It's been a recent tradition here to set up the offseasons with a review of the Giants organizational depth charts for each position. That's something that can get my juices flowing again. No set schedule but we'll work our way through it in due time. We'll start off with the Catcher position.
1. Buster Posey: DOB 3/27/1987. B-R, T-R. DNP(Restricted)
2. Joey Bart: DOB 12/15/1996. B-R, T-R. .233/.288/.320, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2.7 BB%, 36.9 K%, 111 PA.
3. Chadwick Tromp: DOB 3/21/1995. B-R, T-R. .213/.219/.426, 2B, 4 HR, 1.6 BB%, 31.3 K%, 64 PA.
4. Tyler Heineman: DOB 6/19/1990. B-S, T-R. .190/.292/.214, 2B, SB, 8.0 BB%, 12 K%, 50 PA.
5. Aramis Garcia: DOB: 1/12/1993. B-R, T-R. DNP(60 Day IL)
6. Patrick Bailey: DOB 5/29/1999. B-S, T-R. Alternate Camp
7. Ricardo Genoves: DOB 5/14/1999. B-R, T-R. Alternate Camp
8. Rayner Santana: DOB 8/15/2002. B-R. T-R. DNP.
First let me say in my opinion Buster Posey absolutely did the right thing in opting out of the season for the sake of his family. At the same time, given how much his replacements struggled, we have to wonder if his presence behind the plate and in the lineup might have made the difference between getting into the postseason and falling just short. Now, I am not convinced that a normal 2021 season is a given, but assuming it is, it is exciting to think what having Buster back for the final guaranteed year in his contract as the starting catcher will mean for the season.
I imagine the question of whether it's better for Joey Bart to back up Buster at the MLB level or go back for a little more salt in AAA is the best approach to his development and to the backup catcher situation will be a topic of much discussion. It appeared that Joey has some issues in his game that could stand some more polish including game calling, pitch framing and pitch recognition/plate approach on offense.
Chadwick Tromp showed flashes of impressive power and seemed to improve his D a bit as the season went along. He would not be a terrible backup to Buster but in FZ's perfect world, the backup catcher hits lefty with some pop.
Aramis Garcia probably needs to show some serious game in his comeback from injury to stay with the organization given the presence of two first round draft picks in the Giants depth chart.
It would be reasonable to expect Patrick Bailey to start 2021 in San Jose or Richmond. Ditto, Ricardo Genoves who has been in the organization forever, but it still only 21 yo.
Rayner Santana made some noise in the DSL as a 16 yo but the jump from the DSL to the AZL is always a challenge and he lost a year of potential development due to COVID shutdown.
Look for FZ to acquire a lefty hitting catcher with a little more pop than Tyler Heineman to serve as Buster's back up with Joey Bart going to Sacramento to polish up his game with an eye on 2022.
Who knows what the 2021 major and minor league seasons will look like. It will be big for Bart's development spending upcoming spring training learning from Posey. Let's hope we have a 2021 minor league season, since every teams top prospects lost valuable reps developing their baseball skills in 2020. Really hurts a rebuilding team like the Giants who have promising prospects mainly in the lower minors. If there is no minor leagues, then the Giants might be forced to have Bart backup Posey. I have no problem with the Patrick Bailey pick, if he was best player available. I was hoping they pick a college pitcher, but the two pitchers they were reportidly interested in got picked ahead of the Giants pick.
ReplyDeleteOne of Bailey or Bart will end up being traded before they see the Giants, ala Susac. Probably Bailey.
ReplyDeleteGiven the normal attrition rate for top prospects, that is not a hard outcome to prognosticate. That's why you don't draft for need. Logjams have a way of working themselves out.
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