Saturday, January 26, 2013

DrB's 2013 Giants Top 50 Prospects #37: Chris Gloor

Chris Gloor, LHP.  DOB:  3/7/1987.  6'6", 255 lbs.  B-L, T-L.

AA:  4-5, 2.81, 105.2 IP, 29 BB, 74 K, GO/AO= 0.86.

AFL:  2-2, 2.70, 30 IP, 11 BB, 22 K, GO/AO- 0.73.

Chris Gloor is a jumbo sized LHP with a soft looking body.  He had been on a reliever track since being drafted in the 17'th round of the 2009 draft, but moved into the Richmond starting rotation mid-season last year.  He put up very good numbers and was rewarded with a trip to the AFL where he also worked as a starter, albeit a lot fewer innings per start.

I found a note in BA from the AFL opener with the following comment:  ".....touch and feel lefty who lacks a plus pitch but has had some success thanks to his ability to sink the baseball and hit his spots."  I'm not sure how the "sink the ball" part squares up with his stat line as he appears to be an extreme flyball pitcher.  Usually to be successful, flyball pitchers have to be able to bring the heat up in the zone.

I would think after success in AA and a stint in the AFL, Gloor will be assigned to AAA Fresno for 2013.  I see him as a fringy MLB starter or lefthanded relief specialist at best.

15 comments:

  1. BTW, our old friend Thomas Neal signed a minor league deal with the Yankees who seem to have developed a fetish for dumpster diving old Giants castoffs. Whoda thunk it?

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    1. One more thought on Thomas Neal. He is yet another reminder of just how crazy hard it is to make it to the major leagues, because Thomas Neal is a really, really good player.

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    2. Funny how a number of teams seem to come up with the Giants castoffs, LAD, Pirates, Yanks, I think there were others but can't come up with right now.

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  2. If Gloor pitches well at Fresno in 2013, does he have a realistic shot at making the big league staff as either a 5th starter or long reliever? In a recent BA article, his pitching coach in the AFL had some nice things to say about him.. He agreed about the back end of the rotation projection, but he also said, "he's got the ability to get both lefthanded and righthanded hitters out." He's a durable kid who could give you 175 to 200 innings by the time he gets to the big leagues." I'm thinking Gloor might have a shot because he's a lefthanded pitcher .

    DRB-thanks for your great work on your prospect list. This is a great place to get my daily Giants fix!

    LG

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    1. Thanks, LG.

      Well, there are several potential openings on the Giants staff in 2014. Timmy's contract is up. Not sure about Vogie's. Giants will have to make a decision on Zito's option which will likely depend a lot on how he pitches in 2013. As for candidates to win MLB jobs in the rotation? I would say as of right now, Chris Heston, Eric Surkamp and Mike Kickham are ahead of Gloor on the depth chart, but who knows? I wouldn't be shocked if Stratton, Blackburn and/or Agosta are knocking on the door by 2014 either. Who knows? A lot can happen in a year and we don't know at this point how many, if any, openings there will be.

      Once upon a time, the Giants seemed to be very happy to let their starters eat innings, keep them in the ballgame, then try to win with the bullpen. Now, it seems, the bar has been raised, a lot, and the Giants expect dominance out of all their SP's, so a guy like Gloor might not be what they are looking for in the end.

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    2. I think the Giants hold an option on Vogelsong for '14 for $6.5 mil.

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    3. Yes they do. Bobby Evans is the man.

      Funny to see the Yanks rule 5ing and dumpster diving. They are sick of the luxury tax. Short timing it with aged vets and looking to start a new youth movement. Those OFs, Gary Sanchez and Ty Hensley are a nice base. What they do at the back end should be a interesting part of the 2013 draft.

      Always liked Thomas Neal. Good luck to him in the Bronx.

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    4. Well, if Vogie turns in another season like 2012, the $6.5 M option would be a no-brainer. Again, you never know. Vogie's effectiveness could fall off a cliff or he could get injured. Both situations could lead to the Giants declining the option, but right now, yeah, it looks like a no-brainer.

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    5. Forgot about that option! Yes, Bobby is da Man for that! No rush to decide on the option, wait for next off-season, then make make it a two year deal if he shines again in 2013.

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  3. Someone over at MCC posted BA's list of Giants top 30 prospects from their latest handbook. The only real surprise for me is how high Chris Marlowe is ranked (#19). I recall Baggarly build his list with lots of input from Giants' FO and scouts. Therefore, Marlowe may be far more highly thought of within the Giants' organization then by the armchair GMs.

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    1. That would not surprise me. Marlowe has the stuff. Just needs to cut down on the free passes.

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    2. Apparently BA ranks the Giants system #28 which IMO is way too low. Not saying I think it should be a top 10 system or anything, but 28 is way too low.

      Of course, that brought out the doom and gloomers over at MCC. Surprisingly, Roger The Curmudgeon was the most upbeat of the bunch.

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    3. Of course he's upbeat, his world view has been validated.

      Marlowe is also listed at #20 in Mayo's top 20. Where there's Smoak there's fire?

      Way too low a ranking for my tastes as well. The Angels, Tigers are most likely the 2 below in BA's list. But I'd also throw in the Dodgers, the Braves, the Brewers for the NL, the Indians and Rays (pre-Myers) AL. Actually the Marlins pre-sell off as well, the Jays still have some talent but I'd take ours at this point. The lack of high impact talent is what's driving the ranking down, but I think the Giants have a sleeper system that is right up there with anybody, and we're inching top ten in pitching we just don't have highly ranked guys. Because... they done graduated and won championships.

      Who drafted the best out of MLB according to BA, 2005-08? These guys:

      http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2010/01/draft-grades-2005-08/

      That includes the end of the punt picks strategy/ownership decision in 2005. So now we've got 2009-2012 in the bag, and the knock is going to be high impact talent, i e "top prospects". Crick and Brown will be at the back end of top 100 lists, with Panik, Blackburn and Stratton just past that line. Well, that's 5 guys who can easily move. Good enough for gov't work.

      That SJ rotation, Brown and Panik with their great defense/high contact rates/6th tool the Giants see, the dirty dozen high octane arms and the grab the power bat that falls. Nice sleeper system.

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    4. I thought that BA complains a lot about the Giants not telling them much about their prospects (that would be opening the kimono, in Sabean's parlance).

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