I was going to write a post about Ryan Vogelsong but I could not think of anything to say I haven't already written 10 times. You all know the story by heart anyway. You have probably already passed it on to your children and possibly grandchildren to be handed down to future generations of Giants fans into eternity. So, back to the grindstone!
Low A ball is where good HS draftees are assigned the spring after they are drafted. It's a big jump and many struggle at this level. The SAL is generally a pitcher-friendly league and Augusta might be the most pitcher friendly venue in the league. Many a young hitter has foundered there and others have had to take a step back before moving forward again. You may recall that both Christian Arroyo and Ryder Jones washed out completely and were reassigned to Salem-Keizer before jumping going to San Jose the following season.
The biggest story line from day 1 was Sandro Fabian a 19 yo international OF who gained some national recognition as an 18 yo in the AZL. Kelvin Beltre is a bit older than Fabian but he had lost the major parts of 2 seasons to injuries. He desperately needed a full season's worth of AB's. Minor league veteran Skyler Ewing decided to try to revive his career by taking up catching, a position he played a bit of in college at Rice. Three 2017 college draftees, Jacob Heyward, Michael Bernal and Brandon Van Horn were also assigned to Augusta along with an assortment of minor league veterans.
On the pitching side, lefty Dominic Mazza was a holdover from 2016 while college draftees DJ Myers, Steven Woods, Garrett Williams, Caleb Baragar and reliever Patrick Ruotolo got conservative assignments for their first pro seasons. Hard throwing international signees Melvin Adon and Raffi Vizcaino rounded out the pitching staff.
This collection of talent, like several other Giants affiliates, finished with the worst record in the league at 55-80. Here are the statistical leaders of the 2017 Augusta Greenjackets:
AB: Fabian- 486, Beltre- 423, Heyward- 359, Jose Vizcaino Jr.- 309, Ewing- 297.
Hits: Fabian- 133, Beltre- 107, Viz Jr- 81, Heyward- 80, Jean Angomas- 77.
Doubles: Fabian- 31, Beltre- 24, Ewing- 21, Viz Jr- 17, Heyward- 16.
Triples- Angomas- 3, 7 players- 2.
HR: Ewing- 13, Fabian- 11, Heyward- 10, Beltre- 6, Frandy De La Rosa- 5.
SB: Cristian Paulino- 30, Beltre- 15, Dunston Jr- 13, Ashford Fulmer- 13, Van Horn- 11.
Runs: Beltre- 65, Fabian- 51, Ewing- 48, Heyward- 40, Viz Jr- 34.
RBI: Fabian- 61, Ewing- 47, Heyward- 45, Beltre- 37, Viz Jr- 34.
BA: Angomas- .292, Fabian- .277, Paulino- .271, Bernal- .267, Viz Jr/Van Horn- .262.
OBP: Ewing- .359, Bernal- .349, Paulino- .343, Angomas- .338, Carlos Garcia- .331.
SLG%- Ewing- .455, Fabian- .408, FDLR- .372, Paulino- .371, Bernal- .369.
IP: Mazza- 119.1, Barattar- 114.2, Woods- 110.0, Adon- 99.1, Myers- 78.1.
ERA: Conner Kaden- 0.47, Ruotolo- 1.66, Nolan Riggs- 2.13, Williams- 2.25, Woods- 2.95.
K's: Woods- 113, Mazza- 97, Adon- 89, Baragar- 81, Vizcaino- 74.
Saves: Ruotolo- 17, Riggs- 3.
DrB's MVP: Sandro Fabian!
-Mazza pitched a perfect CG early in the season. Finally got a late season promo to SJ.
-Garrett Williams tamed his control/command issues and made a successful midseason jump to SJ.
-Skyler Ewing's career will probably live to see another season, possibly in San Jose.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Game Wrap 9/17/2017: Giants 7 D'Backs 2
Chris Stratton honored Ryan Vogelsong's retirement with a Vogey-like performance and the Giants avoided a sweep by the D'Backs. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 4. BA= .289. Is there enough time left for Panik to hit .300 on the season?
Austin Slater LF- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .282. The Giants could do worse than simply handing the LF keys to Austin Slater for 2018. He keeps doing good things.
Jarrett Parker RF- 2 for 3. BA= .250. Do the Giants see Parker as a strictly platoon player? Kelby Tomlinson PH for him in the 7'th with no outs and the bases loaded and lefty TJ McFarland on the mound. D'Backs countered with RHP Jake Barrett and Kelby hit a SF. It worked out, but I find that whole sequence odd.
Pablo Sandoval 1B- 2 for 3, HR(7), SF. BA= .197. Sandoval was the hitting hero of the game with 3 RBI's. He hit the ball hard in game 2 of the series so maybe this is a true breakout from his epic slump. If so, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing for the Giants future.
Chris Stratton RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.94. This was an important start for Stratton. His last full start on September 4 lasted just 4 innings and he gave up 3 runs. Then he faced just one batter in the rain delayed game recording a K. This game showed some resiliency which I think bodes well for the future. BTW, Stratton said after the game that Vogey offered some words of encouragement before the game.
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The Win coupled with the Phillies loss reduced the Giants lead in the race for the #1 draft pick to 1 game(2 on the loss column). The ChiSox lost so they are 3 games back while the Tigers beat the ChiSox and remain 5 games behind the Giants for the worst record in baseball.
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The Giants get a day off at home tomorrow before starting a 2 games series against the Rockies with Johnny Cueto facing German Marquez.
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In a fitting ending to one of the greatest baseball stories I know of, Ryan Vogelsong fulfilled another long held dream to retire as a Giant. He took the mound wearing his #32 uniform with his wife, Nicole, looking on, just as she did the first time he walked off the mound at AT&T Park to a standing ovation. This time his son, Ryder, was at his side and he got another standing O. There will be more of those at 2012 and 2014 team reunions, but this one was special, just like the first one. More on Vogey and his career in another post.
Pablo Sandoval 1B- 2 for 3, HR(7), SF. BA= .197. Sandoval was the hitting hero of the game with 3 RBI's. He hit the ball hard in game 2 of the series so maybe this is a true breakout from his epic slump. If so, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing for the Giants future.
Chris Stratton RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.94. This was an important start for Stratton. His last full start on September 4 lasted just 4 innings and he gave up 3 runs. Then he faced just one batter in the rain delayed game recording a K. This game showed some resiliency which I think bodes well for the future. BTW, Stratton said after the game that Vogey offered some words of encouragement before the game.
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The Win coupled with the Phillies loss reduced the Giants lead in the race for the #1 draft pick to 1 game(2 on the loss column). The ChiSox lost so they are 3 games back while the Tigers beat the ChiSox and remain 5 games behind the Giants for the worst record in baseball.
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The Giants get a day off at home tomorrow before starting a 2 games series against the Rockies with Johnny Cueto facing German Marquez.
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In a fitting ending to one of the greatest baseball stories I know of, Ryan Vogelsong fulfilled another long held dream to retire as a Giant. He took the mound wearing his #32 uniform with his wife, Nicole, looking on, just as she did the first time he walked off the mound at AT&T Park to a standing ovation. This time his son, Ryder, was at his side and he got another standing O. There will be more of those at 2012 and 2014 team reunions, but this one was special, just like the first one. More on Vogey and his career in another post.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Game Wrap 9/16/2017: D'Backs 2 Giants 0
Madison Bumgarner gave up a 2-run HR to Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning and that was the difference in the ballgame as the Giants offense could muster just 2 hits against Zack Greinke and Fernando Rodney. Key Lines:
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.48. A much better performance than his last game, but still a loss without a whiff of run support. At least we know Bummy is OK and the poor start in Chicago was an isolated event.
Zack Greinke RHP(D'Backs)- 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.87. Greinke is a very good pitcher having a very good season so it's not surprising he would shut down a moribund Giants offense. Giants have their work cut out trying to figure out how to improve this lineup for next season.
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Chris Stratton will hope he has better weather than he did for his last start which lasted 1 batter(he struck that batter out). He will face Taijuan Walker in the series finale tomorrow afternoon.
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The Giants extended their lead in the race for the #1 overall draft pick to 2 games over the Phillies and 4 over the White Sox and remain 5 games up on the Tigers who have the 4'th worst record in baseball.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.48. A much better performance than his last game, but still a loss without a whiff of run support. At least we know Bummy is OK and the poor start in Chicago was an isolated event.
Zack Greinke RHP(D'Backs)- 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.87. Greinke is a very good pitcher having a very good season so it's not surprising he would shut down a moribund Giants offense. Giants have their work cut out trying to figure out how to improve this lineup for next season.
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Chris Stratton will hope he has better weather than he did for his last start which lasted 1 batter(he struck that batter out). He will face Taijuan Walker in the series finale tomorrow afternoon.
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The Giants extended their lead in the race for the #1 overall draft pick to 2 games over the Phillies and 4 over the White Sox and remain 5 games up on the Tigers who have the 4'th worst record in baseball.
Down on the Farm: 2017 San Jose Giants Season Review
High A is an appropriate placement first full season placement for top college draftees and is thus a nice early barometer for how well those draft picks are working out. The 2017 San Jose Giants started the season with a nice contingent of 2016 draftees including a trio of OF's, 2'nd rounder and top pick Bryan Reynolds, Heath Quinn and Gio Brusa as well as IF Ryan Howard and P's Matt Krook and Conner Menez. Aramis Garcia was a holdover due to an early season-ending injury in 2016. Promotions from the 2016 Augusta Greenjackets included IF's Dillon Dobson and Jalen Miller. Last year's team MVP Jonah Arenado stayed on in 2017 as he was young for the level and deemed not ready to handle AA pitching. At 20 yo, Miller was one of the younger players in the Cal League. The rest of the pitching consisted mainly of minor league veterans who pitched for Augusta in 2016. Later additions included LHP Garrett Williams and several big hard throwing relievers including Dylan Rheault, Will LaMarche and Michael Cederoth.
Reynolds, Howard and Garcia hit well all season long with Garcia finally getting the promo to Richmond later in the season. Arenado came on strong in the second half. Quinn was slowed by injuries. Brusa hit for power but struggled to make contact and in the field and ended up mostly DH'ing by the end of the season. Miller hit in the low .200's all season but improved modestly at the end and most importantly got a second full season's worth of pro AB's. Don't give up on this kid. He has some tools and is still very young for the level. As a whole, the team struggled to a Cal League worst 62-78 mostly due to lack of consistent pitching. About the best we can say of the pitching is Garrett Williams and Matt Krook both made progress in controlling their pitches which is not nothing as both are believed to have high ceilings.
Here are the team statistical leaders for 2017:
AB: Howard- 526, Reynolds- 491, Arenado- 488, Miller- 431, Dobson- 428.
Hits: Howard- 161, Reynolds- 153, Arenado- 131, Brusa- 101, Dobson- 100.
2B: Arenado- 36, Brusa- 28, Reynolds- 26, Miller- 25, Howard- 21.
3B: Reynolds- 9, Arenado- 4, Miller- 4, Ronnie Jebavy- 4, Dobson- 4.
HR: Brusa- 17, Garcia- 17, Dobson-15, Arenado- 13, Reynolds/Quinn- 10.
SB: Jebavy- 15, Howard- 7, Steven Duggar- 7, Miller- 6, Reynolds- 6.
Runs: Reynolds- 72, Arenado- 67, Miller- 61, Howard- 59, Brusa- 58.
BA: Reynolds- .312, Howard- .306, Danial Carbonell- .304, Garcia- .272, Duggar- .270.
OBP: Reynolds- .364, Duggar- .361, Howard- .342, Carbonell- .338, John Polonius- .327.
SLG%- Garcia- .487, Carbonell- .486, Duggar- .470, Reynolds- .462, Arenado- .439.
IP: Menez- 114.1, Mark Reyes- 101.0, Jake McCasland- 101.2, Michael Connolly- 94.2, Krook- 91.1.
ERA: Ryan Halstead- 1.11, Williams- 2.45, Carlos Dias- 2.47, Rheault- 2.70, Cederoth- 3.20.
K: Krook- 105, Menez- 99, McCasland- 95, Caleb Simpson- 80, Grant Watson- 69.
Saves: Rheault- 21, Halstead- 8, LaMarche- 2.
DrB's 2017 San Jose Giants Team MVP- Bryan Reynolds.
Reynolds, Howard and Garcia hit well all season long with Garcia finally getting the promo to Richmond later in the season. Arenado came on strong in the second half. Quinn was slowed by injuries. Brusa hit for power but struggled to make contact and in the field and ended up mostly DH'ing by the end of the season. Miller hit in the low .200's all season but improved modestly at the end and most importantly got a second full season's worth of pro AB's. Don't give up on this kid. He has some tools and is still very young for the level. As a whole, the team struggled to a Cal League worst 62-78 mostly due to lack of consistent pitching. About the best we can say of the pitching is Garrett Williams and Matt Krook both made progress in controlling their pitches which is not nothing as both are believed to have high ceilings.
Here are the team statistical leaders for 2017:
AB: Howard- 526, Reynolds- 491, Arenado- 488, Miller- 431, Dobson- 428.
Hits: Howard- 161, Reynolds- 153, Arenado- 131, Brusa- 101, Dobson- 100.
2B: Arenado- 36, Brusa- 28, Reynolds- 26, Miller- 25, Howard- 21.
3B: Reynolds- 9, Arenado- 4, Miller- 4, Ronnie Jebavy- 4, Dobson- 4.
HR: Brusa- 17, Garcia- 17, Dobson-15, Arenado- 13, Reynolds/Quinn- 10.
SB: Jebavy- 15, Howard- 7, Steven Duggar- 7, Miller- 6, Reynolds- 6.
Runs: Reynolds- 72, Arenado- 67, Miller- 61, Howard- 59, Brusa- 58.
BA: Reynolds- .312, Howard- .306, Danial Carbonell- .304, Garcia- .272, Duggar- .270.
OBP: Reynolds- .364, Duggar- .361, Howard- .342, Carbonell- .338, John Polonius- .327.
SLG%- Garcia- .487, Carbonell- .486, Duggar- .470, Reynolds- .462, Arenado- .439.
IP: Menez- 114.1, Mark Reyes- 101.0, Jake McCasland- 101.2, Michael Connolly- 94.2, Krook- 91.1.
ERA: Ryan Halstead- 1.11, Williams- 2.45, Carlos Dias- 2.47, Rheault- 2.70, Cederoth- 3.20.
K: Krook- 105, Menez- 99, McCasland- 95, Caleb Simpson- 80, Grant Watson- 69.
Saves: Rheault- 21, Halstead- 8, LaMarche- 2.
DrB's 2017 San Jose Giants Team MVP- Bryan Reynolds.
Game Wrap 9/15/2017: D'Backs 3 Giants 2
Jeff Samardzija threw another Quality Start but also lost again as the Giants offense could not get over the hump. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .287. Panik is hitting .438 through the first 15 days of September.
Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .260. Pence is showing he may have something left in the bat, but he had a rough night in the OF. In fairness, those were tough balls to catch, but it seemed like Gorkys Hernandez had no trouble getting to one that looked similar. Pence took a stumble on a close play at 1B and came up holding his right hand or wrist. He later exited the game but reportedly with back spasms from a tumble in the OF.
Gorkys Hernandez RF- 0 for 0. BA= .251. Hernandez entered the game to replace Pence minutes after Amy G reported that he was unavailable. After the game, Bochy clarified that he was not available to hit, but could play D and pinch run. Jarrett Parker PH for Hernandez when his turn to hit arrived. Which raises the question: How deep is Mac Williamson in Bochy's doghouse if he didn't even get the call when Pence was injured?
Which raises another question: Who are the two players who squawked to the press about feeling like they can't do anything to please Bochy? When Bochy was asked why he put Gorkys out there with a sore wrist, his response is he wanted to keep a couple of guys on the bench- to give him options. Who were the guys still on the bench? Did Boch add the "options" phrase as an afterthought when he realized how the keeping a couple of guys on the bench might be interpreted? Are we parsing words a bit too much here?
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 4.42. That's an 8 inning QS that went for naught.
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Madison Bumgarner tries to bounce back from his last start this evening facing Zack Greinke.
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With the Loss, the Giants remain in first place in the race for the #1 draft pick leading the Phillies by 1 game(2 on the loss column), the ChiSox by 3 games and the Tigers by 5.
Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .287. Panik is hitting .438 through the first 15 days of September.
Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .260. Pence is showing he may have something left in the bat, but he had a rough night in the OF. In fairness, those were tough balls to catch, but it seemed like Gorkys Hernandez had no trouble getting to one that looked similar. Pence took a stumble on a close play at 1B and came up holding his right hand or wrist. He later exited the game but reportedly with back spasms from a tumble in the OF.
Gorkys Hernandez RF- 0 for 0. BA= .251. Hernandez entered the game to replace Pence minutes after Amy G reported that he was unavailable. After the game, Bochy clarified that he was not available to hit, but could play D and pinch run. Jarrett Parker PH for Hernandez when his turn to hit arrived. Which raises the question: How deep is Mac Williamson in Bochy's doghouse if he didn't even get the call when Pence was injured?
Which raises another question: Who are the two players who squawked to the press about feeling like they can't do anything to please Bochy? When Bochy was asked why he put Gorkys out there with a sore wrist, his response is he wanted to keep a couple of guys on the bench- to give him options. Who were the guys still on the bench? Did Boch add the "options" phrase as an afterthought when he realized how the keeping a couple of guys on the bench might be interpreted? Are we parsing words a bit too much here?
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 4.42. That's an 8 inning QS that went for naught.
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Madison Bumgarner tries to bounce back from his last start this evening facing Zack Greinke.
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With the Loss, the Giants remain in first place in the race for the #1 draft pick leading the Phillies by 1 game(2 on the loss column), the ChiSox by 3 games and the Tigers by 5.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Game Wrap 9/13/2017: Dodgers 4 Giants 1
Giants bats were listless and Matt Moore was Matt Moore in a quiet loss. Key Lines:
Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 4. BA= .258. Back in the leadoff spot. Pence had 8 hits in the series.
Jarrett Parker LF- 2 for 4. BA= .250. Parker was 3 for 9 on the series.
Matt Moore LHP- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.39. After a brief run in August, Moore has fallen back into a familiar, bad, pattern mostly all attributable to poor command.
Kyle Crick RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.31. Cricky continues to be one of the few Giants pitchers who can throw a FB by a hitter when they know it's coming.
Reyes Maronta RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.45. 6 K's in 3.2 IP but also 3 BB's. Giants need more of his and Crick's type of arms in the pen.
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The Giants led the Phillies in the race for the #1 draft pick by 0.5 games after this game. The Phils fell another 0.5 games behind with a W yesterday. The ChiSox are falling off the pace a full 3 games back. So far, there is no clear cut best prospect in the 2018 draft so I'm not sure having the #1 overall is all that, but at least they are guaranteed to get the guy they want if it ends in this order.
Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 4. BA= .258. Back in the leadoff spot. Pence had 8 hits in the series.
Jarrett Parker LF- 2 for 4. BA= .250. Parker was 3 for 9 on the series.
Matt Moore LHP- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.39. After a brief run in August, Moore has fallen back into a familiar, bad, pattern mostly all attributable to poor command.
Kyle Crick RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.31. Cricky continues to be one of the few Giants pitchers who can throw a FB by a hitter when they know it's coming.
Reyes Maronta RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.45. 6 K's in 3.2 IP but also 3 BB's. Giants need more of his and Crick's type of arms in the pen.
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The Giants led the Phillies in the race for the #1 draft pick by 0.5 games after this game. The Phils fell another 0.5 games behind with a W yesterday. The ChiSox are falling off the pace a full 3 games back. So far, there is no clear cut best prospect in the 2018 draft so I'm not sure having the #1 overall is all that, but at least they are guaranteed to get the guy they want if it ends in this order.
Game Wrap 9/12/2017: Dodgers 5 Giants 3
I'm not sure what the Giants record is when they score 3 runs in a game Clayton Kershaw starts, but I'll guess it's not too bad. Unfortunately, Johnny Cueto's remarkable pitch count caught up with him in the 4'th inning and he gave up 4 to the Dodgers. Key Lines:
Denard Span PH/CF- 2 for 2, 2B, SB(9). BA= .272. Span is closing in on a double-double season.
Joe Panik 2B- 3 for 5. BA= .286. Panik is hitting .342 in September after hitting .305 in August.
Hunter Pence RF- 3 for 5. BA= .256. Pence continues his hot hitting back down in the lineup. 6 hits in 2 days.
Austin Slater LF- 2 for 4. BA= .286. Are the Giants thinking of a Parker/Slater platoon in LF?
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 2, HR(1), BB. BA= .273. Imagine hitting your only HR of the season against Clayton Kershaw! Kelby is hitting .300 in September after hitting .284 in August.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 4.58. The 8 K's tell you he must have had good stuff, but wow! How can you throw 101 pitches in 3.2 innings? The pitch count must have fatigued him in the 4'th as the Dodgers scored all 4 of the runs he gave up in that frame.
Denard Span PH/CF- 2 for 2, 2B, SB(9). BA= .272. Span is closing in on a double-double season.
Joe Panik 2B- 3 for 5. BA= .286. Panik is hitting .342 in September after hitting .305 in August.
Hunter Pence RF- 3 for 5. BA= .256. Pence continues his hot hitting back down in the lineup. 6 hits in 2 days.
Austin Slater LF- 2 for 4. BA= .286. Are the Giants thinking of a Parker/Slater platoon in LF?
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 2, HR(1), BB. BA= .273. Imagine hitting your only HR of the season against Clayton Kershaw! Kelby is hitting .300 in September after hitting .284 in August.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 4.58. The 8 K's tell you he must have had good stuff, but wow! How can you throw 101 pitches in 3.2 innings? The pitch count must have fatigued him in the 4'th as the Dodgers scored all 4 of the runs he gave up in that frame.
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