Before we get to my 2011 Giants Top 50 Prospects list, which will come sometime after the Winter Meetings, I thought it would be interesting to review last year's list. I'll start out by simply re-posting the list and over the next several days, make comments about each specific player. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A REVIEW OF LAST YEAR'S LIST!
1. Buster Posey
2. Madison Bumgarner
3. Zack Wheeler
4. Thomas Neal
5. Rafael Rodriguez
6. Brandon Crawford
7. Roger Kieschnick
8. Tommy Joseph
9. Nick Noonan
10. Francisco Peguero
11. Hector Sanchez
12. Edward Concepcion
13. Dan Runzler
14. Waldis Joaquin
15. Jason Stoffel
16. Clayton Tanner
17. Darren Ford
18. Conor Gillaspie
19. Ehire Adrianza
20. Chris Dominguez
21. Ydwin Villegas
22. Henry Sosa
23. Jose Casilla
24. Matt Graham
25. Brett Pill
26. Johnny Monell
27. Steve Edelfsen
28. Kevin Pucetas
29. Joe Paterson
30. Brock Bond
31. Dan Turpen
32. Mike McBryde
33. Craig Clark
34. Paul Oseguera
35. Kyle Nicholson
36. Eric Surkamp
37. Ari Ronick
38. Josh Mazzola
39. Wendell Fairley
40. Charlie Culberson
41. Aaron King
42. Andy Reichard
43. Chris Wilson
44. Ryan Verdugo
45. Evan Crawford
46. Drew Biery
47. Ryan Cavan
48. Jorge Bucardo
49. Jose Valdez
50. Wilber Bucardo
Honorable Mention: David Quinowski, Dan Griffin, Chris Gloor, Jeremy Toole, Craig Westcott, Leonardo Ochoa, Sundrendy Windster, Julio Izturis, Cameron Lamb, Jason Jarvis, Kaohi Downing, Audy Santana.
Dominican Dandies: Carlos Willoughby, Jose De La Cruz, Jesus Galindo, Kendry Flores, Ariel Hernandez.
AGAIN, REMEMBER THIS IS LAST YEAR'S LIST!
The major omission, obviously, was Brandon Belt. To be honest, I completely forgot about him. Remember, he had yet to play in a professional game when this list was made up and there was really nothing in his college resume to suggest he would have the kind of breakout he did. He is currently the front-runner to be #1 on the 2011 list!
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Besides the obvious, W Bucado, Verdugo, Culberson, Surkamp (before injury) and Gillaspie seem to have decent up FO years...
ReplyDeleteDisappointments: B Crawford (even before the injury), Dominguez, Pucetas and R-Rod even if he is so young... I guess I expected alittle but in whole, I like the Giants minors..
Here's a 60-second reaction:
ReplyDeleteMADE IT!
1. Buster Posey
2. Madison Bumgarner
13. Dan Runzler
GONE:
14. Waldis Joaquin
28. Kevin Pucetas
31. Dan Turpen
STOCK UP:
10. Francisco Peguero
11. Hector Sanchez
16. Clayton Tanner
18. Conor Gillaspie
22. Henry Sosa
23. Jose Casilla
26. Johnny Monell
27. Steve Edelfsen
29. Joe Paterson
30. Brock Bond
36. Eric Surkamp
39. Wendell Fairley
40. Charlie Culberson
44. Ryan Verdugo
47. Ryan Cavan
48. Jorge Bucardo
STOCK DOWN:
3. Zack Wheeler
4. Thomas Neal
5. Rafael Rodriguez
6. Brandon Crawford
7. Roger Kieschnick
9. Nick Noonan
15. Jason Stoffel
25. Brett Pill
27. Steve Edelfsen
32. Mike McBryde
46. Drew Biery
Oops. Take Edlefsen off that last list.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Wheeler and Neal are down, but only because Belt had such a great year. I still have them at #2, and #3 respectively. I'm really not that worried about RafRod either. I know a guy who goes by the handle of fla-giant is trashing him all over the internet, but gotta remember the kid just turned 18 late this summer! John Klima of baseballbeginnings.com, who I think knows what he is talking about, scouted the Giants instructional league and mentioned RafRod as one of the prospects he really likes because of his tools.
ReplyDeleteI don't consider Chris Dominguez' season to be a disappointment either. Yeah, he strikes out a lot, and I think he always will, but he showed serious power and managed to stay out of any season-destroying slumps.
I think Brandon Crawford is likely still on the Giants fast track.
I do agree that Culberson has probably passed Nick Noonan on the 2B prospect depth chart.
I would also say Brock Bond's stock is way down. It's pretty obvious the Giants are using him as minor league roster filler right now. I seriously doubt I even rank him in the next list.
Paul Oseguera was released before the season in a move that surprised me. I saw him pitch in 2009 for San Jose and was impressed. Maybe he had another injury or something?
ReplyDeleteJosh Mazzola missed the entire season after breaking camp with the San Jose squad. Must have had a big injury very late in the spring.
Jim, Evan Crawford was traded, I believe.
ReplyDeleteDrB, I am with you on RafRod. Sure, disappointment, but he is too young to ignore the skill set that got him here in the first place.
On Wheeler, I would not say his stock is down, per se, though I would be OK with an incomplete. He did do OK in limited games, good particularly in Ks, so I take that as a positive in terms of him showing his skills, but SSS means we will have to wait for 2011 for more proof of that. He will only be 20 or 21 next season, so he is still young.
Brock and Pill I would not have included for 2010 as high as you placed them, or as high as many supporters gushed over them. I think I would have put them in the 40's, they just did not do that much in 2009, IMO.
Yeah I think RafRod's tools is what keeps me positive about his chances, that and his age.
Belt no one really saw, other than the Giants. Not one major prospect tout had him anywhere in their top prospect lists for the Giants.
Thanks for the feedback everybody. We'll work our way through the list and breakdown how they did and where they are now. 2011 list, when we eventually post it, will not be nearly as awesome, especially at the top with the graduations of Posey and Bumgarner(what organization's prospect list wouldn't take a hit after graduating two prospects like that?). I think there is still a lot of depth in the system and Belt's emergence gives the top something exciting to boot! As Jim's list illustrates, more Giants prospects had good seasons than bad and there is a really interesting crop of new draftees coming on board.
ReplyDeleteOGC,
ReplyDeleteI really liked Bond's OBP and the Giants had shown some aggressiveness with him in 2009. It's looking like he's really a one-dimensional player and the Giants sort of buried him in 2010, so yeah, he was ranked too high. Pill had a pretty good AA campaign and had been promoted fairly aggressively too. Belt wasn't on the scene last year, nor was Aubrey Huff, so he was looking like next in line for a trial at first base for the Giants. Looks like he's toast now though.
Pill had a pretty decent start at AAA last year. I wonder how much the emergence of Belt affected him. I am surprised at how quickly the Giants decided that they don't need him. Maybe it's just a lack of spots on the 40-man.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping that Belt is not the latest "shiny new toy".
Anon,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. Belt only has one full season under his belt, so to speak, pretty small sample size there. I do think there may be some irrational exuberance emerging about what his true potential may be. He hasn't been exposed so far, though.
Hey Doc,
ReplyDeleteYou're right that Wheeler and Neal aren't down much -- it's just that neither of the lived up to the hopes (which may have been unrealistic) placed on them for 2010. One still hears good reports about Wheeler, and he may end up a front-end starter for the Giants, it's simply that the season was pretty much lost and, still, no one really knows what he has. Too, Neal may well turn out to be a starting corner OF in 2012, but it took him quite a while to adjust to the Eastern League and he had a marked drop-off in power, which he'll need to recover to make it.
Dominguez also had an interesting season, but I'm concerned that he's still awfully old to have been whiffing away in low A for a whole year. He'll need to advance pretty quickly to maintain serious prospect status -- though I agree that is possible. I was particularly encouraged with the reports about his fielding at 3B.
Crawford drops a little only because his season too was substantially lost and he showed no particular progress in the time he did have. The hope (again, perhaps unrealistic) was that he'd surmount AA and reach Fresno this year, with a shot at the SS job in spring training. We'll see how he hits this year, presumably again in Richmond.
Interesting about Brock. Nobody seems to think much of him, apparently not a great fielder, zero power, and I doubt he'll do much in this organization (after all, they didn't even mean to draft him). There's something about those numbers that suggest to me he'll end up an injury fill-in on some team in the next couple of years and will end up sticking because he'll have a .380 OBP and take lots of pitches in the 2 slot.
Doc,
ReplyDeleteWhat is your take on Jesus Galindo? I have never noticed him before, but he seems to have some pretty serious speed. Was he a high-profile signee, or is he a kid that came out of no-where?
What is the health status of Mike McBryde, has his broken hand healed? Does he have major league roster potential?
ReplyDelete