Madison Bumgarner allowed just 1 hit in 6 shutout innings and the Giants offense woke up late to give them the W over the Angels. Key Lines:
Eduardo Nunez 3B= 1 for 3, 2B, SB(2). BA= .269. Nunez added a couple of dramatic defensive plays. Go check out the videos.
Mac Williamson LF-RF-LF- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .324. Mac is not backing down in the fight for the starting LF job.
Michael Morse 1B- 2 for 2, 2B. BA= .304. You get the feeling that Morse is pulling ahead of Chris Marrero if there is a roster spot for a defensively challenged RH power bat off the bench.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.81. Bumgarner looked like he was in midseason form. Threw just 70 pitches in the 6 full innings.
Ty Blach- 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.56. Regression to the mean can be a real SOB. I guess we can give Ty credit for finishing the 7'th inning then coming back out and pitching a shutdown 8'th.
Steven Okert LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.00. Okert is about as assured of a roster spot as anyone right now. He's been lights out all spring.
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The Giants are off tomorrow. Matt Cain is scheduled to start against the Rockies on Friday 3/17 in an evening game.
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Around the League:
Adalberto Mejia, remember him? He struck out 8 batters in 3.2 IP against the St. Louis Cardinals. Mejia allowed 4 hits, 0 BB's and 0 R in the start.
Michael Pineda struck out 8 batters in 5 perfect innings against the Phillies.
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Blach: I'm not surprised. Last year was a bit 'too good to be true' with his 6.7% HR rate, his 95% LOB rate and the .152 BABIP against. That was so 'small sample size.'
ReplyDeleteMorse: Now that was a funny description. Funny because it's true.
Okert: This time two years ago he was the hot lefty then had some issues and 2015 blew up on him and Osich got the call when we needed a lefty to come up. Now Osich is scuffling and Okert is fixing to take the spot.
Mejia: I remember him. Good prospect. Had a problem keeping his weight under control. We used him to get Nunez.
In Blach's small sample size, + Milb, he doesn't walk many, doesn't give up a lot of HRs, appears to be better against LHB, so would fit but maybe not get the ground ball with runners.
ReplyDeleteHe'll not be much more than a #5 or a fairly reliable reliever.
He's not the future but would probably be useful in a spot start against lefty heavy teams who swing a lot, like LAD.
Gotta like Morse but no so much if there are 13 pitchers on the active roster -- effectively giving SF only 11 position players. He's as bad an OFer as there is but has managed to parlay his bat into about #35 million (career).
With all the hoopla on SF's left fielder of the near future, will it be Mac Williamson, or perhaps Jarrett Parker?
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't forget Giant outfield draft picks of the last 10 or so years who had fairly successful AAA records, and some made a short splash in the major leagues, but none left a lasting imprint: Nate Schierholtz, Fred Lewis, Jason Ellison, Todd Linden, John Bowker, Roger Kieschnick, and lil Juan Perez.
Perhaps Nate brought the most to the Giants as he was the key piece in the trade for Hunter Pence.
At this point, should we think Williamson or Parker is significantly better than, say Schierholtz or Lewis?
Interesting question: I'll try to break it down.
DeleteNate: Tremendous athlete. 4 plus tools. Unfortunately his weakest tool was the hit tool which made his power not completely usable. IMO Nate's hitting problems were a direct result of a flawed swing(at the top of his load, the bat head was pointed almost directly at the pitcher) which made it way too long.
Fred Lewis: Just too many flaws. Weak throwing arm. Nice speed, but not great at catching the ball. Again, swing too long to make consistent contact in MLB.
Mac: Tremendous size gives him more raw power potential than any of the other 3. Great arm. Average speed/catch. Has shown the ability to control the strike zone at times, but whether he can carry the hit tool into the majors is the big question mark.
Jarrett Parker: Reminds me a lot of Nate Schierholtz with similar tools. The swing is long but he's always drawn a lot more walks than Nate. Will that be a skill he can maintain in the majors? If so, he just might succeed where Nate ultimately failed(I use the word "failed" in a relative sense. Nate had a much more successful career than the vast majority of baseball players and should not be considered a "failure."
@DB. Yeah, it's kind of funny. We talk about 'failures' but when you think about it, these guys are all tremendous baseball players. who have already beaten the odds just to get drafted:
DeleteCollege Players: 21 of every 200 (10.5%) of NCAA baseball players will get drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
High School Players: One of every 200 (0.5%) of high school baseball players will eventually (key word that) be drafted by an MLB team. (Some directly from HS, some have to wait until college.)
Then you have A- to A to A+ to AA to AAA... At east step of the way fantastic players wash out to be replaced by more players. And then when they get to the MLB... They're against the elite of the elite of the elite and that's another tough-row to hoe.
I have a second-cousin who made it to AAA. Stalled there three years. Hit over .300 in the PCL until his last year when they tried to convert him to a relief pitcher. While he could hit, he no power which, as a first baseman, was a career killer. Anyway, the guy was a fantastic baseball player. Better at baseball than most people are at anything they do in their lives. An All-State athlete in HS. A college star at a Pac-10 Baseball factory. A solid prospect (early 4th round by the Phillies). A star/quality prospect at every level.
But not good enough.
And so it goes.
Thanks, doc, you are always thoughtful and analytical.
DeleteI agree (before I wrote that and you answered) that Mac has the most interesting potential.
I was such a Nate-fan, his injures were so sad. But Mac is BIG compared to Nate. I tend to believe more in his future, but he too has his nagging injuries.
Parker is fast but his first step (of the natural OFer) seems to be missing, and he is likely a true 3-outcome hitter. That's worked so well for the Giants. I fear he's passed the age of a remarkable turnaround.
The Giants have won with less in LF. Oh, Melky where art thou?
And the 5th starter IS the 5th starter, there are real things to worry about.
My biggest hope is, if Cain can't answer the bell, he can be left in AZ to "work" on things rather than eat up a roster spot. (He just gave up 2 runs in the 2nd. Argh.)