MLB Starter: Brandon Crawford .248/.311/.363, 9 HR. Crawford had a very good season going before slumping badly down the stretch. He suffered finger injuries during the season which may have contributed to his numbers tailing off. I also noticed that he was letting his bat drift down until it touched his shoulder while in his batting stance, bringing it up to hitting position as the the pitcher delivered the ball. Nothing wrong with that by itself, but it looked to me like he was getting the bat back up too late in the process and then was having to rush his swing, very similar to what he was doing in 2011 or 2012, I don't remember which. He made some adjustments which seemed to help at that time. Overall, he did not have a bad season earning a 2.2 fWAR, in increase of 0.4 over 2012. With Stephen Drew and his 3.4 fWAR set to turn down a QO, it would seem that Crawford's numbers give him significant value on the open market.
MLB Reserve: Joaquin Arias .271/.284/.342, 1 HR. Arias hit for a higher BA but nothing else in his line was better. Between these two, Crawford deserves to remain the starter.
AAA: Ehire Adrianza .310/.409/.441 in 145 AB.
Carter Jurica .249/.329/.319 in 357 AB.
Adrianza hit .240 in 250 AB for Richmond before being called up to Fresno. Adrianza has always put up solid BB and K ratios throughout his minor league career. He impressed in a small cup of coffee in September. Problem for him and the Giants is he is out of options and has to be kept on the 25 man active roster or exposed to waivers. Not sure he could sneak through. Jurica is probably more of a second baseman with disappointing numbers for Fresno.
AA: Kelby Tomlinson .198/.313/.250 in 96 AB.
Tomlinson hit .276 for San Jose. He can probably stick at the position defensively but does not seem to be much of a hitter. We'll see if he gets another chance in Richmond in 2014.
High A: Matt Duffy .292/342/.509, 5 HR, 3 SB in 106 AB.
Bobby Haney .257/.326/.338, 4 HR in 346 AB.
Matt Duffy got the promotion after hitting .307 with 4 HR and 22 SB in 287 AB for Augusta, and kept it going for SJ. Could he move up to Richmond for 2014? I saw him play. He is very skinny, yet seems to generate pretty good power. I wonder what he could do if he filled out that frame a bit? Haney is a scrapper who is probably an organizational player.
Low A: Alberto Robles .304/.360/.387 with 13 SB in 194 AB.
Rando Moreno .353/.371/.500 in 34 AB.
Duffy played here most of the season before getting moved up to SJ. It's a bit unclear to me if Robles is more of a SS or 2B. SSS on Moreno who hit .342/.403/.453 with 10 SB in 117 AB in the Arizona League. Both Robles and Moreno are interesting names to watch in 2014 to see whether they emerge or not.
Short Season Jeremy Sy .294/.391/.518, 8 HR, 13 SB with 2 CS in 170 AB.
Brandon Bednar .272/.332/.406, 6 HR, 11 SB with 3 CS in 202 AB.
Jeremy Sy is getting a late start due to TJ surgery after he was drafted. I believe Bednar played mostly 2B and maybe some 3B. Blake Miller was drafted as a SS but played mostly 1B. I think Sy is a really interesting sleeper to watch.
Rookie AZL: Christian Arroyo .326/.388/.511, 18 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 19 BB, 32 K's in 184 AB.
Brett Kay .255/.368/.351 in 94 AB.
Arroyo is the big news here. First round draft pick comes through big time in his professional debut. It doesn't get much better than that in the world of prospects. He's the Golden Child, The Anointed One, The Hope for the Future, and why not? Everything he's done so far lives up to it. Kay is an organizational type who will have to scrap to get on the prospect map.
DSL: Robert Antunez .233/.410/.267, 6 SB in 30 AB.
Hengerber Medina .162/.279/.196 in 148 AB.
Antunez only got into 28 games but had just 30 AB's in his age 17 season. Will likely be a DSL repeater next year. Extremely disappointing season for Hengerber.
This may be completely crazy, but I think Adrianza is probably a better defensive SS than Crawford right now and his bat may be as good or better in the future. I know Sabes is a bird-in-the-hand man through and through, but I'm thinking that with Stephen Drew rejecting a QO, that a SS like Crawford has significant trade value and it might not be a bad time to sell high on him. Duffy is an interesting guy to watch as is Sy, and Arroyo is The Man for the future, but can he stick at SS?
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I agree, and evidently the Cardinals are dangling Shelby Miller for a shortstop...maybe worth a call to see what happens.
ReplyDeletetominthailand
Oh man! I would take Shelby Miller for Crawford plus a couple of mid-level prospects in a heartbeat. Get on it, Sabes!
DeleteSo far, most of the rumors have them going after guys like Tulowitzki and Andrus, so I think it would take a pretty nice package from the Giants to land Shelby Miller. Maybe Crawford and Stratton or Susac?
DeleteDrB, I really like the idea of trading Crawford and moving Adrianza to the SS position. I agree with you about his glove being better and his contact rate has always been better as well. If he could get us Shelby Miller I would do back flips and never question Sabean again.
ReplyDeleteIMHO opinion, at 26 Crawford still has room to grow. Sabes please put your ear plugs back in. Lets see how he plays through 2014.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking if Arroyo has great spring he could make Augusta in the shade. Maybe San Jose by August. Be still my beating heart.
I am betting unforeseen injury Arroyo makes the big club by 2016
Richard in Winnipeg
Well, I really can't dispute that. It's very possible that a lot of Crawford's problems late in the season were due to accumulated injury. When he's right, he can sure turn on a ball and drive it out of the park! He just needs to not get lazy with the bat while he's waiting on the pitch. Get that bat up there, Brandon!
DeleteHe also needs to watch his weight going forward. He has a naturally stocky build that may not age well. I thought he was already starting to look a bit thick in the legs this year. Maybe Jaelynn is feeding him a bit too well?
I would say Arroyo is almost certainly headed to Augusta in 2014. 2016 might be a bit on the optimistic side, but if the bat holds up in Augusta, which is a very tough place to hit, he should move fast.
Fans can try to engage in discussions about macro moves...or fancy engaging in. The micro stuff - at the tactical level - we should leave it to the professional.
DeleteOn the macro level, if a starter like Miller is available for a shortstop (plus some), it's a move we should consider and let the professionals figure out which to keep and which to trade...maybe it's possible to do a package of Adrianza and others. Maybe they say, we gave you Jose Uribe and others for Jack Clark once and now you give us a reciprocal deal
That's great BLSL, but just my own opinion? If it comes down to keeping Crawford or Adrianza, I'm keeping Adrianza!
DeleteBLSL, We already gave them Clayton 20 years back. That ledger is closed.
DeleteAs for Miller, I would trade either of them for him in a second. We would again have a BEAST 1-2-3, with a solid 4 and nice competition at 5.
All the scouting reports I've read about Arroyo say that though he wants to stay there, he's not a shortstop and would probably move to 2B. Looking at him, he's already on the thick side, and will likely be more so in a couple years. My money says 3B or catcher already has his name all over it.
DeleteHe does have a good looking swing, with a solid track record at the levels he's played. Hopefully that swing will continue to prove itself, now that he's graduated from the bottom level and will be facing some real pitching in the upcoming season.
Giants are relatively deep in two commodities other teams are in short supply on, Catcher and SS. Time to trade from strength to snag that #2/3 arm. Shelby Miller in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteTeams with shortstop depth: D-backs, Indians, Rangers. The Tulo rumors are hilarious. No way does STL go after an expensive injury prone slugger. The Cards
ReplyDeleteI would not be comfortable with Adrianza in the starting roll and Craw gone, personally. Craw might not have the sexiest stats, but he gets the job done. That remains to be seen with Ehire, on both sides of the ball.
If the Nats are serious about trading Span, maybe they'd be interested in Ehire.
Eh, lost my thought: The Cards will be looking for control on the contract, not cost.
DeleteAdrianza for Span? Do it!
ReplyDeleteNWGiantsFan
DtF!!!
Span? What, exactly, does Denard Span give that Gregor Blanco doesn't already do better?
Delete