While the line between CF and corner OF has blurred a lot in recent years, I think there is still enough difference to have a separate category for CF. They are a different breed of cat with the best ones being 5 tool players and more of a premium is put on defense.
MLB Starter: Angel Pagan .282/.334/.414, 5 HR, 9 SB in 280 AB.
Pagan pretty much proved how valuable he is to the team last year by missing 91 games in which the Giants offense did not perform very well. Pagan is not an ideal leadoff man due to suboptimal OBP and he is not an ideal defensive CF but he is not terrible in either department and his positives more than make up for those that are less than ideal. There is a rumor circulating around the Hot Stove that the Giants would like to move Pagan to LF, so his incumbency could be short lived.
MLB Reserve: Gregor Blanco .265/.341/.350, 6 3B, 3 HR, 14 SB in 452 AB.
Juan Perez .258/.302/.342, 1 HR, 2 SB in 89 AB.
If you think Pagan can hold up his end of the bargain in LF, Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez make an intriguing platoon team for CF. They earned a combined 5.4 WAR in 541 AB in 2013.
AAA: Gary Brown .231/.286/.375, 29 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 17 SB, 11 CS, 33 BB, 135 K's in 558 AB, 9 E.
One of the bigger mysteries on the planet is what is wrong with Gary Brown. He's always had his detractors, but to me, he's regressed as a prospect. I mean, he hit better than this in AA Richmond which is a way tougher environment for hitters. Much was made of a mechanical adjustment midseason which resulted in a flurry of HR's, but I believe there is probably something mental or emotional or some nagging physical issue that is eating on him.
Has a lot to prove in 2014.
AA: Ryan Lollis .267/.345/.377, 8 HR, 6 SB, 50 BB, 61 K in 469 AB.
Lollis has quietly played well wherever he's been assigned. May be an organizational player, but I'm not convinced he's not a better prospect than Gary Brown right now.
High A: Chris Lofton .258/.331/.374, 11 3B, 4 HR, 23 SB, 13 CS.
Elliott Blair .229/.343/.341, 3 HR, 4 SB.
These are two guys who will probably never sniff the majors, but the Giants obviously see something in Blair that others don't see. I looks pretty impressive in a baseball uniform, I'll say that for him.
Low A: Jesus Galindo .273/.342/.322, 1 HR, 48 SB, 6 CS.
Galindino has impact speed and a knack for getting on base. He's purely a slap and dash guy at this point. I remains to be seen if he can keep pitchers honest at higher levels.
Low A: Tyler Hollick .262/.374/.338, 3 HR, 20 SB, 5 CS in 237 AB.
Randy Ortiz .253/.341/.320, 16 SB, 3 CS.
A couple more slap and dash guys with Hollick showing hints of power at times.
Rookie AZL Johneshwy Fargas .299/.393/.351, 8 SB in 77 AB.
Julio Pena .238/.283/.395, 2 HR, 1 SB, 56 K in 185 AB.
Fargas may be the real deal. Nice start for the #11 draft pick. Pena has some power but also has severe hacking and contact issues.
DSL: Gustavo Cabrera .247/.379/.360, 2 HR, 21 SB.
Very promising 5 tool prospect who I am considering making my #2 overall Giants prospect. Suffered a severe injury to his right wrist and hand in an apparent home accident. Now we can only hope he makes a full recovery.
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I really enjoyed watching Juan Perez play. I am not advocating for him to be the full time starter if Pagan is moved to LF, but Perez deserves to be on the MLB roster next year. He covers so much ground in CF and has a fantastic arm. I would like him as a platoon/4th outfielder. That being said, I would still like to see the Giants go out kick the tires on a Mark Trumbo or another power bat for LF. Perez/Blanco should be the 4th/5th outfielders and allow the Giants to sign someone whose defense isn't stellar and then sub in the 7th inning or later.
ReplyDeleteNice post. Good point about Lollis, did not know that he did that well in AA, avoiding strikeouts while racking up the walks. Could be a nice 4th OF for us at some point, thanks, he was not on my radar before.
ReplyDeleteBlair's appeal is that he gets a lot of walks plus has a modicum of power, ISO. If they can figure out how to get him to get more hits, he could be productive. If he can boost his batting average up 50 points, he could get his OPS to the low to mid-800's. However, at age 25 and only in Advanced A, he's more of an organizational filler player, which makes sense with him playing at 6 different positions in 2013.
Gallindo has almost no power plus strikes out way too much. He's probably fizzling out by AA unless he figures out how to reduce his strikeouts and improve his power (he needs to talk with Torres about Andres' transformation to becoming a hitter).
Yeah, Fargas really showed up nicely as 18 YO, but he needs to figure out how to hit for more power than that if he hopes to make the majors. But as far as starts go, great strikeout rate, great walk rate, great K/BB ratio, batting average and particularly great OBP, plus he has the speed to take advantage of getting on base, really nice start to his pro career.
Particularly nice since Gustavo's career development is on hold while his wrist/hand mends. I don't know that I would rank Cabrera #2 overall, though, but not because of his injury, but because I think there are a number of pitchers who are more deserving, like Escobar (I assume Crick is #1), Blackburn, Mejia. as his batting line, while nice, was not exceptional in the league, he wasn't among the top leaders in any particular category one normally would look at. And that is before tacking on the uncertainty for his injury and recovery. He really needs to cut out a lot of his strikeouts, in order to make it to the majors.
Look up Gustavo's splits and what he did after the All-Star Break.
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