It's tough to know where to rank players from the Dominican Summer League in the overall rankings of Giants prospects. Unless they really stand out for some reason, like Adalberto Mejia last year, or were signed to a very large bonus like Gustavo Cabrera this year, I usually cover them separately in a post I call Dominican Dandies. Here are a few of the names from last year's team, which seemed a bit weaker than in recent years:
Hengerber Medina, SS. DOB: 10/12/1994. 5'11", 158 lbs., B-R, T-R.
.313/.453/.344, 7 SB, 26 BB, 16 K in 128 AB. Age is important to look at here. Anyone over 18 should be suspect as a true prospect and over 19 is almost surely a non-prospect. Medina did not turn 18 until well after the season was over, so he's on a good track. Has some room to fill out, but I would worry about his lack of power at higher levels.
Royel Astacio, 3B. DOB: 9/27/1993. 6'2", 197 lbs. B-S, T-R.
.244/339/.355, 2 HR, 28 BB, 50 K in 197 AB. Astacio repeated the DSL which in itself is not a great sign. He improved his numbers modestly. Kind of a borderline call here.
Carlos Valdez, OF. DOB: 6/22/1994. 5'11", 180 lbs. B-R, T-R.
.232/324/.370, 7 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 4 SB in 211 AB. Not great numbers, but enough power to give a ray of hope for the future.
Anthony Gomez, 3B. DOB: 11/23/1994. 6'3", 200 lbs. B-R, T-R.
.191/.378/.309, 2 HR in 68 AB. Like the size here.
Kleiber Rivas, C. DOB: 6/22/1995. 5'11", 200 lbs. B-L, T-R.
.156/.460/.156 in 32 AB. The birthdate and LH bat catches my eye.
Carlos Diaz, LHP. DOB: 11/18/1993. 6'2", 176 lbs.
8-2, 2.91, 80.1 IP, 20 BB, 68 K, GO/AO= 1.56. Don't know anything about him except the numbers.
Keury Mella, RHP. DOB: 8/2/1993. 6'2", 200 lbs.
3-3, 2.47, 69.1 IP, 28 BB, 75 K, GO/AO= 1.39. 6 figure bonus baby. Should be in Arizona in 2013.
Alejandro Flores, RHP. DOB: 9/25/2993. 6'0", 180 lbs.
6-4, 2.04, 61.2 IP, 9 BB, 44 K, GO/AO- 1.20. Mexican prospect.
Diomedes Mateo, LHP. DOB: 10/26/1989. 6'2", 180 lbs.
3-0, 1.62, 61 IP, 18 BB, 76 K, 6 Saves. Older prospect who picked up from the Pirates organization who apparently was caught up in the age/identity scandal. We'll see if the Giants can get him to the States and see if his numbers hold up.
Shawn Gomez, RHP. DOB: 8/24/1994. 6'4", 180 lbs.
2-1, 3.60, 25 IP, 8 BB, 21 K, GO/AO= 2.12. Looks like he has a projectable frame at a young enough age.
Angel Villalona, 1B. DOB: 8/13/1990. 6'3", 255 lbs., B-R, T-R
.303/.430/.497, 7 HR, 23 BB, 40 K in 155 AB. One of the biggest mysteries of the Giants organization is what the future holds for Angel Villalona. You all know the story here. Was still very raw with extremely poor plate discipline when he last played in the states in 2009. Huge raw power. Will it ever be developed?
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How long have we run the Dominican program?
ReplyDeleteWho are some of our successful alumni?
That's weird, my comment didn't go through...
ReplyDeleteFirst, I said thanks to DrB for the series.
Next was my speculation on what will happen next with Angel. Basically, I think he's going to end up in Augusta. First, he didn't really solve Advanced A ball the last time, though possibly that was injury related as he was good for two months, then bad until DLed. So that suggests putting him in Augusta, where he has had success and where he can hopefully rebuild his confidence. Second, his good hitting in DSL suggests that he still has some talent, that he's not totally rusty, meaning he does not need instructs then Salem-Keizer. Third, while he hit well in the DSL, he didn't totally dominate, which would be what one would think if he were ready for Advanced A, as he was facing inexperienced 18-19 YOs in the DSL. Augusta seems like enough of a challenge so it's not easy for him, but not that hard so that he should struggle. As well, I think most successful DSL prospects jump to Augusta, don't really recall any getting assigned to Advanced A after successful DSL, but that could be a Giants thing too.
Looks like Medina and Mella had the goods this year, and not a lot else. Angel V will be an interesting story. Personally I like how he handled himself at the press conference. Don't explain, don't complain. You open that one up and you don't know where it'll go.
ReplyDeleteMedina has a nice OBP showing. Mella might be headed to Augusta? Or that might be aggressive. His best friend is Mejia, for what that's worth. In the AZ league, Leonardo Fuentes didn't impress. Might have to keep an eye on yet another switch hitting VZ catcher though, Gabriel Cornier turned 20 and hit 319/394/429 in 91 ABs.
I'm curious as to why the Giants are babying Ariel Hernandez in rookie ball.