It's always a bit deflating when the team you root for gets blown out in the spring training opener, but they ARE practice games! Today Yusmeiro Petit and Sergio Romo got knocked around as the A's built a 10-0 lead by the middle of the 4'th inning. Still, there are interesting performances to discuss in the game wrap. Key Lines:
Brandon Belt- 2 for 2. Belt got his spring off to a great start with a pair of singles and started a nifty DP from his 1B position.
Adam Duvall- 1 for 2, HR. Duvall hit a monster shot over the CF fence which I am sure got the attention of the coaches and manager.
Michael Morse- 0 for 2. Doesn't look like much in the boxscore, but Morse crushed two balls that Josh Reddick was able to pull down from above the 10 foot high fence in RF, both were remarkable catches in their own right, but doing it twice was quite the feat for Reddick who seems to have a burgeoning reputation for making catches like that. Anyway, the important part is Morse is healthy, happy and mashing the ball.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 2, HR. Let's see, Since his callup last September, Adrianza, who isn't supposed to have any stick at all, has taken Andy Pettitte deep in Yankee Stadium, gone deep to RF off Yusmeiro Petit in live batting practice and now has hit a 3 run dinger in the opening spring training game. The conventional wisdom is that Adrianza has the premier IF defense, but Tony Abreu has the power edge in their battle for the final reserve IF role. Adrianza is clearly challenging that wisdom and delivered a major throwdown today.
Juan Perez- 1 for 1, 2B. Juan Perez also served notice that he is not going to role over and play dead in the battle with Tyler Colvin for the 5'th OF role.
Yusmeiro Petit- 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. Petit did not pitch well and did not get any help from his D as there were a couple of miscues behind him. Pitchers are allowed to have a bad outing or two in the Cactus League, but you don't want to see a steady diet of bombings in spring training.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Romo did not throw any sliders as he was working on his change up. It looks like it needs the work.
Kameron Loe pitched 2 scoreless IP while Rafael Dolis, Heath Hembree and Jean Machi threw a scoreless inning each as the Giants did not allow a run past the 4'th inning.
David Huff was scratched from his start on Friday due to a sore shoulder.
Around the League: Clayton Kershaw gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 IP against the D'Backs. Hmm….didn't Kershaw get slapped around by the Cardinals in his last start of last season? Just a thought. I know the baseball gods are going to punish me for even thinking it!
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Hey - So I've been kicking around your comments over the last year or so about Adrianza being quite an underrated bat. I think you're right. Here's some food for thought:
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this kid's swing in each of the videos below:
http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=31389845&player_id=501303
http://m.mlb.com/video/v30625839/sflad-adrianza-doubles-in-perez-for-first-mlb-hit/?player_id=501303
http://m.mlb.com/video/v30846011/sfnyy-adrianza-goes-deep-with-first-career-homer/?player_id=501303
Check out the plane that Adrianza's swing comes through. For a smaller guy, who clearly has room to grow, he's got a swing that provides leverage and I think will deliver a host of line drives, particularly to pull. I particularly want to key into the 95mph that he turned over from Brandon League. What I like is that the kid isn't up there looking to slap the ball into a hole in the IF. He's looking for extra bases and to make hard contact.
Throughout the minors, he's put up line drive percentages at or over 20%, with the exception of Richmond. His walk % is always around 10% (pretty solid), while his K% has been very good also averaging around 17%. Further, he's got a pretty good FB% in the realm of Posey but well below someone like Morse.
Furthermore, I ran into this interview they did with him last October, and I think what's obvious to me is that the kid has toughness, mental toughness, maturity, and confidence in his own ability. He looks ready to play ball, and does NOT look like a kid out there any more. If I were a betting man, I'd say this is the future of the Giants SS position, though there's still a road ahead.. Crawford is a great guy right now, one of my personal horses (UCLA alum and all), but I think the Giants open the trade doors when the time comes
Interview: http://m.mlb.com/video/v31121227/infielder-ehire-adrianza-talks-with-erwin-higueros/?player_id=501303
Sorry, I know I just got all Ehir-headed, but you'll have to forgive me..
I agree with all of that. My personal choice between Adrianza and Abreu is Adrianza. Now, the Giants have always been a bird-in-the-hand type of team, but maybe Adrianza is the best bird to have in hand right now! He certainly is the one who has future upside and I agree that he could be the SS of the future.
DeleteRight now, it's looking like it could come down to a very tough decision. I'd still give the edge to Abreu as the guy who can help most this year, but the gap got a lot narrower yesterday.
DeleteNice post RainBall. UCLA alum also, '99.
DeleteAdrianza does look stronger this spring. It would be a hard pill to swallow if they traded Adrianza only to see him pick it and hit with another club.
As a skeptic of Adrianza, I have to say I like the case you've made. From a saber standpoint, he's always been young for the league he's played in. I'd just be aware that he has always had the rep that the bat will get knocked out of his hands, like Manny Burriss. Love to him to turn out, and he does seem to be very mature. He should be, he's been playing professional ball for a long time now.
DeletePlus his first ever MLB hit came in the worst shallacking the Doyers have ever experience. At the hands of the Giants. Classic.
DeleteGood stuff, Rainball. This Abreu/Adrianza battle could get pretty intense. Very nice start from Ehire. All the guy has to do is a hit a little bit, and he'll be a valuable player with that defense. He didn't develop quickly, but he seems like he's starting to find his groove. Very short sample sizes, but I'm digging the power. Didn't expect that at all. On that note, I know another guy who didn't show any power whatsoever in the minors (6 HR in 3 seasons), but just happened to find his stroke after arriving in the Show. Add in the plus-plus arm & defense, and Andrelton Simmons is a budding star. You just never know how a player might develop once he hits his stride...
DeleteDrB brought this up a few days ago, that there's no guarantee Scutaro even starts the year on the active roster. Maybe a scenario pops up where Scooter needs some extra rest out of the gates, with Abreu and Adrianza sharing 2nd for a while. That could be your audition right there, and injuries sometimes have a way of helping these things play out. But I really don't see Scutaro as a full-time player anymore. In fact, I don't think it would be a bad idea to give him the "Renteria" treatment, sitting him out for most of the season in order to get him ready for the stretch run. If Adrianza and Abreu can handle the duties at 2B, I don't see much downside.
Hey fellas. I'm honored by the comments, I've been enjoying all of your analyses on this site and elsewhere for a long time.
DeleteYou know, this may come from a place of excessive high hopes, but Ehire just keeps reminding me of one particular player more than anyone else in the game. Can anyone guess it?
He makes me think of Omar Vizquel. You talk about a glove-first shortstop, from Venezuela, there's your comp! Omar notoriously could not hit a lick when he came into the game, but man did he make a difference in the field. The Mariners and the Indians has the foresight to have patience with him and were repaid in baseball Gold ( http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cleveland-indians-omar-vizquel-leaps-over-baltimore-oriole-news-photo/51687497 ). Omar talked about his career towards the end (yes, with the Giants), and told how though he was never a natural hitter, he never gave up on it, and after years of grinding at it he figured out how to make an impact from the batters box. Adrianza is at the very start of his career, but looking over his work thus far, it just seems that he has been doing the same thing.
Hey Doc - Funny thing that may be worth pointing out about Omar: He had the reverse K/BB split, the one that the Giants are so keenly looking for these days.. It eventually lead to him being a very decent 2-spot hitter in the middle of his career, posting an OBP around .350 and OPS's in the mid-700's for a good stretch. If Ehire can get there, that's one HELL of a valuable player. Additionally, he didn't develop the SB aspect of his game until about 7 years in, but then became reliable for 20-30+ stolen bases each year, greatly increasing his runs-based value. For measure, Adrianza's SB% has been around 75-80% throughout the minors.
I like the Vizquel comp. I heard that he is related to another former MLB SS by the name of Ozzie Guillen.
DeleteLG
LG
That would be quite bizarre and kind of awesome....since Ehire is, also, related to said former Shortstop, Ozzie Guillen.
DeleteIt would not be surprising to find out one of them (or both) was his idol growing up and he tried to play similarly.
DeleteReally looking forward to seeing him this year. Cant' wait for 'heeeeeeere is Ehire!'
I agree. I think Ehire should make the team hands down, no questions asked. He's got more upside than Abrue, period. Younger, plays better D, outside shot at becoming a glove first starter. If they are that worried about pop off the bench then go with Colvin for the 5th OF. Perez is redundant with Blanco on the team.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what Adrianza has in him. I's be very disappointed if he were to leave the Giants after the spring. He provides great insurance at many positions, and maybe he can get a few homeruns in the process! I would love to see him start at some point for the Giants soon. Iv'e heard he's put on quite a bit of muscle.
ReplyDeleteAnd great call on Adrianza by the way. You've been talking about him for as long as I can remember.
I've liked Adrianza ever since he was called up from Rookie AZL to Fresno for 1 game and went something like 3 for 4. I figured right there this kid has some kind of moxie that lets him rise to the occasion. After seeing him play in person for San Jose, I could see that even though he was thin, his frame could easily carry more weight felt he had some power potential. His hitting potential has been tremendously underrated IMO.
DeleteI have had Ehire in my top 10 Giants prospects since 2010. I ranked him at 6th or better each year with a high of #2 in 2012 and had plenty of people over at Pro Sports Daily in a tizzy over that ranking. Here is my write-up in 2012, Ehire was signed as a 16 year old out of Venezuela. A thumb injury towards the end of the spring slowed the start of his season in 2011 and when he started out he was placed in Augusta, a level below where he was the year before. Once he was promoted back to San Jose he hit well with a line of .300, .375 OBP with 24-2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 46k in 230 AB's. A lot of people think Adrianza's bat is weak but he is a full 2 years younger than Crawford, has better contact skills, better range, softer hands, and is faster on the base paths with 33 steals in 2010. The Giants thought enough of him to add him to the 40 man roster at the end of 2010 mainly because his name kept coming up in trade talks. John Hart the past GM of the Rangers and MLB network analyst says that Ehire is the next Omar Vizquel with great footwork and soft hands. He also stated that Adrianza was ready to play SS in the big leagues at 19 at least defensively. If you can't tell, I love this kids game and have thought he was the future SS of the Giants for the last 4 years.
ReplyDeleteSo how do you get Adrianza on the roster if everybody is healthy?
ReplyDeleteDo you put Abreu on waiversl? Try to move Arias? Carry 3 backup infielders? Trade Crawford?
That's what makes this an extremely tough decision for the Giants. I guess having too many people you hate to lose is a good problem to have.
DeleteI can't think of any reason why Abreu should beat out Adrianza. Abreu looked really bad at 2nd base last year and we sure didn't see any pop in his bat. Ehire has so much more upside it isn't even close IMO and the Giants have spent nearly 8 years developing him. Players with his ability to play SS are usually highly sought after and I don't see any way he clears waivers. If Ehire plays well in ST Abreu has to be the one waived.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that reasoning. I'm just not sure the Giants do. While I think the accusation that they love veterans and hate prospects is way overblown, they are definitely of the mindset that you play to win this year and worry about the future when the future comes and Sabean is decidedly a bird-in-hand type of guy. In that light, I think it becomes a much closer call with Abreu having the advantage, but the gap narrowed a lot yesterday.
DeleteAbreu didn't have any pop until you look at his ISO numbers. Take a gander at his splits as a RH batter also. Adrianza looked like mostly a glove guy until last year, so it's hard to not be cautious when evaluating his bat.
DeleteAs for Crawford, it seems like he may have a little more to give, especially in light of what he did early in the season last year. As for Arias, probably looking at a guy with sub .100 ISO and very low walk rate.
Decisions, decisions. I suppose the Red Sox could use a back-up shortstop if they don't sign Drew. What kind of return could Adrianza and Villalona bring back? I think it was Shank who has visions of Adrianza in a Mets' uniform.
Moving Arias, though he's the most proven, seems to perhaps be the middle ground here. I believe his upside and value as a bench bat with strong defense, and potential to be an average (0 WAR) replacement starter maybe be able to bring back value in the ilk of a strong low-minors prospect (Edwin Escobar V2, anyone?).
DeleteI feel that we idolize Bill Walsh's ability to have traded good players 1 year before they lost their value completely, and we want to see that replicated elsewhere. However, folks don't realize that in order to do that, Walsh had to take the risks of losing valuable players and gaining players who might never pan out. That his trades mostly worked our was, perhaps, somewhat an anomaly of luck, mixed with the elevated probabilities the come from a brilliant mind playing the odds. Arias is right around his peak value, and I think around the league is seen as a guy who - on another team - might be starting (though his UZR at 2B and SS are pretty poor). He is certainly our best bench infielder, but that value to the team is why he's prime for trade.
Now, as has been said. Scutaro may not be ready to start the season, enabling the Giants to carry all three of these bench IFs. In that case, wait until Scoots is ready, then flip a trade. But Abreu is a stand-in. Adrianza is has the latent potential greatness.