Sunday, December 7, 2014

Down on the Farm: DrB's 2014 Giants Top 50 Prospect Review-Honorable Mention and Dominican Dandies

Again, this is a REVIEW of LAST YEAR's list.  The HM's and Dominican Dandies are not in any particular order.

Brett Bochy, RHP, Stable to slightly up.  Solid season for Fresno.  May not quite have the stuff for MLB.

Chris Dominguez, 3B/1B/OF, Stable to slightly up.  20/20 season for Fresno.  Getting very old for a prospect.  Severe contact issue remain.

Ryan Lollis, OF, Down.  Strictly an organizational player at this point.

Jack Snodgrass, LHP, UP.  Strong season for Richmond.

Myles Schroder, UT, Stable.  Probably more of an organizational player.  Ability to catch might make him attractive as a MLB utility guy.

Devin Harris, OF, Stable.  Nice season, but probably progressing too slowly.

Bryce Bandilla, LHP, Stable.  Washed out of AA.  Did a nice job of closing for SJ in second half.

Hunter Strickland, RHP, Way up!  We all know the story here.  Spectacular potential as a reliever.  Has to get the gopheritis under control.

Rando Moreno, SS/2B, Down.  Very disappointing offensive numbers.

Joey Rapp, 1B, Released.  First base is a tough gig.

Shayne Houck, 3B, Way down.  I'm not sure what is status in the organization is right now.

Joe Biagini, RHP, Stable to slightly up.  Solid season for San Jose.

Matt Lujan, LHP, Up.  Good season.

Mason McVay, LHP, Up.  Big LHP who can go multiple innings out of the pen.

Tyler Mizenko, RHP, Stable.  Extreme GB pitcher who may have a future at the back of a bullpen.

Joe Kurrasch, LHP, Stable.  Nice ERA, questionable peripherals.

Steven Okert, LHP, Way up!  One of the rising stars in the system.  Strong possibility of being a dominant lefty out of a bullpen in the mold of Jeremy Affeldt or even better.  Outside chance to make the 25 man roster out of spring training.

Eugene Escalante, C, Stable to down.  Needs to find some traction.

Ryan Tuntland, 3B, Stable.  Non-descript season in the lower levels.  Needs to find traction.

Ryan Jones, 2B, stable to down.  Another nondescript season.  Needs to do something to distinguish himself from all the other 2B in the system.

Tyler Hollick, OF, Down.  Not sure what he did either.

Ty Ross, C, Up.  Defensive C who started to hit a little in the second half.

Chris Johnson, RHP, Down.  Not sure what he did.  Very nondescript season.

Andrew Leenhouts, LHP, Down.  Repeated Salem-Keizer and did nothing to distinguish himself.

Cameron McVey, RHP, Down.  Non-descript season.

Raymundo Montero, RHP, Stable.  Did some closing but nothing that jumps out at me as separating him from the pack.

Christian Jones, LHP, Up.  Nice season starting for Augusta.

Eduardo Encinosa, RHP, Stable to down.  Tough guy to figure.  Has pitched well in very small sample sizes, but no obvious reason why the samples have been so small.

Nick Jones, LHP, Stable to down. Tiny sample sizes.  Control issues.

Cristian Paulino, OF, Stable to down.  Toolsy guy who has shown flashes.  Has yet to hit consistently.

Craig Massoni, 1B/OF, Stable to down.  Older guy from a smaller college program. Has to mash to keep his head above water and he didn't.

Dusten Knight, RHP, Stable.  High K rates in the low minors, but old for level with walk rates that are a bit too high.

Carlos Alvarado, RHP, Up.  Pitched great for SJ but got shelled in a very small sample in AA.

Eury Sanchez, RHP, Up.  Closer for Augusta and pitched great.

Nick Gonzalez, LHP, Down.  Big lefty who didn't do much this year.

Nick Vander Tuig, RHP, Stable.  Has some pedigree, but has struggled to get off the ground in the pros.

Dominican Dandies:

Gustavo Cabrera, OF, Up.  Just taking the field in fall instructional league is a big plus.  Now we have to wait to see what he can do in real games.  High ceiling alert!

Michael Santos, RHP, Way up!  Strong stateside debut.  High ceiling alert!

Nataniel Javier, 3B, Down.  Roid Boy did not do well in just a handful of AB's in Arizona after serving his 50 game suspension.  High ceiling alert?

Jean Angomas, Carlos Valdez, Kleiber Rivas, Eusebio Encarnacion, Jose Morel, Raffi Vizcaino, Cesar Yanez, Luis Castillo.  All stable to down.  Morel pitched great for the DSL Giants but he did in 2013 too.  Not sure why he is still there except that he is old for the league.

6 comments:

  1. Great info on lots of our farm guys, DrB. You clearly know the pulse of what's what with our youth. I'm grateful for all the info and opinions you share. Lots of insight. Thanks! I'd be curious to learn opinions on something... Does it seem like the Giants are prioritizing velocity even more this past year or two for pitchers? Guys like Cordier and Strickland, Black, etc. I know Bandilla had a rough go in 2014, Marlowe retired from pro ball...

    I have a strong sense that some guys just don't have "enough" to ever earn a look in SF. Maybe it's just that the bar is set so high for our pitching? I don't know exactly. I'm thinking of guys like Snodgrass and Heston falling back like Verdugo, Fitzgerald, and Westcott types before them. McCormick and Quirarte are guys that have continually produced strong seasons. But just no room for them?

    Anyways, I think our bullpen should be well stocked from our system for the foreseeable future, so that is a GREAT thing. Cheers.

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    1. Velocity is always going to give a pitcher a leg up and yes, the Giants have heavily drafted high velocity relief types in the upper-middle rounds for several years now. Hopefully we will start to see the payoff of that soon.

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  2. If even one of these guys hits the Bigs it's a miracle. Even a cup 'o coffee is big.

    Gold Star - Hunter Strickland. I'm saying it, this guy will have saves for the Giants in 2015. Rags and Gardy will fine tune his arm. Dominate closer stuff and makeup to match.

    Cup 'o Coffee - Brett Bochy and Chris Dominguez. Bochy has most likely risen as far as his stuff and Dad can take him. Maybe another org with bullpen slots could give him MLB innings, not the Giants tho. Dominguez has always tantalized - but has not found a position nor the strike zone contact.

    Is Okert next?

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    Replies
    1. I say Okert is teh next gold star, while Snodgrass gets a cup of coffee.

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  3. Casilla (option) and Lopez are the only 2 seasoned relievers on payroll for 2016. Okert would be huge if he could take over Affeldts spot on the team. Hopefully between Machi, Cordier, Strickland, Law and Hall we could fill in the remaining spots. I think if Casilla has a decent 2015 season he will be a no brainet to resign as our incumbent closer. I would also be okay with going outside the org to get a guy like Neshek to replace Romo. Our bullpen has been one of the best in the league for the last several years. Its good to know we have help coming from our system.

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  4. It was a surprise earlier this year with Gutierrez making the team, instead of Hembree or Law.

    Will there be more surprises in 2016?

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