Wednesday, January 30, 2013

DrB's 2013 Giants Top 50 Prospects #41: Austin Fleet

Austin Fleet, RHP.  DOB:  4/17/1987.  6'2", 200 lbs.  B-R, T-R.

AA:  2-3, 3.83, 56.1 IP, 21 BB, 54 K's, GO/AO= 0.93, 4 Saves.

Austin Fleet has flown under the radar since being drafted in the 16'th round in 2010.  He was a successful college closer for Coastal Carolina, a fine mid-major program.  The Giants have used him as both a starter and reliever in the pros.  He was strictly a reliever for 2012. He has put up better K ratios as a reliever. If he follows his natural progression, he should be pitching out of the bullpen in Fresno in 2013.  I could see him having a similar season to George Kontos.

16 comments:

  1. OT: Decided to post this here, since it'll probably get lost if I posted it on Payne's post. Sickels recently had an AQA thread and here is what was said:

    Any prospects in the Giants system that intrigues you
    Beyond what you posted in your top 20. Ones that you see as a breakout/sleeper candidate?

    "The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers."
    by fourfingerwoo on Jan 29, 2013 8:50 AM PST reply actions

    I'm intrigued with Tyler Hollick and Shawn Payne as leadoff types.
    Both have speed and OBP ability. Will have to see about their power.

    by John Sickels on Jan 30, 2013 8:15 AM PST up reply actions

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    1. Also, post on international signings of 2012: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/1/30/3927084/mlb-international-signings-update-for-2012

      Gustavo Cabrera at 5th, Nathanael Javier at 10th.
      GC: Solid overall package of tools. A lot of potential with the bat.
      NJ: Nice swing, athletic. Has a few bad habits defensively. Could be very good all around player.

      That is very similar to Mayo's take on Internationals: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/#list=int

      Gustavo Cabrera at 1st, Nathanael Javier at 11th.
      GC: Cabrera has dazzled scouts with his bat speed, hitting mechanics and raw power, but he has also opened eyes with his instincts on the bases. In other words, he can run, too. His all-around speed combined with his aggressive style, strong arm and athletic body have brought about comparisons to Arizona outfielder Justin Upton when he was the same age. Cabrera’s prior experience in the United States could prove to be an advantage in his development.

      NJ: The big third baseman is considered a solid all-around player and is projected to hit for average and power in the future. He has impressed scouts with his large body frame, lean muscle mass and high baseball IQ. He appears to have the perfect body for third base but might have to move to first base if he gets too big to play the position. Some believe Javier is second only to Gustavo Cabrera and Wendell Rijo in terms of upside and overall talent. Javier just might have all the tools Major League scouts look for in a prospect, and he has the potential to be a special bat with plus power.

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    2. Thanks for posting these, ogc. From the video I saw of Cabrera, he is very athletic looking but with massive, almost hulking shoulders. Gotta think there's some serious power potential in there somewhere.

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  2. Also, gotta catch Andy Baggerly's AQA thread for BA. Wow! Did he ever smack down an MCC type who was dissing the Giants for their evaluation of prospects! Bottom line: When the Giants had a string of high draft picks, they hit on every single one which resulted in 2 WS championships. End....of....story!

    BTW, Shankbone got a couple of questions in there too. Encouraging take from Baggs on the ownership front.

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    1. Yeah, I screwed up and had a bad moment for that last question eh? Bow Tie Bill! I meant to say Bow Tie Bill! Larry Baer is ok in my book. I wish he didn't have to have the 7th inning stretch sponsored, but I guess it's a small price to pay. The ownership group appears committed to the past, present and future. Good stuff. Keep em in line Larry!

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    2. Is there a link to this Q&A?

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    3. Baseball America is linked over on the left here. It's the top article. Not sure if it's subscriber only or not.

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    4. Shankbone,

      Sounded to me like Baggs is getting a little fed up with the naysayers too, eh? I caught that he agrees that they should be ranked higher than #28 and while they may not have the elite names at the top of the list, it goes pretty deep. His specific comment was that he doubts there are many teams out there with a better 20-30 than the Giants.

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    5. Absolutely I think Baggs is fed up with all the silliness. I really think its time to acknowledge the competency of the FO and just how hard it is to re-stock when you are winning. The intense competition for talent makes it very hard to have plus players at all positions. There will be compromises. The Giants use contrarian strategy to gain an advantage. Yes, the OF is treated the way some clubs treat the bullpen.

      I enjoyed the comments on Mejia - the way the Gints eased him in and his projection. He is a big story to watch, and a good candidate to bust out to top 100 status. The other thing is the note about not only Marlowe, but Okert and Johnson being possible starters.

      Baggs mentioned Dunnington as a fast pen riser, as well as the recent reclamation signing. Good to keep an eye on, although I do think Cody Hall has a lot of attention as well.

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    6. It is subscriber only, sadly, they took that away a few years back.

      Good to hear that Baggs gave the Naysayers a tweaking. I know, right? If they are going to complain about the mistakes, then they need to give credit to picking (and keeping despite their cries to trade) Lincecum, Bumgarner, Posey, Belt.

      Can you share what was said about the ownership?

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    7. I hate phone posting. Just lost a good description. Giants committed to farm, avoiding future Michael Tucker's, Larry Baer tight with Burns sisters and their husbands.

      One thing I like this year is no exact # on budget. I always felt that was a PR disaster for Sabean. The budget should be vague, like advertised horsepower on a Rolls: adequate. It's gotta be 140MM but it limits discussions on trimming bullpen money to get a bat. Sounds good to me.

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    8. Not all naysayers are the same.

      In actuality, we might say we are all naysayers at one time or another, on one thing or another.

      And one man's constructive criticism is another's naysaying. It happens all the time. Do we insist the world conform to our own perspective?

      Manangers and GMs are not perfect, nor are naysayers.

      It will be better all around if we make allowance for that.

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    9. It's one thing to naysay from time to time or naysay when the team is headed downhill like it was in the mid-2000's, but when you just can't let it go, even after 2 championships, it starts to come across more like a vendetta, or at the least extremely annoying. At some point you just have to say, "you know, maybe I was wrong about Sabean and Bochy. Maybe the Giants have some proprietary information and methods that the sabermetric masses haven't discovered yet.

      There was an interesting article in Fangraphs tonight about Ryan Doumit. I highly recommend everybody read it. Remember how much the Giants pitchers loved Benji Molina? Well, seems now that they can measure pitch framing as a quantifiable stat, there are significant differences between catchers. Hint: Ryan Doumit is very bad at it. Another hint: Jose Molina is the BEST at it! Maybe, just maybe, when the Giants appeared to be slow to bring up Buster Posey because he needed to polish his catching skills, he really did need to do that and maybe it really makes a difference.

      I think we all need to admit that just because we read a study somewhere or read Fangraphs every day that maybe there are still things we don't know and if Brian Sabean has sustained success building winning teams, he just might know what he is doing even if it is contrary to the latest article in Fangraphs.

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    10. DrB, it could be annoying.

      But when you let them get to you like that (being annoyed), they win.

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  3. Greetings everyone!! I haven't had a chance to comment as much as I would like recently probably due to the fact that it is hard to bitch and moan about your team after they win the WS! I have however been reading every article every day and basically find this site to be the most interesting site on the internets. Dr. B you do an outstanding job and on behalf of all of us thank you for providing me with knowledge and entertainment on a daily basis. One question about Austin Fleet, how hard does he throw? Sorry but its a knee jerk reaction whenever I see a bullpen guy I have to know how hard he can throw! Keep up the good work Dr. B and everyone else who comments and makes this site so informative and enjoyable!

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    1. Thanks, Pato!

      I don't have any info on Fleet's velocity. Based on everything I've read and from watching his numbers and boxscore lines, I'm going to guess he's a low 90's guy, like 91-93 or so. I'll scout around and see if I can find something.

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