Adam Duvall, 1B/3B. DOB: 9/4/1988. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 205 lbs.
2013 AA: .252/.320/.465, 17 HR, 8.1 BB%, 16.7 K%, 430 PA.
2014 AAA: .298/.360/.599, 27 HR 7.6 BB%, 20.8 K%, 394 PA.
2014 MLB: .192/.234/.342, 3 HR, 3.9 BB%, 26.0 K%, 77 PA.
Adam Duvall has methodically worked his way up the Giants organizational ladder since he was drafted in round 11, 2010 out of Louisville. Duvall is a masher who has pretty much crushed it at the plate at every level. He has played 3B most of the time, but struggled with a tendency to sail his throws to first. He was called up to SF last summer during a spate of injuries on the MLB team. He showed his power with 3 dingers in a small sample size, but also showed why analysts are concerned about his contact skills despite non-terrible K rates in the minors.
At this point, it is hard to figure out what to make of Duvall's future. I think it is too early to give up on the bat, but it will probably take some sustained playing time for him to get established and the Giants clearly do not think they have the luxury of being able to give him that time. The problem for Duvall is baseball is full of defensively challenged corner IF who can mash at AAA so it is not clear where else he would get an opportunity.
Right now, it looks like he will most likely be back in AAA biding time in case of an injury. Again, though, with Travis Ishikawa and Joaquin Arias ahead of him on the depth chart, Sacramento is going to be long, long ways from SF. Ceiling is most likely AAAA player with a small chance that he could find himself in the right place at the right time and catch lightning in a bottle.
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Fun to watch here in Sac. Hope he figures out something, seems like a nice kid. Typo in his weight, 2015 lbs seems heavy!
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't have a blockade at 1st base, he could get the chance, but he's down the chain (as you said). San Diego and Houston tried hard to find a spot for Jesus Guzman to play, he got some DH time last year in the latter. Is good field, weak hit (Ishikawa) better on the margin than good hit, weak field?
Anyway, Sacramento will be interesting, after many years here, we bought 3 seats, mini-season tickets in a promotion, looking forward to seeing our baby Giants other than when the Grizzlies came to town!
The Giants have always insisted on good D at the corners even at the expense of hitting. They've been heavily criticized for that approach in the past, but with the development of more advanced defensive metrics, it's looking like Sabes was actually ahead of the sabermetric curve!
DeleteWe find ONE player in our system that can crush advanced-level pitching. He sure can. Sure he's got some defensive deficiencies, but most players aren't perfect 5-toolers. Power is the rarest commodity these days, especially for the G's. If we can't draft it, we almost sure as heck can't sign it (in free agency). And we don't really have the prospect value to trade for it. So, I still *really* hold hope he gets his chance. And can succeed.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right, most likely not. We've seen guys plugged in, mostly out of need... Many guys without an impressive hit tool. J Christian, Tanaka, Cole Gillespie, and others. Tried some of our OF'ers like Kieschnick, Peguero, and Perez. But Duvall seems much like Brett Pill to me. Can hit just enough to tempt us into believing, and with good power, but maybe not enough overall skills to stick? Dang. Maybe a shot to DH for a cash-strapped team that would value a looksee at 6 more cost-controlled years? I dunno.
See my comment above. If you can't pick it at the corners, you are not going to hang around on the Giants for very long no matter how much you can hit. Also, if you are a prospect who gets a window of opportunity, you better grab it by the throat because the Giants are not going to wait around for you to figure it out. Brandon Belt is actually the one exception to that rule, for all those who mistakenly think the Giants hate Brandon Belt.
Delete3rd base is screaming for Duvall to grab the bull by the horns and take the spot. Is it a foot work problem or is the throwing problem just in his head? If the Giants don't think they can fix the problem they probably should stick him in the corner OF and see what he can do. Another power hitting option in the OF would be a worth while approach. That would also open the 3rd base position at AAA if they want to give Duffy a try there.
DeleteDuvall's throwing problem is that he gets under his throws and they sail. He's worked on drills and tried different arm angles. I think he does better now, but still struggles at times.
DeleteI remember reading Duvall was working in the OF during winter ball. His middle infield background makes me think (hope) he still has a shot at sticking ay 3b, and it's a correctible issue, not a physical limitation.
DeleteRBJ, I don't think of Duvall as a viable candidate for outfield work. Just my impression.
DeleteThis reminds me a bit of Sandoval (at 3B), and some of his earlier struggles with throwing accuracy. Not often, but I seem to recall errant throws that sailed. I agree with what DrB says here. Sadly, I don't see an easy fix for Duvall, he just might not be very good at throwing. Whereas, I'd always thought that Sandoval just needed to be "aligned" (hips, shoulders) with his left foot pointing towards 1B and he would make every throw. I felt like sometimes he just kind of 'lacked' a good throwing position, trusting his very good arm to make up for it. Thing is, he'd always been light on his feet, with fast footwork...
Maybe coaches got through to him to trust his quickness, get set in a proper position (whenever possible? He sure got over his earlier mishaps. I'm not sure I'd project the same 'fix' for Duvall. Different profiles, IMO. Perhaps? YMMV.
I think that if he will never stick at 3B then it is pointless to keep him there. Find another position for him such as 1B or LF and let him get the hang of it. There are always injuries and he might be needed late into the season.
ReplyDeleteHe's not slow afoot, would he be a disaster in LF? Worse than Burrell or Morse?
ReplyDeleteBurrell and Morse are very low bars and Duvall is a long ways from being the type of offensive force either of those two were/are. Gotta remember that Morse put up some darn nice offensive numbers last year and the Giants wanted no part of re-signing him. I think the days of the Giants accepting lousy D in LF for offense are a thing of the past.
DeleteOK, time has passed for Duvall and Brown. Let's hope one of the others rise to the challenge.
DeleteAnd no wonder SF tried so hard to keep Sandoval. 3B will be harder for Giants to fill. For all his blemishes, he had some beauty marks, too.
Maybe Susac can be a mini Joe Torre. He became a pretty fair 3Bman and was built along the same lines.