Blake Sabol DH- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .407. Sabol did not figure in the scoring but continues to state his case for a roster spot which seems more likely after the unsurprising announcement that the Giants are going to play the long game with Mitch Haniger and put him on the IL to start the season and with Steven Piscotty and Austin Slater also nursing injuries.
Bryce Johnson LF- 1 for 3, 2 SB(9). BA= .318. Johnson parlayed the SB's into both of the Giants runs. On both SB's he was able to advance to 3B on throwing errors. Per Pavs, the Giants believe the running game will play a more important role this year with the new rules and Johnson's ability to create runs on the basepaths is starting to get noticed. Again, the injuries are creating a plausible scenario for him to see if his spring success can carry over into the season.
Mike Yastrzemski CF- 0 for 3. BA= .067. What's going on with YtY? The play list says the second batter of the game for the A's doubled on a flyball to centerfielder Mike Yastrzemski. I couldn't find a video of it but what's that all about? Is YtY done? He hasn't been particularly good at the plate for 2 full seasons now.
Ross Stripling RHP- 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K, GO/AO= 7/2. ERA= 6.75. 12 of the 22 batters Stripling faced hit groundballs(55%) and 5 of those went for hits. He got his 5 innings of work in and didn't walk anyone. That mix should produce more good games than bad over the course of the season.
Scott Alexander LHP and Tyler Rogers RHP worked a scoreless inning each.
Injury Updates:
Brandon Crawford SS is set to re-start baseball activities over the weekend.
David Villar 3B is expected to start tomorrow's game against the Cubs.
Austin Slater OF has calf and hamstring tightness and left yesterday's game with calf cramping. He is scheduled for an MRI. That doesn't sound promising for Opening Day.
It looks like Mitch Haniger OF won't be starting baseball activities for at least another week which makes it highly unlikely he will be ready to start the season on Opening Day.
Anthony DeSclafani RHP will try to stretch it out tomorrow afternoon agains the Cubs in Scottsdale.
Seems like Johnson could be a valuable #9 hitter - if he can get on base!
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a pinch runner for the ghost runner in extra inning games, especially if down 1 in the bottom of the 10th (or later).
I don't think YtY fell. I think the small-sample 2020 season with its .370 BABIP kind of distorted our views of him and what we're seeing is the result of career BABIP normalization as the BABIP gods take away what they gave him in 2020 & 2021.
ReplyDeleteWade is the similiar: he had an abbreviated success, but he was never as good as he was briefly hitting the Late-Night HR's.
DeleteWade has 744, 745, and 745 PAs in AA, AAA, & ML, respectively
and batted .292, .239, and .232, as he went up levels.
His brief claim to fame was his 18 HR 2021 season, when he hit 17 in a 65-game stretch, then finished the season with 1 HR in 36 games. In the 5-game NLDS loss to LA, he had 1 hit in 11 PAs with no HRs (nor XBHs).
He is now 29 yo, should a turn-around be expected?
Both players were short term inspirations but have returned to a norm with the inevitable decline with age.
Add in Slater entering his 30-year old season, he has good splits against LHP, but if he's thrust into batting against predominately RHP, he will be pressed to achieve his career splits: .227/.314/.336 against righties.
With Haniger out indefinitely, the Giants might as well try to pump some young blood into an aging outfield with Sabol and Johnson.
Even the aging Piscotty has shown more than the incumbants!
Saw the YtY play. To be fair - not an error. YtY was shading around to RCF a bit. Ball was drilled to LCF, off the top of the wall. Neither YtY or the LF (Bryce Johnson) was near it. Cleanly played off the wall by YtY. Can't fault him for that, and he has generally played well with the glove in CF this spring. However, with the lumber it is a different story. Being patient. Picking good pitches when he offers. He also makes contact when he offers. However, the ball simply does not jump off his bat the same way any longer (similar to what we have seen the last 2 seasons). Yesterday: Not much wind. Two fly balls to medium CF and one fly to 1B. Much like what we saw last year. IMHO, with 400-500 AB, he could hit enough balls in the air to have 10 -15 HR, but he will struggle to hit .240, perhaps not even that high. He is one of those bellwether guys, much like Aaron Rowand was - when he loses playing time, you will know the Giants are getting good. With Rowand, it was Andres Torres and then Angel Pagan. With YtY, who knows? Conforto (looks to hit better and not much drop off from YtY defensively in CF)? Johnson (a dark horse candidate, IMO)? Perhaps even Matos, later this year or next (a reach for this season, perhaps)? YtY is a fine fellow, and has been a fine Giant, but at this point he is barely adequate (especially at the plate) and no more than that. And if he regresses further, the Giants will be looking at another .500 season, perhaps less.
DeleteBaggs posted a great article in the athletic yesterday with interesting stuff about Giants prospects like Crawford, Bednar, Meckler, and some intriguing arms from the 2022 draft. There's a 17 year old SS named Rivas from their international draft class who is wowing them by turning around 94 Mph fastballs. Can't wait for the minor league season to start as well.
ReplyDelete