Matt Duffy all but won a roster spot with a 2 run dinger off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and several pitchers looked like they are ready for the season to start as the Giants closed out their 2015 Cactus League Season with an encouraging win. Key Lines:
Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 2, HR(1). BA= .348. Very impressive spring in limited action for Big Mac. Let's hope this is a sign he is ready to rake the Eastern League.
Justin Maxwell(RF)- 1 for 2. BA= .354. Maxwell has a roster spot nailed down. Someone asked about facing only LHP's. I think he may start out as a RH bat off the bench, but the ceiling is pretty high here. I would not be shocked to see him as a starting OF against all pitchers, maybe sooner than later.
Matt Duffy(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .382. My goodness! I have been bragging on Duffy since Augusta in 2013 and he still surprises me almost every day! This shot off Kluber all but won him a roster spot. According to Baggs, the Giants have also not forgotten how he handled himself in a very difficult PH role down the stretch and into the postseason last year. The Giants roster crunch may have solved itself for the time being with Travis Ishikawa likely headed to the DL with lower back pain. Otherwise, Baggs confirms that Arias may be the odd man out instead of Adrianza.
Joaquin Arias(1B)- 1 for 3. BA= .179. With Ishikawa headed to the DL, Arias would likely be the backup 1B on days Posey catches.
Brandon Belt(LF)- 1 for 3. BA= .361. If the Giants thought there was a possibility of Belt moving to LF when Posey is playing 1B, they might have given him more time out there earlier in the spring.
Madison Bumgarner(LHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.91. Bummy was held to 4 IP because this was a tuneup for Opening Day.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.22. Petit will likely rack up a lot of innings this season even if he never starts.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.46. The Machi-Kontos battle rolls on. I believe Machi has the edge as he is essentially the incumbent.
Sergio Romo(RHP)- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.45. Romo has looked sharp this spring unlike last spring when he was terrible and said he was working on non-slider pitches.
The Giants now break camp in Arizona and head home to start the Bay Bridge Series. The A's always seem to take this series more seriously than the Giants. Jake Peavy will start game 1 against Scott Kazmir.
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Williamson-Looks like he and Carbonell are ready for AA.If they continue to produce.How long before they get promoted.
ReplyDeleteMaxwell-Maxwell,Pagan,Blanco outfield looks solid until Pence comes back.I like Aoki's LH bat and good speed of the bench.
Duffy-Nice to have a guy with that kind of bat off the bench.Not a bad back up 2B either.
Arias-First,salute to Kobe and all that he gave us.That series in LA was crazy.Beating out that grounder in the NLDS.And,almost tripping over his feet on the last out of Matty's perfect game.Good Giant.
If Duffy and Adrianza make the team.And,Arias is the odd man out.We should call Susac back up to take Arias's spot on the roster.We need the right handed power in the line up and off the bench.He can can also be the back up 1B.Better player than Arias.
Not sure why we need to worry about promotions before the season even starts. Duffy went straight from AA to the majors and did just fine. Promotions in the minors are based on a complex combination of performance and needs at higher levels.
DeleteHow would they call Susac up to take Arias spot when the whole reason Arias might be the odd man out is there is no room on the roster?
If Ishikawa starts the season on the DL.My bad.Forgot to put that line in there.
DeleteI'm pretty sure Susac will benefit from some more seasoning behind the plate in Sacramento.
DeleteWhile I'd like Duffy to make the team, I think it might be better to send him back down under the theory that more-game-play is better than the 100PA/innings he might get as a utility man prior to the All-Star break. Then they could call him up later in the season.
ReplyDeleteI also think Arias is living on borrowed time at this point.
Maxwell, if he can keep up his hitting, might be the go-to CF when Pagan needs rest or gets hurt. I don't know his range, but his lifetime outfield fielding percentage is .983 (composite OF) which is good for a power guy AND he's far better at CF (in the .990s), where he's good, than RF or LF where he's below average (running in the .960s).
Blanco is still, btw, the over-all better defensive outfielder. He plays all fields quite well. And if Blanco keeps his bat going, it'd be pretty darn tough for Maxwell to take Blanco's spot as the go-to 4th outfielder or late-game defensive replacement.
I agree on Machi. I think Kontos will be the odd-man out because he didn't bury Machi and Bochy prefers Machi to Kontos and has seen action in 122 games in the past two years while Kontos has seen action in just 76 in the past two.
Agreed. At this point, it's likely better to have Duffy stay sharp by playing/hitting every day. We'll need him at some point, and we'll want him to be sharp.
DeleteI know that there's absolutely nothing exciting about Arias, but he's the prototype utility guy. Solid defense around the infield, and used to spending a lot of time on the bench. Since utility infielders have virtually no trade value, I'm OK with him holding that spot for a while.
It's a long season, and we'll need Duffy soon enough.
it really is time for the mlb to shorten the st by a week and end these rival series and make sure that the season never starts later then april 1
ReplyDeletebacci
I remember the 'Duffy!' excitement from those early years.
ReplyDeleteThat's what is fun about following prospects from when they are drafted or before, all the way to graduation and beyond.
Matt Duffy!!!
DeleteMatt Duffy! Indeed!
DeleteYasmany Tomas! Oh wait.
DeleteDuffy forced his way into the 25-man. Kudos to him. Along with his options, something that worked against him was the lack of depth in Middle infielders in the upper minors. If we lose one of Duffy/Arias/Adrianza, the next player we are looking at is Kelby Tomlinson, and then Arroyo. (Or I am missing someone). Anyway, Duffy earned his spot on the 25-man, and I doubt he will stop there.
ReplyDelete