Well he’s likely to have success anywhere he starts. He was arguably the best college player in the country last year. Players of that caliber should have no problem beginning in high-A. And at 21, he’d already be older than several players already on the roster (Alderson, Schoop, Tanner, Sandoval?)

Well played, sir.

I don’t have a problem with easing a guy in to professional ball. Lincecum is a good example; short-season A, then a bit of high A, then minimal AAA before being called up for good. Granted, Lincecum is an amazing talent, so it was a lot easier for him, but it’s a good idea to start a guy lower before pushing him aggressively.

What bothers me is that the Giants have been starting guys low, keeping them low for quite some time, and then VERY aggressively trying to push a guy straight to AAA (or the majors). Yes, our AA park is screwy, but that’s the level where most prospects prove themselves. Given the number of retreads and AAAA roster filler in AAA, many teams don’t want their good prospects to spend much time there. Apparently, some bad habits can be gained in beating up on AAA hitters and pitchers who have clear holes in their games that are preventing them from sticking in the bigs (no real out pitch, can’t hit a real slider, etc). In the PCL especially, batters can get homer-happy, which doesn’t necessarily work out so well going from Fresno and Colorado Springs and Tucson to AT&T and Petco.

Bowker is a pretty good example. He made the progression through the lower ranks of the minors and then spent little time in AAA. If there was a good reason to keep him in AAA, it would be to work on his plate discipline, but is he really going to do that in AAA? I don’t see a lot of guys making the big leap and figuring things out in AAA. It seems to me that those things happen earlier in the minors, and Bowker appears to be making adjustments and improving against big-league pitching. The Giants have the “luxury” of being able to let Bowker learn in the bigs, and in the end, he isn’t going to have the need for additional adjustment from AAA to the majors.

As for Matos, I think you are right in needing to look at K and BB rates and adjusting HR/9 to that ballpark. A guy can probably get away with slinging FB down the middle at Dodd and watching the fly ball die at the warning track, something that isn’t likely to go over well in the majors.

I think the biggest reason is this is Snyder ’s second year of over matching hitters. If you compare his numbers between high a and low a there is not much of a change (drop in k’s from 8.5 to 8, but an increase in innings per appearance of a third) This is English’s first year back as a starter after extended injury issues. That said, i would not be surprised if they moved another starter to Connecticut because Bumgarner has nothing left to prove in Low-A, and hopefully will find himself in San Jose following th all star game reshuffle.