Trevor McDonald RHP. DOB: 2/26/2001. 6'2", 200 lbs. Drafted 2019 Round 11.
2022(A): 6-3, 2.39, 90.1 IP, 10.16 K/9, 3.99 BB/9, 2.25 GB/FB, 10 GS, 2 Saves.
2022(A+): 0-0, 1.64, 11 IP, 14.73 K/9, 1.64 BB/9, 2.20 GB/FB.
I saw Trevor McDonald pitch in one of his two worst games from an ERA standpoint in San Bernardino, CA against the Inland Empire 66'ers on 5/17/2022. Here was his line that night: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. Here is what I wrote in my Down on the Farm game summary afterwards: "Trevor Mcdonald looked like his pitching line. Great stuff with a FB that sat 93-95 MPH and a sharp breaking ball that got knocked around for reasons that were not entirely clear. Maybe his FB was a bit on the straight side?" He gave up 5 ER in 2.2 IP 5 nights later in the same series. Turns out those were his worst two games of the season and ballooned his ERA for the month of May. Every other month of the season he had an ERA under 2.00.
He got a late promotion to A+ Eugene and dominated in two appearances there striking out 18 batters against just 2 BB in 11 IP, Add in the dominant groundball ratios and Trevor McDonald is one of my big breakout candidates for 2023. The Giants may think he needs a bit more seasoning in Eugene before a promotion to AA but I could also see him starting the season in Richmond and possibly knocking on the door of Oracle Park by later in the season.
Video shows him throwing his mid-90's FB both up and down in the zone and a quick, late-breaking curveball with a short, quick downward bite that he seems to be able to tunnel like a FB that keeps hitters from picking it up.
Does history repeat itself?
ReplyDeleteIn 2005, two years after winning 100 games and finishing 1st in their division by 15.5 games, the Giants were 75-87 in third place. A lesser Bonds lasted a few more years but by 2007 they lost 91 games and finished last, 19 games out, and their best player (bWAR) was Matt Cain.
2003 culminated a 7-year run when the Bonds-led Giants played in 4 post seasons, winning 3 divisions, and playing in one World Series.
By 2010, they reloaded having acquired 1st round picks of Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, and Posey plus other draftees Wilson, Romo, & Sanchez, plus Sandoval (Amateur Free Agent) and some key Free Agents. Other draft picks (Belt, Crawford, Panik) were instrumental to a lengthy success, and a couple free agent pitchers almost added to a successful 2016 when the Giants were really only an effective closer short of making more noise in the playoffs. That, too, was 4-in-7-years post season visits with 3 WS titles.
These successful "eras" were with different teams built differently.
Did 2021 initiate another success era? Had Posey not sat out 2020 at the last moment, couldn’t the Giants have been enough better to win just 2 games that they lost? They finished 1 win out of the playoffs, and only 3 wins from being the 5th seed without Posey.
And again, after the great 2021 season, had Posey not opted out of the final year of his contract, could his leadership have made enough difference to get the Giants into the final playoff spot? They weren’t that far behind the Phillies whom they beat in 5 of 6 games during the season.
For all the hand-wringing about how bad the 2023 Giants are going to be (read the pathetic fan response to Grant Brisbee’s piece on Anger in The Athletic), SF could be entering 2023 with a better team and with 3 straight playoff years – when did they do that last? (1924)
The key to a successful season is getting to the playoffs: there is no “Super Team” in the National League in 2023. Anything can, and probably will, happen. Odds were 16-1 against the Phillies to win the National League last year.
“You Gotta Believe!” Tug McGraw, 1973
The holy grail of MLB is to have a sustained flow of talent continuous planned turnover producing a serious competitor for a championship indefinitely while keeping payroll within a reasonable range. That has proven to an elusive goal in the free agency era. Instead we settle for cycles and "windows". IMO, there are signs in the farm system that the Giants may be entering an up cycle.
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