Corner OF is a bit thin at the top for the Giants as Hunter Pence is coming off his second injury limited season and the only other corner OF's on the roster are trying to gain a foothold in the major leagues. In the minors, the depth is bolstered by several players who could wind up either as CF's or at a corner.
MLB:
Hunter Pence, 34 yo- .289/.357/.451, 395 AB. Pence has 2 years left on his contract. Can he avoid the injuries that have plagued him the last 2 seasons?
Mac Williamson, 26 yo- .223/.315/.411, 6 HR, 112 AB. Could win the LF job outright or end up in a platoon with Jarrett Parker or be left out by a FA signing or trade. If you project the dingers to 600 PA's it's somewhere in the high 20's.
Jarrett Parker, 28 yo- .236/.358/.394, 5 HR, 127 AB. See Mac Williamson above. Parker has tremendous raw power, but struggles to use it effectively with a high K rate. Might want to cut back on the caffeine before stepping into the batter's box.
AAA:
Austin Slater, 24 yo- .305/.393/.500, 18 HR, 390 AB(2 teams). Slater is the main reason I think it is safe for the Giants to not acquire a veteran corner OF this offseason. If Mac and Jarrett can't get it done, it's time to give Slater a shot. If that does not work, they can still make a deadline trade. He should hit for a higher BA than either Mac or Jarrett, but may come up short on power.
AA:
Steven Duggar, 23 yo- .302/.388/.448, 10 HR, 507 AB(2 teams). Impressively hit .321 for Richmond after his promotion, but the HR's disappeared in a small sample size. Probably has enough speed to play CF. Definitely has the arm for RF.
Hunter Cole, 24 yo- .271/.319/.420, 13 HR, 469 AB. Strong numbers considering they were all from Richmond. and the EL. Getting more AB's in the AFL.
Tyler Horan, 26 yo- .265/.337/.460, 12 HR, 287 AB. Has been moving up the ladder despite some poor numbers. Seemed to get some traction at the plate late in the season.
HIGH A:
Dylan Davis, 23 yo- .283/.356/.521, 26 HR, 484 AB(2 levels). Big time power and has been steadily lowering his K rate. Big time throwing arm that could play on the mound. Nice sleeper in the system who could eventually turn into a Mike Napoli/Mark Trumbo type hitter.
LOW A:
Jean Angomas, 22 yo- .272/.308/.365, 16 SB, 378 AB(2 levels). Slow mover in the lower levels. Finally seemed to get some traction this year. Can he take it to the next level?
SHORT SEASON:
Heath Quinn, 22 yo- .344/.434/.564, 9 HR, 277 AB(3 levels). Tremendous offensive start to his pro career. Can he hang at higher levels on D?
Gio Brusa, 23 yo- .264/.298/.495, 10 HR, 220 AB. A bit of an enigma. Starred twice in the CCL. Giants reportedly told him he needs to step it up on D.
Gustavo Cabrera, 21 yo- .241/.288/.393, 4 HR, 4 SB, 191 AB. Managed to stay on the field a bit more this season. Obvious athleticism. Will the hand hold him back at higher levels?
Julio Pena, 24 yo- .222/.242/.397, 2 HR, 63 AB. Fringy prospect with some pop in his bat but not a lot else to recommend him.
ROOKIE AZL:
Jacob Heyward, 21 yo- .330/.483/.560, 11 SB, 109 AB(2 teams). Most of his AB's came in Rookie ball where he would be expected to dominate as a draftee from a major college program. Still, it's better to do well at a low level than not well.
Sandro Fabian, 19 yo- .340/.364/.527, 159 AB. One of the few age appropriate Giants prospects to dominate rookie ball in a long time. Nice scouting reports. Detractors point to a lack of projectabilty in the body.
DSL:
Ismael Munguia, 18 yo- .274/.359/.363, .237 AB. Got off to a hot start in the DSL. Cooled off some in the second half. Is it enough to get him to Arizona?
Franklin Labour, 19 yo- .242/.333/.304, 194 AB.
Diego Rincones, 18 yo- .244/.346/.343, 201 AB.
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Although the Giants OF is collectively a wish and a prayer (health and performance), this team can win if it doesn't give away games. And maybe Pence needs to play 120 games.
ReplyDeleteAs a closer is very often the difference between winning and losing, if it isn't addressed, the entire $180,000,000 (+/-) payroll is wasted.
To adapt one of Benjamin Franklin's quotations, For the want of a nail (down closer), ... the kingdom is lost!
Agree. Closer has to be the top priority.
DeleteDon't forget that we also re-signed Kyle Blanks...
ReplyDelete(That was intended as comic relief).
An intriguing speculation by MLB Network is the Giants pursuing Justin Turner at 3B. Even though they would lose a 1st round pick, the hated ones would have a big hole in their lineup and would then theoretically deplete their farm system to trade for maybe a Evan Longoria who has ties to the Dodgers brain trust. This would move Nunez to a Howie Kendrick type roll. It would give the Giants someone else to play LF with Williamson and also 3rd Base. Not likely to happen, but very intriguing.
ReplyDeletei dont think turner is gonna leave the bums...he is a perfect fit there
Deletebacci
And Turner has a bum knee. This may have been his career year.
DeleteTurner had an absolutely golden year at 3B. His one and only golden year. And while I think he should get the Gold Glove at 3B this year, I don't think it'd be terribly wise to put all the money in Turner while ignoring a back-up (as a minimum) OF and a closer.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned the Hot Stove priority is closer plus at least one other solid reliever. We were a team that went years and years saving about 70% to 75% of save opportunities only to have bullpen collapse and drop to 55% last year. In the 70 save opportunities we had last year, that 15% to 20% drop cost us 10-to-14 games that we'd have normally won.
I can't imagine a 3B costing us 10-to-14 games unless he was historically bad and there were no options, not even Bumgarner, to take his place. And I can't imagine a 3B with such an impact that he can make up 10-to-14 games. Not Turner. Not Kris Bryant. Not anyone.