The 2016 DSL Giants were a good team as evidenced by their 40-30 record, but that was only good enough for 3'rd place in their division which left them out of the playoffs for the first time in several years. As rosters were announced, the only recognizable new name was Ricardo Genoves, a catcher out of Venezuela who signed for mid-6 figures. The rest of the roster was a mixture of returnees and lesser known signees.
The DSL is generally very pitcher friendly and the DSL Giants have produced many more pitching prospects over the years than hitting prospects, so the frequency of high scoring games early in the season came as a bit of a surprise. As the season went along, the pitchers seemed to gain confidence and the hitters were not quite so hot.
It is a bit of an oversimplification to say that any player over the age of 18 in the DSL is not a prospect, but it is close to being true. The gap in talent and experience between the DSL and the Rookie Arizona League stateside is relatively big. It typically takes a DSL graduated at least 2-3 years after graduating to Arizona to work up to AA, so it is important to get an early start. Most of the major contributors to the DSL Giants success in 2016 were 18 years old or younger. Here are some of the names that made an impression on me as I reviewed daily boxscores all season:
Angeddy Almanzer 1B DOB: 6/30/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 180 lbs. .294/.373/.438, 17 2B, 5 HR, 22 BB, 48 K, 235 AB. Almanzer was, by far, the best hitter on the team and he did not turn 18 until 6/30. On the other hand, you are not going to find many prospect hounds who get excited over a kid who is already a first baseman in the DSL.
Francisco Medina 3B DOB: 3/20/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 165 lbs. .289/.386/.355, 3 HR, 33 BB, 39 K, 228 AB. Medina is a holdover from 2015. You may recall he started off hot last year with a barrage of HR's but then went cold in the second half. This year was a mirror image as he hit .252 in the first half and .325 in the second half. Curiously, he hit only 1 more double than HR which is the main reason his SLG% was so low. Hopefully his hot second half gets him a promotion to Arizona next season. I like him because he seems to have a big of pop in his bat and some projectabilty in his frame.
Jose Patino CF DOB: 12/11/1997. B-S, T-R. 6'0", 160 lbs. .278/.345/.377, 15 BB, 35 K, 205 AB. Another holdover in his age 19 season making him more suspect than prospect.
Ismael Munguia OF DOB: 10/10/1998. B-L, T-L. 5'10", 258 lbs. .274/.359/.363, 30 BB, 15 K's, 237 AB. Munguia started off hot and kept his BA above .300 most of the season before tailing off at the end. Seems like he has some tools and gotta love the K/BB!
Ricardo Genoves C DOB: 5/4/1999. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 190 lbs. .256/.342/.333, 13 2B, 1 HR, 22 BB, 34 K, 207 AB. Unimpressive pro debut for the bonus baby. The Giants seem to be high on him though and sent him to the DSL All-Star Game. Expect him in the States next year. Remember he had to learn catching too.
Jose Rivero SS DOB: 4/30/1998. B-L, T-R. 5'11", 158 lbs. .253/.361/.308, 35 BB, 36 K, 198 AB. Another holdover from 2015. The K/BB is the most impressive part of this line. Will that be enough to get him to Arizona next year?
Diego Rincones OF DOB: 6/14/1999. B- R, T-R. 6'0", 175 lbs. .244/.346/.343, 12 2B, 2 HR, 29 BB, 32 K, 201 AB. Barely 17 yo when the season started, Rincones showed a bit of pop in his bat, good plate discipline and a bit of room to fill out his frame. He may repeat the DSL next year, but is an intriguing prospect.
Franklin Labour OF DOB: 5/11/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 180 lbs. .242/.333/.304, 21 BB, 38 K, 194 AB. Nothing really stands out here.
Johan Herrera RHP DOB: 12/8/1998. 6'1", 170 lbs. 4-4, 2.09, 77.2 IP, 18 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO= 1.59. The workhorse of the rotation but his size and K numbers are not impressive despite his relatively young age.
Orleny Quiroz LHP DOB: 7/21/1993. 6'3", 180 lbs. 2-5, 2.18, 45.1 IP, 22 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO- 2.18. Ordinarily I would dismiss a 23 yo in the DSL out of hand, but Quiroz has left-handedness, size and numbers to make me think he might have a chance. He'll have to move fast, though.
Jesus Reyes RHP DOB: 7/31/1996. 6'4", 176 lbs. 4-1, 1.51, 35.2 IP, 17 BB, 46 K, GO/AO= 2.00. Reyes was 19 yo most of the season but has size, a projectable frame and nice numbers, out of the bullpen. He and Genoves were the Giants representatives at the DSL All-Star Game.
Jasier Herrera RHP DOB: 1/1/1998. 6'5", 190 lbs. 3-1, 3.77, 22.0 IP, 7 BB, 21 K, GO/AO= 1.28. Even though he was not a starter, I like Jasier as a prospect better than Johan due to the size differential. BTW, Jasier and Johan are from different countries so probably not related.
If you squint really hard, you might find a prospect or 2 here, but nobody to be doing handsprings over.
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I'm wondering who was the last player that can from the DSL Giants and made it to the Giants? I think Gustavo Cabrera might start to play a lot better next season, as he will be another year removed from that horrible injury. Nathaniel Javier still didn't look so hot, but he is still only 20 and coming off a suspension. Also he pitched in a game which is different. Do you think the Giants are trying make him a pitcher now instead of a 3B?
ReplyDeleteEhire Adrianza spent 2 seasons in the DSL. Beyond that, I can't really think of any. Pablo Sandoval skipped the DSL.
DeleteThey have traded quite a few off for established MLB talent over the years, the most recent being Adalberto Mejia.
I really have no idea about Javier. He just hasn't stayed on the field enough to get any traction on his career at all.