Thursday, January 29, 2015

DrB's 2015 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #36 Mitch Delfino

Mitch Delfino, 3B.  DOB:  1/31/1991.  B-R, T-R.  6'2", 210 lbs.

2014 High A:  .289/.333/.424, 28 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 6.0 BB%, 13.5 K%, 571 PA.

Delfino was drafted out of Cal in 2012.  He won some kind of team award in instructional league that fall, most impressive prospect in camp or something like that.  The Giants conservatively placed him in Augusta for 2013 where he put up good, though not eye-popping numbers.  He continued along that line in San Jose in 2014.  I would note his progressive improvement in K rate and SLG% over his 3 pro seasons.  He should move up to Richmond in 2015.  Based on his contact rates, I think he can hold his own there and keep moving up.  I see his ceiling as a Casey McGehee type 3B at he MLB level.

10 comments:

  1. I'm going to be putting together a organizational depth chart for this season and posting it to Baseball Essential. ANy help you can give would be great. DM me at @CandlestickWill on Twitter if you're interested. No worries if you don't have the time. Love your work.

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    1. If you look back on my posts from early in the offseason, that would be November and early December, archived to the left, you will find a series of Giants depth chart articles. Hope they help.

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  2. The more I read these your prospect reviews; I am getting a strong sense that the Giants are building a base of solid prospects with above average likelihood of "real" prospects ready in 2-5 years range.

    Richard in Winnipeg

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    1. Out of a list of 50 prospect, the Giants will be very lucky to have 5 who become significant future contributors. On the other hand, I believe that every one of these 50 with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions have more than a zero chance of being one of those 5. I even think there are some in the Honorable Mention list who have that chance too.

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    2. The Giants get knocked for not having "star power" in their current farm system, and they don't get near the credit they deserve for the depth they've built. Even if a guy like Crick doesn't become "the next Matt Cain," I fully believe that a couple of these starting pitcher prospects will lock down rotation spots in the next few years. There is much more depth here than most reviews would lead you to believe.

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  3. Nice to see another 3B traveling up the ranks besides Duvall. Hopefully his defense is much better than Duvalls. I have not heard much on his defense. 28 2B's and 12 HR's shows he has quite a bit of power. Maybe he could end up being a guy who can hit close to .300 and put up 15-20 dingers. I am very optimistic about Delfino. Richmond will be the ultimate test.

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    1. Richmond is always tough, but the contact guys seem to do better there which is why I am somewhat optimistic about Delfino. His K%'s are quite low for a prospect at this level.

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    2. I'll also add that hitters haven't seemed to struggle quite as much in Richmond during the last couple years as they did during the 3-4 years prior. I wrote a post at the end of 2013 comparing the OPS changes between A+ to AA for many of the Giants top prospects, and those changes weren't near as drastic in 2013 for guys like Susac, Parker and Duvall, as they were for guys like Noonan, Crawford and Kieschnick (just throwing a few names out there). Obviously, Villalona and Oropesa haven't been able to get over the AA hump, but I do have confidence that guys like Delfino, Horan, Mac, Ragira and some of the others who will be there this year can have success. It seems to me that Augusta has become the black hole for hitters in the Giants organization now, while Richmond has leveled out some.

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  4. I was watching his videos on You Tube.Looks like they took out all the wasted movement out of his swing.

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  5. Just an FYI.

    "Five 2014 San Jose Giants – Mitch Delfino, Tyler Horan, Matt Lujan, Blake Miller and Steven Okert – were named to the MiLB.com San Francisco Organizational All-Star team announced this week. Of the 12 players represented on the team, 11 are former San Jose Giants."

    http://sjgiants.mlblogs.com/tag/mitch-delfino/

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