies v. Redhawks out here so I will throw in my 2 cents following each game. we are pretty excited since the Grizzlies only come here every other year.

    My kid is the one who faced Blackburn in high school so we have been really excited to see Blackburn do so well in his first year in the system. My son is going to play at Oklahoma City University, probably as a pitcher only but they are going to give him some reps in RF during the fall practice to see if they can find a place for him to get his bat in the lineup. He has good power but it will be a huge adjustment trying to hit off speed college pitching.

    Again, good job with the blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds good. I look forward to your reports from the Grizzlies' games.

      I am very excited about Blackburn and the other young pitchers in Augusta this year.

      Delete
  2. Mac Williamson making a nice pro debut, keeping them there contact issues at bay.

    Panik is en fuego. Rumors of his demise may have been premature.

    Giants have been pretty quiet on the promotion front. Dominguez, Lollis, a couple pitchers here and there. I wonder if its Cody Hall's stuff or need at SJ, or both. If SJ can finish the season strong that would be great. Good for Ricky O to hit a bomb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'll have to see how Williamson does next year, but his start this year is indeed encouraging.

      Agree Panik has turned his season around. Barring a collapse over the remainder of August, I'd say he has restored his prospect status. He always maintained the excellent K and BB numbers so I never gave up on him, but that mid-season slump had me a bit worried and disappointed.

      Delete
  3. How does Bochy this year at Richmond compare with Hmebree last year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bochy doesn't throw as hard as Hembree, seems to have better command and likely better secondary stuff. Hembree has the higher ceiling, but it wouldn't shock me if Bochy has a better MLB career.

      Delete
  4. As good as place as any...But does anybody know what happened to Hector CORREAA this year...Really liked him last year and thought he was goona rise fast as a reliever ...Major injury?

    Also, while I'm at it...There was a chat over at FAN Graphs with this guy Mike Newman and somebody asked him about Gary Brown...The guy replied "Lesson #1 for nopt trusting college hitting stats in the CAL"....Does this guy realize that Gary Brown is about the best Defnive outfielde in the EL, can fly, and has been hitting around .320 in the EL since the end of May??? I guess that's what happens when you listen to fans mascarading as wanna be scouts but jsut don't do t their homework.

    And I love Crick and Blackburn and the other Augusta kiddies (Bandilla, Escobar and Meija) but gotta shout out for MIKE KICKHAM..have watched him a few times..Not blazing fast (maybe low 90's??) but has a complete arsenal (to my non-scout eye) and is a lefty...The best pitcher in the EL right now....lats 15-16 innings has given up 3 Hits, 0 ER and only a few walks (key) with 20K's..Only problem is he does go deep into counts alot...

    SteveVA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Correa started the year with an injury and then they tried him as a starter and it didn't work out. Just seemed like a lot of uncertainty and confusion about his role and level that never got ironed out. Did I read somewhere that he had been released?

      A lefty with a low 90's FB and secondary stuff is a prized commodity. Yeah, I agree Kickham is a very interesting prospect.

      See my comments about Gary Brown below.

      Delete
  5. Welcome back!!!

    Thought you would want a link to Mike Newman's recent chat on Fangraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-newman-prospects-chat-8912/

    Oh, someone noted the content, well here's the link at least.

    Also, in the chat, he noted that a scout said that Crick >>>>> Blackburn. Also that he might place Crick over Brown as #1 prospect now.

    I'll forgive Newman for his negative view towards Brown. He can't follow everyone, and if that is all he can say about Brown, then he's probably not had the chance to see Brown in person either or to follow Brown's career in much detail. The thing about Brown is two things. One is that he usually struggles when he gets to a new level. More importantly, two, he usually figures it out and starts mashing the ball like a fiend.

    He is not profiling as a superstar, but that's OK. Because we don't need a superstar. We need a reliable leadoff CF, who can get on base at an above average rate, steal bases and keep the pitchers on edge, and play great defense in CF. If he can be an average player for us in CF, that's a huge win for us.

    Personally, I think he can do more. He gets that even if you are "suppose" to get on base and steal bases, that hitting for power is important too, both for getting into scoring position as well as driving in runs. If he can do that, as well as the above, well, he'll be my superstar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link OGC. I have to say I'm not a fan of Newman. First off, he defers to his friends all the time. Second, he makes a big deal about how he doesn't have time to ever go, but he would definitely make an effort for AnVil THIS month if he is somehow pulled out of state department purgatory? That shows complete ignorance of what is going on with the situation. The source of some of this bad taste for the guy, besides stemming from last years silly I didn't get to go see them but my buddy says this is trooth? The Shawn Payne question. Instead of answering about Payne, he just says the Augusta team is beyond bad, and he wants (yet again) to go see Crick or Blackburn. Payne maybe old for the league, and the Augusta players maybe behind the curve, but you cannot argue with the stats Payne has put up. The Giants do not see Payne as a CF, where he played at Georgia Southern. So maybe they need to shift him back to his HS/JC position, 2B. His OBP, speed and bit of pop are very intriguing. His almost perfect SB ratio is even more so. A big time BOOOOOO to Newman on that comment.

      And on the Gary Brown front, I'm with you 100% OGC. And I will say this about Newman on that front - he is making a big deal about Gary Brown being the posterboy for college player and the CAL league stats and Brown's age. Well, he is not behind by any means, he is right where he is supposed to be. I would not be surprised at all by a call up in 3 weeks, and I would not be surprised by either making the team or a mid season call up next year. And I think he is a straight up ballplayer, who is going to make a lot of naysayers look stupid. No, he is not going to be a superstar, we do not need that. I wonder how many will bother to say they were wrong. I won't bother with Newman, he will still be promising to go see some player and taking his buddies word for it. Again, big time boo on that. And I used to like him - he was one of the first in on Hector Sanchez btw.

      Delete
    2. I get that Mike Newman is not a professional scout and has a day job to worry about and doesn't have time to see every player. On the other hand, there are a lot of people on Fangraphs who VIEW him as a professional scout and put similar weight on his opinions. If he is, indeed, scouting the sally, then he needs to make more of an effort to see somebody like Crick and Blackburn who are clearly of national interest.

      The other bone I have to pick with him is that anybody can go look at a Kyle Crick and see that he has the makings of becoming a star someday. Part of a scout's job is to find good players that other people have not heard of or other scouts have discounted for some reason.

      Yet another gripe is he seems to make a blanket judgement about Cal League stats without trying to understand that there are nuances to the Cal League such as San Jose being hitter neutral or even pitcher friendly. Obviously, by now it should be clear that there's a lot more to the Gary Brown story than just inflated Cal League stats. Yes, he had an adjustment to make when he reached the EL, but once he made that adjustment, he has done just fine.

      Delete
    3. Welcome back by the way. Brown and Panik are both having very nice 2nd halves. Brown post adjustment is carrying on his Cal league work. And the defense is phenom, something that gets downplayed in the quest for statz.

      Delete
    4. I've pointed out to Mike Newman a couple of times that knowledgeable Giants fans are not necessarily expecting him to bat .350 in the majors, but if he hits .280-.300 with gap power and 35-40 SB's with plus D in CF, well, that's a 4 WAR player right there. When I've put it to him in those terms, he has admitted that those kinds of stats are very possible and that is, indeed, a valuable player. His comp is the season Peter Bourjos had last year for the Angels.

      Delete
    5. And a cheap, under-control player in CF is just what the Giants ordered if they are to sign Melky and pay Pence going forward. BTW Melky and Pence are where the power is going to come from.

      Delete
  6. Living in San Francisco and getting my license has given me the chance to go to SJGiants games for next season. Can anyone film at a minor league game or do I need special permission. And if so how do I get it? Im planning on mostly attending Crick and Blackburn starts so would anyone be interested in editing the footage? So would you guys be interested in me filming and uploading the starts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As far as I know there is no prohibition against taking still pics or movies of minor league games. Great idea. I've thought about doing it myself but am a bit technologically challenged.

      Delete
  7. In your opinion where is the best seating if I wanted to record and how much would the ticket cost?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I go to games a lot (actually I'm going tonight) and the reserved seating right behind the plate would be the best place to film. While there is a net in front of you, it is the only place to see the whole pictures. That would be about $10. Two other hotspots would be over the dugouts, giving you good view of the pitchers specifically. That would be about $6.

      Delete
    2. I've seen guys filming in the corner, 3rd base side, just behind the dugout. They seem to know the ushers pretty well. Judging by what they were filming, looked like they were putting together a highlight roll. Maybe for the local news.

      The atmosphere is pretty relaxed at SJ. What are you going to be shooting with? I mean, a cell phone, no one will say anything. You show up with a Red One or something, you'll probably draw some attention.

      Delete
    3. Canon DC - 50. Main focus is on pitching.

      Delete
    4. You can see pitch movement best from behind home plate, but if you are too close, the ump gets in the way. You probably want to be near the top of the front section or the front of the upper section. Then there's the netting which can be distracting. Your best bet might be to film from behind the dugout where your view is unobstructed, but you won't get as good a feel for pitch movement.

      Tickets are very reasonable at minor league games. Front row seats are $10 in San Bernardino and $12 in Rancho Cucamonga. If you are in the upper section, which still is very close and has great views, you might be paying just $6 or $8.

      Delete
  8. I haven't seen Villalona in the standings since late July? Is it an injury? If anybody knows for sure I would like to know. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete