The Giants brought their hitting shoes to Scottsdale Stadium and slugged four home runs in support of strong pitching from Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong. Key Lines:
Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .222. I think LMWJ must have heard us talking about his lack of contact yesterday. He came out swinging today and made his first hit of the spring a home run. He later drove in 2 runs with a single and scored ahead of Willy Adames 2-run single.
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 3. BA= .455. The early returns on Willy Adames are encouraging. He stung his former team with a 2-run single in the 4'th inning.
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 2, HR(1), BB. BA= .286. Chappy seems to be about where we want him to be in the early spring. His HR came after Patrick Bailey C drew a 2-out walk in the first inning.
Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 2, HR(1), BB. BA= .222. If Wilmer stays healthy, a 1B platoon with LMWJ should be just fine. His HR was B2B after Chapman's 2-run blast in the first inning.
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .200. YtY got off to a slow start to spring games but added his name to the list of Giants who homered.
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 1 for 2, BB. BA= .500. Fitz makes his first spring start after working through some back tightness.
Logan Webb RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, 4/1 GO/AO. ERA= 1.80. Webb gave up a solo HR but otherwise looked like he was in midseason form.
Kyle Harrison LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00. Harrison makes his first appearance of the spring after getting a late start due to illness(flu?). FB was reportedly 91-93 MPH. He says he worked all offseason to strengthen the shoulder and it feels fine. He intends to ramp up his FB velocity through the spring.
Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.50.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.25. Birdsong reportedly hit 98 MPH again with the FB. Between Landen Roupp RHP, Harrison and Birdsong, the Giants young pitching appears to be in great shape. Add in The Carsons and they may even be able to make a trade or two from a strength.
Nice win for the lads. Carson Seymour RHP get the start tomorrow against the Dodgers in Glendale AZ. Justin Verlander RHP will work a sim game so as to not be exposed to the Hated Ones in a meaningless game.
hopefully not the best Giants 2025 day, put does push the bar up there
ReplyDeleteHaving Roupp and Birdsong is insurance against injuries and also Ray/Verlander being gone next year. The 2 of the 3 Carsons are not spring chickens, and we also need insurance if Hicks can’t turn the corner. That said, we have others in minors starting to push too. Not sure if we can really trade from position of strength but getting closer.
ReplyDeleteWith Fitz and Harrison appearing, is everyone other than Murphy "operational"?
ReplyDeleteHeliot Ramos is throwing from 120 ft and will start swinging a bat this weekend. Tom Murphy is just starting light rehab activities. Probably will miss the start of the season. Sounds like Erik Miller still has numbness in his fingers and will undergo more testing. That's about it. Everybody else appears to be healthy.
DeleteDoc, does Miller's incapacity (so far) worry you a bit, given he's the only LH reliever?
DeleteAlthough Taylor Rogers did not have the expected splits (RHB/LHB) for the Giants, his career numbers are very much more favorable. Was 2024 indicative of the future or one-off?
It is interesting that he was not worth $6M to the Giants to keep him, but he was worth the $6M he cost Cincinnati.
Do you think there is more to his trade than how it looks?
Transient finger numbness is usually not a serious medical issue but Miller's seems to be persisting which becomes quite concerning. You only have to look at Noah Lowry and Tristan Beck outcomes to see it can be a sign of a serious underlying problem.
DeleteIt appears to me that Bob Melvin became frustrated with Taylor Rogers and just wanted to move on. Melvin wanted to open the roster space to try other options.
DeleteHope it won't make it harder to sign Tyler.
DeletePerhaps he/his agent and Buster can put together an extension before Free Agency.
I guess Osleivis Basabe has a mild shoulder strain and is shut down for a few days. Lamb has a tight quad.
DeleteThe description of Miller's finger numbness is vague. There are multiple causes such as shoulder, wrist, spine problems or even things like a bump, diabetes, or temperature change. I did not see any mentions of accompanying pain or which fingers are affected. He's been dealing with it since the beginning of camp so I'm getting worried.
DeleteRoupp was dominant in the minors. No reason to think he can’t be good in the majors. Jordan Hicks I wouldn’t start over Birdsong, Harrison or Roupp. Hicks is a serious injury waiting to happen. Just like how he got predictably gassed barely half way through the season last year, it’s inevitable he will get hurt because he has spent basically his whole 20’s as a hard throwing reliever and he’s close to 30 now and we know how the body responds to such things
ReplyDeleteA pair of Tylers, 26-year old Fitzgerald and 33-year old Rogers, are the oldest position player and pitcher signed originally by the Giants, and, if Rogers isn't signed for 2026, 28-year old Ryan Walker becomes the oldest pitcher.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't include Bivens who is older than Walker but he bounced around Indy ball before the Giants snagged him. It doesn't include Villar either, but he has to make the team.