Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Down on the Farm: 7/28/2014

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies mauled the El Paso Chihuahuas 9-4:

Darren Ford(CF-LF)- 2 for 4, BB, 2 SB(25).  BA= .306.
Mark Minicozzi(LF)- 1 for 3, HR(7), BB.  BA= .291.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 2 for 4, HR(15), 2 SB(19).  BA= .272.
Juan Perez(PH-RF)- 2 for 2, HR(3).  BA= .333.

Chris Dominguez is doing everything well, but is he doing any one thing well enough?

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Harrisburg Senators 2-1:

Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(42).  BA= .269.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .268.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.73.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(11).  ERA= 3.04.

High A  San Jose Giants defeated the Modesto Nuts 2-1:

Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .259.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2B, Sac.  BA= .286.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 7.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.39.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)-  1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, Save(4).  ERA= 1.14.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Greensboro Grasshoppers 7-3:

Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(3), HBP.  BA= .244.
Ryan Jones(2B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .240.
Steven Messner(LHP)- 6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.39.

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Eugene Emeralds 5-3:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 4 for 5.  BA= .329.
Tyler Hollick(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .234.
Jason Forjet(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.73.
Eury Sanchez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(7).  ERA= 2.42.

Arroyo struggled with injuries in Augusta and in the early days in S-K, but has come on strong in July hitting .382.

Rookie AZL  Giants beat the Athletics 3-2:

Daniel Carbonell(CF)- 0 for 2.  BA= .000.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 1 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .333.
Kevin Rivera(2B)- 2 for 2, Sac.  BA= .239.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 0.00
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Carbonell makes his American baseball debut.  The 2 HS pitching draftees have successful debuts.  Rivera is hitting .313/.361/.438 over his last 10 games.

DSL Giants pounded the Red Sox 10-1:

Mikey Edie(PH-CF, 17 yo)- 1 for 1.  BA= .311.
Robinson Medrano(RF, 18 yo)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .295.
Manuel Geraldo(SS, 17 yo)- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .222.
Deiyerbert Bolivar(LHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.77.

There seems to be several legitimate prospects on this DSL Giants team including Edie, Beltre(who has not appeared for about a month or more), Medrano, Geraldo, Bolivar, and RHP Concepcion and LHP Prebito Reyes.  Mecky Coronado is someone to watch too, but hard to figure out exactly what he is.

26 comments:

  1. Blackburn held to a low pitch count again. I have the feeling that we have seen the last of Blackburn and Hall or Strickland as Giant prospects as I think they will go in a deal for a 2B/OF ala Zobrist...Can't say I agree but how I see it.

    The way this is playing out, I'm pretty taken aback by how meek and how little fire there has been in the Giant offense..I know there are injuries but even the guys there aren't doing the job and haven't for a long time (except for about a 10 game period)...Is it really worth depleting the prospect pool and making a trade to solidfy this group? I guess if you are talking about more than a rental, but otherwise, no....

    SteveVA

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    1. I am hoping it is the reverse--I think the Giants may realize one guy doesn't fix it and we stand pat rather than paying way too much for a retred who won't solve the problem. Crick, Blackburn, etc. are all on pitch count since they want to save the arms given the long season and they see the need to build from within. SP: Fleet, Crick, Blackburn, Blach have all put together fine seasons. Kickham is only 25 and he's done nicely too. That is 5 guys for 3 spots in the next two years and only 1 spot next year. Pen: Hall, Strickland, Law, Osich, Okert, ... Lots of guys to fill not so many spots.

      Inf: Duffy will get his chance next year. Panik this year. Belt will be back. We have Angel V not playing poorly.

      OF: Is a mess.

      C: Posey/Sussac.

      I can see Sanchez getting traded, but not sure he has much value. I am hoping we don't pull the trigger since I think at this point it would be wasted. We have too many holes, principally from not enough depth.

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    2. I don't necessarily disagree with not pulling the trigger but if we aren't going to make a move than I think they need to unload some guys like Panda and anyone else who may have trade value.... now that I think about it I'm not sure there is anyone else!! The problem with not upgrading this year and not trading Panda for a few prospects is that the window for winning with this core is closing fast. If we don't win this year you could argue that it will take a complete rebuild around only a couple of current pieces to get us back on top.

      So I say let's go for it this year and worry about the rebuilding process next year. None of the prospects they will be trading are going to be ready next year to come up and plug holes and more than likely they will never be impact major leaguers just based on odds and the fact that the Giants don't have a good track record turning prospects into major leaguers. So what do we lose by emptying out our farm? Not much really. I would like to see guys like Crick and Blackburn make it in our rotation and be our next Cain's and Timmy's but we have other arms like Beede and all the younger arms who are 2-3 years away.

      We can win with this team as it is right now with a little help. We just need to get the top of the lineup upgraded and the rest will fall into place. There are plenty of options out there like Zobrist, Murphy, Utley, and Revere. Any of those guys along with Pence at the top of the lineup would give us the boost we need. If this is the last year we can expect to be competitive for a while then lets go for it and enjoy one last run!

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    3. Wowee. Glad the Graybeards are the ones calling the shots. :)

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    4. Pato: …the Giants don't have a good track record turning prospects into major leaguers…..

      You lost me there, Pato. Maybe you could point to an organization that has a better track record of producing homegrown talent over the last 5-6 years?

      I agree that they need to either trade for upgrades or trade everybody who is tradable, particularly Pablo Sandoval, by the deadline.

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    5. Pato - I agree with the part of your post about lengthening the lineup. A vet 2B who can hit will do that. If they can get the cost down to something reasonable...

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    6. Dr. B, lets be real with ourselves here for a minute. If you are counting guys like Crawford, Panda, Belt, and Romo when considering the Giants turning prospects into major leaguers then pull back on the reigns a bit there boss! Posey was a slam dunk when he fell in our laps at 6 overall or whatever it was. Timmy, MadBum, and Wheeler were top 10 picks which are a lot easier to get right. Apart from that you have Cain as a late 1st rounder and what else to say they are developing major leaguers???

      The more I see other teams SS the more I think we are greatly overvaluing Crawford and his D. I don't even think he is a top 5 SS defensively in the National league at this point. I would go with Simmons, Mercer, Castro, Segura, and probably Desmond ahead of Crawford and all of those guys are upgrades offensively. I'm not impressed and it just seems like if all we want is a defensive SS we can find one anytime as there are more around now than maybe 5 years ago.

      Panda is a nightmare and not someone we need to invest the money it will take to keep him. You may argue that he is a ligit major leaguer and I would agree with you but he comes with lots of baggage and huge question marks as to what kind of future he has in the MLB.

      Belt is another mystery who hasn't proven either way so again, can't really say he is one of the Giants farm system success stories. He may have the potential but he also may have the potential to break a record for number of ways he can miss games due to bad luck injuries. Not exactly a Brandon Moss or Anthony Rizzo IMO.

      Romo had his smoke and mirrors show working for a while but clearly those days are long gone. So who am I missing because I just don't see this powerhouse farm system riddling the major leagues with its' talent! Also take into account when I made the statement that none of these prospects are likely to make the major leagues in large part is due to the odds in general for a prospect not just a prospect in the Giants system.

      There, hope that straightens things out for you Dr. B but more than likely there will be something else you will now find to nit pick and I will be forced to spend another 10 minutes out of my day to explain myself. Not like I'm coming way out of left field especially with a statement like the Giants not turning prospects into major leaguers. Not sure why you and others find the need to get hung up on these little details when the big picture has little to do with my opinion on the talent level of Giants prospects but that seems to be what happens every time I comment here. Probably why I don't comment as much, no matter how much sense I make you guys find a way to criticize every statement and nit pick every detail. Check my comments over the years and you will find that I don't spend hours in front of the computer researching obscure stats to back my ridiculous claims. I use my own 2 eyes and my experience and more often than not you will find I am right!

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    7. One example of an orgnization that has churned out more talent than the Giants in the last 5-6 years.... just take a look across the bay.

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    8. I might add that only a few weeks ago I recall you posting something along the lines of trading any and all prospects including Crick. I was kind of taken aback by that statement and it sounds a little contrary to what you are saying now. Maybe you can shed some light on why you were perfectly willing to empty the farm 3 weeks ago but now you are defending our prospects? I'm confused!

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    9. Pato,

      Here is a list of ALL homegrown, drafted(or signed as an international FA) and developed players on the current A's Active Roster: Sonny Gray, Sean Doolittle. I'll let you go ahead and count Cespedes if you want, but he was an international FA with the equivalent of MLB experience when he was signed.

      Here is a list of ALL the homegrown(same definition) on the current Giants active Roster: Bumgarner, Lincecum, Romo, Posey, Sandoval, Crawford, Belt(DL), Cain(DL), Sanchez(DL).

      So, who is better at drafting and developing their own players, A's or Giants?

      As for the current farm system, I have always said it lacks elite top 100 talent at the top, but is very deep in potential major leaguers. Therefore, the Giants have the luxury of being able to trade off as many as 8 or 10 prospects and still have a system with plenty of equivalent talent left over. They trade Crick, and Beede takes his place. They trade a Blackburn and they still have Kendry Flores, Keury Mella and Luis Ysla in the system. They have multiple high velocity relief prospects who also have trade value.

      While they don't have the type of prospect talent to bring back a David Price or Cole Hamels, they do have more than enough to make upgrades at 2B, CF, and RP in addition to the Peavy trade they already made and would still have a strong farm system left over.

      So no, Pato, I am not contradicting myself.

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    10. IDK kinda sounds like you are agreeing with me after disagreeing with me!? I'm not sure what your point is with the A's roster since they acquired guys like Moss, Norris, and Donaldson by trading quality major leaguers that they developed so how is that a knock on their farm system? If anything they should be praised for getting a kick ass return on those trades which is something I don't think the Giants have ever done (gotten a good return for an established major leaguer). Just for kicks how about you tell me now who out of all those MLB ready prospects the Giants have in their system is going to turn out to be a quality major leaguer? I like facts instead of speculation so make a list and then in 3-5 years we can look back and see who was right.

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    11. Projecting prospects is always speculation. Even the most respected experts get a high percentage wrong. Just off the top of my head:

      Frontline SP: Kyle Crick, Tyler Beede. Mid-Rotation SP's: Blackburn, Mejia, Flores, Gregorio, Stratton, Ysla, Mella, Santos. Back of the Rotation SP's: Kickham, Marte, Blach, Lujan, Biagini, Fleet. Lottery Tickets: Chase Johnson, Kendry Melo, Bolivar, Victor Concepcion, Prebito Reyes.

      Potential Closers: Derek Law, Cody Hall, Steven Okert, Eury Sanchez, Ray Black(if he can stay healthy).

      Potential Setup Men: Gardeck, McVay, Stephen Johnson.

      Position players who I think can be MLB starters: Joe Panik, Adrianza, Susac, Matt Duffy, Mac Wiliamson, Arroyo, Aramis Garci, Ryder Jones.

      Lottery Tickets: Carbonell, Edie, Beltre.

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    12. "If anything they should be praised for getting a kick ass return on those trades which is something I don't think the Giants have ever done (gotten a good return for an established major leaguer)."

      LOLOLOLOLOLOL

      Wow. Foot in your mouth much?

      Freddy Sanchez: acquired for Tim Alderson
      Hunter Pence: acquired for Tommy Joseph, Nate Schierholtz, and other farm scraps.
      Marco Scutaro: acquired for CHARLIE CULBERSON (who?!)

      Oh, but perhaps you meant that we haven't traded away our top players for prospect scraps? Well, you know, it does make a difference when you're actually winning, and can afford to KEEP your own All-Star, Farm-developed players (Bumgarner, Lincecum, Cain, B. Wilson, Romo, Sandoval, Posey). Means you can't trade them for massive hauls - though you better get some playoff appearances out of it....oh, wait...yeah, check that off the list, too.

      I mean seriously, you don't need to wash your feet when you put them that far into your mouth.

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    13. It seems like the comps to Beane come heavy when these discussions get thrown down here Pato. I'd point out that Donaldson is a big huge win for Beane, its his first trade win of this magnitude, ever. And he's made a lot of trades. His signing of Cespedes was great, as was his trade with Kevin Towers, not exactly the brightest guy in baseball these days. Unfortunately Sabey Sabes is effectively blocked from making any trades with him due to the NL West embargo.

      One of the best discussions you brought was the one on the Cubanos, can't remember how far back it was. But that is one area where Sabean could really improve. And our Cubano got a double in his 2nd game played tonight. Hope he can play.

      But in making those trades, Beane has given up a lot. And this latest one might really bite him later on. I think Addison Russell is going to be a star, and I think trading him off is a challenge that will make Zack Wheeler look like child's play. All good if he takes the whole thing down though!

      Sabean has pretty consistently won. Unlike what the Red Sox are doing - yo-yoing between 7th overall pick (after the Dodgers took their bad contracts), winning it all, and now back to looking at 7th overall. Sabean is always more middle of the pack to getting there. And he has ownership pressures that don't allow for giving up on a season. So its really apples to oranges a lot.

      That said, Dan Uggla needs to go yesterday already. This is painfully awful bad.

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    14. Yeah Rainball, the other way around. Guys like Schmidt in his last year or even Timmy a few years ago and Panda this year. When was the last significant trade that brought us a good haul of prospects?

      When you start to analyze it you realize that there are several factors contributing here. Over the last 4 years we have been winning so not likely we would trade away key pieces to our "winning" team. The problem is that when we aren't winning, Sabes still sits on his hands. The other problem is that we haven't really had any players that other teams are willing to give us prospects of any significance for.

      That's why I wouldn't mind seeing them trade Panda if they don't plan on making a trade to upgrade the top of the lineup. Panda isn't going to get us the haul that guys like Price or Lester are going to get but he is really the only expendable/valuable piece we have. I would rather not overpay to have him back next year and if you wait until the offseason to make that decision you will lose out on a few prospects. Just think if Beane had decided to let Gio walk instead of trading him for Donaldson and others. He would have gotten a comp draft pick that is about as good as a lottery ticket.

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  2. OK, some Giant moves...

    First , STRATTON promoted to Richmond..even after doing so-o in SJ..A SQUIRREL pitcher ot two must be going soon (i.e., Blackburn, which I would hate, you know how you get fave prospects)..

    And in another attempt at switching chairs on the Deck of the Titanic, DUVALL and ABREU sent down (or ABreu was released) and PEREZ and ISHIKAWA called up...

    SteveVA

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    1. There are 2 possibilities.

      One, the Giants know what they are doing. Ishi will help.

      Two, we are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, in the same way (and all the time DrB knew he was done) we hoped for a rejuvenated Uggla. We pray Ishi will help.

      I hope or pray for the former.

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    2. I would think Stratton getting promoted is based upon two things: First, he was the oldest and most advanced of the guys in SJ, so a mid summer promotion makes sense if there is a spot. Second, someone is moving in Fresno OR there is a trade, but I tend to think the former (I've not seen the Giants advance guys based potential trades). They moved up Bradley (?) so they had one spot opened. Bradley was a head scratcher too. So maybe that was a patch work issue based upon who was doing what, and now they are taking a breadth and doing a more thoughtful organizational move up. I would think Crick, Blackburn and/or Blach could get the call. Blach might make the most sense since he's been the most consistent and I think a tad older; Crick and Blackburn (assuming not traded) were more of a work in progress.

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    3. I think the Stratton promotion is just dominoes, they need to fill up Fresno now. Stratton has not passed the challenge test very well this year.

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    4. Probably just filling Fleet's vacated spot at Richmond.

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  3. Chris "Peter Happy" Dominguez. How's his D looking this year? They thought enough to play him some at SS, and he's got some steals, so I assume he can move a lot better than I remember.

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  4. If Belt is healthy, I don't think Ishi will be up long. Ishi is both a defensive and offensive step up from Duvall. If the Giants still feel they are in it, you go with Ishi while Belt is out. If they don't, you go with Duvall and get hims some at bats.

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  5. Via Twitter: Squirrels make a slew of roster moves today. LHP K. Marte to Fresno, LHP J. Osich to DL, RHP C. Alvarado and RHP C. Stratton received. Stratton will start in the place of Marte on Wednesday, making his AA debut. Alvarado skips a level to join Richmond from Augusta.

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    1. Makes a lot of sense. MARTE at 27 is the oldest in RICH right now. Diito for ALVARADO who is already 25 in AUG. He has been pitching really well the 2nd half and needs a new challenge after going 27.1 IP with 1.32ERA over last 14 games with 19H 6BB 20K 0.97 WHIP and .200BAA

      SteveVA

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    2. I've seen Marte pitch a couple of times. I think he can be a back of the rotation starter for a MLB team at some point. Reminds me a lot of Odalis Perez.

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  6. And under the category of Major League Bummer..

    "Giants starter Matt Cain is set for a visit with Dr. James ANDREWS regarding his ongoing difficulties with inflammation in his right elbow, CSN Bay Area analyst (and former big leaguer) Shawn Estes tells 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com confirmed the report via Twitter."

    ANDREWS is the scariest word in pitching..

    Do the Giants continue looking for a Big time starter with more control (PRICE for two years) or do they jut stay firm with adding PEAVY to the mix?

    Gotta tell ya, these injuries (Cain, Belt, Pagan, Scuts) have not made Sabean's job easy...Nor has guys like MORSE and ROMO tanking.....

    SteveVA

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