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DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects

http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-giants&tid=96839

Lots of new faces this year.  Overall, our farm system is much younger and, I think, deeper and better than in recent memory.  Most of the high ceiling talent is in the lowest levels of the minors, but is also very young in age.

I had to leave off a lot of names that would have made it easily in prior years, but just ran out of room this year.  I listed those in a postscript honorable mention.

It was so hard to put a value on perennially injured or underperforming players like Eddy M-E that I created a separate postscript for them.

I also added P.S. for a few DSL prospects who caught my eye even though it's probably premature to list them in a Top Prospects list.

What do you think?

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
ur hawt.

Three things.

Could we not call Villalona the Big V? please?

I'm glad to see you ranked Fairley so high.

lastly, who will catch and who will DH/1B at CT next year?  and Why does Pablo look like the Dominican Dmitri Young?

Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 14, 2008 11:42 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
"Big V" seems to have been the way to go once "Vagina Face" got voted down. Personally, I still can't tell the difference between the two, and I'm fairly (read: inevitably; intentionally) liable to mix them up if either one continues in the popular lexicon.
He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM! / Also, my blog. For writers.

by howtheyscored on Jan 15, 2008 12:48 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
You can't shoot down a nickname without suggesting a suitable alternative. I don't get how "Big V" and "vagina face" go together either; maybe if someone called him "Big Vajayjay" but nobody would do that.
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 9:34 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
All I know is that our town has a big ass V-Day celebration and I really don't want to associate the two.

If he angers me in some way, however, I will have no problem calling him "The Big Vajayjay".

Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jan 15, 2008 11:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Well "Vagina Face" for me is just a little exaggerated humor for me to help undercut the nickname I don't like. "Big V" does make me think of "Vagina" and then I went from there, but that's probably neither here nor there. But the era of nicknames that rely on initials should be over in my opinion, except in cases such as LT or TO or TD (remember him?). I don't like "initial style" nicknames because they're lazy and don't really sound very good.

And with Villalona, they are especially lazy. I mean, the guy's first name is ANGEL. It might be a little played out, but if you can't do something half-decent with Angel as a starting point, well that's just too bad.

Personally, though, I'm awfully partial to "Angel Villalong-ball." I forget who made it up, but I think it's freaking genius. And catchy.

He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Dave Righetti. PRAY TO HIM! / Also, my blog. For writers.

by howtheyscored on Jan 15, 2008 12:27 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
given his defense, he should be called "Big E"
Bonds stands alone.

by nostocksjustbonds on Jan 15, 2008 10:33 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I've been after the Big V change for awhile now. Doesn't look like Doc's going to come off that one. At least I haven't see you make any Kevbo references lately Doc. :)

I have to say that I'm not sure Fairley is as "raw" as people constantly insist. He was a High School All American last year virtually unanimously with tremendous numbers. And scouts didn't necessarily call him raw before the draft, they just noted he hadn't taken part in all the usual High School showcases. I think he may be falling victim to a stereotype that if you're not on the showcase circuit, you can't possibly be polished or accomplished or whatever the hell they want to call it. If you ain't on the "professional amateur" show pony circus, you must be toolsy and raw. I am mentally showering the perpetrators of such stereotypes with contempt. I wave my privates in their general direction.

My boy ain't fat, he's just big boned. Big bat, too.

by Roger on Jan 15, 2008 11:54 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Roger
Hmm. Your post smells of elderberries.
The SF Giants: we're not much, but you should check out our team in Augusta!

by Lyle on Jan 16, 2008 7:01 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
So far we are doing about as well with Villalona's nickname as Pedro with outside sliders. Nothing jumps to mind but maybe we should start playing with his first name or his initials. Right now he's just Angel Baby so we've got a couple of years to nail this down.

by NearestNorwich on Jan 15, 2008 7:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Uh-oh.

You seem to be suggesting his fan base call themselves the "A.V. Club."

"When Jackson Williams thinks of how many times Madison Bumgarner has tried to kill Tyler Walker..."

by multiphasic on Jan 16, 2008 7:07 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
nice work, very thorough. Here is where I differ in opinion.
  1. I think that you are selling Edlefsen, Pill and Snyder a bit short, especially ranking them behind relative unknown late round picks such as Brewer, Cranston, Bond and Egart.
  2. I'd definitely rank Matos ahead of Anderson.
  3. I'd Move Cowart and McKae down a few steps
  4. I'd move Copeland ahead of Richardson...though I really like Richardson.
  5. I'd find a spot for Rohlinger at the back end of the list...I'd probably bump off one of the S-K relievers for him.
Great job Dr. B, its always nice to read your opinions!

by Keenlow on Jan 15, 2008 12:52 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Oh crap, huge oversight, Where's Mcbryde and Bocock?

Also, its interesting to omit people from the top 50 because of injuries, a different strategy than I would have taken, especially because theres a lot of good potential on the injury list.

by Keenlow on Jan 15, 2008 12:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Oh, I see Bocock in the honorable mentions...First I've seen him rated so low, I would have found a spot for him in the top 50, he'd actually make my top 25.

by Keenlow on Jan 15, 2008 1:01 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Bocock and McBryde
I have to admit I forgot about McBryde completely.  I know the scouts love this guy because of his speed and arm.  The question is whether he can hit.  I don't think he satisfactorily put that concern to rest in Augusta and he didn't use his speed to full advantage.  I'd probably rank Tyler Graham ahead of him right now and I put Graham in Honorable Mention, so that's where I would put McBryde too.

Bocock and Timpner were two players who I really struggled with.  I thought I might catch some flack for leaving them off the Top 50.  To me, they are both polished players who could probably play in the field for the Giants right now, but will also probably never hit enough to be even average players.  

Every time I look at Brian Bocock's stats, the first comp that pops into my head is Johnnie Lemaster.  That right there was enough to keep him off my list.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 7:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bocock and McBryde
McBryde seems sort of comparable to Joaquin and Bucardo, whom you rank so highly (which seems like a good call, btw). These guys all have a long way to go and a lot of obstacles in front of them, but they have outstanding physical tools. They're probably never going to make it, but they've got some chance to be stars. That would be enough to get McBryde in my top 30, at least.

Timpner's the opposite, but I think he has become a somewhat underrated prospect. His breakthrough wasn't all that different from Bowker's. I can see him becoming a David DeJesus-type player.

by Evan on Jan 15, 2008 7:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Bowker vs Timpner
Bowker- SLG%.523 for CT.

Timpner- SLG%.395 for Fresno.

Those don't look very similar to me.

IMO, Joaquin and Bucardo are about 10X as likely to be impact pitchers in MLB than McBryde has of even getting a cup-o-coffee.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 8:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bowker vs Timpner
Timpner's defense doesn't quite make up for Bowker's power, but it's close.

You're giving 10 to 1? I'll take that bet. Great arms are more likely to burn out than not, alas.

by Evan on Jan 15, 2008 8:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bowker vs Timpner
I guess we'll have to disagree on both counts.  Tinpner can play D, but a .130 difference in SLG% is huge.

Giants have a good track record developing arms and McBryde seems like the longest of longshots right now.  Joaquin, in particular, is a special talent who I think is going to breakout big time this year.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 9:28 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I've got to give props to McBryde, I've had season tickets in S-K since 2001 and he by far has the best arm I've seen.  With his range I'd say if he can hit a lick he should have a decent shot.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan and Jeremiah Luster.

by RichH on Jan 15, 2008 9:53 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Hey, anything you can say about Jeremiah Luster?  After we paid him all that money, it seemed like he's been in instructional league forever; was 2007 his first year in a league above that?  Does he have any future?  Heck, any real skills?  What did we pay for?
"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley "I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jan 16, 2008 10:30 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
He came up out of highschool as an infielder and has switched to the outfield.  07 was his first year out of rookie ball and he was a bit nervous playing in front of a crowd initially.  I think he has a good arm, needs to work on his routes in the field.  Decent bat, it will take seeing some good pitching to really know what he has going on.  Not much power, hit his first professional home run in 07.  

Made good use of his short stint in AAA ball.  

Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan and Jeremiah Luster.

by RichH on Jan 17, 2008 9:03 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Did we pay alot for him? He was a late 18th rounder who signed within a couple of weeks of the draft. That doesn't seem like a bonus baby profile to me.
My boy ain't fat, he's just big boned. Big bat, too.

by Roger on Jan 17, 2008 1:24 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Depends on what you mean by a lot.  It was a lot for a late 18th rounder, I recall it being around $300-400,000, kind of like what they did with Ishikawa when they signed him for nearly $1M when he was a 21st rounder.  I suppose that could be considered little for a major league team nowadays, but that's still a lot to me.

I think he was an 18 year old and he's been advancing slower than molasses.  I don't recall exactly, but I have to assume there was worry over how much he was asking for but the Giants found the right price to get him to sign.

"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley "I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jan 21, 2008 9:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I saw this linked over at minorleagueball. As someone over there noted, there seems to be an abundance of up the middle prospects. Behind Angel, the corner prospects are D'Alessio, Witter, Downs and Pill. Are the Giants allergic to power hitting corner infielders? Do they not know what to do with them? What gives?

Also, it is mildly frustrating that Sickels has waited to do the Giants prospect list until the. very. last. one! I guess some team had to be last.

Thanks for the presenting Your detailed list. Who needs that John Sickels guy anyhow?

-- Born Yesterday

by thatdog on Jan 15, 2008 3:39 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Really excellent work, Doctor. I'm very glad you agreed to post here as well. I'll reply in depth over on the other board. Just a few things here:
  1. You and I differ on ceiling vs. attainment (it appears I'm the odd one); I give a bit more weight to likelihood of making the majors and being a useful player. Given that, I'm surprised that you rank Nate above MadBum. You seem to buy in to the general hype about Madison having a fantastic ceiling. You and I both are huge Nate fans, but even I don't think that he's got a ceiling like the one described for Bumgarner. Now, I would rank MB even lower than you because I think he's sightly unlikely to reach that ceiling. So did you slightly take this into account, or do you believe Nate is an All-Star in the making?
  2. I was very pleased to see D'Alessio, Witter, and Downs among your top 40. I'd put them a bit higher, but the power-starved 2008 Giants have warped my view of the first two. And I'm just excited generally about Matt Downs.
  3. Pereira is a great guy by all accounts, but I think I'd rate Valdez, Romo, Matos, Sadler, and Rodriguez ahead of him. What sets him above those guys in your mind?
  4. Keeping the rehab/recovery guys out of the list was a brilliant idea. And I like the idea of the Honorable Mention list.
Thanks for all the work that took!
The SF Giants: we're not much, but you should check out our team in Augusta!

by Lyle on Jan 15, 2008 7:12 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
If I can but in re: Sadler, I think his window is just about closed. At one point he was a serious contender for closer, and one bad year put him behind Anderson in CT (very hard to do better than Anderson, in the minors) and he didn't even get save opps in Fresno when it was Wilson and Tyler Walker closing out games. Tyler Walker? Yeah. The fact that he wasn't even the best choice in Fresno tells me that he missed his chance.

Romo and Wilmin would go above Pereira IMO, but I just don't get why people are clinging to Merkin as a prospect anymore. Though clinging to merkin is just a bad idea to begin with. Matos is climbing since great back to back years in 2006 and 2007. Since Pereira is closer to the majors than all these dudes, I think that's why he ranks higher. If we're talking talent/stuff, then Romo, Wilmin, and Matos outrank Pereira.

Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 9:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I can't write off Sadler yet, his stuff is just so good and he's always been able to strike guys out. He's 25 so his time could be drawing close. If he cut down his BB% I think he could still work in the back of the bullpen as a setup guy or closer.

Call it the Erick Threets clause for relievers -- guys with great stuff but lousy control -- that keeps me interested in Sadler.

by xanthan on Jan 15, 2008 10:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
All Right Lyle !! Two Matt Downs supporters ! Woo Hoo !

I am not totally unbiased of course :-)

I'm pretty much in the "Any Young Guy with a Bat Camp" . While a small sample size in short season "A", the numbers have stayed somewhat consistant, if not improved since his last year in college.

My adopted son Matt Downs. Because face it, everybody else was already taken by the time I got here.

by nvsfg on Jan 15, 2008 11:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Downs is very solid and played 1st,2nd and 3rd with S-K last year and played each position very well. I don't think that team would have acheived what they did without him.   I'm excited to see how he does at higher levels.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan and Jeremiah Luster.

by RichH on Jan 15, 2008 1:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
2004    Alabama    20     0    1    4.03    16    29.0    33    14    13    1    15    23    2         10.24    0.31    4.66    7.14    1.66    --
2005    Alabama    21    2    0    5.76    16    29.2    37    22    19    6    13    33    2    0     11.22    1.82    3.94    10.01    1.69    --

Batting Statistics
Year    Team    Lg    Age    Org.    Level       
2004    Alabama    20     16    27    4    6    2    0    0    5    0    0    2    2    0         0    0    1     .222    .276    .296    572   

I'm posting 2004 and 2005 here as well in order make the point that he's yet to have full season batting. He was a pitcher before that. Send him straight to AA I say, let's see what we've got

"But I AM a stepchild!"-Pedro Feliz

by Smotheredinhugs on Jan 15, 2008 5:33 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I was impressed with Bond's performance when he got to SK. I hadn't realized his AZL and SK performances were so radically different. He did basically nothing in the AZL, got promoted when Schoop got hurt, took over second base for the Volcanoes, and never looked back. The only knock on Bond so far is his complete lack of power.
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 9:37 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
A B. Bond in the Giants organization?  This guy just has to make it to the majors.

by rotorueter on Jan 15, 2008 9:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
There are two Bonds in the organization! Brock and Casey. How about that.
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 9:52 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
BruteSentiment and I discussed Matos' demotion to Augusta briefly and neither of us could come up with a reason for it. Since Matos has been sent to playoff races at the end of 2006 (Augusta, lost in the championship series to a team that isn't even geographically in the South Atlantic region, but whatever) and 2007 (San Jose, won the title in 5 games after coming back from an 0-2 deficit w00t), I'd just guess it was to push toward the playoffs for Augusta.
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 9:45 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Outstanding job, Dr.  The depth of your knowledge of players in the Giants' system is excellent.

Most lists of Giants prospects have Emmanuel Burriss and/or Eugenio Velez in the top 10, and I thought you showed admirable restraint in eliminating both from your own top 10.

No two people are going to agree on the ranking of ALL 50 players (or even those who DIDN'T make the top 50), but I thought you did an outstanding job.

I often disagree with you on various matters, but your Giants knowledge is indeed excellent -- as you showed here.

by sharksrog on Jan 15, 2008 10:54 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

+1
Just wanted to add my thanks, and sharksrog wrote it better than I could have.  
"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley "I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jan 16, 2008 10:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
id just like to see a position player that the giants drafted and trained get to the majors and produce. and not feliz produce, i mean produce and make people excited. maybe nate will do it, maybe dan, maybe fred, maybe every damn one of them will and we can all throw a "we told you so" party on the wharf...wouldnt that be nice?
thank god the patriots dont have the giants' first round pick too

by son of riles on Jan 15, 2008 10:55 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Omission
Looking at John Sickels' list which finally came out today, I see I forgot Jose Capellan, the Rule 5 draftee.  Man, where would I put him?  Somewhere in the Top 50, that's for sure, probably just after Kelvin Pichardo and ahead of all the soft tossers.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 11:28 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

man...
Sickel's list is kind of funky.  
Flossing a dead horse

by kenshin1 on Jan 15, 2008 11:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
Very funky. I've been less of a fan of Sickels this year. He's seemed to waffle a lot on certain grades and just give weird grades out to some guys (Jed Lowerie getting an A-). I also think his grading system isn't the best after he revised it this past year.

I think he's under-graded Snyder and Burriss who both got straight C's. I think Bumgarner should be a B instead of a B-. I think he graded Velez high at a B-, too.

 

by xanthan on Jan 15, 2008 11:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sickels
I'm not sure what the story is with Sickels, but IMO, he's been off his game now for some time.  I don't know if he is trying to do too many things at once, or if the working at home thing is distracting him now that he has young kids,or what?  I know he does not actually see most of the prospects he evaluates and doesn't seem to have many contacts other than other bloggers.  Once upon a time, a guy with an advanced knowledge of stats could be way ahead of the curve in evaluating prospects.  Now, probably most of the posters on this site and his can do just as well with the stats they can easily look up on milb.com, thebaseballcube.com and minorleaguesplits.com, etc.  If Sickels wants to stay ahead of the game, I think he's going to have to get out of the house, make some scouting trips of his own and invest some time and effort making scouting contacts.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 1:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
I think the grading system itself is misguided. He'd be better off with a number system of some sort - or just ranking them one through twenty. I can't believe how much grief he gets on his site.
"But I AM a stepchild!"-Pedro Feliz

by Smotheredinhugs on Jan 15, 2008 5:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
I was wondering about his grading system.  Do you have a link where I can read on what they mean or can you give a nice summary on what it means?  Like, the Giants have 8 prospects graded B- and above, which seems good, but I have no idea what that means, really.
"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley "I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jan 16, 2008 10:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
Here is a quick synopsis of what John Sickels says his grades mean:

Grade A is for the elite.

Grade B prospects have a good chance to have successful careers.

Grade C prospects are the most common type, usually with a wart or three or well away from the major leagues at present.

Last year the Giants had six B- or better prospects, so this year's eight represents a 33% improvement.

The six were:

Tim Lincecum   A- (I lobbied hard for an A for Tim, but after initially giving him an A, John downgraded him to an A- based on control and a high number of pitches thrown in the minors).

Jonathan Sanchez   B

Manny Burriss, Kevin Frandsen, Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Billy Sadler    B-

Interestingly, all but Lincecum and perhaps Frandsen hurt their stock in 2007.

by sharksrog on Jan 17, 2008 12:32 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
I think had Sanchez been given a defined role last season, his stock would have risen.

I really don't like what they've done with him.

Brian Anderson: I can has spot in Fresno 'pen?

by Anticon23 on Jan 17, 2008 10:13 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
I don't know WHAT to think about Jonathan.  I have a feeling his best role might be as a regularly-used reliever.

I don't think his arm will take being overused out of the pen, and I don't think his control will take being underused.  I think he would do best if the Giants pitched him about every other day in short relief.

But I'm really merely making an educated guess (which at least is a step up from my usual silly wild-ass guess).

by sharksrog on Jan 17, 2008 10:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
I'd like to see him given a chance to be a starter, since I like his stuff so much it'd feel like a waste of talent to put him in the bullpen.  Then again, he could be our version of Mike Gonzalez.
Brian Anderson: I can has spot in Fresno 'pen?

by Anticon23 on Jan 18, 2008 12:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: man...
Thanks sharksrog!  

Yeah, seems like most prospects hurt themselves.  But then, that kind of makes sense too, I recall a post by Lefty Malo about how in any farm system, there's typically two good players and two average players (or something like that) eventually out of the bunch.  Thus if you have 6-8 who are considered good, at least half of them would have to hurt their stock for that to come true (2/2) and maybe 1-2 more, because there might be 1-2 who surprises from below.  

"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley "I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jan 21, 2008 9:27 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Omission
Technically you don't need to put him anywhere because he's gonna be on the pro roster all season anyway.  If they demote him to any other level, Boston has the option of taking him back.  Nice list, though. Twas a good read.  It's nice to see somebody rank Fairley as high as I would.  It's not like he went 29th overall for no reason.

by boonitez on Jan 15, 2008 1:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Fairley
The thing that clinched it for me on Fairley was the video comparison of his swing with Ben Revere's and Gomez' commentary.  That is a pretty, powerful swing he has there.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 1:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Fairley
Yeah that side-by-side comparison made me laugh at the Twins for passing up on Fairley to choose Revere instead.  Unless he's got a great eye or incredible bat accuracy, they're gonna feel pretty stupid when Fairley gets to the majors in a Giants uni.

by boonitez on Jan 15, 2008 1:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Revere was mostly a $$$ pick
Like the Twins have been doing for a while. 750k for Revere, 1 mil for Fairley. Not saying its the right thing to do or they may have just liked Revere better, but that seems to be a big reason for the pick.

by awesomer on Jan 15, 2008 2:00 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Revere was mostly a $$$ pick
Revere may have been an overdraft but at least he's done well so far in his short career, his line of (.325/.388/.461) is pretty decent looking, which is more than I can say for our overdrafts.

by xanthan on Jan 15, 2008 2:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Behemoth
When did we pick up Steve Palazzolo? I missed that. Cool.
Proud member of the Adopt-a-Giant program (Aaron Rowand)

by antinous on Jan 15, 2008 1:22 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
doesnt sound like anybody could pick up this palazzolo guy
thank god the patriots dont have the giants' first round pick too

by son of riles on Jan 15, 2008 1:43 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Thanks for posting this, Doc.  All you minor league eggheads are fantastic!  It's great to get better information on our minor leaguers that we just couldn't get anywhere else.  It's good stuff.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Jan 15, 2008 2:03 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I'm surprised Ramon Carmona and Dan Turpen aren't in the top 50. After watching Turpen in the College WS I'm a big fan. His delivery is real deceptive.
"But I AM a stepchild!"-Pedro Feliz

by Smotheredinhugs on Jan 15, 2008 4:40 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
And by the way thanks for this. It's much better than Roger Clemens/Mitchell report hoop-la.
"But I AM a stepchild!"-Pedro Feliz

by Smotheredinhugs on Jan 15, 2008 5:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
What about Carmona grabbed you, can I ask?

I like Turpen and Paterson. Those two are a very interesting story.

Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 5:24 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
He was a 2006 All-Star in the ACC along with the likes of Andy D'Allessio, Matt Antonelli and Andrew Miller amongst others. He had a down year in 2007 (he hit .293 versus .353 in 2006) and I think may have slipped in the draft because of it. But he was right at .400 OBP every year in College and his 8 doubles in 78 at bats was nothing to scoff at.
"But I AM a stepchild!"-Pedro Feliz

by Smotheredinhugs on Jan 15, 2008 5:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I wrote the blurb for SF Dugout on Carmona on draft day and I had a hard time putting something together on him. :)
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 15, 2008 6:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Crowded
One of the most exciting things about making up this list is how difficult it was to pare it down to 50.  I don't remember when there were so many players in our system who seemed to deserve some kind of mention, but I just ran out of room.  That bodes well, don't you think?

I agree that Corona, Turpin and Paterson are interesting prospects who could all be a lot higher on the list next year.  Part of the problem ranking them this year is they got a late start due to the college playoffs and WS.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 6:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Crowded
Are you saying that next year might be Turpin Time?

by sharksrog on Jan 16, 2008 12:42 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Crowded
only if mel un-retires...

by slojoe on Jan 16, 2008 3:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Solid list, Dr. B. Really, I like it.

by Dan from NM on Jan 15, 2008 9:32 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Solid
Thank you and everybody else who have had kind words to say about the list.  It was, as always, a labor of love.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 15, 2008 10:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Hey, Doc, sorry I've taken a while to respond.

I gotta say, I like your list, too.  You certainly give Nate more credit than most (deservedly so), and have good opinions on a lot of the others.  We're definitely a lot closer on the ceiling vs. reality scale than some around here.

I will admit openly that I am putting Alderson ahead of Bumgarner on the SFDugout list.  For me, it's not about those five innings, but it's Bumgarner's throwing style.  He's got a curve, sure, but his arm slot is low enough that I worry about his ability to consistently maintain it for the pitch to be effective.  A lot won't be known until he's seen in the pros, but that was enough difference for me.

I do think you're underrating guys like Snyder and Pucetas.  Snyder has a good mix of pitches, and is effective with them.  Pucetas doesn't have 'stuff', but he may be one of the hardest workers in the minor leagues.  I wouldn't hold them staying in Augusta all year against them, especially if one or both end up in CT this year, as was hinted at the end of the minor league season.

I would also disagree with Schoop, Jose Valdez and Hinshaw being so high.  You make good points on Schoop's struggles...so why so high?  Even if he's young, the hitting so far is very bad.  I get that Valdez is a ceiling pick, but I haven't seen enough glimpses of him putting the package together to think too much of him.  And Hinshaw?  With that control?  Really?

All that said, our lists have a lot of similarities.  We have only one guy at the same ranking (#45 Dan Otero), but quite a few who are just one or two spots away from each other.  You do have 11 players on your list that aren't on mind (the majority of which occur in #37 and higher, so it's not a surprise), but I won't say who until I'm further down releasing the SFDugout list.

Thank you for sharing, though.  It was a great read!

SFDugout.com is BACK! Top 50 Prospects is starting...but, why are there two #50's?

by BruteSentiment on Jan 16, 2008 11:27 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Schoop is improving a great deal with his at bats.  A little patience would be nice but I noticed he was hitting line drives in 07 as opposed to squibbers in 06, plus he grew quite a bit and seems more confident at the plate.  I think 08 will be a good year for him.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan and Jeremiah Luster.

by RichH on Jan 16, 2008 1:15 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Hey how do you rate getting five adoptees?!
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 16, 2008 1:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
Yeah, and here I thought my adopted wife was a fertile one.
"When Jackson Williams thinks of how many times Madison Bumgarner has tried to kill Tyler Walker..."

by multiphasic on Jan 16, 2008 2:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
These are all the players that I've hosted during their time in S-K.  I'll keep adding as the years go along.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan and Jeremiah Luster.

by RichH on Jan 16, 2008 3:25 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
I think that means you win.
Democracy is lovely but baseball is more mature. BVCE supports Manny Burriss and SF Dugout.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 16, 2008 6:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Re: DrB's 2008 Giants Top 50 Prospects
thanks for a good list Dr. B....
i still havent given up on Sadler though...rest of your list is interesting, esp. Wilmin R. and Jose Valdez- i didnt know they were creeping up on the list..maybe one of them will be this year's H. Sosa...

by slojoe on Jan 16, 2008 3:27 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

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