Down on the Farm: 7/1/2017

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies mauled the Sacramento River Cats 8-1:

Chris Shaw DH- 2 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .302.
Ali Castillo 2B- 3 for 4.  BA= .264.
Tyler Beede RHP- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 6 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.30.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 2.05.
DJ Snelton LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.53.

-Shaw stays hot.  Does he have a higher ceiling than Brandon Belt?
-What's up with Tyler Beede who seems to be really struggling?  PCL is a tough place to pitch.  He K/9 is down from 8.25 to 6.98.  BB/9 is even at 3.24 to 3.23.  Biggest difference is a HR/FB spike from 7 to 16.  BABIP is equal .309 to .302.  GB% is a tick higher.  It may be a command issue which he has struggle with in the past or it could be mainly park factors in the PCL.

*********************************************************************************

AA Game 1(completion of suspended game from 6/30)  Reading Fightin' Phils outscored the Richmond Flying Squirrels 9-6:

Slade Heathcott CF- 3 for 4, HR(12), BB. BA= .276.
Eduardo Nunez 3B- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .333.
Carlos Alvarado RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.36.

-Nunez starts his rehab assignment.
-Heathcott has been steady all season in a tough hitting environment.

*********************************************************************************

AA Game 2(7 innings). Reading Fightin' Phils blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

NTSH.

*********************************************************************************

High A Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 8-2:

Jonah Arenado 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .239.

-Arenado breaks out of a slump.

*********************************************************************************

Low A Charleston River Dogs pounded the Augusta Greenjackets 11-4:

Skyler Ewing C- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .227.
Jose Vizcaino Jr 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .234.
Greg Brody RHP- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.35.

*********************************************************************************

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes edged out the Tri-City Dust Devils 2-1:

Malique Ziegler CF- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(11).  BA= .358.
Gustavo Cabrera LF- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .182.
Alex Bostic LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.91.
Logan Webb RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, ERA= 1.80.
Garrett Cave RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

-Cabrera shows flashes but has never found traction.
-Giants taking it slow with Logan Webb post TJ.  He's still young and has time.
-Garrett Cave rolls out of bed after the draft and is immediately the Closer for S-K.  Highest initial assignment for a 2017 draftee so far.

*********************************************************************************

AZL Giants outslugged the A's 9-8:

Heliot Ramos CF- 4 for 5, 2 2B, HR(1).  BA= .700.
Aaron Bond LF- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 SB(2).  BA= .600.
Jacob Gonzalez 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .570.
Nathanael Javier DH- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .286.
Miguel Figueroa RHP- 4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.  ERA= 3.12.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 12.27.

-Heliot Ramos!  Gotta say, I wanted the Giants to draft pitching, but when I saw mock drafts placing Ramos with the Dodgers(his brother plays in the Dodgers organization), my heart sank.  I just said to myself, "the Giants can't let that happen!"  Much as I wanted pitching, gotta go with the Best Player Available.  My gut feeling about him landing with the Dodgers and the early returns suggest the Giants got the BPA.  Kid is only 17 yo.  Just 2 games, but he already looks way too good for the AZL!  Did he come ready to play or what?!
-Jacob Gonzalez already has 3 BB's in 2 games.  Does that tell us something about his plate discipline?
-Aaron Bond is a college draftee who should probably move up to S-K right away.
-Nice scouting report and video on Camilo Doval over at Giant Potential.  Check it out!
-Several lower round draftees made 1 inning pitching appearances.  You can look up the boxscores at milb.com if you are interested.

*********************************************************************************

DSL. Mariners defeated the Giants 9-8:

Aynesber Sivira LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .301.
Andrew Carabello SS- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, SB(3).  BA= .245.
Francis Pena RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.48.

-Pena is 21 yo, but this appears to be his first pro season.

*********************************************************************************

Sad news out of AAA:  Joan Gregorio will miss the remainder of the season due to a suspension for PED use.

*********************************************************************************

July 2 is International Signing Day.  Giants have a much larger bonus pool of $4.75 M thanks to the new CBA, but they are limited to in individual bonus cap of $300 K due to a prior penalty for signing Lucius Fox.  You won't see any of the big names going to the Giants today, but they could sign 12 players at $300 K and still have money left over for lesser bonuses.  Giants seems to have more success with signees in the mid-6 figure range anyway.  There is some talk of players maybe postponing signing until next year.  This may be due to large contracts previously agreed upon that are now not possible under the new rules.  Also, if for instance, a player wants to sign with the Giants(many international scouting relationships go back years), they may choose to wait until next year when the Giants are not subject to the $300 K individual bonus cap.

I personally like the new rules.  The bonuses are generous and in line with draft bonuses.  They will prevent farces like the Dodgers spending over $90 M in international bonus money in 2015 an absolutely ridiculous amount.  Although I have to say it seems a bit unfair to the players to limit their bonus potential if teams are willing to give it out.  MLBPA is the bargaining body and they have a strong incentive to keep as much money allotted to current players as possible.