Nine different players patrolled left field for the Giants in 2020, with Alex Dickerson and Darin Ruf getting the bulk of the innings in a L-R platoon. Dick is arbitration eligible and will almost certainly be back while Ruf is a free agent who has said he wants to come back. Here is my Depth Chart as it stands now:
1. Alex Dickerson DOB: 5/26/1990. B-L, T-L. 6'3", 235 lbs. .298/.371/.576, 10 2B, 3B, 10 HR, 170 PA(Arbitration Eligible).
2. Austin Slater DOB: 12/13/1992. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 197 lbs. .282/.408/.506, 2 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 8 SB, 104 PA(Arbitration Eligible).
3. Daniel Robertson DOB: 3/22/1994. B-R, T-R. 5'11", 200 lbs. .333/.417/.333, 24 PA(Arbitration Eligible).
4. Steven Duggar DOB: 11/4/1993. B-L, T-R. 6'2", 189 lbs. .176/.222/.235, 36 PA.
5. Luis Alexander Basabe DOB: 8/26/1996. B-S, T-R. 6'0", 160 lbs. .143/.333/.143, 2 SB, 18 PA.
6. Joe McCarthy DOB: 2/23/1994. B-L, T-L. 6'3", 220 lbs. .000/.000/.000, 10 PA.
Minor League Outfielders Listed as LF: Heath Quinn, Jacob Heyward, Ismael Munguia, Diego Rincones, Kwan Adkins, Tyler Flores.
Dickerson and Ruf formed an effective L-R platoon in LF in 2020. Ruf is a FA and wants to come back but Austin Slater could fill the right sided role if he can finally stay healthy. The position side of the 2021 roster is probably pretty much set except for FZ's "white whale" search for a lefthanded hitting IF. If he finds one, Slater and YtY are versatile enough that he could go with just 4 OF's plus Robertson, but then there would not be enough room to re-sign Ruf. So it comes down to Ruf, Robertson and the LH hitting IF competing for the last 2 positional roster spots on a 26 man roster.
It is likely that none of the listed minor leaguers are the Giants LF of the future. That designation probably belongs to one of the more elite OF prospects from the pool of Heliot Ramos, Hunter Bishop, Luis Matos, Alex Canario and Jairo Pomares although they are all listed at other OF positions for now. Of course, FZ could just continue to churn through the Alex Dickersons and Darin Rufs out there to fill the position.
Thanks for the positional rundown of the Giants roster. Hard to keep up with all the changes the past 2 years. Read an interesting article in the LA Times about Andrew Freidman by Bill Shaiklin which mentioned one of the keys to the Dodgers long term success is player development. Players like Muncy, Turner and Chris Taylor go to the Dodgers and get better. They're great at developing their minor league talent as well. Article mentions FZ believing in player development as well which is why we're starting to see players coming to the Giants and get better. Maybe it's just me but looks like FZ is starting to implement some of the thinking that has made Freidman successful in LA and Tampa. Maybe FZ and Scott Harris are on the right track to building long term success.
ReplyDeleteI know they have Dick and Slater who can play left field and I'm hoping Heliot Ramos can be knocking on the door in 2021, but what about Joc Pederson as a free agent target for the Giants? He's 28 years old, left handed power hitting outfielder who hit 36 hrs in 2019, and went to Palo Alto high school.
ReplyDeleteWow, I don't believe how the Dodgers blew tonights game 4! As a Giants fan in Southern California, you must be loving that the media there must have sone interesting comments about the game, lol.
Ha! My son-in-law and friend are both Dodger fans. I don't quite know what to say to them. I actually feel a bit embarrassed for them. Too soon to gloat too much, but they were literally the Choking Dogs! Maybe we can shorten that up and just call them the Chokers? I mean, I know we can count on the Dodgers to blow it in the postseason but even I was not expecting THAT!
DeleteIf Joc Pederson could play 3B, I'm sure FZ would be all over him this winter. He might be anyway if the NL keeps the DH which does not seem likely right now.d
LH DH, perhaps, if there is to be, but the Giants have a glut of OF prospects:
ReplyDeleteRamos, Bishop, Canario, Matos, Pomeres, McCray, and then there's Davis and Basabe.
Pederson has played some 1B but he's not thought of as a defensive replacement.
Noce thumb in the eye to LA, but Joc's gotta be going to the AL where he can thump righties.
Why is baseball such a complicated sport.
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