The Giants may have found some patches for their pitching holes in a split-squad twin bill following an off day and a rainout.
Game 1: Daulton Jefferies pitched 4 scoreless innings and 4 relievers completed the shutout. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, SB(1). BA= .200. YtY got off to a slow start to the spring with sore shoulder. Still plenty of time to get his timing down for Opening Day.
Jimmy Glowenke PR/3B- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= 1.000. Is Jimmy G a sleeper in the system? He's had 2 PA's this spring with a double and HR. He OPS'd .798 at 2 levels last year including a stint in AA Richmond. Round 2C signability pick in the shortened 2020 draft which is looking like one of the great Giants drafts of all time.
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 3, HR(1), HBP. BA= .308. Easy oppo-field power. Hope we see more of that through the season.
Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 4. BA= .281. Thairo looking like he's ready to start the season tomorrow.
Nick Ahmed SS- 2 for 3, 3B. BA= .529. Well, we all know he's not going to hit .529 on the season. Will he hit over .200?
Daulton Jefferies RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.64. Don't forget Jefferies was once a fairly highly regarded prospect before injuries derailed his career. If he can stay healthy, I think he can be more than a decent backend SP.
Landon Roupp RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 3/0. ERA= 3.60. The Legend of the Curveball keeps growing. We talk about the Giants needing a lefty reliever. They also need at least 1 an probably 2 more relievers. Roupp looking like a legit option for one of those roster spots as a multi-inning dude.
The Rogers Bros and Amir Garrett pitched a scoreless frame apiece.
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Game 2: Spencer Howard pitched 4 perfect innings and David Villar had a huge day at the plate in a high-scoring win. Key Lines:
Austin Slater CF- 1 for 2, BB, SB(1). BA= .111. Slater also got a late start due to elbow soreness. He also has time to get his timing down by Opening Day.
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 2 for 4, SB(3). BA= .233. Consensus seems to be that Fitz is winning the utility MI role.
David Villar DH- 4 for 5, HR(3). BA= .353. What does the future hold for David Villar?
Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .143. Schmitt has not had much success at the plate this spring but is clearly drawing more walks.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, HBP. BA= .417. What does the future hold for Joey Bart?
Ismael Munguia LF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .522. Strong batting skills but limited power. Similar profile to Jung Hoo Lee and Wade Meckler.
Chase Pinder RF- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .438. Brother of Chad, Pinder was brought in to provide OF depth. Responded with a strong spring. Is there room on the roster? Minor league record shows strong on-base skills with limited power.
Spencer Howard RHP- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 3/5. ERA= 1.86. Very similar bio as Daulton Jefferies. Once highly regarded pitching prospect got derailed by injuries. Could these two solve the Giants backend rotation holes, at least temporarily?
Juan Sanchez LHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 4/0. ERA= 2.35. Sanchez hurt himself with a throwing error. He has emerged as a serious option for second LH reliever.
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Keaton Winn RHP finally makes his spring training debut tomorrow facing the Rockies and Cal Quantrill RHP in Scottsdale.
Looks like back end rotation and RP help — will it play et the ML level?
ReplyDeleteThe Giants will score 3-4 runs except when the "hitters" get shut down. Is that enough?
Are they still players for one or two of the 4 SPs that could give them a solid rotation and release the several potential SPs to complete the BP?
This is not a bad team, at least in potential, and could compete in short series with all the WC teams.
LAD and ATL may be out of reach for best record, but in a winner take all series, we all know anything can happen.
Getting one or better two of the Final 4 SPs is icing on the cake and will make the Giants viable in Post Season series.
Thanks for your great posts Doc. FZ has a lot of decisions to make to finalize 26 man roster especially on the pitching side. Good news is Pavs tweeted that Cobb pitched 2 innings in a minor league game and might be available sometime in April. Does this lessen the urgency to acquire another starting pitcher? Giants have 19 pitchers on their 40 man roster but 3 are on the 60 day injured list (Beck, Ray, and Warren). If they go with Keaton Winn as a SP he's already on the 40 man, They would have to add Mason black if he makes the team and drop a player from the roster. They should add Jeffries and Roupp as long relievers but they would have to drop 2 more players from the roster. Roup only made 10 starts in AA due to injury. Bullpen good place to gain MLB experience. Unfortunately the best thing for Bart 's career might be a change of scenery unless Bailey or Murphy start the season on the IL. Maybe another team can get more out of him if he stays healthy himself. On my earlier post JP Riccardi mentioned that he's a fan of Mungia. He likes his game which reminded him of Luis Polonia. I believe he was a good hitter who played outfield for several teams. Might be wrong but was one team the Yankees?
ReplyDeleteLuis Polonia was a classic light hitting but speedy leadoff hitter who played 12 seasons from 1987-2000 with multiple teams including the A's, Angels, Yankees and Tigers. His career BA was .293 with a .342 OBP. He only hit 36 HR's but amassed 321 SB's. fWAR hates him though, crediting him with just 4.3 over the 12 seasons, mostly due to terrible defensive metrics although his lack of power cost him dearly on offense too. I can't prove it but my belief is there is something valuable in a player like that which the WAR calculations miss for some reason.
DeleteMLB:
ReplyDelete"So, the regular season, Hot Stove season and Spring Training season are ALL HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME!
"The Dodgers and Padres will play games that count in (Korea) this week, while prominent free agents are still available, while 28 teams are still in their camps in Florida and Arizona."
One more thing, Anthony Castrovince of MLB, rates the SF off-season as 6th best, and that with 4 game-changer SPs still available. He ranks the Giants among FOUR (4) NL West teams in his Top 6. The Hated Ones are given, but can 3 more West teams make the Post Season while playing competing division foes 39 times?
Good stuuf all around..Yes, I said that!..I saw ROUP in RICH last year and he was basically unhittable with the curve and strategic fast ball...But injuries have been a problem the last two years..Is relieving multi-times a week the best thing for him now? or better off building up more and refining in RiC/AAA?? I'd go with the latter.........Good stuff from JEFFRIES and HOWARD....I am not buying them at all, but are they FZ's plan? If so, I hope this stuff continues.....Still need another SP even with some good news about COBB (I'd be careful about that).........Does MUNGUIA Or MATOS) have a shot at the last OF spot???...as for as GARRET's scoreless inniing--2 hits and a walk..this guy, to put it nicely, is not the way to go................Oh, and VILLAR really with the hot bat..does he have any future with the GIANTS or, with BART, destined to find success elsewhere (and i's not all the Giants fault)?
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
Giants' Keaton Winn: Cleared for Sunday's Cactus League game against the Rockies, and could be ready by Season's opening series per Rotowire today.
ReplyDeletePlus, Alex Cobb may well be ready to pitch in a game soon after Opening Day per SF Chron Shayna Rubin.
That makes 5.
Maybe it won't be the disaster forecast by some.
Watched both games on split screens on my laptop.
ReplyDeleteFirst time this spring I felt a level of pleasure mixed with hope.
Hope springs eternal in a young mans heart > to quote Alan Price "Oh Lucky Man! " album.
Richard in Winnipeg
Perhaps the proper reference is:
Delete“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest.
The soul, uneasy, and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”
― Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, published in 1733–34
Sadly, the 2 victories, however glorious, were against 2 pretty bad teams.
DeleteIf they pull that off against AZ and SD in the same day, that's something to crow about even in Spring Training
According to Bob Nightengale, “The San Francisco Giants are now looming as the favorites for Snell, who have been engaged, but were also waiting for the price-tag to drop.”
ReplyDeleteI don't really follow Bob Nightengale but doesn't he have a certain reputation among sports reporters?
DeleteIt's from USA Today.
DeleteHe is "the incumbent chairman of the Arizona chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America."
And, as you suggest, he isn't exceptionally reliable, and some say he lies.
https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/lczud5/i_think_its_time_to_have_a_talk_about_bob/?rdt=55065