We'll start our yearly depth chart analysis. Remember, this is based on players who would likely take the place of an injured or traded player ahead of them which is way different than their ranking as a prospect. You may have a top 10 prospect playing in low A ball, but that's not the guy you are join got call up to the majors to replace in injured player, usually.
The Giants have one of the best catchers in baseball and a capable backup in Trevor Brown, but beyond that, they are working without a net. You have to go all they way down to high A ball to find a serious catcher prospect and the guys on the AA and AAA rosters aren't going to make anyone wish injuries on Buster Posey. So, here we go:
MLB:
Buster Posey, 30 yo. .288/.362/.434, 33 2B, 14 HR, 6 SB, 539 AB. Undisputed starter and one of the top 3 catchers in baseball.
Trevor Brown, 25 yo. .237/.283/.364, 5 HR, 173 AB. Backup catching is thankless. They only get an occasional start and don't get used as PH very often. Hard to maintain your timing in that environment. Trevor Brown has his detractors, but he does about a well as you can reasonably expect a backup catcher to.
Tony Sanchez, 29 yo. .200/.317/.340, 50 AB(AAA). Signed late in the season, Sanchez got a callup in September to give the Giants 3 catchers on the expanded roster. He didn't make an appearance. Not sure what happens next, but I don't expect him to be on the Opening Day 25 man roster.
AAA:
Miguel Olivo, 38 yo. played most of the season at age 37, then got passed over in favor of Sanchez when September roster adds came due. He's still listed on the Sacramento Roster for what it's worth.
AA:
Jeff Arnold, Steven Lerud and Eliezer Zambrano split playing time for Richmond. I don't expect to see any of them in a Giants uniform, ever.
HIGH A:
Aramis Garcia, 24 yo. .257/.323/.340, 2 HR, 144 AB. Garcia is a legit prospect, but lost valuable development time after getting hit in the face by a pitch. He's trying to get some of that back with an AFL stint.
Ty Ross, 25 yo. .224/.289/.340, 4 HR, 259 AB. Ross is a defensive catcher with occasional pop. I could see him being a backup catcher someday.
LOW A:
Matt Winn, 24 yo. .230/.325/.393, 13 HR, 331 AB. (AA: .250/.288/.411, 2 HR, 56 AB.) Giants reportedly really like Winn's maturity and leadership behind the plate. Kind of an all or nothing hitter with some pop.
SHORT SEASON:
John Riley, 23 yo. .274/.369/.404, 3 HR, 146 AB. Riley is a project who may be starting to get some traction on his career. Has some toonder in the bat, but needs to cut down on the K's to make it usable.
Zack Bowers, 23 yo. .226/.335/.342, 2 HR, 155 AB. Probably not a prospect.
ROOKIE AZL:
Jeffrey Parra 19 yo. .275/.370/.375, 1 HR, 70 AB. I'm pretty excited about this 2016 draftee out of HS . Nice numbers in a SSS in Arizona. Has plenty of time to develop.
Cody Brickhouse, 20 yo. .271/.417/.292, 48 AB. A total of 7 players logged time at catcher for the Arizona League Giants. Parra and Brickhouse were the two who appear to be true prospects.
DSL:
Ricardo Genoves, 18 yo. .256/.342/.333, 13 2B, 1 HR, 207 AB. Genoves got a nice 6 figure bonus out of Venezuela. Got off to a great start in the DSL before fading a bit. Should graduate to Arizona in 2017.
The depth of the system, at least at the upper levels, took a hit when Andrew Susac was traded at the deadline. Giants may need to scour the waiver wires and minor league FA lists for catchers this winter.
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The trade of Andrew Susac and Phil Bickford for Will Smith just seems to be a little overpay and as with Matt Duffy, Susac was already becoming an up (favorite) and coming player with the Giants, in the end hopefully it will work out for both teams, that's about all you can say about this trade. I hadn't heard about Aramis Garcia being hit in the face but thought he was the next upcoming catcher prospect due up, at least now or in a year or so.
ReplyDeleteMy reading of the tea leaves is that the Giants had issues with Susac's injuries and with his defense and finally gave up on him. I could be all wrong, but that's what I read between the lines.
DeleteAnd we can add to that that Garcia was a first year full season player in 2016, never was going to come close to the majors last year, injuries notwithstanding. Catchers, I've gathered, take a good bit longer to develop (not that you expect any first year players to scrape to the majors in a single year) with having to really improve the defensive game along with pitch calling.
DeleteExpect Aramis to be breaking spring training with the team by 2018 or 2019 at the earliest.
I'm kinda new at looking at prospects in the Giants system, I think Tim Lincecum was the first I really tracked, Gracia seems like someone who might become an impact player in the near (18/19) future and worth keeping an eye on. DrB's blog along with others makes that a lot easier ( internet= information expansion).
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