Down on the Farm: DrB's 2011 Giants Top 50 Prospects- #38 Craig Wescott #39 Eric Surkamp #40 Jason Stoffel

#38 Craig Westcott, RHP. BD: 3/1/1986. 6'4", 225 lbs. B-L, T- R.

A+: 6-0, 1.83, 68.2 IP, 32 BB, 53 K's GO/AO= 1.52. AA: 3-3, 5.13, 66.2 IP, 28 BB, 48 K's GO/AO= 1.35.

The Giants like to draft big RHP's out of small college programs later in the draft. Westcott fits the mold to a T. He was not as successful after his promotion to AA, but seemed to get a bit better as he acclimated to the higher level. Over his last 10 starts, his numbers were a little more like San Jose: 3-2, 4.99, 52.1 IP, 20 BB, 41 K. If all the guys who signed minor league deals end up pitching for Fresno to start the season, Westcott will likely start out back in Richmond for another try at dominating AA. His ceiling is purely #5 starter/long relief and fringy at that.

#39 Eric Surkamp, LHP. BD: 7/16/1987. 6'4", 190 lbs. B-L, T-L.

A+: 4-2, 3.11, 101.1 IP, 22 BB, 108 K.

I'm pretty sure some of you are outraged at this placement for Surkamp. I have to admit that if I was doing the list today, I would probably rank him higher. The K and BB numbers at San Jose are certainly impressive. I've never been as high as some on Eric Surkamp and here's why. I believe that pitching starts with the fastball. Surkamp has a great curveball and a good changeup, but his fastball is fringy at best, although he reportedly did have it up to as high as 92 before his season was cut short by a very serious sounding hip injury that required surgery. Apparently his college coaches didn't want him to throw the fastball because his curveball was so good he could get college hitters out by just throwing that. You can't get away with that in the major leagues! Eric has reportedly been working on both velocity and command of his heater in the pros. The Giants were reportedly planning to promote him to Richmond immediately after the game he was injured in. My low ranking was a combination of thinking his stuff may not hold up at higher levels and the seriousness of the hip injury. Surkamp as said his hip feels great and he'll be ready for Spring Training. Hopefully that means he can continue to develop the fastball and prove me wrong.

#40 Jason Stoffel, RHP. BD: 9/15/1988. 6'2", 220 lbs. B-R, T-R.

A+: 2-4, 4.80, 50.2 IP, 24 BB, 66 K, GO/AO= 1.77, 25 Saves. AFL: 1-0, 5.27, 13.2 IP, 4 BB, 11 K's.

The first time I saw Jason Stoffel pitch, my first reaction was that he must have ADHD or something. He never stopped moving on the mound, appeared impatient, wanted to throw the next pitch the second he got it back from the catcher. He started out looking pretty good with a fastball up in the 92-94 MPH range. He got through the first inning OK, but gave up a couple of seeing eye hits in his second inning of work. After that, you could see the velocity dropping with each successive batter who made louder and louder contact off nothing but ever straightening fastballs. My impression then was that he needed to slow down, learn a secondary pitch or two and build up his stamina before thinking about getting on the closer fast-track.

Later, in the Cal League Championship series, he got hit pretty hard again, but he had slowed his pace down considerably and he was throwing more breaking balls that didn't look half bad. He showed more inconsistency in the AFL.

I do admit his K, BB and groundball numbers actually look pretty good and he certainly has the physical tools. I still think he needs to slow it down, pitch in longer outings and work on developing his secondary pitches. He does that and maybe he ends up as a serviceable setup man. He has a strong physical resemblance to Tyler Walker, though maybe not as obese.