Down on the Farm: 2017 AZL Giants Season Review

Rookie or complex ball is where most teams assign HS draftees immediately after the draft for their first taste of professional ball and where DSL graduates make their entry into playing in the USA.  While most top prospect lists and farm system rankings emphasize players in the upper minors who can be expected to "graduate" within the next year or two, the longterm health of a farm system might be judged more accurately by the number of rookie ball players who are still teenagers.  Over the years, the Giants have tended to not have many of those to due to a strong emphasis on drafting college talent over HS players as well as a relatively weak international effort.  That all changed and fairly dramatically this season as the Giants used their top 3 draft picks to take HS players added to an unusually strong class of DSL graduates.

The list of teenage talent on this year's AZL Giants squad starts with OF Heliot Ramos(17) who did not turn 18 until after the season ended.  Second round pick 3B Jacob Gonzalez(19) joined him from the 2017 draft class.  DSL graduates included OF Ismael Munguia(18), OF Diego Rincones(18), C Ricardo Genoves(18), SS Jose Rivero(19), OF/1B Beicker Mendoza(19), Francisco Medina(19) and 1B Angeddy Almanzar(19).  C Jeffrey Parra(19) was a holdover from the 2016 draft class.  The pitching was generally older, but included LHP Seth Corry(18) from the 2017 draft class and Jake Greenwalt(19) from the 2016 class.

The starting lineup was augmented by 2017 college draftees OF Aaron Bond and SS Nico Giarratano while the pitching included 2017 draftees RHP Franklin Van Gurp, RHP Keenan Bartlett, LHP Joey Marciano joined later by LHP John Gavin off a successful College WS run.  Older DSL graduates included RHP Miguel Figueroa, RHP Camilo Doval, RHP Weilly Yan and RHP Olbis Parra.

Not only were the 2017 AZL Giants young, they were successful finishing with the top overall record in the AZL East at 34-22 after going 20-8 in the first half and 14-14 in the second half. They advanced to the final round of the AZL postseason where they lost to the Cubs in 3 games.

Here are the team statistical leaders:

AB:  Gonzalez- 168, Nathanael Javier- 162, Rincones- 159, Bond- 147, Munguia- 142.

H:  Gonzalez- 57, Rincones- 49, Ramos- 48, Javier- 47, Munguia- 47.

2B:  Gonzalez- 15, Javier- 14, Ramos-11, Rincones- 8, Bond- 8.

3B:  Ramos- 6, Munguia- 4, Bond- 3, Nick Hill- 3, Javier/Kyle McPherson- 2.

HR:  Bond- 8, Ramos- 6, Rincones- 3, Genoves- 2, Alcanzar- 2.

Runs:  Ramos- 33, Munguia- 31, Bond- 26, Gonzalez- 23, Genoves/Javier- 20.

RBI:  Rincones- 34, Bond- 31, Ramos- 27, Gonzalez- 21, Munguia/Genoves- 19.

SB:  Ramos- 10, Mikey Edie- 10, Hill- 9, Munguia- 8, Giarratano- 8.

BA:  Edie- .394, Ramos- .348, Gonzalez- .339, Munguia- .331, Rincones- .308.

OBP:  Edie- .444, Gonzalez- .418, Ramos- .404, Munguia- .398, Giarratano- .375.

SLG%- Ramos- .648, Bond- .565, Gonzalez- .458, Munguia- .458, Edie- .455.

IP:  Greenwalt- 49, Sidney Dupree- 47, Figueroa- 44.2, Yan- 33.2, Doval- 32.1.

ERA:  Van Gurp- 0.92, Bartlett- 1.53, Marciano- 1.57, Yan- 3.21, Doval- 3.90.

K:  Doval- 51, Yan- 43, Van Gurp- 41, Greenwalt- 41, Figueroa- 38.

Saves:  Parra- 8, Van Gurp- 2, Doval/Yan/Bartlett/Gavin- 1.