Jordan Hicks brought the fire and Tom Murphy brough the toonder in what the Giants hope was a preview of a typical regular season game. Key Lines:
Tom Murphy C- 2 for 2, 2 HR(3). BA= .350. I feel like Murphy is the starting C. We've seen very little of Patrick Bailey lately, partly due to the hand injury but Bailey hasn't hit much when he has played. Is it possible the Giants solve the Joey Bart problem by making Murph the starter, keeping Bart as the backup and optioning Bailey to AAA Sacramento to get fully healthy and get his bat going? Bart drew a walk in his only PA. We'll be watching today's lineup closely.
Wilmer Flores 1B- 1 for 3, HR(2). BA= .350. Wilmer has had a hot bat all spring. He was the starting 1B against the LHSP. With Bob Melvin being less of a platoonist than Kap, could Wilmer start to wrest playing time from LMWJ? Wilmer has been the Giants best hitter over the past 2 years. I think he could be even better with more rest and less of the burden of carrying the offense.
Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .238. Luciano is sure looking like the starting SS. From March 13 he is 9 for 22(.409) with 5 XBH's and 6 BB's. Over the same span, Nick Ahmed has not been terrible(.278), but he's not has not played as much and will have to be added to the 40-man roster. Again, worth watching today's lineup closely.
Jordan Hicks RHP- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K. ERA= 2.65. Here's the line that should make Giants fans giddy. Hicks has dialed back from triple digits in a staring role but seems to be getting more movement on both a sinker and 4-seam FB. The A's lineup is admittedly not a World Series contender but he just mowed them down and for 5 innings.
Juan Sanchez LHP- 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 2.61. Sanchez is competing for a LH bullpen role, but stumbled a bit here. Erik Miller, who is on the 40-man roster has resurfaced and finished the inning for him also allowing a hit and a walk in 0.2 IP.
R. J. Dabovich RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. A R. J. Dabovich sighting!
Justin Garza RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.25. Garza has only appeared in 3 preseason games but all 3 have come starting 3/19/2024.
The Giants play their last preseason game of 2024 tomorrow evening in Oracle Park with TBD facing Paul Blackburn RHP.
Me too.... thinking Bart will be backup to Murphy for a couple of weeks and Bailey to AAA for repair. We'll know tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWatched the game and HICKS was unbelievable...what a mix of pitches between that fastball, sinker/slider and even a changeup...Sure looked like a starter to me....proving me wrong, I hope! MILLER definitely has the velocity and good stuff to boot, but location is a problem...Still, loved the way he got out of the jam..We'll see him in SF, now or later, I don't know.......MURPHY/BART might be the way to go for a few weeks...BART looked really comfortable at the plate and drew tht walk after being down 0-2..good to see.......Really want to see LUCIANO and his bat but he does look a little stiff in the field at SS....MUNGUIA looks liek a mini-Panda the way he smoked a super high ball..Speaking of Panda, does he go to SAC??
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The lone A’s run came when Luciano couldn’t reach down to field a grounder in the hole. Sure looked like a 22 YO with a balky back. In other words, like an OF.
ReplyDeleteHicks may hold onto rotation spot even with healthy Webb-Snell-Harrison-Ray-Cobb availability?
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering to myself whether Murphy might end up being our starting C on opening day. I don’t want to just release Bart so I think your idea of sending Bailey to AAA to begin and having Bart be the backup is the right course here. Curious how Murphy glove is rated
ReplyDeleteLuciano on the other hand, looks like he may be sticking with the MLB club. So happy about that development! About a week or two ago I felt sure he would be sent down. Him providing 20hr+ power would do wonders for the end of our lineup.
And how about Hicks! Wow! I really like his upside potential in our 4th or 5th slot in the rotation.
Doc that's a good plan with Murphy/Bart for a couple of weeks, but does that help with their 40 man roster crunch? I count maybe 3 NRI's that they may add to the roster.
ReplyDeleteMurphy, Bart and Bailey are all on the 40-man roster so no impact on the 40 man.
DeleteSorry, I guess it's been assumed Bart's 40- man roster spot would open up for Ahmed or a pitcher.
DeleteNo worries Doc. It's a tough decision to make since Bart is out of options. I think COVID and Buster opting out hurt his development, although can't blame Buster for putting his family 1st at the time. I'd be interested to see what Melvin's input on this is, being a former catcher himself
DeleteI think I disagree with you here Doc, I think the FO is protecting Bailey from getting too many miles on his legs. I think the FO is pretty enamored with Bailey's defense and he is going to be the starting C no matter what. However much, we all love Joey Bart and don't want to loose him.
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You may be right. We'll find out soon. I just hope the FO is relying on recent data and not just remembering the hot start Bailey got off to when he was called up last year.
DeleteI've seen reports that pitchers like throwing to Bailey behind the plate which has to count in his favor. Maybe Bailey should be the starting catcher IF he hits enough. Defense is more important for catchers. Having Melvin as his manager should help him learn and get better at the position . Don't think that a veteran player having a good or bad spring should be that big of a deal. Joey Bart - seems like the team is stringing him along not putting him on waivers or trading him. Do they want to make him the starting catcher or wait long enough so teams set their roster so they can't pick him up? C'mon It's not fair to Bart to keep him in limbo this long!
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