As MLB organizations have increasingly used their AAA affiliates as an extended bench, "real" prospects tend to be found more in AA and AA is the level where prospects reach a level of competition that starts to tell how their tools will translate to MLB skills. The Eastern League in general and Richmond in particular have been more challenging for Giants hitting prospects than for pitching prospects. That dynamic is gradually shifting toward hitting but it's still a bigger test for hitters than for pitchers.
The two biggest stories out of Richmond this season were from players who started the season in A+ ball, Casey Schmitt 3B and Kyle Harrison LHP. Both got midseason promotions after dominating the Northwest League and both continued to dominate at the higher level. In fact, Schmitt put up even better numbers after his promotion!
Casey Schmitt 3B- .342/.378/.517, 3 HR, 127 PA.
Kyle Harrison LHP- 4-2, 3.11, 84 IP, 39 BB, 127 K.
Look for both of these players in AAA Sacramento in the spring and both are likely to make their MLB debut sometime during the 2023 season.
Other lines of note:
Frankie Tostado 1B- .284/.330/.459, 11 HR, 315 PA. Drafted 2017 so at least Rule 5 eligible and possibly minor league FA.
Riley Mahan 2B/1B- .266/.377/.500, 3 HR, 78 PA. Nice numbers after promotion from A and A+ ball. Drafted 2017(Marlins), so same boat as Tostado.
Will Wilson SS- .225/.324/.445, 12 HR, 219 PA. Suffered a hamate injury just as he seemed to be finally gaining some traction. Rule 5 Draft eligible. Tough decision. FZ has a lot invested in him.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- .229/.310/.424, 21 HR, 20 SB, 519 PA. If you ignore the BA, those are pretty good numbers. Also Rule 5 eligible.
Brett Auerbach UT- .220/.311/.398, 17 HR, 12 SB, 425 PA. Similar line to Fitzgerald. Ace in the hole is he can play catcher. One more year before Rule 5 eligible.
Sean Roby 3B- .219/.286/.481, 25 HR, 353 PA. Light tower power but a one-dimensional player. Drafted in 2018 so at least Rule 5 eligible and possibly eligible for minor league free agency.
Diego Rincones OF and Ricardo Genoves C have elected minor league free agency.
Nick Avila RHP- 2-1, 1.33, 27 IP, 6 BB, 27 K. Rule 5 eligible and high risk for being selected. FZ may want to add him to 40-man roster to protect him.
Cole Waites RHP- 2-2, 1.71, 21 IP, 15 BB, 38 K. Would be Rule 5 eligible except he's already on the 40-man roster. Made MLB debut in 2022.
Landon Roupp RHP- 2-1, 3.76, 26.1 IP, 11 BB, 31 K. Older later round draftee in 2021. Worked his way through 3 levels. Sleeper for making the major leagues in 2023.
Chris Wright LHP- 4-2, 3.86, 56 IP, 35 BB, 76 K, 6 Saves. Lefty reliever who has put up exciting K rates at each level. Rule 5 eligible and could be at risk of being selected.
R.J. Dabovich RHP- 4-1, 2.70, 26.2 IP, 6 BB, 38 K, 5 Saves. High ceiling reliever with Closer potential. Has another year before Rule 5 eligible.
Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 6-12, 5.22, 136.1 IP, 85 BB, 169 K. Jumbo body, lots of K's but also lots of walks and hits. Rule 5 eligible.
Tomorrow, 6 PM, is the deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft.
ReplyDeleteIs it set now?
21 pitchers, 4 catchers, 9 infielders, 5 outfielders, and 1 DH (LaStella).
Does LaStella have more potential value than Wilson? Those 2 are on FZ - will he give up on one of them?
Giants have a ton of infielders - are they all "safe"? Event Donovan Walton? FZ gave up Berroa for him.
Seems SF is "sure" to sign an OFer, is Wade or someone else the odd man out? Slater and YtY are older, all 3 have roughly the same projected OPS - is a younger, unproven González "safe"?
A few guys aren't going to sleep well tonight.
Schmitt - I seem to remember there used to be a pretty good 3B named Schmidt. Maybe their careers will be similar too?
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