#19 Josh Osich, LHP. 6'3", 225 lbs. BD: 9/3/1988.
College(Oregon State)- 6-4, 3.64, 76.2 IP, 34 BB, 79 K.
At one point around mid-season, Osich had more helium than any draft prospect out there. The Giants were thought to be scouting him heavily but there was some question whether he might get taken even earlier than where they were picking late in the first round. Osich was coming off TJ surgery and dominating the Pac 10 including a no-hitter against UCLA. Then, his season mysteriously unravelled amid rumors of recurrent arm problems. There was still some thought that he might go in the late first round depending on medical reports. In the end, he fell all the way to the 6'th round where the Giants finally grabbed him. They were reportedly still awaiting final medical reports as the draft commenced. The reports were reportedly positive.
When healthy, Osich has excellent command of a fastball that goes 93-94 MPH and can get up to 97 MPH. He also has an excellent changeup to keep hitters off balance. He also has a breaking ball, but didn't throw it until late last season as he was recovering from the TJ.
Osich is a tough guy to rank since so much depends on his health. Assuming he's healthy, some analysts think he will be fast-tracked as a reliever given his power repertoire, age and injury history. He has shown the ability to start for a major college program though and the Giants have plenty of other relief prospects. Again, if he's healthy I would expect to see him starting for San Jose next year. A front 3 of Kickham, Rosin and Osich would be quite the sight to see and would give the Giants a nice 3-pack of high ceiling breakout SP candidates.
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I like this pick because its low risk (6th rd pick) and potentially high reward if Osich stays healthy. They could choose to keep him if he develops into a major league pitcher. The Giants had two good lefthanded homegrown starters Madbum & J Sanchez, and teams reportly coveted Sanchez in trade talks for a long time until he was finally dealt. Teams are always looking for good lefthanded pitching in trades.. The Giants have used 2 lefthanders recently in trades (Ryan Verdugo, Scott Barnes) and Joe Patterson was taken in the Rule 5. Young pitching, especially lefthanded pitching like Osich, Kickham is a valuable commodity for any organization, which is why I would like to see them draft more pitching this coming year.
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FYI, basically any draft pick is low risk when you are winning and competitive for the playoffs. I like the Giants habit lately of taking top rated prospects with a little tarnish (or a lot), I think going for the high reward is the way to go when you are winning and getting lousy draft position.
DeleteHe is way to valuable as a starter for the Giants not to at least give that a shot first, based on what you report here on Osich. Especially if the Giants do lose either Cain or Lincecum in the next few seasons.
ReplyDeleteStill, LHP who can throw mid-90's with a repertoire are very valuable as starters, period, isn't that what made Dirty so valuable too, throw low 90's?
Osich had to be almost a no-brainer pick in the 6'th round regardless of the medical reports. He has the potential to be a star pitcher. How many 6'th rounders make it to the majors at all? If he busts, he's no different than the average 6'th round pick. If he turns into a star, he's the steal of the draft. OGC is right. He would not have been a terrible pick in round 1!
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