#40 Charlie Culberson, 2B. A+: .290/.340/.457 with 16 HR, 25 SB, 7 CS. AFL: .366/.394/.591
Behind the stunning season Brandon Belt put together, perhaps no Giants prospect improved their stock in 2010 more than Charlie Culberson. He was coming off 2 consecutive disappointing seasons in Augusta where he played mostly shortstop. The Giants must have seen something because they promoted him to San Jose and installed him as the starting 2B from day 1. Charlie responded with a fine offensive campaign and was better defensively at 2B. He kept the momentum going by tearing up the Arizona Fall League. In the process, he likely moved ahead of Nick Noonan on the Giants 2B prospect depth chart. I saw Charlie play in several games this past season. He is a bit on the lanky side for a 2B, but looks like he still has room to fill out his frame which could lead to even more power in the future. He'll probably never be a great fielder, but in the best-case scenario, I could see him being a late blooming power hitting 2B similar to Jeff Kent. AA would be the logical next stop for him, but I won't be shocked if the Giants jump him to Fresno and leave Noonan in Richmond for another season.
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You totally nailed this one, DrB!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of Culberson ending up in AAA. The AFL is considered between AA and AAA and Charlie hit well there. Plus, Noonan unfortunately did not build upon his nice late surge in 2009, and had a disappointing season, though I have not give up on him yet, he is still very young.
I do see him like Kent, power with OK fielding, but the thing that held Kent back, I think, was that he rubbed people the wrong way and just never got the chance that the Giants gave him to start. If Culberson continues to hit well in AAA, he could be given the second base job in 2012, after Franchez's contract is up.
Didn't Culberson say he wanted to be in the big leagues within 4 years when he had been drafted by the Giants in 2007?
ReplyDeleteIf he ends up in AAA this year, he could have a cup of coffee in September…..
In any case he received so many critics about his defense (and sometimes about his batting tools) that he is certainly a hard worker ready to make adjustments to overcome his flaws and to achieve his goals.
Good luck to him
GIP
Culberson went from being a complete non-entity to having a small chance at turning into a poor-man's Dan Uggla. Kudos to him for defibrulating his prospect status.
ReplyDeleteI'm not ready to anoint Culberson just yet, based on one good season in the Cal League after two seasons of failure in the Sally League. Maybe he's improved something, maybe not. I'd prefer to see how he handles Richmond, at this point, and I'd give Noonan a shot at Fresno.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that's just me, and I'm sure the Giants will do whatever they want without consulting me. But if Culberson goes to Fresno, what would be the purpose of keeping Nick in Richmond? I view Richmond as a "trial by fire" kind of experience - I think everybody should try it once, but no hitter needs to return there.
Lyle, I pretty much agree with you. If I was doing it, I'd put Charlie in Richmond and move Nick up to Fresno, but like you say, that's me. If I had to guess, I'd say it's more likely the Giants do it the other way around.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants took some heat for drafting Charlie as high as they did. We know Sabes pays attention to criticism and likes to come out looking good in the end. Not saying the Giants go purely by emotion, but I think they want Charlie to succeed a little more, maybe, than other prospects out there.
Doc, I just read your comments about Pablo Sandoval on Fangraphs(?) - I couldn't agree more. His weight problems are a huge red flag going forward. I was completely behind putting him at 3B in 2009, but his hitting approach and his weight were concerns. And it appeared last year that each of those things was worse.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely trade Sandoval for Gordon Beckham, but then I wanted the Giants to draft Beckham instead of Posey (although, to be fair, I really thought there was no way the Rays would NOT choose Posey #1 overall - that's got to be a huge embarrassment, and somebody ought to lose their job).
Lyle,
ReplyDeletePablo is still cheap this year, so it's reasonable to see if he can come to camp in shape. I read recently that he had lost 10 lbs of fat and gained 7 lbs of muscle in his offseason program. In other words, he's lost 3 lbs! We'll see what he looks like and how he performs when the season comes. I'll stand by my trade offer to the White Sox though.
DrB, where did you read that? I had been hearing since Nov. that he had lost 10-15 pounds, so this would be a setback for him, I would think (holidays?)
ReplyDeleteI still like Pablo for 3B and think that he'll be closer to his 2009 form than his 2010 form.
The only reason I would trade him for Beckham would be if GBeck can still play SS adequately, that would be a huge plus that would sway me because we really don't have great prospects at that position.
Not that 3B is any better, but easier to acquire a 3B via trade/free agency than SS.
Plus, both DeRosa and Franchez plays 3B well defensively.