Kyle Harrison got roughed up in what was probably his final tuneup of the spring and the Giants dropped their Cactus League finale. Key Lines:
Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, HR(2). BA= .237. Luciano struck out in his first two AB's the crushed a HR off the scoreboard in left-CF. So there you have it: If the Giants put their faith in him, he'll have his share of K's and more, but there is serious toonder in the bat. Seems like there is a 3-way/2 role dynamic going on with a big decision coming up for Bob Melvin, FZ and Peppermint Pete:
If Luciano makes the team he will be the starting SS and Nick Ahmed the reserve MI. But since Ahmed only plays SS if a need arises at 2B, Luciano would slide over there and Ahmed would play SS.
If Ahmed is the starting SS, Luciano gets optioned and Tyler Fitzgerald who can not only play both SS and 2B, but 3B and OF too.
Tough decisons but I think they have to find out what they have in Marco Luciano who is the one guy who could change the entire trajectory of the franchise and for years to come.
Tom Murphy C- 3 for 3, HR(1). Murph led off the Giants second inning with a HR and got two more hits in the game. Another guy with toonder in his bat. Again, my bold prediction is Murphy ends up with the most innings behind the plate and most AB's among the Giants catchers on the season.
Kyle Harrison LHP- 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.26. Hopefully this is just Harrison trying to avoid injury in his final spring tuneup.
Erik Miller LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.25. Read an X-post that Miller was hitting 97 with the FB and showing 2 good secondary pitches. Did the Giants option him too soon?
Tyler Vogel RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. Vogel gets to visit major league camp for a day. Drafted in 2022 he had an interesting season last year for the SJ Giants as a multi-inning reliever. His pitching line was 6-7, 4.27, 65.1 IP, 34 BB, 89 K, GO/AO= 1.53. A name to watch in the minor league boxscores in 2024.
The Giants break camp and head north. They play the AAA Sacramento River Cats tomorrow evening with Mason Black RHP going for the Giants and the River Cats SP TBD.
Saw somewhere that one of the reasons Melvin pushed for the Chapman signing was that his GG defense at 3rd base and his range moving to his left will help the new Shortstop they bring in. Great to see Luciano's bat getting hot to make it interesting. Maybe Chapman at 3rd base is a good time for Luciano to break in? Dan Schulman said Bo Bichette used to follow Chapman around the field.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Doc and LG. Having a middle of the lineup bat at the shortstop position is potentially foundational to the Giants building a championship caliber offense. Having Chapman alongside Luciano takes a lot of pressure off the young SS and will surely help his development. The Giants have also added starters who are strikeout, bat missing power arms who are less dependent on the defense to get outs. Nevertheless the Giants have done a good job putting together an overall defensive team that can help absorb Luciano’s possible growing pains with the glove. And the hope is that Luciano will show viability at SS rather than being a liability.
ReplyDeleteWhoever's starting SS, seems Fitzgerald belongs on roster -- pinch runner, better hitter than Ahmed, and crucially the defensive versatility given multiple guys team would rather not have in the field
ReplyDeleteSS: Luciano has the power, Fitzgerald has the speed, Ahmed has the glove
ReplyDeleteWhat the Giants have added on Defense should help them play better on the Road.
Last year they were 2-8 on their last road trip, and lost the last 6 on the previous trip: 2-14 to finish the season.
Had the Giants played close to .500 on the road last year, 40-41, they would have been the NL #2 non-division-winner playoff team.
Prediction: Montgomery will sign with the Red Sox.
In trying to discern the direction the Giants organization will take – and specifically, who will lead it - going forward, I believe the situation at shortstop will be revealing. I believe if Marco Luciano is the starting SS on Opening Day, we will know that the Giants are Pete Petula’s team. He needs 400 AB in the majors to show what he can do. Will he K 100 times? Perhaps. Could he hit 25 HR? Absolutely. And he will have a likely GG playing to his right. If not now, when? Rising thru the ranks (11 years) to GM at with HOU, the Astros became quite successful by promoting players they believed in quickly – Jose Altuve (went from AA to the show), Carlos Corriea (NL ROY at age 20), George Springer (a college player, in MLB at age 24), Alex Bregman (also a college player, in MLB at age 22), the list goes on. Since Lucian has started slow and then shown the power (including Oppo power) everywhere he has been given enough AB, and since he is doing the same this spring training, it would make sense to give him a chance and see what he can do. We will know it is Pete Petula calling the shots.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if the choice for starting SS on Opening Day is a 34-year-old SS with a good glove but a now fading bat (Nick Ahmed), who replaced last year’s Opening Day SS who was a 35-year-old with a good glove but a now fading bat (Brandon Crawford), we will know that Farhan Zaidi is still the one making the final calls.
There is also the possibility that Petula and Zaidi are seen as equals and when a tiebreaker is needed, Bob Melvin is included in the final call. Since we know that Bob Melvin would likely have been hired with or without Zaidi’s consent, this is a possibility. And since Zaidi’s entire career, at least until September 2023, has focused less on the instinctive (look at how Bruce Bochy was treated) more on the analytical (he stuck with his personal preference – Gabe Kapler – long after it was clear that there was a reason that both the Dodgers and Phillies encouraged him to find employment elsewhere, perhaps Melvin’s opinion does carry more weight with upper management than other MLB managers.
Personally, I believe that Luciano should be given the chance. And if he is, then Petula is going to be asked to take on more responsibility and Zaidi less, going forward. Which is what I believe to be the way forward for the Giants organization.
Not sure I agree with all of it, but an interesting take. LOL Pete Petula(Putila?). Maybe instead of calling him Peppermint Pete we should call him Pete Petunia!
DeleteExactly the response I want to read to one of my posts. Thanks. And beg pardon for the typo - it is indeed Putila. Best Regards, and thanks for what you do with this forum.
DeleteAI unleashed...
DeleteThere was a notable shift in prospect promotion philosophy last year. As you point out, the Astros were agressive with prospect promotion when Pete was the Director of Player development there so it's logical to think he brought some of that energy with him to his role as GM for the Giants.
DeleteLuciano needs more seasoning. He’s been hurt every season and missed significant time. Literally every season. They should start him if AAA, if he’s healthy and hot in AAA then call him up. But he needs more seasoning clearly due to time missed and injuries
ReplyDeleteIt appears that Slater will begin the season on the IL and Matos will be the next in line!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't what Melvin wants lead the way on who stays and who goes down (or away), within the constraints of the 40-man roster and injuries, real and/or plausible, like Slater?
ReplyDeleteSurely Melvin wasn't hired to be co-manager with supposed string pullers, was he?
I am sure Melvin's preferences are a big factor but the POBO/GM is ultimately responsible for roster decisions.
DeleteAssuredly you are right, but Melvin has some stripes, hard to believe he wouldn't get what he wanted to mange.
DeleteHis say about whom he wants to manage has to be the starting point, then the "lessening" options that have financial or 40-man consequences would be waived.
Let's say, hypothetically, Melvin wants Luciano to build up some confidence in AAA but "Pete Petula" and/or Farhan want exposure, and they tell him (Melvin) to play him (Luciano), that's not a good start.
OK, the supposition is extreme but, on your board, Doc, you get both sides of this: who rules: Melvin, Pete, Farhan, or AI?
Farhan.
DeleteHahahaha... AI indeed... Actually, I am a human, but I am also an Automation Architect (I build bots for a living)... Best... -kar120c
ReplyDelete