The 2022 San Jose Giants team had a split personality with the position side of the roster made up mostly of former HS draftees and younger international prospects moving up the ladder while the pitching side was dominated by 2021 college draft picks.
The California League has a very weird playoff seeding system where the division winners of the first and second half play round one. But the Fresno Grizzlies(Rockies) won both halves so the Giants made the playoffs due to finishing with the second best full season record in the North Division. Got that? They lost in round 1 to the Grizzlies.
The three biggest story lines from the SJ Giants season were breakout performances by outfielders Grant McCray and Vaun Brown and an extremely disappointing full season debut from 2021 first round draft pick, Will Bednar RHP.
Here are some of the more notable performances from the SJ Giants 2022 season:
Grant McCray CF, 21 YO- .291/.383/.525, 21 HR, 35 SB, 436 PA. Perhaps no Giants prospect was hurt by the COVID shutdown of 2020 more than Grant McCray. Third round draft pick out of HS in 2019. Known up front to have raw tools that would require time to develop, then the shutdown happened. He struggled in 2021 but had a huge breakout in 2022 showing off both power and speed while maintaining a BA close to .300. Another strong season in 2023 will put him in position to be added to the 40-man roster in time to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Vaun Brown OF, 24 yo. .346/.427/.636, 14 HR, 23 SB, 262 PA. Looks old for the level but was a lower round college senior draft pick out of a smaller program. Usually these guys are drafted as roster-filler but Brown appears to be a legit prospect with a nice combination of power, speed with a high revving motor. He hit just as well after a mid-season promotion to Eugene and even got a couple of PA's in AA at the end of the season. Like with so many hitting prospects, AA is likely to be the acid test in 2024. If he gets over that hump, he could be in the majors by late in the season.
Averson Arteaga SS, 19 yo. .270/.345/.431, 14 HR, 11 SB. 565 PA. Former $1 M international bonus baby. Pretty impressive to play a full season, almost every day as you can by the PA's, at age 19 and not get worn down. Slick fielding SS who already handles the bat well and should mature into more power. If you ask me who was the best prospect on this team, I would say Arteaga.
Landon Roupp RHP 24 yo. 5-2, 2.59, 48.2 IP, 17 BB, 69 K. Pitching counterpart to Vaun Brown. Older when drafted in round 12 in 2021. Starting in San Jose, he worked his way through 3 levels and looks like he could start next season in AAA.
Trevor McDonald RHP- 6-3, 2.39, 90.1 IP, 40 BB, 102 K. HS draftee from 2019. Finally found traction and got steadily stronger as the season progressed. 1.64 ERA in 11 IP after promotion to A+.
Jose Cruz RHP- 2-1, 2.06, 52.1 IP, 23 BB, 86 K. Pitched exclusively in relief but more multi-inning roles later in the season. Another Rule 5 eligible player. Giants will be hard pressed to find room on the 40-man roster but in serious jeopardy of being selected if they can't. A bit mystifying why he was not promoted midseason.
Mason Black RHP, 22 yo- 1-1, 1.57, 34.1 IP, 8 BB, 44 K. Third round draft pick in 2021. Conservative placement. Not as dominant after midseason promotion to A+, but maintained strong K rate.
Don't sleep:
Adrian Sugastey C 19 yo- .240/.329/.333, 5 HR, 340 PA. Reportedly a strong defensive C. Held his own in an aggressive placement. Getting more PA's in Arizona Fall League and doing well so far.
Alexander Suarez OF 20 yo- .231/.296/.412, 12 HR, 13 SB, 346 PA. I believe he is Luis Matos' cousin but a little bigger physically. Adjustment to full season ball. Seemed to get stronger as the season progressed. Intriguing power/speed combo.
Eric Silva RHP 20 yo- 3-7, 5.88, 85.2 IP, 39 BB, 99 K's. HS draftee, above-slot bonus in round 4. A bit undersized for a pitcher. Seemed to wear down a bit as the season progressed. Has time to get stronger although probably won't get much bigger.
Evan Gates RHP 24 yo- 5-1, 0.76, 23.2 IP, 6 BB, 28 K. Older undrafted FA in 2021. Pitched successfully through 3 levels.
Spencer Bivens RHP 28 yo- 2-1, 2.70, 30.0 IP, 18 BB, 36 K. Older UDFA signed out of indy ball. 6'5", 205 lbs. Got roughed up after promotion to AAA. Getting extra innings in AFL and performing well.
Profar got Flores'd last night!
ReplyDeleteIt didn't end the game or the series but was a 3-2 count, runner on 1st, and no outs, down 2.
I thought of Flores when I was watching last night. I thought Profar went further around than Flores but he also did not move his wrists as much as it did look more like he was just trying to get away from the pitch. As Krukow would say, "50-50."
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