The AZL Giants won their title, the second time in four years. 

The Giants did it by winning the second half title, and winning tonight's championship game (yup, just one) between them and first half champ Angels 4-2. First baseman C.J. Ziegler hit the game's only home run, but it was 20-year old Javier Hernandez's eight inning, one run allowed outing which truly powered this win. 

Buster Posey was 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Between this game and the regular season finale, Posey was 0-6 to finish out the AZL. 

The Rookie Giants are always a tough team to project. They are the youngest, the most unknown, and furthest from the majors, and it's easy to dismiss certain performances as being too 'old' or 'experienced' for the league, in many cases rightfully so. But still, here's some names who really stood out in 2008: 

Hitters: 
C Buster Posey - Um, duh. Outside of a bit of a stumble at the end of the year, he was red hot in his brief time in the AZL. We haven't seen the last of him this year. 

SS Brandon Crawford - Before his injury, the 4th round pick from UCLA who had a horrible junior season played just four games...but what a first four: 6-14, 1 2B, 1 3B, .429/.429/.643. It definitely brought some hopes up. 

C Jesus Navarro - 20 year old catcher from Mexico, Jesus started the season strong but weakened later on. He needs to show more power from that spot in the order, but for his first season in American ball, not bad. Serious split worries, though. 

3B Josh Mazzola - At 22, old for the league. And he went 0-11 to finsh the season. But he was a well-rounded hitter, going 55-170 with 15 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs. Mashed left-handers, but still did well against right-handed pitchers, too. 

1B C.J. Ziegler - An old 22-year old (will turn 23 in November), he distinguished himself as one of the AZL's few sluggers. His 7 regular season homers was 4th best. Doesn't have the same heat as his predecessor Andy D'Alessio, though, showing contact issues D'Alessio didn't have at the low level. However, 35 BB to 38 SO in 187 at-bats was nice. 

LF Ben Woodbury - Another hot hitter who slowed later in the season. The 22-year old outfielder flourished, notably posting 24 walks and just 11 strikeouts in 126 at-bats, and stealing 18 bases in 19 attempts. Probably could've played center if not for Fairley. The 18 stolen bases were 4th in the league (tops was 22, shared by two players). 

RF Ryan Mantle - The cousin of the Mick, Ryan (drafted in the 19th round) had a solid season, though his lack of power was a bit disturbing for a right fielder. He did have 9 stolen bases in 11 attempts, and solid contact numbers (17 walks and 32 strikeouts in 155 at-bats). 

Interesting note: Mantle, Woodbury and Mazzola were all teammates at Missouri State. Woodbury and Mazzola were both undrafted free agents who joined Mantle with the Giants by choice. 

CF Wendell Fairley - Fairley's year was decidedly mixed. The 20-year old started slowly, and had an unimpressive .259/.388/.337 line in 52 games, with 26 walks and 37 strikeouts in 193 at-bats. The speedy outfielder also managed just 7 stolen bases in 10 attempts. 

Pitchers: 

Kyle Nicholson - Had to be the standout name on the list, at least statistically. Nicolson finished the season with 29 scoreless innings (including a complete 9-inning game shutout). He had 54 K's and just 3 walks in 62 2/3 innings. However, he turned 23 in the middle of the season, after missing the 2007 pro season as a 7th round pick that year. Old for the league? Absolutely, but there's still something to keep an eye on. 

Jose Casilla - One of the team's youngest pitchers at 19, a strong start caught a lot of eyes. However, an injury in Mid-July cut his season awfully short, though he did appear in relief just at the end of the year. 19 strikeouts, 1 walk in 22 2/3 innings. 

Jorge Bucardo - Little brother (and supposedly more talented) to current S-K starter and last year's AZL darling Wilbur Bucardo, Jorge had a solid pro debut. His 51 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings hold promise, but he had serious problems with left-handed hitters. He struck out 30 in his last four games (21 innings) showing some late season development. 

Kelvin Marte - The 19-year old (turns 20 in November) was supposed to start in Salem-Keizer, but had problems there and was sent down. In 35 1/3 innings in the Rookie League, he had 31 strikeouts and 10 walks, and a 1.78 ERA. That was a bit disappointing, after he struck out 91 in 61 innings in the DSL. 

Aaron King - The 7th rounder teased that he wouldn't sign after being disappointed at where he was picked, but put together a good start to his career. 41 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings is very nice. He has made one tough appearance in S-K so far. 

Kyle Woodruff - The Chico State and former CSM standout worked exclusively in relief, and it's hard to judge a reliever at this level, but Woodruff was the team's most consistent long reliever (29 innings in 17 games), and a consistent split between right-handed and left-handed batters helps, though he had more walks against left-handers than he should (6 of his 8 walks came against them). 

PS - Grant and other mods: Please don't edit this fanpost for your own amusement due to my obvious and ridiculous amount of filler to meet the minimum word requirement.  :)