Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Scouting the Draft: 2014 Draft Review

There is always a lot of talk about winners and losers in the amateur draft immediately after, but we seldom look back at past drafts to see how those declarations actually worked out on the field.  Part of the problem is how far do you look back?  It probably takes a minimum of 5 years for a draft to play out and really see who was successful in finding good major league talent and who didn't.  We'll try to do one of those in the near future, but with several players from last year's draft class already in the majors or getting close, and with that draft still fresh enough in our minds to remember the excitement we had for certain players, I thought it might be fun to look back just one year to the 2014 draft and see who is looking good.

Just remember that it takes HS talent longer to reach the majors, but some of those HS players may have higher ceilings than college draftees who arrive sooner.  We'll assign current grades based on current performance knowing they may not reflect the ultimate grade of the pick.  With that said, here's the rundown(We'll just do Round 1):

1.  Astros.    Brady Aiken, LHP, HS.  Did not sign.  Underwent TJ surgery in the spring.  Drafted at #17 overall by the Cleveland Indians in 2015.  Astros got a compensatory pick in 2015 for not signing Aiken and used it on Alex Bregman, so the pick was not a total loss and may end up being a plus in the end and the Astros may well be better off not signing Aiken at all than signing him for a reduced bonus.  Grade B.

2.  Marlins.  Tyler Kolek, RHP, HS.  2014 Rookie GCL:  0-3, 4.80, 22 IP, 13 BB, 18 K, GO/AO= 1.32.  Low A:  4-3, 4.74, 57 IP, 22 BB, 37 K, GO/AO= 1.22.  One of the biggest, hardest throwers in the draft.  I don't have a current scouting report, but these are not dominant numbers at age appropriate levels.  Grade C-

3.  White Sox.  Carlos Rodon, LHP, College.  MLB:  3-1, 4.07, 55.1 IP, 31 BB, 55 K, GO/AO= 1.19. Pitchers who rely heavily on the slider tend to have command/control issues when they first arrive in the majors.  Rodon is no exception.  Impressive that he is already pitching in the majors and holding his own though.  He's going to have to do a better job of establishing the FB to force MLB hitters to swing at sliders that fall out of the zone.  Too many easy takes so far.  Grade A-.

4.  Cubs.  Kyle Schwarber, C/OF/1B, College.  AA:  .320/.438/.579, 13 HR.  MLB:  .364/.391/.591 in 22 AB.  Schwarber is a college masher without a definite MLB position.  Recently called up to DH in interleague play and kept on mashing.  Seems like 1B is is most likely ultimate position and the Cubs already have a good one there in Anthony Rizzo.  Cubs went best hitter available ignoring positional concerns.  That may come back to haunt them.  No question Schwarber is a serious hitter, though.  Grade B+

5.  Twins.  Nick Gordon, SS, HS.  Low A:  .247/.325/.296, 15 SB.  Hit .294 in rookie ball last year.  Premium athlete.  Hit tool may take time and may not develop at all.  Grade:  C-.

6.  Mariners.  Alex Jackson, OF, HS.  2014 Rookie AZL:  .280/.344/.476, 2 HR.  2015 Low A:  .157/.240/.213.  2015 Short Season:  .308/.379/.385, 10 K in 26 AB.  No Bueno for a kid drafted for his bat and for his power.  Remember, Arroyo struggled in Low A last year too.  On the other hand, Arroyo did not have Jackson's frightful strikeout numbers.  Grade D.

7.  Phillies.  Aaron Nola, RHP, College.  AA:  7-3, 1.88, 76.2 IP, 9 BB, 59 K.  AAA:  2-0, 2.13, 12.2 IP, 2 BB, 14 K's.  Phillies are taking it a bit slower with Nola than the White Sox are with Rodon, but Nola may have better early success once he hits the majors.  The question with Nola is ceiling.  So far, he looks exactly like what the Phils thought they were drafting.  A solid #2-3 MLB SP.  Grade A-.

8.  Rockies.  Kyle Freeland, LHP, College.  A bit of a pop-up pitching prospect.  Has not played in 2015 due to a shoulder injury.  The Rockies just keep on drafting college LHP's and they keep on busting.  This was not a well thought out pick for them that looked very iffy at the time, and it's looking even worse now.  Grade F.

9.  Blue Jays.  Jeff Hoffman, RHP, College.  High A:  1-2, 3.72, 38.2 IP, 12 BB, 24 K.  Hoffman appears to be healthy S/P TJ surgery.  That's a plus.  Sample size is probably too small here to draw conclusions from.  Risk of recurrent UCL tear is high, something like 100% by 10 years.  Not sure Hoffman's upside justifies that risk.  Grade C.

10.  Mets.  Michael Conforto, OF, College.  High A:  .283/.350/.462, 7 HR, 184 AB.  AA:  .326/.426/.533, 2 HR, 92 AB.  I liked Conforto in college and would have been OK with the Giants drafting him had he fallen.  So far, so good in the pros.  Limited to corner play, but who cares if he can hit?  Grade B+.

11.  Blue Jays.  Max Pentecost, C, College.  2014 Short Season:  .313/.322/.410.   Has had two shoulder surgeries since putting up this line out of the draft.  Shoulder surgery is almost as bad for a catcher as for a pitcher.  Pentecost is athletic enough to play another position, maybe even 2B, but you really want him at Catcher.  Grade C with wide range of possible outcomes.

12.  Brewers.  Kodi Medieros, LHP, HS.  Low A:  4-2, 4.41, 65.1 IP, 28 BB, 69 K's, GO/AO= 3.32.  Looked like a lefty reliever to me before the draft.  Still looks like that now.  Grade C.

13.  Padres.  Trea Turner, SS, College.  AA:  .318/.372/.464, 5 HR, 13 SB, 274 AB.  Strange saga.  Turner was included as a PTBNL in a 3 team trade in which he is now in the Washington Nationals organization while the Padres received Wil Myers from Tampa Bay in return.  Myers has looked good at times but has also been injured again.  Turner is looking good so far and will likely take over the starting SS position with Washington next year as Ian Desmond leaves via FA.  Hard to know how to grade this as it essentially makes Wil Myers the Padres first round pick here, which is not terrible, but they might have been better off just to keep Turner.  Grade B-.

14.  Giants.  Tyler Beede, RHP, College.  High A:  2-2, 2.24, 52.1 IP, 9 BB, 37 K, GO/AO= 2.44.  AA:  1-2, 5.01, 23.1 IP, 9 BB, 13 K's, GO/AO= 1.62.  I had Beede going to the Cubs at #4 in my mock draft.  I still think he's the guy the Cubs should have taken, as good a hitter as Schwarber seems to be.  Beede had a strong AA debut then a couple of hiccups.  He pitched well tonight(6/30/2015) which is not reflected in the line above.  I think he was a steal at #14 and is progressing as we would hope.  Grade B+(with potential to move up into the A range if he gets his feet on the ground in AA).

15.  Angels.  Sean Newcomb, LHP, College.  Low A:  1-0, 1.83, 34.1 IP, 19 BB, 45 K's, GO/AO= 2.00.  High A:  3-0, 3.32, 38.0 IP, 19 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO= 1.29.  The Angels are taking it slow with Newcomb who comes out of a smaller college program.    The K's look terrific. He could stand to improve his walk rate.  Grade B.

16.  D'Backs.  Touki Toussaint, RHP, HS.  Low A:  2-2, 3.69, 39 IP, 15 BB, 29 K, GO/AO= 0.87.  Touki was the guy a lot of draft watching Giants fans wanted them to take and he would have been a fine pick.  He wasn't dominant in low A ball, but he was holding his own.  The D'Backs recently inexplicably traded him to the Braves for a mess of pottage.  Were he still in the D'Backs organization, I would grade the pick as a B right now.  With the trade, I give it a solid F!

17.  Royals.  Brandon Finnegan, LHP, College.  MLB:  1-0, 1.88, 14.1 IP, 8 BB, 12 K's, GO/AO= 2.50.  Finnegan made a splash by helping the Royals in last year's postseason.  He's stayed on in a bullpen role this year with good results.  It remains to be seen if he eventually moves into the rotation or becomes the Royals version of Jeremy Affledt.  Grade B.

18.  Nationals.  Erick Fedde, RHP, College.  Short Season:  0-0, 3.00, 3 IP, 3 BB, 4 K's.  Fedde was a pop up prospect last year then suffered a torn UCL and underwent TJ surgery.  I am not at all in love with using a first round pick on a TJ alumnus, especially one with thin credentials to begin wihth, but the Nationals feel they know how to rehab TJ pitchers.  Grade C.

19.  Reds.  Nick Howard, RHP, College.  High A:  3-2, 7.09, 33 IP, 42 BB, 26 K's.  College pitcher with thin credentials.  The Reds could have had their choice of several signable, much higher ceiling HS pitchers here.  These numbers are downright ugly!  Grade F.

20.  Rays.  Casey Gillaspie, 1B, College.  Low A:  .278/.358/.530, 16 HR, 4 SB.  I wasn't excited about this pick at the time.  To me, Gillaspie is a one dimensional player and that one dimension is iffy at best.  Those are fine numbers if he was in High A ball, but Low A for a first round college draftee?  Rays would have been better advised to take any of several HS Pitchers here, but some teams simply won't take a HS pitcher in round 1.  Grade D.

21.  Indians.  Brad Zimmer, OF, College.  High A:  .300/.399/.488, 9 HR, 28 SB.  Highly athletic college OF with solid numbers at an appropriate level for a first round college draftee.  Grade B.

22.  Dodgers.  Grant Holmes, RHP, HS.  Low A:  3-0, 3.68, 51.1 IP, 28 BB, 67 K, GO/AO= 0.98.  Strong start for a hard throwing pitcher.  Grade B+.

23.  Tigers.  Derek Hill, OF, HS.  Low A:  .227/.293/.303, 23 SB.  Speedy, athletic HS OF's usually struggle with the bat early in their pro career.  Sometimes the bat develops.  Grade D.

24.  Pirates.  Cole Tucker, SS, HS.  Low A:  .281/.308/.343, 2 HR, 19 SB.  This pick was criticized at the time as an underslot bonus move.  He's doing surprisingly well in Low A ball.  Grade B.

25.  A's.  Matt Chapman, 3B, College.  High A:  .246/.333/.533, 11 HR.  Very A's-like pick here with power and walks, but BA challenged.  Again, IMO, one of several HS pitchers would have given better upside, but I'm sure Chapman is doing exactly what Billy Beane hoped he would do.  Grade C.

26.  Red Sox.  Michael Chavis, SS, HS.  Low A:  .204/.266/.353, 6 HR, 30+% K's.  Chavis was drafted for his bat.  So far that has been a big disappointment, but he is young and has time to come around.  Grade D.

27.  Cardinals.  Luke Weaver, RHP, College.  High A:  1-3, 2.73, 33 IP, 10 BB, 26 K's, GO/AO= 0.83.  Very Cardinalsy pick here.  About where you would expect him to be.  Grade B.

28.  Royals.  Foster Griffin, LHP, HS.  Low A:  0-2, 6.63, 38.0 IP, 12 BB, 29 K's, GO/AO= 1.83.  Peripherals aren't nearly as terrible as the ERA.  Grade C.

29.  Reds.  Alex Blandino, SS, College.  High A:  .292/.370/.415, 5 HR, 7 SB.  Another low ceiling pick by the Reds who need to be aiming higher as they enter a rebuild.  Grade C.

30.  Rangers.  Luis Ortiz, RHP, HS.  Low A:  4-1, 1.72, 47 IP, 9 BB, 44 K's, GO/AO= 0.86.  I really liked Ortiz before the draft and I like him even better now.  Great pick by the Rangers here.  Grade A-.

31.  Indians.  Justus Sheffield, LHP, HS.  Low A:  6-1, 4.72, 61 IP, 17 BB, 70 K's, GO/AO= 1.22.  Nothing wrong with those peripheral numbers here.  Grade B.

32.  Braves.  Braxton Davidson, OF, HS.  Low A:  .262/.401/.389, 6 HR.  Nice walk rate for a HS draftee.  A bit one dimensional.  Grade B.

33.  Red Sox.  Michael Kopech, RHP, HS.  Low A:  3-5, 2.88, 50 IP, 17 BB, 58 K, GO/AO= 1.27.  I loved Kopech before the draft.  I thought he might have the highest ceiling of any of the HS pitchers.  He's reportedly hitting the high 90's with his FB so he has pretty high present too.  Huge value this late in the draft.  Grade A.

34.  Cardinals.  Jack Flaherty, RHP, HS.  Low A:  3-1, 2.17, 29 IP, 13 BB, 24 K, GO/AO= 0.63.  Two way player in HS. Concentrating on pitching now and off to a pretty good start.  Grade B.

Down on the Farm: 6/29/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Las Vegas 51's 14-7:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 3 for 7, HR(1).  BA= .238.
Kevin Frandsen(3B)- 4 for 7.  BA= .309.
Ryan Lollis(1B)- 4 for 6, 3B, BB.  BA= .355.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 4, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .214.
Carlos Triunfel(SS)- 4 for 5, 3B, BB.  BA= .260.
Adam Duvall(PH)- 1 for 1, HR(16).  BA= .255.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 4.22.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.22.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Duvall's PH HR was a grand slam.  Rough place to pitch, Las Vegas.

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AA  Game 1  New Britain Rock Cats blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 1-0 in a suspended game completed today:

Matt Lujan(LHP)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.32.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 4/0.  ERA= 2.01.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

Lujan was 1/3 of the way to a perfecto when the rains came.  Biagini started the resumption of the contest today.

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AA  Game 2  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the New Britain Rock Cats 2-1 in a 7 inning game:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .296.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 12/4.  ERA= 1.52.
Derek Law(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 2.25.

Since a start that lasted just 2.2 IP on June 11, Mejia has allowed just 2 ER in 17 IP over 3 subsequent starts with 7 K's against just 1 BB.  He also has a GO/AO of 1.61 so far this season despite a career mark of 0.89.

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High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Rome Braves 4-0:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4, SB(34).  BA= .301.
Will Callaway(3B)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .266.
Mark Reyes(LHP)- 6.2 IP,  4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.46.
Raymundo Montero(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 1.78.

Not sure I like Callaway playing 3B here as Jonah Arenado played 1B in this game.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Spokane Indians 7-5:

Chase Compton(DH)- 4 for 5, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .346.
CJ Hinojosa(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .263.
Julio Pena(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .231.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 6/1.  ERA= 6.43.

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Rookie AZL Giants were idle.

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DSL  Giants pounded the Orioles2 9-2:

Robinson Medrano(1B, 19 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .347.
Manuel Geraldo(2B, 18 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .343.
Andres Angulo(Catcher, 17 yo)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(3).  BA= .333.
Victor Concepcion(RHP, 18 yo)- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 0.49.

Seems like Concepcion should not be in the DSL.  Likewise Geraldo.  But 19 yo is no impossibly old for a prospect in the AZL.

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If Fangraphs was picking the All-Star teams, the Giants would have 3 members of the starting lineup plus 1 pitcher:  Buster Posey, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and Madison Bumgarner.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/28/2015

AAA  Las Vegas 51's edged out the Sacramento River Cats 4-3:

Kevin Frandsen(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .298.
Ryan Lollis(1B)- 3 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .337.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 10/5.  ERA= 1.65.

Free Ryan Lollis!  Sup with Chris Stratton?  This may have been his best start as a professional.  Is it possible that he's been "working on stuff" all this time and just now doing whatever he needs to get hitters out?

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs New Britain Rock Cats postponed due to wet grounds.

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High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 9-4:

Seth Harrison(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(6).  BA= .285.
Brian Ragira(DH-LF)- 1 for 3, HR(5), BB.  BA= .210.
Brandon Bednar(2B-SS)- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .227.
Jose Reyes(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 11.65.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.34.

Jose Reyes promotion to San Jose just hasn't gone well.  Agosta comes out of the bullpen, maybe due to disruption of rotation by all-star break or maybe they want to limit his innings this year?

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Low A  Rome Braves defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 6-4:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 1 for 2, BB, 2 HBP, 2 SB(33).  BA= .298.
Jeremy Sy(SS)- 2 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .242.
Matt Gage(LHP)- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.   ERA= 5.03.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.30.
Touki Toussaint(RHP, Braves)- 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.08.

Fargas continues to fill up the boxscores for Augusta.  Those are some Crickian numbers for Touki.  It's going to be interesting to follow how his and Tyler Beede's pro careers play out.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians blanked the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-0:

Jarret Leverett(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.42.
Ryan Halstead(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Leverett looks like an undrafted FA sign.  Halstead was the Giants 21'st round selection this year.  He's a closer out of Indiana U with big K numbers.

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Rookie AZL  Giants pounded the Cubs 11-6:

Jalen Miller(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .353.
Dillon Dobson(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .222.
Matt Winn(Catcher)- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .250.
Nathanael Javier(3B)- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .200.
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.17.
Tyler Cyr(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Dobson is a 23'rd round selection out of Appalachian St.  Winn is a 14'th round draft pick out of  VMI. Tyler Cyr is the Giants 10'th round pick out of an NAIA school.

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DSL  Giants were idle.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Game Wrap 6/28/2015: Giants 6 Rockies 3

Matt Duffy once again led the offense for the Giants which finally gave Madison Bumgarner some support to win the rubber game of the weekend series against the Rockies.  Key Lines:

Matt Duffy- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B, HR(8).  BA= .303.  Duffy probably should have had another double which would not have given him a cycle.  He hit a line drive down the 1B line that ticked off Wilin Rosario's glove and rolled down into the bullpen area.  The ump called it foul.  Replays seemed to clearly show the ball changing direction at the point where it passed Rosario's glove and the glove seemed to be clearly inside the foul line.  The replay officials upheld the call on the field.  The explanation was they could not tell for certain if the glove was inside the line or not.  Oh well!  Duffy still had a stupendously good day at the plate and is starting to get some national recognition and even some declarations of fantasy baseball relevance.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4.  BA= .300.  Buster was again the big Ribeye man driving in Duffy after his triple and later drove in Bumgarner and Duffy after Duffy's double.  When Duffy moved into the 3-hole, he admitted he was a big overwhelmed by the responsibility.  Buster told him to just be himself and not try to do too much.  Buster has backed up those words by stepping up his RBI game.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .275.  Crawford seems to be a bit of an instigator when it comes to friendly rivalries within the team.  He told Duffy, that the Duffman was getting to close in the HR total.  Sure enough, Crawford hit one out to take a 2 dinger lead.

Madison Bumgarner- 2 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .235.  Bumgarner is growing as a hitter.  When he first started hitting HR's, he just went up there and swung as hard as he could at 3 pitches.  If he connected, it was a HR.  If he didn't, he walked back to the dugout and sat down.  Now, you can really see him being selective with the pitches and and taking much more controlled swings, albeit with just as much power and just as much enthusiasm, but if you watch his AB's, you can see and feel the difference.

Madison Bumgarner- 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.99.  Nolan Arenado touched him up for a 2 run dinger in the first inning, but he settled down after that and the Giants offense picked him up.

The Win left the Giants still 1 game behind the NL West leading Dodgers who topped the Marlins 2-0 behind Zack Greinke.  The Giants now lead the race for the second Wild Card playoff spot by 1.5 games.

The Giants have a travel day tomorrow before starting a series in Miami on Tuesday, June 30.  Ryan Vogelsong gets the call in game 1 facing the hated Mat Latos.

Down on the Farm: 6/27/2015

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Sacramento River Cats 7-1:

Hector Sanchez(Catcher)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .261.
Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 3, 3B, HR(7), BB.  BA= .262.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 4.27.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Blach's peripheral numbers look good.  Josh Osich has a successful AAA debut.  Has he moved ahead of Steven Okert on the lefty reliever depth chart?  Osich was drafted in the 6'th round of the 2011 draft. That is turning out to be a pretty good draft.  Panik and Susac were taken in rounds 1 and 2 with Kyle Crick sandwiched in between in the supplemental first round.  In addition to Osich, Kelby Tomlinson, Clayton Blackburn and Joe Biagini are progressing toward a future MLB gig.  Other 2011 draftees still in the organization include Ray Black, Jack Snodgrass, Phil McCormick, Ricky Oropesa and several others.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs New Britain Rock Cats suspended after 3 innings with score 0-0.

Matt Lujan(LHP)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.

Neither team had a hit up to when the game was suspended.  Lujan had 3 perfect innings.

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High A  San Jose Giants cracked the Modesto Nuts 6-5:

Ryder Jones(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .290.
Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(1), SB(1).  BA= .364.
Chase Johnson(RHP)- 6.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 3.36.

So far, Ryder Jones has avoided the mid-season fatigue.  Carbonell seems to have benefitted from a change of scenery.  Chase Johnson seems to have found some consistency this season.

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

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .239.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .235.
Dylan Davis(DH)- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .238.
Will Callaway(2B)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, HR(2), BB.  BA= .266.
Brennan Metzger(LF)- 1 for 1, 3 BB, HBP.  BA= .500.
Pat Young(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.68.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.42.
Reyes Maronta(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.86.

Thanks to Covechatter for posting a couple of tweets that had Martinez and Maronta both hitting the upper 90's with their FB's.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Spokane Indians 12-3:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .250.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .400.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .351.
CJ Hinojosa(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .250.
Jose Vizcaino, Jr(DH)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.
Michael Connolly(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Chris Shaw has a successful pro debut.  Keep an eye out for Miguel Gomez.  Looks like he can hit!

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AZL  Cubs cuffed the Giants 11-4:

Jalen Miller(SS)- 1 for 3, BB, Sac., SB(2).  BA= .333.
Byron Murray(LF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, SB(1).  BA= .345.
Evan Potter(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .389.
Julio Benitez(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Jose Morel(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Byron Murray looks like he can hit a little.

*********************************************************************************

First round draft pick, Phil Bickford, has signed on the dotted line.  He'll get the tour of AT&T Park today then report initially to camp in Arizona.  I expect we'll see him in the Salem-Keizer Boxscores before the summer is done.  Looks like a terrific draft for the Giants!

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Game Wrap 6/27/2015: Giants 7 Rockies 5

The Rockies have a scare middle of the lineup, but today the Giants 3, 4 and 5 hitters, Matt Duffy, Buster Posey and Andrew Susac drove in all 7 of the Giants runs in a come-from-behind win at AT&T Park.  Key Lines:

Matt Duffy- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(7).  BA= .294.  Wow!  We here at When the Giants Come To Town knew Duffy was good awhile back when he was still in the minors, but he just keeps growing right in front of our eyes!  The power is for real with a wiry strength that gives him tremendous leverage on the ball.  He also has an incredible mental approach.  Case in point:  After hitting the HR to left-center earlier in the game agains the soft-tossing lefty, he came up against Rafael Betancourt who is well known to wear out the outside corner of the plate.  So, what does Matt Duffy do?  He shoots one down the RF line into the corner for a double!  Matt Duffy!!

Buster Posey- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .297.  Buster drilled a double off the CF wall that a fan interfered with.  The hit drove in 2 runs to tie the game at 3.  The Rockies appealed.  On replay, it was ruled that the fan indeed interfered, but both runs would have scored anyway.  Buster now has 9 big Ribeyes in his last 4 games.

Andrew Susac- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .288.  Susac came up with the bases loaded and the Giants trailing by a run.  Rafael Betancourt had intentionally walked Buster Posey with an open base.  Susac got a rare Betancourt pitch in the inner half and hammered it down the 3B line clearing the bases.  Susac also made several fine athletic defensive plays and nursed Santiago Casilla through a very tough and rocky 9'th inning.  Between Susac's growth and the injuries, Susac has forced the issue, proving to the Giants that having him catch, with Buster moving to 1B and Belt to LF is the best option, at least until Aoki and Pence come back.

Casey McGehee- 0 for 1, GIDP(15).  BA= .213.  McGehee was sent up to PH for with 1 out and runners at first and second.  You just knew the outcome of that AB!  McGehee now has 15 GIDP's in 138 PA's.  AJ Pierzynzki holds the record with 27, but those 27 came in 510 PA's.  Just for a point of reference, McGehee is on a pace for 61 in 600 PA's, which of course he will not get this season.  I know Casey is a good guy.  I know the Giants have $4 M invested in him.  I believe he is giving it 100% out there.  It just isn't happening for him.  He can only play 1 position that has been totally taken over by Matt Duffy.  He is a liability as a PH anytime there is a runner at first base.  I have to believe that either Kelby Tomlinson or Ehire Adrianza would be more valuable if nothing else for their speed and ability to play more than 1 position.  Time to call it a sunk cost and move on.  The kids have delivered for the Giants time and again.  Let's give another one a shot.

Tim Lincecum- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.13.  Hate to say it, but the liner Timmy took off his right forearm might be what won this game for the Giants.   There is no telling how many runs the Rockies might have scored had he stayed in the game!  After the game, Bochy pretty much said Timmy didn't have it and all but said he was going to be put on the DL, as much to clear his head as to heal the forearm.  That solves at least one dilemma the Giants have with Matt Cain and Jake Peavy coming back.  Since pitching 7 shutout innings against the Dodgers on May 20, Timmy has a 7.53 ERA over the next 7 games with 0 QS's and just one game in which he completed 6 IP.  We'll see if some time off followed by a probable move to the bullpen helps but this looks like it might be about it for Timmy's career as a San Francisco Giant, great as it has been.

Yusmeiro Petit- 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.11.  Petit has been the forgotten man in the Giants bullpen, but this is why they keep him around.  Yes, he gave up 2 runs later in his appearance that put the Giants behind again, but he stopped the early bleeding, limited the damage and burned up a bunch if innings.

George Kontos- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.66.  Kontos continues to be a workhorse in middle relief and get the job done.  Where would the Giants be without his contributions this year?

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.01.  Romo looked much healthier today, so his trick knee must have settled down quickly as it has in the past.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(20)- ERA= 2.17.  Casilla was wild early in the 9'th inning and issued a leadoff walk to Charlie Blackmon.  The key AB of the inning was Tulo's in which Casilla threw 6 consecutive curveballs around about 3 mound conferences with Andrew Susac.  High drama!  He gutted through the inning and thanks to some great positioning by Crawford to rob CarGo on a shot up the middle, got the Save and the Giants got the Win.

The Win drew the Giants to 1 game behind the Dodgers in the NL West as Clayton Kershaw was, once again, a hard luck loser, this time against Miami.  Kershaw struck out 9 and allowed 1 ER but 2 more unearned runs cost him a 3-2 loss.  The Giants are tied with the Cubs for the final Wild Card playoff spot with the Cubs trailing the Cardinals 6-1 in their game.

Madison Bumgarner goes for the series win tomorrow afternoon facing Kyle Kendrick.

Down on the Farm: 5/26/2015

AAA  Las Vegas 51's doubled the score on the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

Jarrett Parker(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .275.
Kevin Frandsen(3B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .300.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .333.
Jake Peavy(RHP)- 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 7/1.  ERA= 6.12.

It was 110 degrees at game time with a 10 MPH wind blowing out to CF and the 51's jumped on Peavy for 5 runs in the first frame.  He settled down after that and Pitched shutout ball in innings 3-6.  Gotta wonder if Peavy is an upgrade on what the Giants currently have in the rotation, though.

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AA  Trenton Thunder blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-0:

Austin Slater(2B)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .333.

Slater has a successful AA debut.

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High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 4-3 in 10 innings:

Seth Harrison(CF)- 3 for 4, 3B, HBP.  BA= .283.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .221.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.67.
Jake Smith(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.74.

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Low A  Rome Braves outlasted the Augusta Greenjackets 3-2 in 10 innings:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 5, SB(31).  BA= .298.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .274.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .230.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .224.
Chris Johnson(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Jake McCasland(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.19.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians defeated the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-1:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .286.
Mark Nelson(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .143.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.69.

Jebavy is already showing off his 5 tools in his first 2 pro games with a HR in game 1 and a SB in this one.  I think Nelson much be an undrafted FA out of Florida Atlantic.  This is Leenhouts' 3'rd rodeo in Salem-Keizer.

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Rookie AZL  Indians outscored the Giants 8-5:

Ashford Fulmer(DH)- 1 for 2, BB, HBP, 2 SB(2).  BA= .200.
Roger Edwards(RF)- 1 for 1, 3 BB, SB(1).  BA= .
Dylan Brooks(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/0.  ERA= 2.25.

Mikey Edie drew a walk and stole his 4'th base in this one.  Edwards was the Giants 40'th round pick in this year's draft.

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DSL  Giants pounded the Rojos 12-4:

Sandro Fabian(RF, 17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B, HBP.  BA= .250.
Robinson Medrano(1B, 19 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .356.
Beicker Mendoza(LF, 17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .250.
Manuel Geraldo(2B, 18 yo)- 3 for 6, 2B, SB(10).  BA= .330.
Jesus Tona(Catcher, 19 yo)- 1 for 3, 3B, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .364.
Raffi Vizcaino(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.46.

Game Wrap 6/26/2015: Rockies 8 Giants 6

This was a tight game for 5 innings, then it became a hitting contest.  Those usually don't go well for the Giants and do go well for the Rockies.   Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .316.  Panik has reached base 8 of 10 PA's in the last 2 games.  He is hitting .335 over his last 30 games.  First Giant to reach an fWAR of 3.0 this season.

Andrew Susac- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .276.  Susac put the first run on the board when he got a hanging pitch on the inner half of the plate and hammered it.  He's got an amazingly short, powerful stroke up there.  If Belt proves he can play an adequate LF for extended period, the Susac at catcher, Posey at first with Belt in LF could be the Giants best lineup, at least  until Aoki and Pence get back.

TIm Hudson- 6.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 4.68.  First off, Huddy was really good for 5 innings as the peripherals, along with just 5 hits up to that point, show.  2 of the 5 runs were inherited runners allowed in by Javier Lopez who uncharacteristically allowed hits to two LH batters, but Huddy stayed in this game too long, plain and simple.  It's probably past time to institute the first baserunner after the 5'th inning rule for when to take Huddy out of games.  On the other hand, the bullpen did not do its job in this game either.

Javier Lopez- 0.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.69.  Lopez has been terrific this season, but has failed to retire a batter in his last two appearances.  He is generally Kryptonite for LH batters, but he made a mistake pitch that CarGo pulled into the RF corner.  After an intentional walk to the red hot Arenado, he gave up a single to Ben Paulsen, who is wearing the Giants out, and this time was all but over.

The Loss dropped the Giants to 2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.  They stayed 0.5 games behind the Cubs, who lost to the Cardinals 3-2, in the race for the 2'nd Wild Card playoff spot.

Tim Lincecum tries to even the series this afternoon against lefty Chris Rusin.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/25/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 7-5:

Ryan Lollis(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .323.
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 3 for 5, SB(6).  BA= .321.
Hector Sanchez(Catcher)- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .239.
Jarrett Parker(DH)- 3 for 5.  BA= .270.
Matt Cain(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.02.

Matt Cain's next start will be in the majors barring any physical setbacks.

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AA  Trenton Thunder blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-0 in a rain shortened game:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .324.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.00.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.30.

Tomlinson reportedly tweeted that he and Mac Willamson are headed to Sacramento.  The wheels seem to have come off for Kyle Crick.

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High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 5-2:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .306.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.25.

No word on the reason for Hanson's early exit.  Hunter Cole is reportedly headed to Richmond along with Austin Slater.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets outlasted the Rome Braves 3-2 in 12 innings:

Johneswhy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .296.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 4 for 6.  BA= .235.
DJ Snelton(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.72.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.55.

Garcia is hitting .303 over his last 10 games.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops outscored the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-1:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .250.
Nolan Riggs(RHP)- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.55.

Jebavy makes his pro debut a successful one with the dinger.  CJ Hinojosa and Jose Vizcaino, Jr. also started for the Volcanoes in this game.  I'm thinking we may see some releases pretty soon with the 2015 draftees moving onto the roster.  Chris Shaw is on his way.

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Rookie AZL  Giants downed the Indians 4-2:

Jalen Miller(SS)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1).  BA= .500.
Mikey Edie(CF)- 3 for 4, HBP, 3 SB(3).  BA= .294.
Byron Murray(LF)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .350.
Kevin Rivera(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .571.
Jordan Johnson(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Luis Pino(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.79.

Lots of good things going on here as the teenagers lead the way on offense.  Jalen Miller has a successful pro debut at the plate, but makes 2 errors in the field.  This is Pino's 3'rd AZL season, but he is just 20 years old.

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DSL  Giants pounded the Rojos 9-5:

Robinson Medrano(RF, 19 yo)- 2 for 2.  BA= .353.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .280.
Manuel Geraldo(SS, 18 yo)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .318.
Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.32.

Game Wrap 6/25/2015: Giants 13 Padres 8

The Giants tied a San Francisco Giants franchise record with 4 triples to pace a 19 hit attack to back a QS by Christ Heston and survive an 8'th inning bullpen meltdown to take the rubber game of a 3 game midweek set against the Pesky Padres.  Key Lines(this is going to be pretty much every body in the lineup plus the pitchers, but why not?):

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .271.  Pagan has clearly been struggling.  Bochy said he moved him to leadoff hoping to get him going.  It seemed to work, at least for this game.

Joe Panik- 3 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .310.  Panik did not get one of the 8 XBH's for the Giants, but he got the only SB and had the most times on base.

Matt Duffy- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .288.  Look who's batting 3'rd in the order!  Oh, and I take back any doubts about whether Duffman has the arm to make the throw from behind the bag at 3B.  He's done it enough to convince me.  He's in the top 15 of MLB 3B in defensive metrics and in overall fWAR despite playing about 10 less games at the position than most starting 3B.  And where does Pablo Sandoval rank, you ask?  That would be outside the top 50.  I did think a better defensive RF than Matt Kemp probably would have caught the triple, though.

Buster Posey- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .293.  7 big Ribeyes in his last 2 games.

Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, 2 3B.  BA= .269.  As Baggs said, Both of the triples would have been HR's in at least 25 of the MLB ballparks.  Duane Kuiper said Belt was playing pepper with the wall in triples alley!  Both drives never got that far off the ground as they were absolutely crushed but on a line.  Fun times for the big guy!

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .274.  Crawford had been slumping a bit, but this was a game to break out of slumps.

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .301.  And look who is probably the Giants best active OF right now!

Chris Heston- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 8/2.  ERA= 3.73.  Hesto Presto made a statement protecting his spot in the starting rotation with a QS.  He took a shutout into the 7'th inning and left the game with a 9-2 lead which the bullpen came 1 run away from squandering.

Jeremy Affeldt- 0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.96.  Affledt did not retire anyone, but the pitch Matt Kemp hit for a HR was a good pitch by all accounts.

Javier Lopez- 0.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.27.  Lopez has been terrific this year, but brought his gas can to the mound in this one.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.18.  Romo finally got out of the inning, but looked like his knee was hurting.  He insisted afterward that the knee is OK, though.

Hunter Strickland- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.76.  The Giants answered the Padres 6 run uprising in the 8'th with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, making it easier on Strickland.

The Win allowed the Giants to keep pace with the NL West leading Dodgers who they trail by 1 game.  The also gained a game on the Cubs, who the Dodgers beat, and trail them by 0.5 games for the 2'nd Wild Card playoff spot.

The Giants now host the Rockies for a 3 game weekend set with Tim Hudson facing Chad Bettis, who gave the Giants all kinds of fits in Coors Field the last time they faced him, in Game 1 tonight.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/24/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats blanked the Fresno Grizzlies 2-0:

Ryan Lollis(DH)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .318.
Jarrett Parker(LF)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .262.
Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 4, 2 SB(16).  BA= .257.
Nick Turley(LHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.59.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.23.
Mike Broadway(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(6).  ERA= 1.30.

Travis Ishikawa gets the callup instead of Parker.  Turley has twirled 2 strong starts in a row after 2 bad ones.  He has been very hot and cold.  I assume Blackburn is pitching out of the bullpen only until Peavy and Cain complete their rehab assignments.

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AA  Trenton Thunder defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-3:

Devin Harris(LF)- 2 for 4, 2 HR(6).  BA= .265.
Tyler Beede(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 0 K's, GO/AO= 10/3.  ERA= 5.01.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.65.

I get the whole pitch to contact thing, but 0 K's is probably taking it to an extreme.  Beede did allow 1 dinger, but it was a solo job.  The rest was a good old fashioned BABIPing.

*********************************************************************************

High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-2:

Brennan Metzger(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .217.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .400.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 8.00.
Rayan Hernandez(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

So far, Gomez has not had trouble with the jump from the DSL.  Webb has struggled in his first 2 starts.  Love what I'm seeing in Rayan Hernandez' pitching lines.

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Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

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DSL Giants beat the Dodgers 7-2:

Manuel Geraldo(SS, 18 yo)- 2 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .314.
Sandro Fabian(RF, 17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .256.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .278.
Andres Angulo(Catcher, 17 yo)- 2 for 4, SB(2).  BA= .306.
Sandro Cabrera(LHP, 20 yo)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.46.
Jasier Herrera(RHP, 17 yo)- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

Several of the 17 year olds had good games.  Keep an eye out for Jasier Herrera.  He is listed at 6'5", 190 lbs.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Game Wrap 6/24/2015: Giants 6 Padres 0

Buster Posey hit a Grand Slam HR in the 3'rd inning and the Giants cruised behind the shutout pitching of Ryan Vogelsong and the bullpen.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 1 for 2, BB, SF.  BA= .303.  Panik drove in a run in the 5 run 3'rd with a sac fly.  The next batter, Matt Duffy drew a walk which set the stage for Buster's grand slam.

Buster Posey- 1 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .287.  Buster has 251 PA's so far.  He had 547 last year.  So he is projecting for 25 HR's and 100 Ribeyes after collecting 1 and 4 respectively tonight.

Andrew Susac- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .278.  The Incredible Hulk is a good hitter.  Catcher is another position where the Giants have an embarrassment of riches.  Do they get credit for that?

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 2, BB.  BA= .295.  Not sure why Pagan was leading off and Blanco hitting 8'th as Blanco is the hot hitter and the better OBP guy.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 9.2.  ERA= 4.05.  Vogey made his statement for staying in the rotation after Peavy and Cain come back.  This was his second consecutive start with at least 6 IP and 0 R allowed.  His ERA over his last 7 starts is 2.85.

The Win enabled the Giants to keep pace with the Dodgers who they trail by 1 game in the NL West.  The Dodger topped the Cubs today.  The Giants also gained a game on the Cubs and now trail them by 1.5 games in the race for the second Wild Card playoff berth.  The Dangerous D'Backs came from behind to top the Reeling Rockies 8-7 to remain in 3'rd place, 4 games off the Dodgers pace.

Chris Heston tries to win the rubber game of the series tomorrow facing James Shields.

Down on the Farm: 6/23/2015

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 6-2:

Kevin Frandsen(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .299.
Darren Ford(CF)- 1 for 3, HR(6), BB.  BA= .252.
Travis Ishikawa(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .271.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 BB, ERA= 2.33.
Jack Snodgrass(LHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.22.

Stratton threw 61 pitches in the 2 innings which is the likely reason for his early exit.  Snodgrass has pitched out of the bullpen since his promotion to AAA as a lefty reliever who can go more than 1 inning.  The Giants somehow managed to figure out a way to get 1 more rehab start out of both Jake Peavy and Matt Cain so they won't be back in SF until July 2 and July 3 respectively.  This allows them to kick the can down the road on their tough decisions on how to sort out their 7 starters for 5 rotation slots.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Trenton Thunder 4-0:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .328.
Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .308.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 3 for 4.  BA= .352.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 1.53.
Gregorio(4.85), Law(0.00), Osich(1.59)- 1 IP, 0 R, 2 K's each.

Mejia has now had 2 fairly dominant starts and 1 bad one since coming off the suspended list.  I am intrigued by the future possibilities for Tomlinson, Moreno and most of all Engel Beltre.

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High A  San Jose Giants were idle for the Cal/Carolina Leagues All-Star Game.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle for the SAL All-Star Game.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-4:

Brennan Metzger(CF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .167.
Richard Amion(2B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .273.
Richard Rodriguez(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .273.
Nick Gonzalez(LHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.66.

Richard Rodriguez is a 22 year old who spend his last 4 seasons in the DSL.  He did bat .352 there last year.

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Rookie AZL Giants beat the A's 3-1:

Kevin Rivera(2B)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .455.
Geno Escalante(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, HBP.  BA= .667.
Evan Potter(SS)- 3 for 4.  BA= .357.
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jose Morel(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Successful 2015 debut for Stetson Woods.  Giants pitchers hit a total of 5 batters in this game.

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DSL  Giants blanked the Dodgers 7-0:

Juan Rodriguez(CF-LF, 20 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .383.
Sandro Fabian(RF, 17 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .247.
Robinson Medrano(19 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .342.
Victor Concepcion(RHP, 18 yo)- 7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.58.
Alejandro De La Rosa(LHP, 20 yo)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Game Wrap 6/23/2015: Padres 3 Giants 2 in 11 Innings

The Giants lost a dominantly pitched game by Madison Bumgarner for the 3'rd time in a row.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .283.  Blanco did his best Nori Aoki impression, getting on base 4 times.

Madison Bumgarner- 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 14 K's.  ERA= 3.04.  Bumgarner came out on fire, facing just 12 batters through 4 IP and fanning 9 of them.  By the end of the 4'th inning, the roar of the crowd after every strikeout sounded like a cannon shot.  The potential perfecto was ruined in the 5'th by a bloop single to RF off the exploded bat of Yonder Alonso.  The Giants managed to scratch out 2 runs off Juan Marichal….oops…..make that Odrisamer Despaigne who will probably not make anyone forget Juan Marichal, but who sure pitches like Juan against the Giants.  Bummy's ultimate undoing might have been his prowess at the plate.  He singled in the 7'th inning, then stayed on the bases a long time and through the end of the inning.  He just wasn't the same pitcher in the 8'th.  The Padres nicked him for 2 runs. After that, you kind of had a feeling this one was not going to end well.

The Giants have now lost all of Bummy's last 3 starts in which he has a composite line of 0-2, 1.97, 23.1 IP, 5 BB, 30 K's.

With the Loss, the Giants failed to take advantage of another Dodger loss to the Cubs, this time 1-0 in 10 innings.  The 3'rd place D'Backs also lost, 10-5 to the Rockies.  The Giants remain 1 game out of first place in the NL West and fell 2.5 games behind the Cubs in the Wild Card race.

Ryan Vogelsong takes the mound tonight against Ian Kennedy in Game 2 of the 3 game series.

Nori Aoki was a late scratch from the lineup and repeat X-rays found a fracture in his right fibula, the one that got hit by a pitch a few games ago, so he'll be lost for awhile.

Sergio Romo left the game with a hyperextension of his trick knee. He'll be day-to-day.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/22/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats were idle.

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AA  New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-3:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .303.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .257.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 4 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .301.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.97.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.78.

Ricky breaks the .300 barrier!  After hitting .343 for the month of May, Ricky Oropesa is hitting .364 in June and .452 over his last 10 games.  This was Joe Biagini's first non-QS after 7 in a row and in his last non-QS he allowed just 2 runs in 5.2 IP.

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High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Vancouver Canadians topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-3:

Chase Compton(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .214.
Fernando Pujadas(Catcher)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .308.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .333.
Brennan Metzger(CF)- 0 for 3, 3 BB, SB(2).  BA= .133.
Armando Paniagua(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Paniagua has kicked around for awhile in the lower minors.  I read a recent eyewitness report that he throws some pretty serious heat, though.

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Rookie AZL  A's outscored the Giants 10-6:

Byron Murray(RF)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .417.
Kevin Rivera(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .500.
Geno Escalante(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .667.

This is the second Arizona gig for both Murray and Rivera, but both are good looking young ballplayers who I have high hopes for in the future.

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DSL  Twins edged out the Giants 6-5:

Manuel Geraldo(SS, 18 yo)- 2 for 2, 3B, BB, SB(9).  BA= .308.
Robert Antunez(2B, 19 yo)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(10).  BA= .380.
Prebito Reyes(LHP)- 19 yo)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/21/2015

AAA  Reno Aces edged out the Sacramento River Cats 3-2:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(15).  BA= .264.
Hector Sanchez(Catcher)- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .240.
Jake Peavy(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.47.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Erik Cordier(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.08.

The big news here is this was Peavy's last rehab start.  The Giants will obviously activate him and he will take someone's spot in the starting rotation.  Who is the odd man out?  In related news, Jean Machi has pitched well in his rehab appearances and he'll be taking someone's spot in the bullpen, probably Mike Broadway's.

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AA  Game 1  Richmond Flying Squirrels crushed the New Britain Rock Cats 9-1:

Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 3, 3B, HBP, SB(3).  BA= .364.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .291.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .143.
Derek Law(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

An Angel Villalona sighting!  Derek Law make his first appearance after TJ surgery.  Engel Beltre was once a highly touted prospect for the Texas Rangers.  He probably reached his peak as a prospect as an 18 year old in the Low A Midwest League in 2008 with a slash line of .283/.308/.403 with 9 triples, 8 HR and 31 SB.  I believe injures sapped his performance in subsequent years and he hardly played at all last year.  He is still just 25 years old, so there is still time for him to put it together.  The Giants have had some success with these types of reclamation projects.

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AA  Game 2  Richmond Flying Squirrels took the second game of the doubleheader from the New Britain Rock Cats 3-1:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 1 for 3, 3B.  BA= .299.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 2, 2B, BB.  BA= .293.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 3 for 3.  BA= .288.
Pedro Rodriquez(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.65.

Mac Williamson was a combined 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 BB's in the doubleheader.

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High A  Inland Empire 66'ers doubled the score on the San Jose Giants 8-4:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 3 for 5.  BA= .300.
Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .319.
Jeff Arnold(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .357.

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Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats outscored the Augusta Greenjackets 8-5:

Jeremy Sy(SS)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .231.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .228.
Will Callaway(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .264.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.21.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.57.

Martinez pitches much better than his last appearance while extending his streak of appearances with no walks to 11.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Vancouver Canadians 2-1:

Miguel Gomez(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .313.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .273.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.29.

I'm rooting for Shilo McCall to get some traction on his career after a disastrous 2014.

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Rookie AZL Giants came from behind to beat the D'Backs 6-5:

Mikey Edie(CF)- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .250.
Gustavo Cabrera(RF)- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .286.
Nathanael Javier(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .444.
Byron Murray(LF)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .429.
Dylan Brooks(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Jose Morel(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Uh-oh!  Gustavo was lifted for a PR after the triple.  I'll take a wild guess and say hammy.

Game Wrap 6/21/2015: Dodgers 10 Giants 2

The Giants and Tim Lincecum got blown out early in this one.  Not much to analyze here.  Stuff happens.  Key Lines:

Tim Lincecum- 1.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.86.  Timmy has pitched pretty well this year as the ERA after this shellacking testifies.  He'll need to recover quickly in his next start as the competition for SP rotation slots is about to get fierce.

Yusmeiro Petit- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 HR.  ERA= 4.10.  Petit sometimes gives up a lot of dingers and it was dinger weather in LA today.

Mike Broadway- 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.93.  One day after Hunter Strickland made a statement, Broadway makes one too.  Somebody is going to go down when Jean Machi comes off the DL.

The Loss dropped the Giants 1.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West race.  The also fell 1 game behind the Cubs in the race for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

The Giants get a day off before beginning a homestand against the Pesky Padres with Madison Bumgarner facing Odrisamer Despaigne.

Down on the Farm: 6/20/2015

AAA  Reno Aces edged out the Sacramento River Cats 2-1:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .320.
Matt Cain(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.33.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Better rehab outing for Cain than his first one in AA.  I would think a guy like Blackburn would be following Cainer around like a puppy dog.

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AA  New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-2:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .333.
Devin Harris(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .260.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 3, Assist(3B).  BA= .341.

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High A  San Jose Giants outlasted the Inland Empire 66'ers in 10 innings:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .287.
Ryder Jones(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .293.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .292.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.30.
Tyler Rogers(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.35.

Ryder Jones is hitting .375 over his last 10 games.

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Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 1-0:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .295.
Mark Reyes(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.60.
Jake McCasland(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.96.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes smothered the Vancouver Canadians 4-0:

Richard Amion(2B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .250.
Chase Compton(3B)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .167.
Nathanael Santiago(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Nolan Riggs(RHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Rayan Hernandez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Riggs is a 6'8", 235 lb RHP out of Sam Houston St.  I don't see a draft round on his bio.   I think he may have been signed as an undrafted FA.  Hernandez is a fave of mine.  Good to see him get out of Arizona.  Funny name alert:  Vancouver has a player named Earl Burl III.

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AZL  D'Backs beat the Giants 5-3:

Nathanael Javier(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .500.
Evan Potter(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .333.

Some position changes:  Randy Ortiz(OF) is now a RHP.  Nick Jones(LHP) is now a first baseman.  Mikey Edie and Gustavo Cabrera were both in the lineup and got 1 hit each.  Kelvin Beltre is not on the roster.  Deiyerbert Bolivar is not on the roster.  Jose Morel and Julio Benitez graduate from the DSL.  Stetson Woods is back from last year's squad.  Dylan Brooks is on the active roster, so his suspension is apparently completed.   I do not recall Evan Potter from last year's AZL squad, but he hit .130 in 92 AB.

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DSL  Giants topped the Twins 6-2:

Manuel Geraldo(SS, 18)- 2 for 4, 2 SB(8).  BA= .289.
Robert Antunez(2B, 19 yo)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .362.
Hengerber Medina(RHP)- 2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.64.

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Richmond as scheduled for a makeup DH, but Game 2 was rained out.  The DSL Giants and Twins completed a previous suspended game with the Twins winning 3-1.

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Remember Touki Toussaint?  Well, he was actually pitching quite well for the D'Backs low A affiliate in the Midwest League.  The D'Backs just traded him to the Braves along with Bronson Arroyo for reserve IF Phil Gosselin.  This was obviously a pure salary dump of Arroyo's contract and Toussaint was the price for the Braves to take it on.  Man, if I was a D'Backs fan, I would be livid!  I would just want an explanation of how the team can afford to spend big bucks on Cuban FA's, yet cannot carry a measly $10 M worth of the remainder of Arroyo's contract, especially when he might actually be useful next season.  That does not even count the cost of Toussaint's signing bonus which is now money down the drain.  Wow!

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Game Wrap 6/20/2015: Giants 6 Dodgers 2

Tim Hudson shook off back-to-back first inning HR's to blank the Dodgers over the next 5.1 IP while the Giants answered with a couple of 2 run dingers to continue their domination of their historic rivals.  Key Lines:

Justin Maxwell- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .225.  Maxwell was pressed into service when Nori Aoki had to leave the game after being hit on the ankle by a pitch in the first inning.  Maxwell dropped his silver hammer on a 2-run dinger to cap the Giants scoring.

Joe Panik- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .307.  Panik just continues his solid offensive production.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, HR(9).  BA= .270.  I had a premonition it was Belt's turn to be the hero.  He hit a ball that bounced off the top of the RF wall.  Yasiel Puig did about 3 full circles going back on the ball and then looked dazed and confused afterward.

Tim Hudson- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 12/2.  ERA= 4.52.  Things weren't looking too good when Huddy coughed up a 2 run lead in the bottom of the first inning.  Thankfully, the 2 dingers were of the solo variety so the damage was limited to tying up the game again.  From there on, Huddy got the sinker going and had the Dodgers killing worms for a QS.  Who says he's a 5 inning pitcher?

Hunter Strickland- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.51.   A performance like this against the Dodgers will buy you a lot of extra rope.

The Win cut the Dodgers lead over the Giants in the NL West to just 0.5 games.  The Giants remain percentage points behind the Cubs for the second Wild Card playoff spot.

Big Time Timmy Jim brings his broom with him tomorrow evening facing lefty Brett Anderson who has run hot and cold against the Giants over his career.

Down on the Farm: 6/19/2015

AAA  Reno Aces downed the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

Trevor Brown(Catcher)- 2 for 4.  BA= .290.
Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 3, HBP, SB(14).  BA= .251.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 7 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 12/4.  ERA= 4.00.

All 6 runs off Blach scored on 3 HR's allowed.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the New Britain Rock Cats 1-0:

Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .290.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .254.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 3.  BA= .316.
Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.66.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 2.37.

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High A  San Jose Giants crushed the Inland Empire 66'ers 11-0:

Seth Harrison(CF)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, HBP.  BA= .297.
Hunter Cole(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(6), 2 BB.  BA= .324.
Austin Slater(2B)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(4).  BA= .297.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 2 for 5.  BA= .279.
Brandon Bednar(1B)- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .225.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 5.53.

Harrison drove in 6 of the Giants 11 runs.  This was Agosta's 3'rd start in a row with at least 8 K's.  In that span he has 25 K's against just 2 BB's in 18 IP.  In other starts, the ERA has not matched up with the K and BB numbers, but this was truly a dominant start.

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Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 6-4:

Jeremy Sy(SS)- 1 for 3, 2BB.  BA= .223.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .224.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .203.

Despite Aramis Garcia's anemic BA, he has an OBP of .338 with 7 dingers on the season.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Vancouver Canadians 4-3:

Richard Amion(2B)- 1 for 2, 3B, BB, Sac.  BA= .200.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .375.
Julio Pena(DH)- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .500.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.60.

Amion becomes the latest Giants OF prospect to be tried at 2B.  Gomez is a name to watch.  Remember, he was the switch-hitting catcher who had been in the DSL several years who mlb.com named to the Giants prospect all-star team and Bobby Evans sort of got shamed into saying he would be brought to the states.  Note that he played 3B in this game.  Webb has a successful first start to the season.

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DSL  Giants beat the Red Sox 4-2:

Juan Rodriguez(LF, 20 yo)- 3 for 4, 3B.  BA= .403.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .273.

Shankbone has a short article up about Francisco Medina with a link to some video.  Gotta LOVE the projection in that body!  Be sure to check it out.

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AZL starts tonight.  IDK if that is the Opening Day roster posted on the website, but no Mikey Edie?  No Kelvin Beltre?  No Gustavo Cabrera?  No bueno!!

Game Wrap 6/19/2015: Giants 9 Dodgers 5

Buster Posey's grand slam HR in the 3'rd inning gave the Giants a lead they never relinquished on their way to their 8'th Win in 10 games against the Dodgers this season.  Key Lines:

Aoki/Panik/Pagan- 3 for 12, 3BB.  6 times on base in 15 PA's for a .400 OBP with 4 runs scored.  That's how you draw up the top 3 spots in the order when you have a huge RBI guy like Buster Posey hitting cleanup.  When Aoki leads off an inning, there almost an 80% chance that at least one of those 3 will be on base when Buster steps to the plate.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, HR(10), BB, SB(1).  BA= .297.  Wow!  Was that grand slam a statement or what?  Not sure why the Dodger fans were booing Buster as he rounded the bases.  Maybe they were booing the pitcher for throwing a terrible pitch?  Maybe they were booing a team that had just lost 3 for 4 to the Texas Rangers and won the one game on a walk off balk?  I mean, I can see why Dodger fans loved to boo Barry Bonds, but Buster Posey?  Come on!  Oh, and the SB was on a straight steal!  BTW, Baggs has a serious mancrush on Buster Posey!  Check it out on Extra Baggs linked to the left.  I guess if you are going to have a mancrush, Buster is the guy to have it on!

Chris Heston- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.83.  Hesto Presto showed that he could survive against one of the better lineups in MLB without his best stuff.  2 DP groundballs helped a lot.  He ended up falling 1 out short of a QS, but hey, he got one more out and gave up 2 fewer runs than the Dodgers starter and the Giants won the game.  That's all that matters, right?

Jeremy Affeldt- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.43.  Affeldt has been whittling down his ERA after his usual early season struggles.  Affeldt has been a huge part of the Giants success over the past 5 seasons and this is where he usually kicks it into another gear and starts shutting other teams down while eating up 4, 5, 6 outs in a game.  He got 4 big ones in this game including stranding an inherited runner at 2B.  That was what, his 19'th stranded inherited runner on the season?

Santiago Casilla- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(19).  ERA= 2.33.  You don't want to have to burn your closer with a 6 run lead, but Kontos and Broadway couldn't close the door.   Look for Broadway to go back to Sacramento when Machi comes back from his R&R stint next week.

The Win closed the Giants gap on the Dodgers to 1.5 games in the NL West.  The Dangerous D'Backs beat the Pathetic Padres to put  them 4.5 games behind the leaders.  The Giants also pulled into a tie with the Cubs for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

Tim Hudson tries to keep the pedal to the metal tonight facing RHP Carlos Frias.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/18/2015

AAA  Reno Aces trumped the Sacramento River Cats 6-4:

Nik Turley- 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 8.34.

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AA  Harrisburg Senators defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-6:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 1 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(15).  BA= .335.
Daniel Carbonell(CF)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .146.
Tyler Beede(Pitcher)- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .500.
Tyler Beede(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 4/5.  ERA= 3.06.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.15.

Looks like Young Beedah can swing the bat a bit too.  His GO/AO would suggest he was elevating his pitches in this game which probably explains the subpar outcome.

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High A  Inland Empire beat the San Jose Giants 6-4:

Seth Harrison(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(4).  BA= .278.
Ryder Jones(3B)- 2 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .291.
Ben Turner(1B)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .274.
Jake Smith(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.91.

Impressed by Ryder Jones apparent improved stamina this season.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Lexington Legends 11-6:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(28).  BA= .298.
Cristian Paulino(RF)- 2 for 4, Sac.  BA= .299.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 1 for 3, HR(7), 2 BB.  BA= .222.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .223.
Jeremy Sy(SS)- 1 for 3, HR(4), Sac.  BA= .221.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.38.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.92.

Fargas stays hot.  Garcia has shown some power this season despite the low BA.  Martinez did not have a successful appearance, but did not issue a walk for the 10'th time in a row.

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Short Season  Vancouver Canadians destroyed the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-2:

Fernando Pujadas(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .500.
Eric Sim(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Eric Sim is listed as a pitcher on the roster and was lights out in his first appearance.

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DSL  Giants topped the Red Sox 6-1:

Juan Rodriguez(LF, 20 yo)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .381.
Manuel Geraldo(SS, 18 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .286.
Victor Concepcion(RHP, 18 yo)- 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.75.
Reymi Rodriguez(RHP, 20 yo)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Reymi has now completed a total of 9.2 IP without allowing an ER.

Game Wrap 6/18/2015: Giants 7 Mariners 0

Ryan Vogelsong took a shutout into the 7'th inning and the bullpen finished the job while the offense got production throughout the lineup to complete one of the Giants easier wins of the season.  Key Lines:

Matt Duffy- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .293.  Duffman drove in 2 runs with a triple and maintains his death grip on the starting 3B job.  Check out a nice writeup on Duffy by John Sickels over on minorleagueball.com.

Andrew Susac- 2 for 4.  BA= .246.  Susac continues to provide solid offense when he gets a chance despite spotty playing time as the reserve catcher.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.38.  Every time you think Vogie is nearing the end of his line, he comes up with a gem like this.  6+ Vogelstrong innings.  Dude just won't give up, ever!  One of the great individual stories in the history of baseball as far as I can recall.

The Win kept the Giants 2.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers who finally pushed across a run to top the Rangers who gave them all kind of fits 1-0.  The D'Backs lost to the Angels to fall 5.5 games off the pace in 3'rd place.

The Giants now move on for a 3 game showdown with the Dodgers in LA with Chris Heston starting off tonight against the surprising Mike Bolsinger.

Around the League:  Just have to mention that Pablo Sandoval was benched and may face penalties from MLB for using social media during the game.  Turns out he hit the "Like" button on an Instagram photo of a rather full figured woman during a bathroom break in the clubhouse.  Eww!!!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/17/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 4-1:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 3 for 5, SB(5).  BA= .314.
Trevor Brown(Catcher)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .281.
Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .249.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 10/3.  ERA= 2.08.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Erik Cordier(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, Save(4).  ERA= 2.20.

I still think Adrianza could help a MLB team right now.  Stratton is more than holding his own in the big bad PCL, although the peripherals are not impressive.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Harrisburg Senators 4-3:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .336.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 2 for 3, HR(9), BB.  BA= .288.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(2).  BA= .294.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.31.
Stephen Strasburg(RHP, Senators)- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.80.

Ricky has carried his hot May into  mid-June.  Mejia falls 1 inning short of a QS.  You might recognize the guy who started the game for Harrisburg.

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High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 7-2:

Jason Forjet(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.08.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Lexington Legends 8-7 in 11 innings:

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .220.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 5 for 5, 2B.  BA= .283.
Cristian Paulino(RF)- 1 for 5, 2 SB(19).  BA= .294.
Jake McCasland(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.65.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 2.2 IP, 1 H 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.70.

Big game for Arenado who has shown impressive resiliency deep into the season in the tough SAL.

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DSL  Mets1 beat the Giants 7-4:

Sandro Cabrera(LHP, 19 yo)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Jasier Herrera(RHP, 17 yo)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.14.

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The Northwest League starts tonight.  I don't think any of the Giants 2015 draftees are on the Salem-Keiser Volcanoes roster yet.

Game Wrap 6/17/2015: Mariners 2 Giants 0

Madison Bumgarner has been drawing the opposing team's ace all season.  He did that again in this game, outpitched him, and lost another close game.  Key Lines:

Madison Bumgarner- 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.09.  Bumgarner has drawn Clayton Kershaw 3 times already this season.  Last night he went up against Felix Hernandez and the matchup lived up to expectations.  Bummy was so dominant through 4 innings the announcers and just about everybody else clearly started thinking perfect game as early as the second inning.  His FB was sitting 94 and touching 95.  He was elevating it and the Mariners were swinging through it.  His slider was also sharp when he used it, which was not often.  Then, strange things started to happen.

With 1 out in the 5'th Mark Trumbo hit a hard grounder right at Crawford that took a bad hop and hit Crawford in the chest.  Knowing a perfecto was on the line, Crawford tried to make a heroic play(not that he wouldn't have tried to anyway, that's just Crawford).  In the process, he threw the ball over Belt's head and Trumbo took 2'nd base.  The Official Scorer ruled a basehit and a throwing error on Crawford.  That was probably the right call, but everybody knew the situation and the torrent of questions that would follow if Bummy did not allow another baserunner.

The first clean hit came in the 6'th on a grounder through the hole by Zunino, the 9-hole hitter.  Austin Jackson followed with a long fly to the gap in right-centerfield.  He hit is a long way and it was in the gap, but it also was in the park and it stayed in the air a long time.  Pagan had a bead on it and it was very catchable, but at the last second he pulled his glove back as he glanced at Vernon Maxwell closing from RF and the ball dropped for a triple.  Even then, there was a play at the plate but Panik's relay through was slightly offline and Zunino barely avoided the tag to touch home plate with his hand.  By the time Cano followed with a double down the RF line, you knew the game was probably over given the way Felix Hernandez was pitching.

Bumgarner then cruised through the 7'th and 8'th innings.  The Giants made no run at Felix Hernandez and that was that.  Another heartbreaking loss.

The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw also lost, to the Texas Rangers, leaving the Giants 2.5 games behind the NL West leaders.  The D'Backs topped the Angels 3-2 and are now just 4.5 games behind the division leaders.  The Giants fell 2 games behind the Cubs in the race for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to salvage a series split tonight facing rookie LHP Mike Montgomery who comes in sporting a sub-2 ERA.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/16/2015

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 3-1:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(4).  BA= .303.
Jake Peavy(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 6.64.

QS for Peavy who showed he has the stamina to go 7 IP.  Still a bit unconvincing that he is ready to upgrade the current Giants rotation.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Harrisburg Senators 1-0:

Joe Biagini(RHP)- 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 12/3.  ERA= 1.56.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(17).  ERA= 1.45.

This was Big Joe's 7's QS in a row.  In 4 of those starts, he did not allow an ER.  He actually would have 9 QS's in a row if he could have gotten 2 more batters out in a game in which he allowed just 2 ER.

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High A  Modesto Nuts edged the San Jose Giants 4-3 in 10 innings:

Seth Harrison(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(2), Sac.  BA= .270.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .222.
Ryder Jones(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .291.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.95.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.03.

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Low A Lexington Legends topped the Augusta Greenjackets 4-2:

Cristian Paulino(CF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(17).  BA= .297.
DJ Snelton(LHP)- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.  ERA= 5.40.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.57.
Raymundo Montero(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.41.

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DSL  Giants beat the Mets1 2-0:

Sandro Fabian(RF, 17 yo)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .260.
Prebito Reyes(LHP, 19 yo)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.46.
Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.79.
Hengerber Medina(RHP, 20 yo)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(1).  ERA= 2.00.

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The Giants signed their Compensation First Round draft pick Chris Shaw to an under slot deal and used the savings to sign 3'rd round pick Jalen Miller to an over slot deal.

Game Wrap 6/16/2015: Giants 6 Mariners 2

Matt Duffy had a big day at the plate and the bullpen shut the door after Tim Lincecum struggled through another start to break the Giants 5 game losing streak and something like 9 game losing streak at home.  Key Lines:

Matt Duffy- 3 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .289.  The Giants badly needed to get on the board first in this one and The Duffman came through in his first AB with a 2-run dinger.  He added an RBI single later in the game.

Casey McGehee- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .210.  McGehee drove in 2 insurance runs with a PH double.

Tim Lincecum- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.31.  On a day when hitters went wild in the MLB, you might consider this a QS, or even a dominant one.  At face value, though, it was what as become a typical Timmy start.  If he can get you to the 6'th inning with a lead, you figure it's a good day.

Bullpen- 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  4 relievers led by Javier Lopez, who is having a stupendous season, and Santiago Casilla, pitched perfect ball down the stretch to put this game away.

The Win cut the Giants deficit in the NL West to 2.5 game behind the Dodgers who lost for the second time in a row to the Texas Rangers.  The D'Backs also lost to remain 5.5 games behind the Dodgers in 3'rd place.

Big game tonight as Madison Bumgarner takes on Felix Hernandez in Seattle.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Down on the Farm: 6/15/2015

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

Matt Cain(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 8.10.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 4.43.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

OK, which team is the Giants affiliate?  The 7 K's seem encouraging for Matt Cain. Baggs reports his FB hit 92 MPH.  Machi starts his rehab assignment.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels Idle.

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High A  San Jose Giants edged out the Modesto Nuts 2-1:

Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .247.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Ty Ross stays hot.  Tommy Hanson starts his comeback with a dominant appearance.  Now, wouldn't THAT be something……!?

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the West Virginia Power 5-2:

Fargas(.302), Paulino(.295), Arenado(.269), Davis(.207), Callaway(.261), Cain(.197)- 2 hits each.
Sam Coonrod(RHP)- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.51.

All 12 of the hits listed above were singles.  Coonrod is pitching like he wants a promotion.

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DSL Giants pounded the Yankees1 13-7:

Juan Rodriguez(LF, 20 yo)- 3 for 5, HR(1), BB, SB(6).  BA= .412.
Robinson Medrano(1B, 19 yo)- 2 for 3, 2 HR(2), BB.  BA= .358.
Robert Antunez(2B, 19 yo)- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .344.
Jose Patino(CF, 17 yo)- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .179.
Melvin Adon(RHP, 21 yo)- 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Norwith Gudino(RHP, 19 yo)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.24.

Even though he is 20 yo, JuanRod has just one prior season of DSL experience.  Not sure what the deal is with Adon and Gudino, but there are no prior pro stats on their milb.com bio pages.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Game Wrap 6/15/2015: Mariners 5 Giants 1

The Giants offense continued to sputter against a pitcher who has had his struggles, but seems destined to be an ace in the near future.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4.  BA= .274.  If there was one bright spot, it was Pagan getting 2 hits and looking much more comfortable at the plate.  If the Giants can get him going, perhaps the rest of the lineup will relax and get going too?

Tim Hudson- 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 4.65.  This has become the typical start for Huddy.  He threw some good pitches and got a lot of groundball outs, but he also elevated some pitches that got hit hard.  Not a terrible start, but it fell short of a QS and deservedly so as Huddy looked like he was out of gas to start the 6'th after a high stress 5'th inning.

Taijuan Walker(Mariners)- 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 10/3.  ERA= 5.00.  Walker is from my neck of the woods, Yucaipa High, which is the next town up Interstate 10 from where I live.  I remember when John Klima was posting scouting videos of him on his website, so I have followed his career with interest even though he is not a Giant.  Well, he is a giant, but not a Giant!  Kid looked terrific tonight, but these days it's hard to tell whether a pitcher is good or if the Giants are making them look good!  The Giants had their chances in the first 3 innings but squandered them and he was lights out the rest of the way.  When he wasn't pounding the zone with a 93-96 MPH FB, he was throwing a hard split with late downward bit that the Giants hitters were just not seeing.  Hate to see the Giants lose, but like to see a hometown kid make good.

The Loss left the Giants 3.5 games behind the Dodgers who lost to the Rangers 4-1.  Look out for the D'Backs who were the only NL West team to win tonight, beating The Angels 7-3.  The D'Backs are now just 2 games back of the Giants and 5.5 games behind the Dodgers.

Tim Lincecum closes out the short homestand tomorrow afternoon facing lefty JA Happ.

Down on the Farm: 6/14/2015

AAA  El Paso Chihuahuas outlasted the Sacramento River Cats 7-6 in 12 innings:

Ryan Lollis(LF)- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .367.
Kevin Frandsen(2B-3B)- 3 for 6.  BA= .313.
Trevor Brown(Catcher)- 2 for 6, 2B.  BA= .269.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  3.68.

Nice pitching by Ty Blach in a tough pitching environment.  His ERA is 3.14 over his last 10 starts and he has lowered his ERA by almost a full run from 4.56 to 3.68 over that stretch starting 4/29/2015.  Hmm… maybe I need to re-think ranking the new draftees Suarez and Marshall ahead of Blach?

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Erie Seawolves 6-2:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .322.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .283.
Engel Beltre(CF)-  1 for 2, 2B, SF.  BA= .259.
Matt Lujan(LHP)-  5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.22.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.70.

Stay hot, Ricky!  Tyler Mizenko still exists!

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High A  High Desert Mavericks outscored the San Jose Giants 7-5:

Hunter Cole(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(5), HBP.  BA= .340.
Austin Slater(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .305.
Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .238.
Tyler Horan(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .229.
Ray Black(RHP)- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.45.

Ty Ross is hitting .343 over his last 10 games.  Ray Black, who started the game, faced 6 batters and either struck out or walked all 6.  Not sure what they are doing with Black.  Joe Ritzo tweeted that he is being moved into the rotation.  I'm not sure I see the logic in a move like that.

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Low A Game 1  West Virginia Power crushed the Augusta Greenjackets 9-3:

Cristian Paulino(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .297.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .223.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 1 for 3, HR(5).  BA= .189.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.20.

Martinez has now gone 11 innings over 9 appearances without issuing a walk.

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Low A Game 2  Augusta Greenjackets edged out the West Virginia Power 2-1:

Ryan Jones(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .200.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .221.
Mark Reyes(LHP)- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 1.76.

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DSL Giants were idle as usual on Sundays.