We'll lump together RF and LF and stipulate that any player mentioned in the CF depth chart could slide over and play a corner OF spot if needed.
There are 31.5 million reasons why Hunter Pence and Denard Span sit atop the Giants corner OF depth chart, which are the same 31.5 M reasons why 2018 may not be much better than the 2017 season. That is how much Span and Pence have left on their contracts with $4 M of that committed to a 2019 buyout for Span, which will almost surely happen. Some Giants fans would prefer to just eat the $31.5 M as a sunk cost and either go with a combination of Jarrett Parker, Mac Williamson and Austin Slater if he's healthy, or bring in someone by trade or FA which will only work if the Giants are willing to go above the Luxury Tax Cap threshold on payroll.
AAA: Chris Shaw has the bat for LF and the Giants are clearly trying to get his D up to snuff while playing him almost exclusively there in Sacramento. Keith Law, for one, sez he can't play LF, period.
AA: Hunter Cole has had stretches where he hits as well as any player in the organization but too many where he goes ice cold. He may be a sustained hot streak away from putting himself back on the prospect map, but for now he's an organizational guy. Dylan Davis has light-tower power, but struggles to make consistent contact. Daniel Carbonell has learned to hit for a decent BA, but with no power. Organizational guy.
High A: Gio Brusa has plenty of power, but struggles in the field and with making contact. Heath Quinn's progress was slowed by injuries.
Low A: Sandro Fabian has the tools and skills to be the Giants RF of the future. He just needs to keep it going as he advances up the minor league ladder. His strong second half for Augusta is encouraging. Jacob Heyward's first full pro season was disappointing. Jean Angomas is still struggling to find traction on his pro career. Gustavo Cabrera can't seem to stay on the field due to health issues, probably mostly related to his hand injury.
Short Season: Logan Baldwin hit for both average and power after being drafted in 2017.
Rookie AZL: Aaron Bond, a JC draftee had a promising inaugural season after the draft. Ismael Munguia is a small scrappy player who may not have enough power for a corner position. Diego Rincones is a promising teenager.
DSL: Alexander Canario looks like a legit prospect while DSL holdover Franklin Labour hit well enough that he should get a shot stateside.
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Well, this is gruesome. Law being down on Shaw's ability to play LF isn't new or unique. I've yet to see anyone be really 'up' on his ability to play the corner. So, I guess, what, we platoon Pence & Span at the corners with some combination of Slater, Williamson & Parker while Shaw continues to work on his defense? Do we put Hernandez in the mix? He's got range, a streaky bat and misplays too many fly balls (despite his range) for me.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I've pretty much given up on Mac and I am not terribly thrilled with Parker.
I think Parker has the superior glove and could be a solid #4/#5 outfielder you put in as a defensive replacement. And while he's hit .257 at the MLB level, I just think his hitting isn't at the MLB level. That 31%+ strike out rate just doesn't work.
With Mac... His three year BAs in AAA are: .249, .269 & .244 giving him a .252 BA over those three years. In a hitters league. Couple that with is career .226 in the majors and I really do not have any reason to have faith he'll suddenly 'get it' and become the RH power-hitter this team needs after watching him flail-around at AAA and the MLB level for three years.
Honestly, I think the best possible move for the Giants is to put Shaw at 1B and trade Belt (even though I like him) for a good OFer. Shaw will probably be adequate at first base and Belt will get to go to a park that doesn't kill him and the Giants get a corner OFer that can hit and play some defense.
Gruesome in the short term, but several promising prospects in the low minors. If you look at Parker's numbers, they project to 25-30 HR/600 PA. I say put him out there for 600 PA and see if it happens. Mac has the most power potential. I say you give him 600 PA's if he can stay healthy before you let the next Adam Duvall go.
DeleteAlthough it didn't work out well, wasn't the trade of Duvall for Leake sort of necessary?
DeleteThe Giants were only a half-game out of first and looking like they could contend with some help to the rotation.
Had the starters (Bumgarner, Heston, Volgelsong, Cain, Peavy, Lincecum and Hudson) been better, or had the Giants needed Duvall for 3B or the OF (he was never tried in the OF in the Giants system), the trade wouldn't have happened.
But would they have put him is LF.
Hindsight: what if the Giants had put Duvall in LF rather than everyone else they've tried!
Not trying to knock the Duval trade. I've defended it several times. All I'm saying is give Mac a chance. Bring him out of the doghouse and give him 600 AB's.
DeleteThe Duvall trade made sense at the time. Duvall's highest prospect ranking as a 3B prospect was #16 in 2013, seven or eight spots behind Gillespie. He dropped out of the Top-20 in 2014. He finally broke out in 2016 and had a nice season. Last year he was a middling 1.8 fWAR.
DeleteSure, he a lot of homers. But his career OBP is .296 (.301 in 2017) and his wRC+ was 98 which is, basically, average. In fact, I suspect that Slater would have had that kind of WAR last year if he hadn't had gotten injured. And he'd be doing that in a park that really punishes hitters, not 81 games in a band-box.
Belt (with some salary relief) to Red Sox for CF Bradley.
ReplyDeleteJBJ's D will play in AT&T for years, and he's available as Sox are going to sign someone for OF thump.
This remakes Boston's line-up and massively upgrades Giants defense while freeing salary and clearing 1B for Buster in a few years.
I could see that. I'm not sure the Giants would even need to send salary relief.
DeleteGiants would have to be ready to move Buster to 1B immediately or think Chris Shaw is ready to play the position.
DeleteThrow in $15 million -- and Span!
DeleteBut there is the concussion issue...
This sounds like a genuine plus for both sides -- can it be assumed that the FO thinks of everything?
DeleteOn either side?
Would the Sox be dissuaded by BB's one single in 9 ABs in Fenway with 4 Ks?