Chris Stratton, RHP. DOB: 8/22/1990. 6'3", 195 lbs. B-R, T-R.
NCAA 11-2, 2.38, 109.2 IP, 25 BB, 127 K
Short Season 0-1, 2.76, 16.1 IP, 10 BB, 16 K.
The Giants selected Chris Stratton out of Mississippi State as their first round draft pick in the 2012 draft. 2012 was a breakout year for him after posting ERA's >5 in his first two years there. The improvement was mainly in his walk rate as his BB/9 progressed 4.83, 3.15, 2.05 over the 3 seasons while his K rate improved modestly, 8.73, 8.96, 10.42.
Stratton has average size for a pitcher. He features a fastball that goes 90-95 with excellent command. He has a plus slider and curveball to go with it. I was not able to find any current video on him, but I recall seeing one after the draft in which he struck a batter out with a true 12-6'er that just dropped of the table. He is just starting to develop a changeup which has been described as "nascent."
Stratton signed quickly despite being a first rounder, probably due to the new CBA. He was assigned to Salem-Keizer in the NWL. The Giants started him off slowly with 1 and 2 inning stints and he initially got hit pretty hard. He settled down though, allowing 0 ER over his last 5 appearances including 7 K's against just 2 BB's in 7 IP over his last 2 appearances. His season was cut short by a concussion suffered when he was hit on the head by a batted ball during batting practice. He participated in fall workouts at AT&T Park and did not appear to show any lingering problems, so should be good to go in the spring.
My guess is he will be in the starting rotation for San Jose in the Cal League, another must see on my personal scouting list. He should be able to advance quickly, although he will need to develop his changeup in order to realize his potential as a #2, 3 starter in the major leagues.
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Nice work on the reviews... He also won SEC pitcher of the year over Gausman while at Mississippi State. That SJ rotation this year will be a loaded one. Blackburn, Crick, Escobar, Stratton and Agosta, not many days off there for the CAL league hitters.
ReplyDeleteThrowing in Mejia makes it even more interesting.
DeleteThat's right, we could have 6 guys who legitimately could be in San Jose, DrB! I knew all six could be in SJ, but never connected that there were six of them until now.
DeleteWhat do you think will happen? Will someone be forced to start the season either relieving or in Augusta? I don't think I've ever heard of a 6 man rotation, though in the minors, that is not as big a thing, I would think. If I remember right, Mejia started 2012 in the bullpen, probably to adjust him to life in U.S., life as a pro, before putting him in the rotation.
My guess? Agosta starts in Augusta. How's that?
DeleteJoe Ritzo the SJ play by play put up his top ten on twitter. Agosta ranks pretty high up. Ritzo talks to all the Gints brass. I would suspect that they give him the bump to SJ to keep him close to home as a CA native plus the chance for easy coaching. I bet they go with a six man rotation, or maybe bump Mejia to the pen at first and ease him in. Stratton, Crick, Blackburn, Escobar and Agosta. I'd be surprised if they send either Mejia or Agosta to low-A.
DeletePretty sure this is the best rotation in the majors as far as overall talent. Sure its High-A, but there is a ton of upside kicking. Very exciting stuff.
The San Jose Giants pitching coach is going to be the most talked to guy in the organization.
ReplyDeleteStratton pitched for MSU. Not a big deal, but Ole Miss and Mississippi State are not the same school.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I know Ole Miss is Mississippi, but that's where I thought he was from. Thanks for the correction.
DeleteHere is a game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State from last year where Stratton pitched 9 innings of shut out ball. He is also going up against Bobby Wahl who is going to be a top 15 pick in the up comming draft in 2013. The game is on 4/27. Fun game to watch.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/channel/espn3#search/mississippi%20state/sport/baseball/type/replay/days/days-all/
Will Clark will be stopping by later to clear up a few details DrB.
ReplyDeleteThey do this sometimes. What established MLB starter, current or recent past, does he compare to?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big comp guy unless I notice an uncanny resemblance of some kind. I Googled Chris Stratton Comparisons and came up with a couple: Daniel Hudson and Zack Grienke. Not bad, eh?
DeleteGreat.
DeleteBy the way, the Giants claimed Rosario.
And the A's are asking Oakland for another 5 years. Why prolong the agony? Give Oklahoma, Jacksonville, Charlotte, New Orleans, Memphis, Utah, Las Vegas a shot.
I would like to see a team on the Gulf Coast. Move Tampa or Oakland to either Alabama or Lousiana. That is a loyal fan base of sports fans that would do a lot better than Tampa/Oakland at drawing people to games.
Deletei think memphis would be a great place for a franchise, but the cards might have something to say about that
ReplyDeletesj's coaching staff posted. skeels is back. kline is currently mia
Memphis would not be a good place for a MLB team. The town is a basketball town, and the South (regionally) prefers football. Neither the economy nor the population density would support an 81-game home season. It could be an event town, so the NFL is a possibility.
DeleteIt has a terrific minor league ballpark, but there's no way it could support MLB.
The Giants just officially announced the coaching staff for the San Jose Giants.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121221&content_id=40776064&vkey=pr_t476&fext=.jsp&sid=t476
I know a little bit about the new pitching coach - he is my brother-in-law, and I can tell you he has seen enough of the guys he's going to be working with to be plenty excited. Big thanks to the Giants scouting department for giving Giants fans so many great young arms.
MIke Couchee? Congrats to him and your family on him getting that plum assignment. I'm going to have to figure out some way to get to all the games the SJ Giants play in SoCal this year to get a look at all these exciting young pitchers. Tell your bro-in-law to look for the tall guy wearing a Matt Cain shirt with his rookie #43 on the back and say hi.
DeleteMike is a great guy. I could not ask for a better man for my sister. I sent him a link to your blog and shared with him how much information you provide and how many Giants fans post intelligent comments on your blog. Doc,I am sure he would love to meet you when he is in SoCal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting and thanks for the props.
DeleteI like Stratton as a 1st round pick. I hope that he'll have a good MLB career like another former MSU pitcher that the Giants drafted named Jeff Brantley. I use to like him because he was small 5'11" but he pitched like a MSU "bulldog", not afraid to challange hitters.. I wasn't happy when he was traded to the Reds.
ReplyDeleteLG
I remember Jeff Brantley. Really liked that guy. He did pitch like a bulldog!
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