The 2016 Arizona League Giants started off slow, 12-16 in the first half, and finished strong, 16-11 in the second. The second half record fell 0.5 games short of their second half division title and kept then out of the the AZL playoffs.
The Arizona League is a rookie league mostly populated by HS draftees getting their first pro action, later round college draftees, often from smaller college programs, and DSL graduates getting their introduction to stateside baseball. In recent years, the Giants have tended to parade their higher round college draftees through for a few games before sending them on to Salem-Keizer in the college draftee heavy Northwest League. Most true prospects in the AZL are age 20 or under. Occasionally you will get a small college draftee or a guy who has spend 2 or 3 seasons on the DSL who beats the odds, but in general, players over the age of 20 are long shots to ever make it to the majors, which is not to say there aren't intriguing prospects in that group.
The AZL is a hitter friendly league and you will typically see a lot of high batting averages. The ballparks are huge and the kids young, so you won't see so many HR's. With that background, let's dive into some names that I think are worth noting. It's a long list so we'll divide it between hitters and pitchers. I did not include players who spent only a few games in Arizona and most of their season at a higher level. If there is one takeaway name from the 2016 AZL season it's Sandro Fabian, an 18 yo OF out of the DSL. He dominated the league like no other 18 year old I can remember, at least in the Giants organization. He is, by far, the top prospect from this team.
Nick Hill 3B. DOB: 8/2/1994. B-R, T-R. 6'4", 190 lbs. .263/.330/.343, 8 2B, 3 3B, 17 SB, 2 CS, 9 BB, 47 K's, 175 AB. Very intriguing player! Drafted in round 26 out of tiny Eckard College(FL) although he apparently had offers from larger programs like Maryland. The Giants drafted him as a CF but he's listed as a P/1B on the Eckard website. He played mostly 3B in Arizona. Two things that stand out here are the size and the SB's. He'll have to learn to control the strike zone better, but the tools are there. BTW, he was hitting .297 on 8/17 but slumped down the stretch. He got a late promo to S-K and went 3 for 13 in 3 games there.
Brandon Van Horn SS. DOB: 12/18/1993. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 175 lbs. .231/.328/.300, 7 2B, 2 3B, 24 BB, 47 K, 160 AB. One of 2 Giants draftees out of The Masters College in Santa Clarita, CA, picked in Round 19. Van Horn has a reputation for being a slick fielding SS, but obviously doesn't have much of a stick. His D may buy him some time to develop the hitting.
Sandro Fabian OF. DOB: 3/6/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 180 lbs. .340/.364/.522, 13 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 28 K's, 159 AB. There is a video out on the web of Fabian hitting a HR and flipping his bat that is worth searching for. Beyond that, he hit for average and power while keeping his K rate well below 20% and garnered several assists from the OF all at age 18. If you are looking for negatives they would be a low walk rate and and a lack of projection in the body. Of course it is the Arizona League and the big test will come when he hits Augusta, which should be next spring, but this is a kid to get excited about!
Michael Bernal 2B. DOB: 9/6/1992. B-R, T-R. 5'11", 190 lbs. .260/.337/.473, 11 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 11 BB, 44 K's, 146 AB. Older player drafted out of Arkansas in round 29. Showed some pop in the bat, but not a whole lot else.
Mikey Edie OF. DOB: 7/3/1997. B-R, T-R. 5'11", 175 lbs. .217/.287/.280, 5 2B, 2 3B, 10 SB, 8 BB, 44 K's, 143 AB. Very disappointing season for Edie after he hit .290 in the AZL last year and .298 in the DSL in 2014. He's still young enough to recover, but the road ahead is unclear at this point.
Beicker Mendoza OF/1B. DOB: 2/14/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 185 lbs. .272/.300/.316, 4 BB, 31 K, 114 AB. Kind of a nondescript line here. You would hope a kid his size would show more pop in the bat. Just 18 yo, so has time.
Jacob Heyward OF. DOB: 8/1/1995. B-R, T-R. 6'3", 210 lbs. .337/.488/.579, 10 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 10 SB, 24 BB, 30 K's, 95 AB. Heyward is the brother of Jason Heyward. The Giants drafted him out of Miami in Round 18 after his stock fell due to a subpar junior season. These are great numbers, but a draftee out of a major college program has no business playing in the AZL. I think the Giants just had so many OF's there was not room at higher levels so he stayed in Arizona just to get AB's. I think he missed some time with an injury too. He did hit .286 in 4 games after a late promotion to Salem-Keizer. Very intriguing prospect, but has to show it at higher levels.
Woody Edwards OF. DOB: 4/2/1995. B-R, T-R. 5'10", 155 lbs. .294/.360/.324, 8 SB, 5 BB, 11 K, 68 AB. Woody is a new moniker for Edwards who was known as Roger last year. He was drafted in round 40 out of JC ball in 2015 and hit just .198 for the AZL Giants in his pro debut, so this is an improvement. He also hit .269 in 7 games after a late promo to S-K. Seems like a plucky guy, but the odds are against him.
Malique Ziegler OF. DOB: 9/8/1996. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 170 lbs. .290/.384/.419, 4 2B, 2 3B, 4 SB, 10 BB, 15 K, 62 AB. Drafted out of JC ball in round 22. He's a project, but I really like this kid. Nice size, with both speed and a bit of pop.
Jose Layer OF. DOB: 5/28/1997. B-R, T-R. 6'0", 160 lbs. .283/.356/.377, 5 2B, 5 BB, 7 K, 53 AB. Puerto Rican HS pick in round 13. Giants have not had a lot of luck with their Puerto Rican HS draftees but Layer is off to a nice start. He hit .321 over his last 10 games in which he took 34 of his total of 53 AB's on the season.
Jeffery Parra C. DOB: 1/24/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'0", 195 lbs. .275/.370/.375, 1 HR, 3 BB, 8 K, 40 AB. HS draftee in round 24. Great story of a hard working kid from a hard working family. Didn't see much action but performed well when he did.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Game Wrap 9/10/2016: Giants 11 D'Backs 3
This game went pretty much the way Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean drew it up in the offseason: The Giants offense kept the line moving and Johnny Cueto dominated the D'Backs hitters for 7 innings. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 3 for 5, 3B. BA= .281. Like most of the Giants lineup, Pagan had been in a bit of a slump which he broke out of today. The ball he hit for a triple was a low liner that carried over the head of Brito in CF. It was hit about as hard as a ball can be hit.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .287. Buster needed a multi-hit game and got one tonight. He'll likely get a rest day tomorrow.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .269. The first 4 batters in the lineup went 1 for 22 last night. Tonight they went 8 for 19.
Hunter Pence- 3 for 3, HR(11), 2 BB. BA= .293. Pence is red hot with 10 hits in 13 AB's over his last 3 games. If the Giants end up in the postseason and you are looking for the spark that turned the season around, look no further than Pence's last 3 games.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 5, 2B. BA= .271. The double was initially called a HR on a mammoth shot to left of straightaway CF. On replay, the ball was about a foot short and bounced up off a metal bracing on the fence below the padded yellow line. Since it was not a ground rule double, the umps had to decide how far runners could advance. Belt was properly placed at 2B and Pence properly scored.
Joe Panik- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .256. Panik was doing Panik's thing, hitting the gaps and keeping the line moving.
Eduardo Nunez- 3 for 4, BB, SB(36). BA= .284. Nunez is growing on me. He's getting lots of hits and playing terrific D at 3B. Giants have their 3B for next season while Christian Arroyo gets some more salt in Sacramento.
Johnny Cueto- 1 for 3, Sac. BA= .111. Cueto helped himself with the bat driving in a run with a single and then laying down a very good sac bunt with 2 strikes later in the game.
Johnny Cueto- 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 13/1. ERA= 2.90. Cueto delivers a dominant start. He had the D'Backs hitters killing worms, or whatever lurks under the ground in Arizona, all night.
*********************************************************************************
The Dodgers blanked the Marlins 5-0 as Rich Hill did not allow a baserunner in 7 innings of work, so the Bad Guys remain 4 games ahead of the Giants in the NL West. The Cardinals came from behind to beat the BrewCrew 2-1 to remain 1 game behind the Giants for the first Wild Card playoff spot. The Mets lost to fall 1.5 games behind the Giants for the 2'nd spot.
*********************************************************************************
Matt Moore tries for a series sweep against Zack Greinke tomorrow afternoon.
Angel Pagan- 3 for 5, 3B. BA= .281. Like most of the Giants lineup, Pagan had been in a bit of a slump which he broke out of today. The ball he hit for a triple was a low liner that carried over the head of Brito in CF. It was hit about as hard as a ball can be hit.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .287. Buster needed a multi-hit game and got one tonight. He'll likely get a rest day tomorrow.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .269. The first 4 batters in the lineup went 1 for 22 last night. Tonight they went 8 for 19.
Hunter Pence- 3 for 3, HR(11), 2 BB. BA= .293. Pence is red hot with 10 hits in 13 AB's over his last 3 games. If the Giants end up in the postseason and you are looking for the spark that turned the season around, look no further than Pence's last 3 games.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 5, 2B. BA= .271. The double was initially called a HR on a mammoth shot to left of straightaway CF. On replay, the ball was about a foot short and bounced up off a metal bracing on the fence below the padded yellow line. Since it was not a ground rule double, the umps had to decide how far runners could advance. Belt was properly placed at 2B and Pence properly scored.
Joe Panik- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .256. Panik was doing Panik's thing, hitting the gaps and keeping the line moving.
Eduardo Nunez- 3 for 4, BB, SB(36). BA= .284. Nunez is growing on me. He's getting lots of hits and playing terrific D at 3B. Giants have their 3B for next season while Christian Arroyo gets some more salt in Sacramento.
Johnny Cueto- 1 for 3, Sac. BA= .111. Cueto helped himself with the bat driving in a run with a single and then laying down a very good sac bunt with 2 strikes later in the game.
Johnny Cueto- 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 13/1. ERA= 2.90. Cueto delivers a dominant start. He had the D'Backs hitters killing worms, or whatever lurks under the ground in Arizona, all night.
*********************************************************************************
The Dodgers blanked the Marlins 5-0 as Rich Hill did not allow a baserunner in 7 innings of work, so the Bad Guys remain 4 games ahead of the Giants in the NL West. The Cardinals came from behind to beat the BrewCrew 2-1 to remain 1 game behind the Giants for the first Wild Card playoff spot. The Mets lost to fall 1.5 games behind the Giants for the 2'nd spot.
*********************************************************************************
Matt Moore tries for a series sweep against Zack Greinke tomorrow afternoon.
Down on the Farm: 9/9/2016
The Bakersfield Blaze won Game 3 of the first round of the California League playoffs over the San Jose Giants 5-3 to eliminate the Giants. Key Lines:
TJ Bennett 2B- 1 for 4, HR, SB.
Miguel Gomez 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.
Robbie Garvey LF- 3 for 4, 2B, SB.
Jake McCasland RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.
Ryan Halstead RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
Tyler Cyr RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
We'll have to see what Bennett does at higher levels, but he sure hit for San Jose after being signed out of indy ball. Gomez can hit. All 3 of these pitchers spent most of the season on Augusta. They should be part of next year's SJ team.
The SJ Giants were the only Giants affiliate involved in postseason play thus ending the minor league season for Giants prospect watchers.
TJ Bennett 2B- 1 for 4, HR, SB.
Miguel Gomez 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.
Robbie Garvey LF- 3 for 4, 2B, SB.
Jake McCasland RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.
Ryan Halstead RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
Tyler Cyr RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
We'll have to see what Bennett does at higher levels, but he sure hit for San Jose after being signed out of indy ball. Gomez can hit. All 3 of these pitchers spent most of the season on Augusta. They should be part of next year's SJ team.
The SJ Giants were the only Giants affiliate involved in postseason play thus ending the minor league season for Giants prospect watchers.
Game Wrap 9/9/2016: Giants 7 D'Backs 6
The Giants survived a subpar start by Madison Bumgarner and another Blown Save by Santiago Casilla to win in extra innings. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 1 for 5, HR(10), BB. BA= .277. The first 4 batters in the lineup went a combined 1 for 22 with 3 walks, so it's a good thing that the 1 hit was a dinger because there was nobody else to drive in the run if it was anything less. Pagan is closing in on his career high of 12 HR's in a season.
Hunter Pence- 4 for 5, 2 2B, BB. BA= .287. The offense really started with Pence in the 5-hole.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, 3 BB. BA= .272. Belt's singles were hit pretty hard so maybe he's coming out of his funk? He is 4 for 6 with 4 BB's in his last 2 games.
Joe Panik- 2 for 5, BB. BA= .252. Panik also made a nice running catch in CF on a ball that Span got a poor jump on.
Eduardo Nunez- 2 for 5, 2B, SF. BA= .280. Nice production from the 8-hole by Nunez.
Kelby Tomlinson- 1 for 1. BA= .306. Tomlinson drove in the winning run with a PH single in the 12'th inning.
Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 2.61. The K/BB is dominant but those dingers hurt. At least one of them may have been due to some very bizarre home plate umpiring. At one point Bumgarner let out an expletive that the D'Backs broadcast crew said they could hear in the booth. For what it's worth Brenly and the D'backs PBP guy showed the pitch in question on replay and were quite critical of Dale Scott who was calling balls and strikes saying "we sometimes see that from Dale Scott" or something to that effect.
One of the dingers was by Kyle Jenson for his first MLB HR and could have been due to a lack of a scouting report?
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. BA= 3.62. Wasn't Jake Lamb the guy who caused Casilla's meltdown earlier in the season? Not sure why Bochy let Casilla face him here with so many LHP's in the bullpen. The results were predictable. Henry Schulman reports after the game that Casilla is no longer the official closer. That news comes as a big relief to Giants fans! Had they not won this game, it would have been too late, though.
Joe Nathan- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. It wasn't a clean inning and Nathan has not been announced as the new closer.
Cory Gearrin- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(3). ERA= 4.47. Bochy drew a page from Joe Maddon when he moved Gearrin to LF while Javier Lopez faced fearsome Jake Lamb, then brought Gearrin back to the mound to finish the game. Is it possible that tandem will be the new closer? BTW, Lopez walked Lamb, which is better than giving up a HR.
*********************************************************************************
Jose Fernandez struck out 13 Dodgers as the Marlins beat the Bad Guys and Clayton Kershaw 4-1 so the Giants gain a game and trail the first place Dodgers by 4 games in the NL West.
the Cardinals and Mets both won so the Giants remain 0.5 games ahead of the Mets for the first Wild Card playoff spot and 1 game ahead of the Cardinals for the second.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto takes the mound tonight facing Archie Bradley.
Angel Pagan- 1 for 5, HR(10), BB. BA= .277. The first 4 batters in the lineup went a combined 1 for 22 with 3 walks, so it's a good thing that the 1 hit was a dinger because there was nobody else to drive in the run if it was anything less. Pagan is closing in on his career high of 12 HR's in a season.
Hunter Pence- 4 for 5, 2 2B, BB. BA= .287. The offense really started with Pence in the 5-hole.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, 3 BB. BA= .272. Belt's singles were hit pretty hard so maybe he's coming out of his funk? He is 4 for 6 with 4 BB's in his last 2 games.
Joe Panik- 2 for 5, BB. BA= .252. Panik also made a nice running catch in CF on a ball that Span got a poor jump on.
Eduardo Nunez- 2 for 5, 2B, SF. BA= .280. Nice production from the 8-hole by Nunez.
Kelby Tomlinson- 1 for 1. BA= .306. Tomlinson drove in the winning run with a PH single in the 12'th inning.
Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 2.61. The K/BB is dominant but those dingers hurt. At least one of them may have been due to some very bizarre home plate umpiring. At one point Bumgarner let out an expletive that the D'Backs broadcast crew said they could hear in the booth. For what it's worth Brenly and the D'backs PBP guy showed the pitch in question on replay and were quite critical of Dale Scott who was calling balls and strikes saying "we sometimes see that from Dale Scott" or something to that effect.
One of the dingers was by Kyle Jenson for his first MLB HR and could have been due to a lack of a scouting report?
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. BA= 3.62. Wasn't Jake Lamb the guy who caused Casilla's meltdown earlier in the season? Not sure why Bochy let Casilla face him here with so many LHP's in the bullpen. The results were predictable. Henry Schulman reports after the game that Casilla is no longer the official closer. That news comes as a big relief to Giants fans! Had they not won this game, it would have been too late, though.
Joe Nathan- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. It wasn't a clean inning and Nathan has not been announced as the new closer.
Cory Gearrin- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(3). ERA= 4.47. Bochy drew a page from Joe Maddon when he moved Gearrin to LF while Javier Lopez faced fearsome Jake Lamb, then brought Gearrin back to the mound to finish the game. Is it possible that tandem will be the new closer? BTW, Lopez walked Lamb, which is better than giving up a HR.
*********************************************************************************
Jose Fernandez struck out 13 Dodgers as the Marlins beat the Bad Guys and Clayton Kershaw 4-1 so the Giants gain a game and trail the first place Dodgers by 4 games in the NL West.
the Cardinals and Mets both won so the Giants remain 0.5 games ahead of the Mets for the first Wild Card playoff spot and 1 game ahead of the Cardinals for the second.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto takes the mound tonight facing Archie Bradley.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Down on the Farm: 2016 DSL Season Review
The 2016 DSL Giants were a good team as evidenced by their 40-30 record, but that was only good enough for 3'rd place in their division which left them out of the playoffs for the first time in several years. As rosters were announced, the only recognizable new name was Ricardo Genoves, a catcher out of Venezuela who signed for mid-6 figures. The rest of the roster was a mixture of returnees and lesser known signees.
The DSL is generally very pitcher friendly and the DSL Giants have produced many more pitching prospects over the years than hitting prospects, so the frequency of high scoring games early in the season came as a bit of a surprise. As the season went along, the pitchers seemed to gain confidence and the hitters were not quite so hot.
It is a bit of an oversimplification to say that any player over the age of 18 in the DSL is not a prospect, but it is close to being true. The gap in talent and experience between the DSL and the Rookie Arizona League stateside is relatively big. It typically takes a DSL graduated at least 2-3 years after graduating to Arizona to work up to AA, so it is important to get an early start. Most of the major contributors to the DSL Giants success in 2016 were 18 years old or younger. Here are some of the names that made an impression on me as I reviewed daily boxscores all season:
Angeddy Almanzer 1B DOB: 6/30/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 180 lbs. .294/.373/.438, 17 2B, 5 HR, 22 BB, 48 K, 235 AB. Almanzer was, by far, the best hitter on the team and he did not turn 18 until 6/30. On the other hand, you are not going to find many prospect hounds who get excited over a kid who is already a first baseman in the DSL.
Francisco Medina 3B DOB: 3/20/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 165 lbs. .289/.386/.355, 3 HR, 33 BB, 39 K, 228 AB. Medina is a holdover from 2015. You may recall he started off hot last year with a barrage of HR's but then went cold in the second half. This year was a mirror image as he hit .252 in the first half and .325 in the second half. Curiously, he hit only 1 more double than HR which is the main reason his SLG% was so low. Hopefully his hot second half gets him a promotion to Arizona next season. I like him because he seems to have a big of pop in his bat and some projectabilty in his frame.
Jose Patino CF DOB: 12/11/1997. B-S, T-R. 6'0", 160 lbs. .278/.345/.377, 15 BB, 35 K, 205 AB. Another holdover in his age 19 season making him more suspect than prospect.
Ismael Munguia OF DOB: 10/10/1998. B-L, T-L. 5'10", 258 lbs. .274/.359/.363, 30 BB, 15 K's, 237 AB. Munguia started off hot and kept his BA above .300 most of the season before tailing off at the end. Seems like he has some tools and gotta love the K/BB!
Ricardo Genoves C DOB: 5/4/1999. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 190 lbs. .256/.342/.333, 13 2B, 1 HR, 22 BB, 34 K, 207 AB. Unimpressive pro debut for the bonus baby. The Giants seem to be high on him though and sent him to the DSL All-Star Game. Expect him in the States next year. Remember he had to learn catching too.
Jose Rivero SS DOB: 4/30/1998. B-L, T-R. 5'11", 158 lbs. .253/.361/.308, 35 BB, 36 K, 198 AB. Another holdover from 2015. The K/BB is the most impressive part of this line. Will that be enough to get him to Arizona next year?
Diego Rincones OF DOB: 6/14/1999. B- R, T-R. 6'0", 175 lbs. .244/.346/.343, 12 2B, 2 HR, 29 BB, 32 K, 201 AB. Barely 17 yo when the season started, Rincones showed a bit of pop in his bat, good plate discipline and a bit of room to fill out his frame. He may repeat the DSL next year, but is an intriguing prospect.
Franklin Labour OF DOB: 5/11/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 180 lbs. .242/.333/.304, 21 BB, 38 K, 194 AB. Nothing really stands out here.
Johan Herrera RHP DOB: 12/8/1998. 6'1", 170 lbs. 4-4, 2.09, 77.2 IP, 18 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO= 1.59. The workhorse of the rotation but his size and K numbers are not impressive despite his relatively young age.
Orleny Quiroz LHP DOB: 7/21/1993. 6'3", 180 lbs. 2-5, 2.18, 45.1 IP, 22 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO- 2.18. Ordinarily I would dismiss a 23 yo in the DSL out of hand, but Quiroz has left-handedness, size and numbers to make me think he might have a chance. He'll have to move fast, though.
Jesus Reyes RHP DOB: 7/31/1996. 6'4", 176 lbs. 4-1, 1.51, 35.2 IP, 17 BB, 46 K, GO/AO= 2.00. Reyes was 19 yo most of the season but has size, a projectable frame and nice numbers, out of the bullpen. He and Genoves were the Giants representatives at the DSL All-Star Game.
Jasier Herrera RHP DOB: 1/1/1998. 6'5", 190 lbs. 3-1, 3.77, 22.0 IP, 7 BB, 21 K, GO/AO= 1.28. Even though he was not a starter, I like Jasier as a prospect better than Johan due to the size differential. BTW, Jasier and Johan are from different countries so probably not related.
If you squint really hard, you might find a prospect or 2 here, but nobody to be doing handsprings over.
The DSL is generally very pitcher friendly and the DSL Giants have produced many more pitching prospects over the years than hitting prospects, so the frequency of high scoring games early in the season came as a bit of a surprise. As the season went along, the pitchers seemed to gain confidence and the hitters were not quite so hot.
It is a bit of an oversimplification to say that any player over the age of 18 in the DSL is not a prospect, but it is close to being true. The gap in talent and experience between the DSL and the Rookie Arizona League stateside is relatively big. It typically takes a DSL graduated at least 2-3 years after graduating to Arizona to work up to AA, so it is important to get an early start. Most of the major contributors to the DSL Giants success in 2016 were 18 years old or younger. Here are some of the names that made an impression on me as I reviewed daily boxscores all season:
Angeddy Almanzer 1B DOB: 6/30/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 180 lbs. .294/.373/.438, 17 2B, 5 HR, 22 BB, 48 K, 235 AB. Almanzer was, by far, the best hitter on the team and he did not turn 18 until 6/30. On the other hand, you are not going to find many prospect hounds who get excited over a kid who is already a first baseman in the DSL.
Francisco Medina 3B DOB: 3/20/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 165 lbs. .289/.386/.355, 3 HR, 33 BB, 39 K, 228 AB. Medina is a holdover from 2015. You may recall he started off hot last year with a barrage of HR's but then went cold in the second half. This year was a mirror image as he hit .252 in the first half and .325 in the second half. Curiously, he hit only 1 more double than HR which is the main reason his SLG% was so low. Hopefully his hot second half gets him a promotion to Arizona next season. I like him because he seems to have a big of pop in his bat and some projectabilty in his frame.
Jose Patino CF DOB: 12/11/1997. B-S, T-R. 6'0", 160 lbs. .278/.345/.377, 15 BB, 35 K, 205 AB. Another holdover in his age 19 season making him more suspect than prospect.
Ismael Munguia OF DOB: 10/10/1998. B-L, T-L. 5'10", 258 lbs. .274/.359/.363, 30 BB, 15 K's, 237 AB. Munguia started off hot and kept his BA above .300 most of the season before tailing off at the end. Seems like he has some tools and gotta love the K/BB!
Ricardo Genoves C DOB: 5/4/1999. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 190 lbs. .256/.342/.333, 13 2B, 1 HR, 22 BB, 34 K, 207 AB. Unimpressive pro debut for the bonus baby. The Giants seem to be high on him though and sent him to the DSL All-Star Game. Expect him in the States next year. Remember he had to learn catching too.
Jose Rivero SS DOB: 4/30/1998. B-L, T-R. 5'11", 158 lbs. .253/.361/.308, 35 BB, 36 K, 198 AB. Another holdover from 2015. The K/BB is the most impressive part of this line. Will that be enough to get him to Arizona next year?
Diego Rincones OF DOB: 6/14/1999. B- R, T-R. 6'0", 175 lbs. .244/.346/.343, 12 2B, 2 HR, 29 BB, 32 K, 201 AB. Barely 17 yo when the season started, Rincones showed a bit of pop in his bat, good plate discipline and a bit of room to fill out his frame. He may repeat the DSL next year, but is an intriguing prospect.
Franklin Labour OF DOB: 5/11/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 180 lbs. .242/.333/.304, 21 BB, 38 K, 194 AB. Nothing really stands out here.
Johan Herrera RHP DOB: 12/8/1998. 6'1", 170 lbs. 4-4, 2.09, 77.2 IP, 18 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO= 1.59. The workhorse of the rotation but his size and K numbers are not impressive despite his relatively young age.
Orleny Quiroz LHP DOB: 7/21/1993. 6'3", 180 lbs. 2-5, 2.18, 45.1 IP, 22 BB, 50 K's, GO/AO- 2.18. Ordinarily I would dismiss a 23 yo in the DSL out of hand, but Quiroz has left-handedness, size and numbers to make me think he might have a chance. He'll have to move fast, though.
Jesus Reyes RHP DOB: 7/31/1996. 6'4", 176 lbs. 4-1, 1.51, 35.2 IP, 17 BB, 46 K, GO/AO= 2.00. Reyes was 19 yo most of the season but has size, a projectable frame and nice numbers, out of the bullpen. He and Genoves were the Giants representatives at the DSL All-Star Game.
Jasier Herrera RHP DOB: 1/1/1998. 6'5", 190 lbs. 3-1, 3.77, 22.0 IP, 7 BB, 21 K, GO/AO= 1.28. Even though he was not a starter, I like Jasier as a prospect better than Johan due to the size differential. BTW, Jasier and Johan are from different countries so probably not related.
If you squint really hard, you might find a prospect or 2 here, but nobody to be doing handsprings over.
Down on the Farm: 9/8/2016
The Bakersfield Blaze evened the first round California League playoff series against the San Jose Giants at 1 game apiece with a resounding 7-1 win:
Bryan Reynolds CF- 2 for 4, HR.
Cory Taylor RHP- 5.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.
Reynolds was the offense for SJ. Taylor pitched well in a 2 inning tuneup over the weekend, but got clobbered here. It's been a big ramp up in IP for Taylor this year.
Jake McCasland gets the callup from Augusta to start the rubber match today.
Bryan Reynolds CF- 2 for 4, HR.
Cory Taylor RHP- 5.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.
Reynolds was the offense for SJ. Taylor pitched well in a 2 inning tuneup over the weekend, but got clobbered here. It's been a big ramp up in IP for Taylor this year.
Jake McCasland gets the callup from Augusta to start the rubber match today.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Down on the Farm: 9/7/2016
High A San Jose Giants defeated the Bakersfield Blaze 5-3 in Game 1 of the first round of the California League playoffs:
Bryan Reynolds RF-CF- 1 for 3, BB.
Dylan Davis DH- 1 for 1, HR, 2 BB, HBP.
TJ Bennett 2B- 1 for 3, HR.
Jordan Johnson RHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
Reyes Maronta RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save.
Ronnie Jebavy collided with TJ Bennett early in the game and suffered a shoulder separation. Looks like Maronta would fit right into the Giants bullpen.
Bryan Reynolds RF-CF- 1 for 3, BB.
Dylan Davis DH- 1 for 1, HR, 2 BB, HBP.
TJ Bennett 2B- 1 for 3, HR.
Jordan Johnson RHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
Reyes Maronta RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save.
Ronnie Jebavy collided with TJ Bennett early in the game and suffered a shoulder separation. Looks like Maronta would fit right into the Giants bullpen.
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