The Giants prospects fell behind early 5-0 but rallied in the later innings and battled to a tie in the 2025 Spring Breakout game. Key Lines:
Diego Velasquez 2B- 2 for 5. Velasquez hit .312 in about one third of a season at AA level at age 20. 2B is probably going to be crowded at AAA level to start 2025 so he might start back in AA but his ability to hit for average in that environment is impressive.
Sabin Ceballos 3B- 1 for 4, 2B. Potential breakout prospect in 2025. Probably ticketed for AA.
Lisbel Diaz LF- 1 for 3, BB. Another potential breakout prospect for 2025. Just 19 yo.
Rayner Arias RF- 1 for 1, HBP. Looking for a full healthy season.
Adrian Sugastey C- 1 for 2, 2B. Sugastey hit .298 for A+ Eugene in 2023. Struggled to a .210 BA in AA Richmond last season. Has looked good in limited spring action in major league camp. Possible deep sleeper in the system.
Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. Decent performance but overshadowed by Rangers #4 prospect Winston Santos RHP who struck out 6 in 3 perfect innings.
Gerelmi Maldonado RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. Comeback season for Maldonado would be a big plus for the Giants farm system.
Liam Simon RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Missed last season due to injury. Zach Minasian mentioned in an interview that he appears to be healthy and looks sharp this spring.
Greg Farone LHP - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. Big lefty, 6' 6", 240 lbs drafted in Round 7 last year. Did not appear in any pro games post-draft.
Giants top prospect, Bryce Eldridge 1B, missed the game due to wrist soreness that has bothered him for 2 weeks. An MRI reportedly came back clean and he is starting to hit off a tee.
Regarding Simon, the Giants always seem to draft this type of pitcher. High K, High BB guys. They always think they can fix them. He averaged a walk an inning in college.
ReplyDeleteHe did throw 10 innings of rookie ball in '24. K'ed 16. Wow. Walked 19. WOW!
That makes sense at round 7. You need to go for a high ceiling even if it is a low probability.
DeleteIs there a disconnect between expectations and reality?
ReplyDeleteLooking at the Giants field positions, they appear settled with some contests for back ups in the IF, OF, C, and perhaps DH among able candidates.
Likewise, the rotation, at least 4 of 5 spots, seems to be set, with what appears to be many good choices for the final starter.
Giants have 2 viable closers and a settled setup.
There is a contest for a second LH set-up reliever.
It is said that Posey will have tough decisions between able candidates for the few open positions.
OTOH, the pundits (as well as contributors to this blog) pan the Giants, mostly looking at #4 in the NL West, a + or - .500 team, with minuscule chance of the playoffs, and no chance to win it all.
So, what's up Doc, are we optimists blind?
Irrational exuberance abounds in spring training but I like what I'm seeing from the Giants and it's not about the spring W-L record. There is a settled confidence and depth we haven't see in the last several years.
DeleteDoc, I am with you > I really ( of course health is a big thing) that our pitching has the potential to be elite!
ReplyDeleteThe bats showing good promise.
Yes hopes springs eternal in a young mans Heart > but even old goats like me north of the border am really looking forward to the season
Also really pumped to watch Birdsong pitch today.
My friends tell me as I am in Canada I have to change a be a Blue Jay fan.
Cant do that I am like you a lifer Giants fan.
Beside they are in a blue state > so really I guess I am still good!!
Richard in Winnipeg
There was an anonymous contributor to Keith Law’s blog on The Athletic’s dissection of the Giants’ prospects in the game with Texas who sounds a lot like a familiar Giant fan on this blog:
ReplyDelete“The Giants appear to be in trouble in the sense that if you can’t (or won’t) spend at the level of the LA Dodgers, then you better be able to nail your draft picks and/or develop your guys in the farm system and it doesn’t sound like that is happening.
“As someone who lives in Richmond, VA and went to a few of the AA games last year, it was sad to see how underwhelming the prospects on that team looked. Said differently, I didn’t see another Patrick Bailey or Logan Webb on last year’s Flying Squirrels roster.”
From Virginia. Is that you, Steve?
I've been trending toward being optimistic. The team is making an honest attempt to keep the bases on balls and errors (what Krukow calls 90 foot mistakes) to a minimum. The team is also preaching situational hitting. I'm expecting and hoping to see crisper play and improvement on all levels of the organization. Let the prognosticators say "fourth place" but the last I've heard, they still have to play the games.
ReplyDelete