#40. T. J. Hopkins OF. DOB: 1/16/1997. B- R, T-R. 6'0", 195 lbs.
2023(AAA Cin): .308/.411/.514, 16 HR, 14.0 BB%, 23.9 K%, 393 PA.
2023(MLB Cin): .171/.227/.171, 4.5 BB%, 38.6 K%, 44 PA.
Hopkins was DFA'd by the Reds then the Giants traded for him for a PTBNL or cash. Now he is one of 8 OF with MLB experience on the 40-man roster. If the Giants don't add a starting OF by the start of spring training he will get a chance to audition for an OF depth role.
#39. Heliot Ramos OF. DOB: 9/7/1999. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 188 lbs.
2023(AAA): .300/.382/.546, 12 HR, 9 SB, 10.3 BB%, 25.1 K%, 263 PA.
2023(MLB): .179/.233/.304, HR, 6.7 BB%, 33.3 K%, 60 PA.
While the Giants were wildly giving out MLB auditions to prospects last year, Heliot Ramos seemed to be in someone's doghouse and was handed a cup of coffee and told to sit and watch the traffic go by. Granted he didn't make a lot of contact in his 60 PA's but when he did he had some of higher exit velocities on the team. After the season ended FZ expressed regret about not giving Heliot a longer look. That's great of him to say but it's not at all clear when or how he's going to try to make up for that oversight. If he's not traded first and if the Giants don't acquire another veteran OF, he could get a chance to win a 5'th or 6'th OF role, but unlike Joey Bart, he does have one option left so the Giants don't have to trade or release him if he doesn't make the Opening Day roster.
#38. Jose Cruz RHP. DOB: 5/18/2000. 6'1", 178 lbs.
2023(A+): 0-0, 1.45, 18.2 IP, 13.50 K/9, 3.38 BB/9, 1 Save.
2023(AA): 0-2, 6.66, 25.2 IP, 13.68 K/9, 10.87 BB/9, 4 Saves.
Hard throwing relief prospect. Protected on 40-man roster last year from Rule 5 Draft. DFA'd after the season and elected free agency but then signed a minor league deal with the Giants 3 days later. Hopefully he'll figure out what went haywire with his control in Richmond last year. Potential future Closer if he can.
#37. Randy Rodriguez RHP. DOB: 9/5/1999. 6' 0", 166 lbs.
2023(AA): 2-1, 2.97, 30.1 IP, 11.87 K/9, 5.34 BB/9, 1 Save.
2023(AAA): 0-1, 5.73, 37.2 IP, 9.80 K/9, 8.84 BB/9.
Another hard throwing righty on the reliever track. Added to 40-man roster prior to 2022 season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He' still on the roster and has one option left with which to prove he deserves a shot at a MLB bullpen gig.
#36. Juan Sanchez LHP. DOB: 11/12/2000. 5'9", 165 lbs.
2023(AA): 6-4, 2.39, 49 IP, 9.55 K/9, 3.67 BB/9, 3 Saves.
2023(AAA): 3-3, 4.26, 25.1 IP, 9.95 K/9, 4.25 BB/9.
Smaller pitchability lefty who has made slow, steady progress through the Giants minor league system. Some analyists thought he might be added to the 40-man roster in November or else selected in the Rule 5 Draft. Neither happened. He'll try to beat the odds of of a soft-tossing bullpen prospect in the PCL.
Quite a few that have fallen, especialy Ramos.. But, too put fans' minds at ease about the state of the OF and no big bat coming in, wasn't the mind boggling FZ recently talking about Ramos as an internal option?? OK, but back to the slipping of the prospects like Rodriguez, Sanchez and Cruz in this round, hopefully this also has to do with the rising and better play of other more recently drafted prospects and not just the negative.
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
IMO, the system is significantly better and deeper than in recent years.
DeleteThis is off point, I realize, but question: Would you trade Marco Luciano straight up for Ha-Seong Kim?
ReplyDeleteFor ONE year, NO!
DeleteWhat if Kim signed an extension parallel to his buddy Lee's as part of the transaction?
DeleteI just think there is too much upside in Luciano's bat. If Kim wants to play with his buddy as bad as everybody seems to think he does, Giants can sign him as a FA next offseason. If Luciano proves to be a bust, Kim can take over SS. If Luciano breaks out, maybe they don't need Kim or maybe Luciano hits well enough to move to 3B after J. D. Davis leaves via free agency.
DeleteCompare 2023 AAA and MLB for Hopkins and Ramos: interchangeable?
ReplyDeleteDid FZ want Hopkins because Ramos was a carry-over from previous regime?
FZ wanted Hopkins because he has to Churn. He can't help himself.
DeleteManagement have shown to have no faith in Bart and Ramos. Bart didn’t even get a full seasons worth of ABs and got put in the dog house. While Ramos has never been given a fair chance, especially last season when conforto and haniger were stealing ABs from rookies
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, Bart and Ramos have both had their chances they failed to take advantage of but I thought there were points last season especially toward the end where they could have gotten longer looks but kind of got lost in the chaos.
DeleteI’m sorry but Bart getting not even a full season of ABs is not getting a fair shot. Ramos starting maybe twice a week and getting pinch hits every other game isn’t a “fair chance” either
DeleteThere is quantity and there is quality. I saw Bart's PA's and for the most part they did not look competitive. Maybe they would improve with seeing more MLB pitches but when the team is still trying to compete for a postseason spot, that's very hard to give him. I thought Ramos looked better in his very few PA's last year and should have gotten a longer look.
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