Giants Top 50 Prospects #30: Brock Bond

#30 Brock Bond. 2B. B-S, T-R. BD: 09-11-1985. 5'10", 195 lbs.

2009 Stats: AA- .333/.429/.409, 1 HR, 5 triples, 21 doubles, 13 SB, 15 CS.


Brock Bond was drafted in round 24 of the 2007 draft, by mistake! If it seemed to be more than a coincidence that Brock Bond and Casey Bond were drafted in consecutive rounds that year, it was. The Giants intended to take Casey Bond at #24 and mistakenly picked Brock. Casey was still on the board in round 25 so the Giants took him. Casey is out of the organization, and Brock is coming off an impressive showing in AA ball. For fans starved for a player who can get on base, that .429 OBP looks mighty appealing. That's coming on the heals of a .398 combined OBP in 2008 with Augusta and San Jose. Despite the great OBP, Brock has some hurdles to overcome before takes over at 2B from Freddy Sanchez in 2012. 1. He reportedly has a very weak throwing arm, possibly not even good enough for 2B at the MLB level. 2. He has virtually no power. Not only does he not hit HR's, but 21 doubles is not very many for 450 AB's. 3. That SB% is downright ugly. He should not be running at all in the minors, let alone in a possible future in the majors. On the other hand, one can think of Brock Bond as a switch-hitting version of David Eckstein, who can be a very tough out at the top of a lineup. Players like Bond are not going to make many top prospect lists, but occasionally one will stick and hang on for a long and respectable MLB career. Lord knows the Giants could use a guy who gets on base like that, regardless of their power or speed.