tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post1854654258971893331..comments2024-03-29T07:08:13.837-07:00Comments on When the Giants Come to Town...: DrB's 2013 Giants Top 50 Prospects #5: Clayton BlackburnDrBGiantsfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574563470247927739noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-12329151554211719922013-01-10T22:29:02.775-08:002013-01-10T22:29:02.775-08:00I hadn't seen this until recently though it ha...I hadn't seen this until recently though it had been written some time ago. Not really what I wanted to hear and leads credence to the 'soft tosser' label. Granted one guy and only one start. Who knows if Blackburn was simply tired that start which led to the reduced velocity. <br /><br />"Blackburn is a three-pitch pitcher. While it’s been reported that Blackburn throws in the low 90s by a couple of well known armchair prospect writers, the truth is that he touches the low 90s, but spends ninety percent of the time in the upper 80s. I only saw six innings of one start. Still, a few of my most trusted scouting sources confirmed my velocity readings. While this pitch isn’t what some have made it out to be, it’s a groundball inducing drug for hitters."<br /><br />Full article here...<br /><br />http://bullpenbanter.com/scouting-report-giants-prospect-clayton-blackburn/ slc_giantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-30791040978540695822012-12-23T23:20:25.957-08:002012-12-23T23:20:25.957-08:00Yeah, this is good for us. Lots of negatives for ...Yeah, this is good for us. Lots of negatives for Cody, he hit horribly on the road in 2012, has really been a platoon guy in his career, but the bad end, vs. LHP, and has not hit well in AZ even though their pitching was not the best before and it is a hitters park, 78 PA if I remember right. <br /><br />I am a little miffed at him for backing out of a deal with the Giants, but karma payback that he ended up with a lousy contract and misses out on another ring. But I will forever be thankful for his 2010.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-75103674590925328482012-12-22T18:52:17.644-08:002012-12-22T18:52:17.644-08:00I agree OGC, the projection knock seems a bit unfa...I agree OGC, the projection knock seems a bit unfair. These are the labels that get thrown down though. BA, Mayo, etc all say that. But he has nice size, he just has conditioning issues. <br /><br />I'd say wait and see what happens this year at High-A, but SIX pitchers who look good is really, really sweet. And I think Agosta is getting undersold right now. He has the ability to pitch both sides of the plate, mix up a solid bunch of stuff. Stratton might have six pitches depending on how you categorize them. Blackburn definitely has shown some advanced stuff, I do think its a little prove out, see what happens with his velocity and how he spots things versus more advanced hitting. Next year I'd start thinking big 3 if they call can move up.Shankbonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04803824507120403397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-20290237734881310192012-12-22T18:38:42.292-08:002012-12-22T18:38:42.292-08:00I haven't see Blackburn pitch so I can only go...I haven't see Blackburn pitch so I can only go by what's out there in the way of second hand information. Based on everything I've read, I am reasonably sure he sits in the low 90's.<br /><br />The Cal League will be a test, but he already made an impressive debut there in the 2012 playoffs.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-74304043497112481882012-12-22T18:36:37.434-08:002012-12-22T18:36:37.434-08:00Well, when you are dealing with kids in Low A ball...Well, when you are dealing with kids in Low A ball, I think scouting has to trump stats, so Crick comes out on top. The only reason I did not rank him #1 overall is I tend to believe that it's harder to get walk rates down than most people think and he has to do that. Plenty of time to get it done, but he has to do it. The ceiling is huge, though.<br /><br />I think you can almost flip a coin between Stratton and Blackburn. I gave the nod to the guy who excelled in a major D1 college program which I think tells you a lot. <br /><br />As for Blackburn vs Pucetas, I really don't see any comparison. Pucetas was a college draftee from an obscure program, was a true soft tosser and just was never going to be more than a #5 starter on a bad team.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-41909415653846245642012-12-22T18:12:52.674-08:002012-12-22T18:12:52.674-08:00Now that we got the big three, in my mind, out, wh...Now that we got the big three, in my mind, out, what would really be interesting is a discussion of the relative merits of the three. I know you made the point not to worry about the relative ranking, and I am not, but still, I think it would be informative to see you discuss, here or in a separate post, what your thoughts were in ranking them the way you did, or more importantly, relative to each other. <br /><br />Just looking at just the numbers, Blackburn looks really exciting, but then we had the most spectacular pitcher, Pucetas, and he flamed out by AAA. But the knock appears to be his lack of projection. But he is a pretty good size, maybe too much per Shankbone, So why no possibility for projection, I am not as familiar with that concept, usually I see that with college seniors or short players. Still, he has four pitches, so I would think that would help him as he rises. But Stratton also has four, and is older, so is it velocity that gets him ranked higher?obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-42720302912471305652012-12-22T17:31:13.982-08:002012-12-22T17:31:13.982-08:00Very curious to see how the season goes for Blackb...Very curious to see how the season goes for Blackburn. Very wide spread on his reported velocity readings. Does he have more in the tank? The big knock is he's out of projection. There are some pro-am scouts who aren't as high on Blackburn as Giants fans. They started with soft tosser labels and have definitely questioned any 93-95 MPH talk. I'm pretty sure the big heat #s come from none other than Keith Law, who is most likely dreaming up new ways to mock the Greybeards for somehow not realizing what they might have with young Clayton. <br /><br />There are 3 questions I have: one, what is his true velocity and along those lines is he leaving a little off to keep maximum control; two, will his conditioning improve to compensate for this lack of top ceiling; three, can he carve up the CA league the way he did the Sally? Pretty excited about Blackburn, looks like a great piece of drafting by Los Gigantes.Shankbonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04803824507120403397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-53784672168050906412012-12-22T17:07:54.397-08:002012-12-22T17:07:54.397-08:00I don't think they are really comparable, yet....I don't think they are really comparable, yet. AFW was still looking very promising as late as AAA before crashing and burning on the MLB beach head, while these kids haven't made it out of A ball yet.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-52761174516103282102012-12-22T16:41:41.752-08:002012-12-22T16:41:41.752-08:00How does the trio of Crick, Stratton, and Blackbur...How does the trio of Crick, Stratton, and Blackburn compare to the trio of AFW?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-5884452659856087222012-12-22T15:03:23.947-08:002012-12-22T15:03:23.947-08:00Wow! Sorry for getting this comment thread off tr...Wow! Sorry for getting this comment thread off track there. Anybody want to talk Clayton Blackburn?DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-61217705034233195112012-12-22T14:55:48.266-08:002012-12-22T14:55:48.266-08:00Well, Cody will probably hit a walkoff dinger to t...Well, Cody will probably hit a walkoff dinger to two against the Giants, then flip his bat and take a hop skip step or two. I won't be able to get too mad at him after what he did on 2010, but he's a downgrade from Chris B. Young and a downgrade at the plate from Kubel(if, in fact, the D'Backs are seriously shopping Kubel) even if he's an upgrade from Kubel on D. Yeah, gotta scratch your head a bit at what the D'Backs are doing.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-85315986712986349842012-12-22T13:19:24.901-08:002012-12-22T13:19:24.901-08:00i believe that cody will do well at that park, and...i believe that cody will do well at that park, and he is a great clubhouse guy<br /><br />i dont get their trade philosophy and i believe it is based on their attempts to fit square pegs in round holes...something the giants do not do<br /><br />btw, hope everyone has read lew's letter to oakland...its a doozie<br /><br />can be found in the a's section at sfgate<br /><br />bacciAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-22763151466621025182012-12-22T11:55:16.676-08:002012-12-22T11:55:16.676-08:00Yup. D'Backs are not like the Dodgers with un...Yup. D'Backs are not like the Dodgers with unlimited resources to cover up mistakes. They gotta use their money wisely and aren't getting it done.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-7576234488500529752012-12-22T11:51:56.807-08:002012-12-22T11:51:56.807-08:00Dbacks management is really screwing up this team....Dbacks management is really screwing up this team. Losing Bauer for a no-hit shortstop and now signing vets that are not worth what they get where they already have a surplus. Just seems questionable to me, but being a Giants fan this is good for us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389427040394111033.post-80598303774237524232012-12-22T10:38:41.219-08:002012-12-22T10:38:41.219-08:00Cody Ross signs a 3 year deal with the D'Backs...Cody Ross signs a 3 year deal with the D'Backs for $26 M including a $1 M 4'th year buyout. Good for him. I'm glad Cody Ross is going to take a nice stash out of the game. I'm also glad the Giants aren't the ones paying it.DrBGiantsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699322384438591979noreply@blogger.com