I'm not making any commitment to keep up with Farhan Zaidi's roster churning through the full Hot Stove League season, but this seems like it could be a significant pickup. The Giants claimed LHP Tyler Anderson off waivers from the Rockies. Anderson is a former first round draft pick, #20 overall, in 2011. He's been a decent pitcher for the Rockies, but missed almost all of last season after requiring knee surgery. Before you get too excited about his mid-4 ERA's while pitching half his game in Coors Field, his career splits are much better at home than on the road. He's arbitration eligible and projected by MLBTR to make $2.6 M which is probably why the Rockies cut him loose. Farhan may have no intention of offering him arbitration either, but he'll probably try to strike a deal avoiding arbitration.
In an apparently corresponding move, the Giants designated RHP Kyle Barraclough for assignment. Barraclough is also arbitration eligible and projected to make $2.1 M by MLBTR. There is no way the Giants want to to be on the hook for $2.1 M to Kyle Barraclough or even close to that, so not much of surprise he was let go.
I really like this move. Home-road splits notwithstanding, I think moving from Coors Field to Oracle Park can only help Anderson's numbers. A healthy knee and a tweak or two in his repertoire and I could seem him being a solid rotation member either helping the Giants make the postseason or bringing back a nice prospect or two at the trade deadline. We'll see if he makes it through The Churn.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Armchair GM: 2020 Big Dollar Energy Rosterbation
OK, team. This is just for fun and is not at all close to what I think the Giants roster will look like on Opening Day 2020. It's just one of many possibilities the Giants could do and can afford to do given their current roster and financial flexibility. Our target is to build a competitive roster and keep the payroll under the CBT threshold of $208 M(first we have to subtract the estimated $17.5 M for the minor league portion of the 40 man roster and Benefits package which puts us at $191.5 M. Salaries will be in AAV for the CBT calculation(rounded to the closest 0.5 M). So, here it is, my Big Dollar Energy Rosterbation roster for 2020:
Lineup:
C Buster Posey- $18.5 M
1B Brandon Belt- $14.5 M(let's see what he can do with Triples Alley moved in).
2B Mauricio Dubon- $0.6 M
3B Evan Longoria- $11 M
SS Brandon Crawford- $12.5 M(Full no-trade clause, not that expensive in AAV, short leash).
LF Alex Dickerson- $1 M(agrees to contract before arbitration deadline).
CF Mike Yastrzemski- $0.6 M
RF Marcel Ozuna- $20 M(5 year FA contract. Can play RF if Triples Alley moved in enough).
Bench:
Steven Vogt- $3 M.
Donovan Solano- $1 M
Drew Robinson- $0.6 M
Joey Rickard- $1 M
Austin Slater- $0.6 M.
Rotation:
Madison Bumgarner- $20 M(4 yr FA contract).
Jeff Samardzjia- $18 M
Johnny Cueto- $21.5 M
Jake Odorizzi- $20 M(4 yr FA contract).
Logan Webb- $0.6 M
Bullpen:
Tony Watson- $3 M(Exercises Player Option).
Drew Pomeranz- $1.5 M(1 year FA)
Tyler Rogers- $0.6 M.
Enderson Franco- $0.6 M
Jandel Gustave- $0.6 M
Shaun Anderson- $0.6 M
Tyler Beede- $0.6 M
Melvin Adon- $0.6 M
Total Payroll in AAV: $173 M.
Left to spend midseason: $18.5 M.
Note: Rosters expand to 26 with at least 13 position players for 2020.
Let's see your Big Dollar Energy Rosterbation roster in the Comments.
Note: This is just for fun. "Flame" comments will not be published.
Lineup:
C Buster Posey- $18.5 M
1B Brandon Belt- $14.5 M(let's see what he can do with Triples Alley moved in).
2B Mauricio Dubon- $0.6 M
3B Evan Longoria- $11 M
SS Brandon Crawford- $12.5 M(Full no-trade clause, not that expensive in AAV, short leash).
LF Alex Dickerson- $1 M(agrees to contract before arbitration deadline).
CF Mike Yastrzemski- $0.6 M
RF Marcel Ozuna- $20 M(5 year FA contract. Can play RF if Triples Alley moved in enough).
Bench:
Steven Vogt- $3 M.
Donovan Solano- $1 M
Drew Robinson- $0.6 M
Joey Rickard- $1 M
Austin Slater- $0.6 M.
Rotation:
Madison Bumgarner- $20 M(4 yr FA contract).
Jeff Samardzjia- $18 M
Johnny Cueto- $21.5 M
Jake Odorizzi- $20 M(4 yr FA contract).
Logan Webb- $0.6 M
Bullpen:
Tony Watson- $3 M(Exercises Player Option).
Drew Pomeranz- $1.5 M(1 year FA)
Tyler Rogers- $0.6 M.
Enderson Franco- $0.6 M
Jandel Gustave- $0.6 M
Shaun Anderson- $0.6 M
Tyler Beede- $0.6 M
Melvin Adon- $0.6 M
Total Payroll in AAV: $173 M.
Left to spend midseason: $18.5 M.
Note: Rosters expand to 26 with at least 13 position players for 2020.
Let's see your Big Dollar Energy Rosterbation roster in the Comments.
Note: This is just for fun. "Flame" comments will not be published.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Scouting the Hot Stove League: Giants Pre-Hot Stove Snapshot
We completed our Giants Depth Chart series which is one way of assessing the Giants current strengths and needs for the Hot Stove season as well as Hot Stove Leagues into the future. The Hot Stove will fire up in earnest as soon as the World Series ends, which could be as soon as tomorrow night, so this will be our tee up for the fun to come. I'm going to approach this in a similar format to the MLBTR breakdowns. Contract information comes from Cot's Baseball Contracts Payroll and Tax Tracker. A reminder that there is a significant difference between salary owed for 2020 and the AAV that gets charged against the CBT. Here's the breakdown:
Guaranteed Contracts:
Buster Posey: 2020 Salary- $22, 177, 778. AAV for CBT- $18, 555, 555.
Johnny Cueto: 2020 Salary- $21 M. AAV for CBT- $21,666, 667.
Jeff Samardzija: 2020 Salary- $19, 800, 000. AAV for CBT- $18 M
Brandon Belt: 2020 Salary- $17, 200, 000. AAV for CBT- $14,560, 000.
Brandon Crawford: 2020 Salary- $15, 200, 000. AAV for CBT- $12, 500, 000.
Evan Longoria: 2020 Salary- $15, 166,667. AAV for CBT- $11, 165, 000.
Tony Watson(Player Option): 2020 Salary- $2,500, 000. AAV for CBT- $3,000,000.
*********************************************************************
Total: 2020 Guaranteed Salary- $113, 044, 445. AAV for CBT- $99,447, 222.
Arbitration Eligible(Estimated Salary per MLBTR)(Salary=AAV for CBT):
Kevin Pillar: $9.7 M
Kyle Barraclough: $2.1 M
Alex Dickerson: $1.2 M
Wandy Peralta: $800 K
Joey Rickard: $1.1 M
Donovan Solano: $1.2 M
***********************
Total Estimated Salary for Arbitration Eligibles: $16.1 M
Non-Tender Candidates: Barraclough, Peralta, Pillar.
Doubt Giants will actually offer arbitration to any of these. Any who don't come to terms prior to the deadline will likely be non-tendered.
Free Agents:
Madison Bumgarner
Will Smith
Pablo Sandoval
Fernando Abad
Steven Vogt
Tony Watson(if he does not exercise his Player Option- see above).
CBT Factors(per Cot's Baseball Contracts Payroll and Tax Tracker):
40-Man Players- Minors- $2,250, 000.
Est. Player Benefits- $15 M.
Projected 40-Man CBT Payroll(including 40-man minors and EPB's above; Excluding Estimated Arbitration Salaries)- $116, 697, 222.
CBT Threshold- $208, 000, 000.
Amount Under Threshold- $91, 302, 778(Note: you do not have to subtract Player Benefits and Minor League Salaries from this Amount Under Threshold per Cot's).
Hot Stove Priorities:
1. #1 or #2 SP
2. #3 or #4 SP
3. Closer
4. Upgrade OF offense
5. Upgrade offense at SS and/or 1B(corollary: Dump at least one of the Brandons).
Guaranteed Contracts:
Buster Posey: 2020 Salary- $22, 177, 778. AAV for CBT- $18, 555, 555.
Johnny Cueto: 2020 Salary- $21 M. AAV for CBT- $21,666, 667.
Jeff Samardzija: 2020 Salary- $19, 800, 000. AAV for CBT- $18 M
Brandon Belt: 2020 Salary- $17, 200, 000. AAV for CBT- $14,560, 000.
Brandon Crawford: 2020 Salary- $15, 200, 000. AAV for CBT- $12, 500, 000.
Evan Longoria: 2020 Salary- $15, 166,667. AAV for CBT- $11, 165, 000.
Tony Watson(Player Option): 2020 Salary- $2,500, 000. AAV for CBT- $3,000,000.
*********************************************************************
Total: 2020 Guaranteed Salary- $113, 044, 445. AAV for CBT- $99,447, 222.
Arbitration Eligible(Estimated Salary per MLBTR)(Salary=AAV for CBT):
Kevin Pillar: $9.7 M
Kyle Barraclough: $2.1 M
Alex Dickerson: $1.2 M
Wandy Peralta: $800 K
Joey Rickard: $1.1 M
Donovan Solano: $1.2 M
***********************
Total Estimated Salary for Arbitration Eligibles: $16.1 M
Non-Tender Candidates: Barraclough, Peralta, Pillar.
Doubt Giants will actually offer arbitration to any of these. Any who don't come to terms prior to the deadline will likely be non-tendered.
Free Agents:
Madison Bumgarner
Will Smith
Pablo Sandoval
Fernando Abad
Steven Vogt
Tony Watson(if he does not exercise his Player Option- see above).
CBT Factors(per Cot's Baseball Contracts Payroll and Tax Tracker):
40-Man Players- Minors- $2,250, 000.
Est. Player Benefits- $15 M.
Projected 40-Man CBT Payroll(including 40-man minors and EPB's above; Excluding Estimated Arbitration Salaries)- $116, 697, 222.
CBT Threshold- $208, 000, 000.
Amount Under Threshold- $91, 302, 778(Note: you do not have to subtract Player Benefits and Minor League Salaries from this Amount Under Threshold per Cot's).
Hot Stove Priorities:
1. #1 or #2 SP
2. #3 or #4 SP
3. Closer
4. Upgrade OF offense
5. Upgrade offense at SS and/or 1B(corollary: Dump at least one of the Brandons).
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Armchair GM: Should the Giants Give Will Smith A Qualifying Offer?
Another big decision coming right up for Farhan and the Giants braintrust is whether to make a QO to Closer Will Smith. The QO actually went down this year, I think for the first time and is right around $18 M. I looked up the FA contracts signed by Closers over the past 2 years. The closest in AAV is Wade Davis who signed for 3 years with an AAV of $17.3 M. At the time, Davis was considered an elite closer, although cracks were starting to show. If the Rockies had a do-over, I don't think they would sign that contract again but mainly for the length. Other recent AAV's for FA Closers are more in the $10-$13 M range.
Will Smith was arguably the best Closer in baseball last year, but does not have a long track record in the role. Without a QO, his value on the open market would likely fall somewhere around 3/$39 M. A QO is likely to suppress his market value significantly which would make 1/$18 M look quite attractive to him. So, Farhan has to figure if he makes the QO, there is a fairly high probability Smith will accept. I'm guessing Farhan does not want to pay that much for a Closer and probably thinks he can churn one out who will get the job done for a very small fraction of the cost.
Putting all that together, here's my outcome probabilities(rough estimates):
No QO- 60%
QO/Accepted- 20%
QO/Rejected- 20%.
Market alternatives include Cody Allen, Dellin Betances, Will Harris, Daniel Hudson, Jeremy Jeffress, Brandon Kintzler and Arodys Vizcaino.
BTW, as a commenter just pointed out in the previous post, teams signing a QO FA no longer lose their top pick but losing second picks was enough to suppress the markets for Dallas Keuchal and Craig Kimbrel last year.
Will Smith was arguably the best Closer in baseball last year, but does not have a long track record in the role. Without a QO, his value on the open market would likely fall somewhere around 3/$39 M. A QO is likely to suppress his market value significantly which would make 1/$18 M look quite attractive to him. So, Farhan has to figure if he makes the QO, there is a fairly high probability Smith will accept. I'm guessing Farhan does not want to pay that much for a Closer and probably thinks he can churn one out who will get the job done for a very small fraction of the cost.
Putting all that together, here's my outcome probabilities(rough estimates):
No QO- 60%
QO/Accepted- 20%
QO/Rejected- 20%.
Market alternatives include Cody Allen, Dellin Betances, Will Harris, Daniel Hudson, Jeremy Jeffress, Brandon Kintzler and Arodys Vizcaino.
BTW, as a commenter just pointed out in the previous post, teams signing a QO FA no longer lose their top pick but losing second picks was enough to suppress the markets for Dallas Keuchal and Craig Kimbrel last year.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Armchair GM: Should the Giants Re-Sign Madison Bumgarner?
With the World Series heading into its middle or final stages(BTW, baseball has to do something about the pace of games. Last night's game had zero reason to not move right along and it clocked in a well over 4 hours. Ugh!), the moment of truth for the Giants and Madison Bumgarner fast approaches. There are multiple factors at play here which will undoubtedly lead to a chess match between Farhan Zaidi along with Giants management and Madison Bumgarner and his representatives.
I believe I was one of the first to write in the Giants blogosphere that they should trade Bumgarner and get prospect talent back in a preemptive rebuild rather than waiting to sign another big, longterm contract with an aging pitcher with ton of mileage on his arm. Circumstances evolved to cause me to re-evaluate my position including 1. It's now too late to get talent back in return. 2. Bummy had a modest bounceback last year after two years of missing time with injuries. Fortunately, the second of those injuries, the fractured hand, should not be a longterm problem and the infamous shoulder separation seems to have fully resolved. At this point it looks like a decent bet he has a few more seasons left in the tank. 3. While 2 years ago, it appeared he would be wildly overvalued as a free agent, the two injuries, industry trends and the QO may have suppressed his market value to the point of being seriously undervalued.
There are plenty of reasons why both sides want to gauge his market value before agreeing to a new contract so there is close to zero chance he won't reach free agent status. The no brainer is the Giants making a Qualifying Offer. At this point, a 1 year contract for $18 M for a pitcher of his caliber is a sweet deal for the team. The chances of a QO are close to 100%. Now, it's possible Bumgarner and his advisors have estimated his market in the context of a QO, looked at what happened to Dallas Keuchal last year and Hyun-Jin Ryu this year, and he's decided to bet on himself. In this scenario he would accept the QO, hope he stays healthy all season with stats at least as strong as 2019 and be free of the QO weight next offseason. I'll say there is maybe a 10% chance of this outcome.
This brings us to the 90% chance he turns down the QO and goes on the market. Let me pause right here to say the Giants can easily afford whatever Bummy's market turns out to be, now and into the future. Even if we stipulate an absolute salary cap at the CBT threshold, with Mark Melancon's contract off the books they are about $90 M under for 2020. Shark's contract comes off next year, the Brandons, Buster and Johnny Cueto come off after 2021 and Longo comes off after 2022 except for some relatively small buyouts, but books are clear after that. The narrative that the Giants are hamstrung by a bunch of albatross contracts or that they cannot field a competitive team until said albatross contracts have run their course has been grossly blown out of proportion. Not only can the Giants easily afford to sign a free agent contract with Madison Bumgarner, but they can sign him plus Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon and still have payroll flexibility going forward!
There are a whole host of business reasons why re-signing Madison Bumgarner is beneficial for the Giants which we won't detail here. Unless his market unexpectedly goes crazy and he commands a Scherzeresque contract, the baseball factors have caught up to the business factors. A 3-5 year contract for $70-100 M would make a lot of sense for both Bummy and the Giants although if that happens, it can't be their only big move of the offseason. Farhan has to stop thinking he's still working for the A's or trying to help the Dodgers get under the CBT threshold and spend money on more help for MadBum.
I believe I was one of the first to write in the Giants blogosphere that they should trade Bumgarner and get prospect talent back in a preemptive rebuild rather than waiting to sign another big, longterm contract with an aging pitcher with ton of mileage on his arm. Circumstances evolved to cause me to re-evaluate my position including 1. It's now too late to get talent back in return. 2. Bummy had a modest bounceback last year after two years of missing time with injuries. Fortunately, the second of those injuries, the fractured hand, should not be a longterm problem and the infamous shoulder separation seems to have fully resolved. At this point it looks like a decent bet he has a few more seasons left in the tank. 3. While 2 years ago, it appeared he would be wildly overvalued as a free agent, the two injuries, industry trends and the QO may have suppressed his market value to the point of being seriously undervalued.
There are plenty of reasons why both sides want to gauge his market value before agreeing to a new contract so there is close to zero chance he won't reach free agent status. The no brainer is the Giants making a Qualifying Offer. At this point, a 1 year contract for $18 M for a pitcher of his caliber is a sweet deal for the team. The chances of a QO are close to 100%. Now, it's possible Bumgarner and his advisors have estimated his market in the context of a QO, looked at what happened to Dallas Keuchal last year and Hyun-Jin Ryu this year, and he's decided to bet on himself. In this scenario he would accept the QO, hope he stays healthy all season with stats at least as strong as 2019 and be free of the QO weight next offseason. I'll say there is maybe a 10% chance of this outcome.
This brings us to the 90% chance he turns down the QO and goes on the market. Let me pause right here to say the Giants can easily afford whatever Bummy's market turns out to be, now and into the future. Even if we stipulate an absolute salary cap at the CBT threshold, with Mark Melancon's contract off the books they are about $90 M under for 2020. Shark's contract comes off next year, the Brandons, Buster and Johnny Cueto come off after 2021 and Longo comes off after 2022 except for some relatively small buyouts, but books are clear after that. The narrative that the Giants are hamstrung by a bunch of albatross contracts or that they cannot field a competitive team until said albatross contracts have run their course has been grossly blown out of proportion. Not only can the Giants easily afford to sign a free agent contract with Madison Bumgarner, but they can sign him plus Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon and still have payroll flexibility going forward!
There are a whole host of business reasons why re-signing Madison Bumgarner is beneficial for the Giants which we won't detail here. Unless his market unexpectedly goes crazy and he commands a Scherzeresque contract, the baseball factors have caught up to the business factors. A 3-5 year contract for $70-100 M would make a lot of sense for both Bummy and the Giants although if that happens, it can't be their only big move of the offseason. Farhan has to stop thinking he's still working for the A's or trying to help the Dodgers get under the CBT threshold and spend money on more help for MadBum.
Giants Depth Charts: Closer
We'll finish up with Closer. Other relief roles are just too fluid and sprawling to really do any kind of depth chart so we won't go there. Will Smith is a free agent. Current in-house options to replace him including Shaun Anderson, Jandel Gustave, Enderson Franco, Kyle Barraclough, Trevor Gott and Melvin Adon don't exactly inspire confidence. Much like Madison Bumgarner's situation, it looks like the Giants will either have to find a way to re-sign Will Smith or bring in someone else from outside the organization to fill the role if they want to field a competitive team.
AAA:
Sam Wolff
Tyler Cyr
Chase Johnson
The best Closers are often former SP's who have a SP repertoire of pitches and are able to gain velocity in shorter appearances. On that theory, Chase Johnson might be the best bet here. He closed in college.
AA
Raffi Vizcaino
Rodolfo Martinez
Dylan Davis
Vizcaino fits the former SP profile. Martinez has elite velocity but has never been able to stay healthy. Davis, of course, is a converted OF who could surprise in a RP role.
A+:
Camilo Doval
Jesus Tona
Frank Rubio
Patrick Ruotolo
Solomon Bates
Doval has elite velocity and is working his way up the organizational ladder. Tona is a converted catcher who has thrived in Closer roles. Rubio has a funky delivery but not much velocity. He's likely more of a setup guy. We'll see what Patrick Ruotolo does in 2020 after missing much of 2019. I included Bates because he has the physicality you look for a in a Closer.
A:
Norwith Gudino
Gregory Santos
I'm double listing Gudino and Santos on the SP and Closer depth charts. They are currently being used as SP's but both look like candidates to move to the bullpen by the time they are ready for the majors.
Short Season:
Garrett Cave
Prelander Berroa
Kervin Castro
Garrett Cave is a hard thrower with control/command issues. Ditto Berroa who is listed on the SP depth chart too. Castro seems like a candidate to move to the bullpen at higher levels. At these levels, you just look for guys who throw hard.
Rookie(AZL)/DSL:
Not seeing much to get excited about amongst pitchers on these rosters.
AAA:
Sam Wolff
Tyler Cyr
Chase Johnson
The best Closers are often former SP's who have a SP repertoire of pitches and are able to gain velocity in shorter appearances. On that theory, Chase Johnson might be the best bet here. He closed in college.
AA
Raffi Vizcaino
Rodolfo Martinez
Dylan Davis
Vizcaino fits the former SP profile. Martinez has elite velocity but has never been able to stay healthy. Davis, of course, is a converted OF who could surprise in a RP role.
A+:
Camilo Doval
Jesus Tona
Frank Rubio
Patrick Ruotolo
Solomon Bates
Doval has elite velocity and is working his way up the organizational ladder. Tona is a converted catcher who has thrived in Closer roles. Rubio has a funky delivery but not much velocity. He's likely more of a setup guy. We'll see what Patrick Ruotolo does in 2020 after missing much of 2019. I included Bates because he has the physicality you look for a in a Closer.
A:
Norwith Gudino
Gregory Santos
I'm double listing Gudino and Santos on the SP and Closer depth charts. They are currently being used as SP's but both look like candidates to move to the bullpen by the time they are ready for the majors.
Short Season:
Garrett Cave
Prelander Berroa
Kervin Castro
Garrett Cave is a hard thrower with control/command issues. Ditto Berroa who is listed on the SP depth chart too. Castro seems like a candidate to move to the bullpen at higher levels. At these levels, you just look for guys who throw hard.
Rookie(AZL)/DSL:
Not seeing much to get excited about amongst pitchers on these rosters.
Giants Depth Charts: Starting Pitchers
Sorry for the break in posts. I've been crazy busy and had some writer's block. I guess we'll go ahead and finish up the depth charts before branching out into other topics. Starting pitching, which was an overwhelming strength during the run of championships is suddenly very thin. It also feels very strange that Madison Bumgarner, who is a free agent, is not on the depth chart.
MLB 40 Man Roster:
Jeff Samardzija
Johnny Cueto
Tyler Beede
Logan Webb
Dereck Rodriguez
I suppose you might count Shaun Anderson, Andrew Suarez, Conner Menez and Burch Smith, but all those guys seem to be more on the reliever track at this point. If the Giants don't re-sign Bummy, their going to have to supplement this rotation with another FA or two or make a trade or two if they want to maintain any semblance of competitiveness in 2020. In other words, their going to have to either pay Bummy or pay someone else.
AAA:
Caleb Baragar
That's it. Just one SP currently listed on the River Cats roster and not a name you expect to see holding down a rotation spot in SF anytime soon. So, help is not on the way!
AA:
Sean Hjelle
Garrett Williams
Hjelle seems promising, but needs to show he's read to dominate higher levels out of spring training. Williams still struggles with control/command.
A+:
Tristan Beck
Jake Wong
Matt Frisbee
Jose Marte
Aaron Phillips
Tristan Beck showed promise after being acquired in the Mark Melancon trade. Jake Wong was a bit disappointing after promotion to SJ. Frisbee was a lower round draft pick who is putting up interesting numbers.
A:
Seth Corry
Norwith Gudino
Blake Rivera
Gregory Santos
Kai-Wei Teng
Keaton Winn
Corry had a breakout season in 2019. Can he keep it going at higher levels? Santos could be a future ace, but needs to stay healthy. Gudino, Rivera, Teng and Winn showed varying degrees of promise in a relatively pitcher-friendly environment.
Short Season
Kervin Castro
Conner Nurse
Caleb Kilian
Jasier Herrera
Bryce Fehmel
Prelander Berroa
Kervin Castro showed he most in 2019, although I think Kilian might be a sleeper.
Rookie(AZL):
Trevor McDonald
Freddery Paulino
Sonny Vargas
Jesus Gomez
Marco Gonzalez
Juan Sanchez
Nick Morreale
Trevor McDonald got a significant over-slot bonus out of the 11'th round of the 2019 draft. Extremely small pro sample size so far. The DSL graduate lefties struggled a bit in their stateside debuts.
DSL:
None.
Nobody on the DSL Giants pitching staff stood out in 2019 as we saw mostly high scoring games all season.
Overall SP is the thinnest position in the organization, the worst in my memory. The 2019 draft and 2018 international signings did not add much.
MLB 40 Man Roster:
Jeff Samardzija
Johnny Cueto
Tyler Beede
Logan Webb
Dereck Rodriguez
I suppose you might count Shaun Anderson, Andrew Suarez, Conner Menez and Burch Smith, but all those guys seem to be more on the reliever track at this point. If the Giants don't re-sign Bummy, their going to have to supplement this rotation with another FA or two or make a trade or two if they want to maintain any semblance of competitiveness in 2020. In other words, their going to have to either pay Bummy or pay someone else.
AAA:
Caleb Baragar
That's it. Just one SP currently listed on the River Cats roster and not a name you expect to see holding down a rotation spot in SF anytime soon. So, help is not on the way!
AA:
Sean Hjelle
Garrett Williams
Hjelle seems promising, but needs to show he's read to dominate higher levels out of spring training. Williams still struggles with control/command.
A+:
Tristan Beck
Jake Wong
Matt Frisbee
Jose Marte
Aaron Phillips
Tristan Beck showed promise after being acquired in the Mark Melancon trade. Jake Wong was a bit disappointing after promotion to SJ. Frisbee was a lower round draft pick who is putting up interesting numbers.
A:
Seth Corry
Norwith Gudino
Blake Rivera
Gregory Santos
Kai-Wei Teng
Keaton Winn
Corry had a breakout season in 2019. Can he keep it going at higher levels? Santos could be a future ace, but needs to stay healthy. Gudino, Rivera, Teng and Winn showed varying degrees of promise in a relatively pitcher-friendly environment.
Short Season
Kervin Castro
Conner Nurse
Caleb Kilian
Jasier Herrera
Bryce Fehmel
Prelander Berroa
Kervin Castro showed he most in 2019, although I think Kilian might be a sleeper.
Rookie(AZL):
Trevor McDonald
Freddery Paulino
Sonny Vargas
Jesus Gomez
Marco Gonzalez
Juan Sanchez
Nick Morreale
Trevor McDonald got a significant over-slot bonus out of the 11'th round of the 2019 draft. Extremely small pro sample size so far. The DSL graduate lefties struggled a bit in their stateside debuts.
DSL:
None.
Nobody on the DSL Giants pitching staff stood out in 2019 as we saw mostly high scoring games all season.
Overall SP is the thinnest position in the organization, the worst in my memory. The 2019 draft and 2018 international signings did not add much.
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