Thursday, September 13, 2018

Down on the Farm: San Jose Giants 2018 Season Review

The San Jose Giants suffered through their worst season in recent memory and tell me if this sounds familiar.  They were a respectable 34-36 in the first half but collapsed to a 25-45 record in the second half to finish with the worst overall record in the California League at 59-81.  Here are your 2018 Team Leaders:

BA(200+ AB):  Heath Quinn- .300.  Johneshwy Fargas- .288.  Wander Franco(The Elder)- .277.  Jalen Miller- .276.

Hits:  Wander Franco- 143.  Jalen Miller- 141.  Bryce Johnson- 110.  Heath Quinn- 107.  Jacob Heyward- 105.

2B:  Wander Franco- 39.  Jalen Miller- 35.  Jacob Heyward- 26.

3B:  Bryce Johnson- 6.  Gio Brusa- 5.  Matt Winn- 3.  Frandy De La Rosa- 3.

HR:  Gio Brusa- 19.  Jalen Miller- 14.  Heath Quinn- 14.

SB:  Johneshwy Fargas- 47.  Bryce Johnson- 31.  Jacob Heyward- 14.

Runs:  Jalen Miller- 73.  Gio Brusa- 62.  Bryce Johnson- 62. Jacob Heyward- 61.

RBI's:  Gio Brusa- 70.  Wander Franco- 3B.  Jalen Miller- 62.

IP:  Sandro Cabrera- 101.1.  DJ Myers- 96. 1.  Carlos Sano- 87.1.

K's:  DJ Myers- 94.  Sandro Cabrera- 85.  Carlos Sano-85.  Raffi Vizcaino- 85.

Starter ERA(50+ IP):  Logan Webb- 1.82.  Carlos Sano- 3.81.  Dominic Mazza- 4.52.

Reliever ERA(25+ IP):  Dylan Rheault- 2.43.  Nolan Riggs- 4.08.  Peter Lannoo- 4.19.

K/9(25+ IP):  Conner Menez- 12.52.  Logan Webb- 9.00.  DJ Myers- 8.78.

BB/9(25+ IP):  DJ Myers- 2.06.  Frank Rubio- 2.32.  Connor Overton- 2.52.

K/BB(25+ IP):  DJ Myers- 4.27.  Conner Menez- 3.33.  Connor Overton- 3.29.

Saves:  Frank Rubio- 9.  Patrick Ruotolo- 6. Nolan Riggs- 6.

Promotions(to higher levels):  Logan Webb, Matt Winn, Conner Menez, Patrick Ruotolo, Jacob Heyward(late to AAA).

Promotions(from lower levels):  Frank Rubio, John Gavin.

2019?  Sandro Fabian(hit just .200 in his first shot at the Cal League at age 20 but hit 19 2B and 10 HR), Johneswhy Fargas? Melvin Adon?  Sandro Cabrera? Norwith Gudino?  Joey Bart, Sean Hjelle, Jacob Wong, Manuel Geraldo, Heliot Ramos? Camilo Doval, Juan De Paula? Orlando Garcia? Logan Baldwin? David Villar.

Burning Question:  Can Melvin Adon ever gain enough command/control of his elite stuff to fulfill his potential?

6 comments:

  1. Observations from watching about ten games between the San Jose Giants and the Visalia Rawhide from the top row of seats along the first base line at Rec Park in Visalia. The dismal record of the SJ Giants is reflected in the quality of their players. No one on the SJ Giants really stood out as having quality major league potential. However, a few look like they can make it to the majors. Logan Webb has a really nice delivery that looks like it can be easily duplicated. He was, of course, on a limited pitch count coming off TJ surgery. His fastball sat at about 91-92 MPH with some effective off-speed stuff. He still has to work on his control, as do most of the SJ pitchers. Mac Marshall has good stuff, he is simply challenged with consistently finding the strike zone. His fastball sat at 91-92 and had some good off speed pitches. In the game I watched, he simply was not consistent. He started 18 of 19 games but only pitched 56 1/3 innings, averaging a little over 4 innings a start. He gave up 47 hits and 40 walks to 64 strike outs. Control is the key to his future.

    The same is true for Franklin Van Gurp, who also threw around 92 MPH but had real trouble consistently throwing strikes. He started the season in Augusta, was promoted to San Jose and threw one game in Richmond. In 62 2/3 innings coming out of the pen he gave up 43 hits and 37 walks while striking out 84. Again, control is the key to his future, as he has the stuff to be an effective relief pitcher.

    D.J. Myers is a rather large man, 6’5” and 265 lbs. He reminded me of a young Rich Reuschel. He was the typical spot starter, middle reliever – starting 9 of the 24 games he pitched. He threw 96 1/2 innings, giving up 107 hits, but only 22 walks while striking out 94. Not sure if there is major league potential. One funny moment during a game in Visalia, Myers managed to load the bases with no outs in the 5th or 6th inning (he came into the game in relief in the 4th) and I’m yelling to get someone warming up. As the pitching coach walks to the dugout after visiting the mound, he looks in my direction and just shakes his head side to side as if saying no. The guys sitting next to me started cracking up. Myers managed to get out of the inning with only giving up one run. I imagine the coaches wanted to see how he responded to pitching under that type of pressure.

    Rodolfo Martinez was the hardest throwing SJ Giant. His fastball averaged 94-95 MPH and occasionally he hit 96 or 97. Once again, control is the issue. In 54 2/3 innings he gave up 67 hits and walked 31 while only striking out 48. In the games I watched, he would dominate some batters and then be unable to finish other batters off, which resulted in walks. He only saved 5 of his 10 opportunities. This was his 5th year in the Giants minor league system.

    As this entry was apparently too long, I will add another with observations about the hitters.


    Looking forward to next year with hopefully Joey Bart, Helio Ramos, etc. showing up in Visalia. APGiantsfan

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  2. The SJ Giant hitters were not that impressive. Jalen Miller, in his second go round in the Cal league was consistent, but not too impressive. I see him as a possible utility player, somewhat like Charlie Culberson. Gio Brusa, while having a ton of power, can’t hit his way out of a paper bag when he is thrown off-speed pitches. I believe he will reach his ceiling in AA or maybe AAA. Heath Quinn showed some signs of a possible future, but he also has real difficulty with off speed stuff. Johneshwy Fargas is really fast, as evident by his 47 steals. This was his third year playing part of his games in the Cal league and his 6th season in the Giants minor league system. Brandon Van Horn is a really good fielder. During warm ups he takes his ground balls from behind the third baseman. I do not recall seeing other infielders doing that. He has some power, but I am not sure he can hit enough to reach the majors. Kevin Beltre, Wander Franco, and Sandro Fabian all seem to blend in – they have some good at bats and other times they look overmatched. While Beltre and Franco finished the season strong, hitting over .300 in their last 10 games, Fabian limped home with a BA of .065 over his last 10 games. They are all certainly athletic and young enough that they may be able to develop.

    APGiantsfan

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    1. Clearly a down year for the SJ Giants. I would remind folks of the "donut hole" in talent as the Giants went heavy on HS talent in the 2017 draft and had a big influx of international players who are mostly still 20 yo or younger. Those take time to develop so there is a gap between Steven Duggar, Andrew Suarez, et al and the best talent in the organization. That's what we saw in SJ and Richmond this season.

      The trades of Bryan Reynolds and Christian Arroyo also contributed to the "donut hole" in talent.

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    2. Oh, and thanks for the observations.

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    3. 30 out of 81 XBH's give me hope that Sandro Fabian will get some rest, regroup and really rake next year.

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    4. Had no idea Fabian slumped so bad. His secondary numbers aren't horrible though. He walked a little more too

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