Bryce Johnson OF kept the pedal to the metal in his quest for a roster spot and the Giants pitchers continued to shine in a win over the Cubs. Key Lines:
Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 SB((11). BA= .360. The Giants appear to be testing the impact of the new rules and bases on basestealing and Bryce Johnson is making a case that he's the guy to make that strategy work. He led off the bottom of the third inning with a ground ball single to CF. He followed that with a SB and scored from 2B when Eric Hosmer made a throwing error on a Will Wilson 2B sacrifice bunt. He later doubled to drive in David Villar 3B who doubled ahead of him, then stole 3B and came home on Lamonte Wade Jr RF double. With Mitch Haniger OF and Austin Slater OF on track to start the season, the Giants don't have any RH batting OF's from the 40-man roster left in camp. With Steven Piscotty also injured it would seem Johnson, who is a switch-hitter, could have a path to break camp with the team.
David Villar 3B- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .125. Villar got off to a slow start to the spring then tweaked a hip flexor just as he seemed to be heating up. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off and ramp up to start the season.
Lamonte Wade Jr RF- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .185. Wade Jr. has also had a quiet spring. He drove in a pair of runs with a double in this one.
Anthony DeSclafani RHP- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 0.00. DeSclafani has been sharp all spring. Great to see him apparently healthy. A bounceback year for him would be huge for the Giants fortunes.
Sean Manaea LHP- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.40. Manaea gave up a run on a double and single in his third inning of work but was mostly sharp.
Taylor Rogers LHP pitched a scoreless 9'th inning.
The Giants stole a total of 6 bases in this game but had 3 CS.
Logan Webb RHP gets the start against the Angels tomorrow in Scottsdale.
Watching Casey Schmidt make that sparkling defensive play at 3rd reminded me of when Brandon Crawford came up in 2011. Crawford was a great defender then but the question was can he hit. He only had a little over 100 abs in AAA, but he made the team. The rest is history. Schmidt only has 140 abs at AA/AAA, but he is clearly making a big push to make the team. What might help him is he can play SS/3rd base and scouting reports say he's already MLB caliber defensively at 3rd base. If he makes the team, I'd like to see him play every day and force the Giants to make room for him. Another player I'll be following is Grant McCray (OF) in the minors. He hit 20+ homers and had 40 sbs in the minors in 2022. Heard their minor league hitting coach Pat Burrell has been high on him for the past year. Can McCray continue his development at the higher levels and be the impact OF that the Giants haven't developed in years.
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