The scrubs came through in the final two frames for a come-from-behind Giants win to even their spring record at 1-1. Key Lines:
Joey Bart C- 1 for 2, 2B. Bart answered Blake Sabol's challenge from yesterday with a ringing double in his first spring AB to drive in the Giants first run of the game in the third inning.
Sean Manaea LHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Alex Pavlovic reports Manaea spent the winter working out with Driveline Baseball and his FB ran 93-96 MPH compared to an average of just under 92 last season.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Doval looked to be in midseason form both on and off the mound. When asked if the pitch clock might cause a drop in his velocity Doval replied, "We're going up all the time, not going down." LOL! Oh, and one of his 3 K's came on a pitch clock violation by the batter.
Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Strong showing by The Tall One. Not sure why except that he seems like such a unique talent but I feel more emotionally invested in Sean Hjelle having a career with the Giants than any other player in the organization.
Ford Proctor 2B- 2 for 3, 2B. Proctor was briefly on the active roster last season and is still in the organization. He's interesting because he bats lefthanded and can play some catcher. At this point he's just deep depth, though.
Will Wilson SS- 2 for 3. Don't sleep on Will Wilson. He looked like he was starting to make a move last season but then suffered a hamate fracture. A strong spring and a strong start in AAA Sacramento could move him up to the top of the SS depth chart after Brandon Crawford.
Carter Williams RF- 1 for 1, HR, BB. I like Carter Williams but right now he's just lineup card filler for these early spring games. Hitting a bomb in an early spring game is a good way to get noticed by the manager and coaches, though.
Thomas Szupacki LHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K. Szapucki comes into camp with a great chance to make the Opening Day roster. Hopefully he got the jitters out of his system in this appearance.
Injury Updates:
Michael Conforto started the game as DH. He went 1 for 3.
Luis Gonzalez OF is dealing with a back issue and will miss 4-6 weeks.
Apparently Donovan Walton IF underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and will be starting the season late.
So far so good - it seems we can, or have access to consultants/experts who can, get more out of veteran major league players. Obviously, in the case of Kyle H, who is not yet a MLer, he's improved his velocity, and overall pitching; but it is hard to say if it's not just a young player maturing and growing.
ReplyDeleteThe trick is to help our own prospects whom the team has many years of control, than just vets who can walk after one season.
If Manaea has a great season and walks, FZ will have gotten 4 seasons of surplus value out of Gausman, Rodon and Manaea plus 2 compensation draft picks. I am not sure why folks are so bent out of shape over that.
DeleteThe preference is to get our own prospects, in a timely manner (e.g. not waiting too long) to have great seasons with the team, than just veteran free agents.
DeleteIt's not a rejection of the latter, but more a preference of the former.
You need both a pipeline of prospects as well as savvy trades and free agent signings. When possible you want to stay away from longterm guaranteed contracts with pitchers. Very few turn out favorable to the team.
DeleteI think if Kyle works out, and can show a history of good health, when the time comes, the team will be asked to commit long term.
Delete....and that would probably be a bad decision. Think Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.
DeleteAt 25 yo, Carter Williams should be placed in Richmond this year and if he continues his sneak attack, he'll be knowing on Sacramento's door
ReplyDeleteknowing -> knocking
Delete