And, with that, the mid-season prospects update is underway!
A quick note: I caved and decided to go with a top 30 list, with 10 HM’s added on (5 extra pitchers, 5 hitters). I hope you find these profiles informative, and I’m excited to hear your feedback on these players. Thanks, as always, for reading.
There’s still no official word on Cabrera’s status after nearly severing his hand last winter in the Dominican Republic. I doubt you’ll see his name this year, but don’t rule him out for next season. Age is on his side, and if he can come back at full strength, he will immediately move into the top 15 players in the system. He’s already got a mature build at 6-2, 190, and has a chance to be a 5-tool stud CF someday if everything comes together.
Beltre signed this winter for $650k, and is currently playing his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League. He’s not as highly regarded as teammate Mikey Edie, but Beltre is still an exciting prospect. He’s not big, but reports say he shows great bat speed from his smaller frame. If he can stick at SS and develop the bat, he could have a bright future.
The Giants took Fargas in the 11th round of the 2013 draft out of Puerto Rico, and he might just turn out to be the steal of that class. He was impressive in 30 games in the AZL last summer, and has drawn the assignment of starting Continue reading “Mid-Season Prospects: Honorable Mention (Position Players)”
With almost a week’s worth of minor league games in the books, let’s take a look at how the Giants top prospects (according to this blog) have fared in the early going. For now, we’ll only look at the top 25, but I’ll try to toss in a handful of other names who are off to great starts as well. I can’t promise I’ll have these stock reports up every single week this year, but I’ll do my best to update them at least a couple times each month.
This should serve multiple purposes, as it’ll keep us all in the loop on how the “hyped” kids are doing, as well as help me to form a well-educated updated midseason prospects list. It’s way too early to think about that, but you know how fast the season moves this time of year.
Anyway, here’s the top half of the list we worked with during the offseason.
1: Kyle Crick, RHP (AA): 1 GS, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 2 BB, 5 K – Crick had his fastball consistently in the mid-90’s and was in full control of his first AA start. Stock: Stable
2: Edwin Escobar, LHP (AAA): 1 GS, 0-0, 7.71 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 BB, 4 K – Esky got knocked around in his first start, which came in very hitter-friendly Las Vegas. He looks to rebound tonight. Stock: Stable
3: Andrew Susac, C (AAA): 6 G, 24 AB, .417/.481/.542, 1 HR – Susac is on a roll offensively to start the season. He crushed a 3-0 pitch over the LF wall against Salt Lake a few nights ago. Stock: Up
4: Adalberto Mejia, LHP (AA): 1 GS, 1-0, 5.40 ERA, 5 IP, 1 BB, 5 K – Was hitting mid-90’s on the New Britain stadium gun. Not a dominant start, but not bad for the youngest pitcher in the EL. Stock: Stable
5: Clayton Blackburn, RHP (AA): 1 GS, 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 1 BB, 3 K – Blackburn worked his way out of trouble a couple times in his first start, but finished 5 solid innings. 2nd start tonight. Stock: Stable
6: Mac Williamson, OF (A+): 7 G, 23 AB, .130/.310/.130, 2 SB/0 CS – Maybe Mac’s injuring is hampering him a bit more than we thought. His first multi-hit game came last night. Stock: Stable
7: Christian Arroyo, SS/2B (A): 7 G, 27 AB, .185/.214/.259, 1 3B – Struggled out of the gate, but had 3 hits and drove in 2 last night. Got his first start at SS as well. Stock: Stable
8: Ty Blach, LHP (AA): 2 GS, 1-1, 2.45 ERA, 11 IP, 1 BB, 3 K – The K’s are down, but I was expecting that as he moved to AA. Two good starts in the book. Stock: Stable
Video from Conner Penfold/Giant Potential
9: Chris Stratton, RHP (A+): 2 GS, 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 10 IP, 3 BB, 8 K – Stratton’s second start wasn’t near as strong as his first. Seems like he’s working mostly 2-seamers these days. It’s a long season, but I just don’t know if he’s the same pitcher they took in the first round. Stock: Down
10: Keury Mella, RHP (A): 1 GS, 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 0 BB, 5 K – Mella made a big fan out of David Lee in his first outing, working a very heavy fastball and flashing impressive secondary stuff. Stock: Up
11: Joe Panik, 2B/SS (AAA): 7 G, 30 AB, .300/.400/.367, 1 3B – Have to like the way he’s putting the bat on the ball in Fresno early. Stock: Up
Video from Conner Penfold/Giant Potential
12: Kendry Flores, RHP (A+): 2 GS, 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 12 IP, 2 BB, 9 K – Flores was dominant in his first start, but came back to earth a bit last night. He’s holding steady for now, but I’m hoping for a takeoff as we get into May. Stock: Stable
13: Martin Agosta, RHP (A+): N/A – He’s listed on the DL, and has yet to make a start, but I actually think he’s away from the team for personal reasons. Stock: Stable
14: Joan Gregorio, RHP (A+): 1 GS, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 1 BB, 5 K – Gregorio hit his pitch limit before getting to the 5th inning, but he had an impressive outing nonetheless. Stock: Up
15: Derek Law, RHP (AA): 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K – Had I waited another month to do my preseason rankings, I’d have placed Law higher. He’s off to a nice start in AA, so he’s very much on the rise at this point. Stock: Up
16: Gary Brown, CF (AAA): 7 G, 34 AB, .324/.343/.529, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 SB/0 CS – Brown has 5 extra base hits in 7 games, he’s 2-2 on the bases, and he’s shown off his impressive arm strength. Hopefully he keeps up this roll that he’s on early. Stock: Up
17: Ryder Jones, SS/3B (A): 6 G, 20 AB, .150/.227/.200, 1 2B – Ryder played the first 6 games of the year at SS, but sat down last night. I’m not sure if it was performance related, but maybe the coaching staff thought he needed a day to reset. Stock: Stable
18: Josh Osich, LHP (AA): 3 G, 4.50 ERA, 4 IP, 5 BB, 4 K – Osich is walking too many batters early, but some of these relievers may not have gotten much time against players from opposing teams in MiLB spring training. Stock: Stable
19: Cody Hall, RHP (AA): 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 2 BB, 1 K – Fine start to the season for Hall. Stock: Stable
20: Adam Duvall, 3B (AAA): 7 G, 30 AB, .267/.313/.467, 2 HR – Duvall is showing off his power early, hitting a grand slam last night. He impressed me during his limited MLB spring training action. Stock: Up
21: Angel Villalona, 1B (AA): 7 G, 27 AB, .296/.321/.556, 2 HR, 1 2B – Angel V seems to be holding his own at the plate early. We’ve also heard that the Giants have two more seasons to get him ready before he’ll be out of options. Stock: Up
22: Brian Ragira, 1B (A+): 6 G, 19 AB, .211/.375/.211, 0 SB/1 CS – It’s way too early to make any major claims about a player, but I’m just not that blown away by Ragira. For a 4th round pick from college, you’d like to see him show some extra base power at some point. Stock: Stable
23: Chase Johnson, RHP (A): 2 GS, 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 2 BB, 9 K – I like what Johnson has done in his first two starts. He won’t blow you away, but for a college reliever transitioning to a starter, he’s been pretty steady so far. Stock: Up
24: Matt Duffy, SS (AA): 7 G, 26 AB, .308/.321/.385, 2 2B – Duffy’s promotion to Richmond was aggressive, but I don’t think any of us are surprised he’s holding his own. I really like this kid; the Giants may have a major sleeper on their hands. Stock: Up
25: Bryce Bandilla, LHP (AA): 3 G, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP, 5 BB, 1 K – A wild start to the season for Bandilla. We know he has the stuff, but he needs to reign it in a bit. Stock: Down
Cove Chatter 