Meet the newest Giants - 6 prospects inked before the midnight deadline + Plus 2 more...
by Fla-Giant on Aug 16, 2011 2:19 PM PDT
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PrintThe Giants did a great job of dotting the i's and crossing the t's on their very successful 2011 draft class yesterday. In the final 30 minutes before the deadline they announced that their remaining 3 high value draftees (Andrew Susac, Ricky Oropesa and Josh Osich) had agreed to terms. They also signed 3 college relievers from the mid-rounds (Mitch Beacom, Cameron McVey and Joe Biagini) that could provide help out of the bullpen for SF a few years down the line. There is some confusion in the info being put out by the Giants, and relayed through Baggs, but from what I can determine at this time the Giants have also signed one of the following 3 draftees:
Tyler Leslie, Cristian Otero, and Dave Fischer
After the dust cleared, we were left with the following numbers:
The Giants signed every one of their top 13 picks from the first 12 rounds
The Giants signed 27 of their first 31 picks
The Giants signed at least 38 of their total 51 picks
I'll include all the pertinent info that I have on the 6 newest Giants after the jump.
2.86 - Andrew Susac, C, RHH, Ore. St. Univ., (6'1", 200) DOB=3/22/90
Susac has all of the physical and mental tools needed to become a top catcher in the major leagues. His defense is already quite polished and advanced and he has a very strong arm and well above-average power potential with the bat, but he still must dispell concerns over his contact rate at the plate, his abiltiy to hit to all fields, and his ability to handle an advanced pitching staff and call a major league game. He was expected to be drafted as early as the 2nd-half of the first round, but he broke the hamate bone in his right hand about halfway through the college season and ended up missing just over 4 weeks of the college season. When he came back from the injury, the torrid offensive pace he had set before the injury tailed off and that seemed to tarnish his image for most of the clubs. There's no doubt that getting somebody of his caliber late in the 2nd round, who also plays a position of need in the system, was a huge coup for the Giants.
When you look at his college stats the positive of his elite BB-rate immediately jumps out at you. As you look deeper you see the troublingly-high K-rate that turned some off from Susac, when coupled to the struggles he had at the plate during his 2010 freshman season in college. Susac currently strikes out too much and doesn't make enough consistent contact at the plate for a guy that hasn't been a great power hitter. There are extenuating circumstances to excuse some of these worries. Susac had a very good season with wood bats in the 2010 Cape Cod League - especially in terms of power (see stats below). Also, this was only Susac's sophomore season, so he's younger and has much less experience than the typical college catcher draftee. In addition, the complications he faced with rehabbing from his mid-season broken hamate bone certainly must have sapped some of his power and ability to make consistent contact at the plate when he returned to the lineup. Finally, the fact that he was able to step right in as a full-time starting catcher as a freshman in 2010 and impress with his catching abilities, and the strides that he's made in in his defense over the past year, should make us all feel much better. He has shown that he is coachable and a quick learner at his position, even while he's performing at a high level of proficiency while on the job.
Stats: .313/.444/.552/.996 with AB=134, wOBA=.435, 2B=9, 3B=4, HR=5, BB=27 (15.9%), K=32 (18.8%)
CCL 2010: .290/.390/.500/.890 with AB=100, 2B=6, 3B=0, HR=5, BB=13 (10.8%), K=25 (20.8%)
VID1: (interview - 2010): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPuNrFMXMJQ&feature=related
VID2: http://baseballbeginnings.com/2011/06/01/andrew-susac-video#more-13993
3.116 - Ricky Oropesa, 1B, LHH (throws RH), USC, (6'3", 225) DOB=12/15/89
I didn't like this pick when I first heard it, but I have come around to being neutral on it after having done more research and watching a ton more videos of Oropesa in action. I still think that his swing mechanics need some tweaking, and his pitch selection needs work, but I'm impressed by his ability to work a walk and his acceptable K-rate for a hitter with his power potential. There's no doubt that he struggles against good pitching, and the significant drop in his power numbers with wood bats (on the Cape in 2010 and the new BBCOR metal bats (at USC in 2011) is very troubling for a hitter with that much raw power. When I researched it some more it appeared to me that some of it may be explained by the fact that he was being pitched around by opposing teams most of the 2011 season due to the lack of protection from other hitters in the USC lineup. He also reportedly had an issue with not receiving the right size bats from the supplier for the first 1.5 months of the season when the colleges went to the new BBCOR bats. As for his defense, he's only average, at best, right now, but from what I've seen on video he does have the tools to be an above-average defender at 1B if he puts in the effort and hard work needed to improve. He also has a plus arm, but that's almost totally wasted at 1B - and, no, he can't play 3B or the OF.
2009: .314/.390/.578/.968 with AB=185, 2B=8, 3B=1, HR=13, BB=23 (10.7%), K=46 (21.5%)
2010: .353/.437/.711/1.148 with AB=235, 2B=22, 3B=1, HR=20, BB=33 (12.1%), K=51 (18.7%)
2011: .322/.402/.481/.883 with AB=208, wOBA=.395, 2B=10, 3B=1, HR=7, BB=29 (11.8%), K=46 (18.7%)
CCL 2010: .222/.337/.392/.729 with AB=153, 2B=5, 3B=0, HR=7, BB=24 (13%), K=52 (28.3%)
6.207 - Josh Osich, LHP, Ore. St. Univ. (6'3", 235) 9/3/88
Osich was a great value pick at this late round. He would almost certainly have gone off the board between #25 and #45 overall if not for the elbow tendonitis and sore back that affected his stuff over the last 2 weeks of the season. His control was very erratic and his velocity was down about 5 mph from his season average during those last 2 weeks, which just happened to come right after he threw the complete game, 121 pitch no-hitter against UCLA. At his best, Osich is a tall and burly lefty that was able to dominate in the Pac 10 this season despite having just had TJ surgery in February of 2010 and despite not being able to throw his breaking ball until very late in the season. His FB sits in the low-90s and can easily touch 96-97 mph when he wants to rear back and let it fly. The rehab from the TJ surgery forced him to rely more on his FB and to develop an effective and consistent changeup in 2011, because he was advised not to throw his slider (previously well above-average and his out pitch) while his arm returned to form. The first time that he started throwing the slider in a real game in 2011, he threw a complete game no-hitter against UCLA while walking only 1 batter. As you can see from his 2011 stats below, Osich has an issue with stamina and pitching efficiency. He needs to learn how to pitch deeper into games if he's going to be a starter in the pros, otherwise he will be forced into the bullpen where his worth will drop. Some of it was due to the pitch limits that he was under for the first part of the season due to the rehab from the 2010 TJ surgery.
Stats: G=15, IP=74, ERA=3.64, FIP=3.52, WHIP=1.25, BAA=.221, K=79, BB=34, K/9=9.3, BB/9=3.0, K/BB=2.3, BABIP=.294
VID (no-hitter vs. UCLA): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07F6cz8PiAg
20.627 – Mitchell Beacom, LHP, UCLA, (6’8", 260) DOB=7/4/89
The tall and hulking Beacom is ambidextrous and can pitch with both hands, but he has found success as a left-hander. Beacom’s combination of size, deceptive velocity, and a quirky sidearm delivery gives most hitters, especially lefties, a challenging look. His FB seems a lot faster than the radar guns show because of his height, long arms and deception. He made 15 relief appearances in the summer of 2010 for the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the Northwest League, going 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA, 32 strikeouts and 11 walks in 29 innings. He was a very effective reliever for UCLA this spring, positng an excellent K/9 of 10.5 and an even better BB/9 of 2.5. He should move quickly through the system that is on quality late- inning lefty relievers. Apparently Beacom had an ankle injury that kept him from pitching this summer.
2011: G=25, IP=32.2, ERA=2.20, FIP=3.79, WHIP=1.10, BAA=.229, K=38, BB=9, K/9=10.5, BB/9=2.5, K/BB=4.2, BABIP=.321
2010: G=14, IP=17.2, ERA=4.58, WHIP=.91, H=13, BB=3, K=22, BB/9=1.5, K/9=11.2, K/BB=7.3
NWL 2010: G=14, IP=25, ERA=1.08, WHIP=.88, H=14, BB=8, K=32, BB/9=2.9, K/9=11.5, K/BB=4.0
22.687 - Cameron McVey, RHP, Biola Univ., (6'5", 205) DOB=10/18/88
There's not a lot of info available on McVey, but he does have the intriguing size and frame, and good stats to dream on. Just remeber that the level of competition he played against in college was low, but he grew up and plays in the SoCal area, so he's faced some top-level talent in his baseball career. McVey routinely throws his FB in the mid-90s. He was the closer for Biola this year, recording 14 saves and a 2.53 ERA in 31 innings, with 39 Ks (K/9=11.3) and a BAA of .181. After finishing his college season, Biagini headed north to Alaska to pitch for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaskan Baseball League. He piched 13.2 innings over 11 relief apperances giving up only 5 hits (3 singles and 2 doubles) and 4 BBs for the team that went on to win the league championship.
Alaska stats: G=11, W/L=1-1, IP= 13.2, ERA=1.32, K=13, BB=4, H=5, BAA=.106, WHIP=.66
26.807 - Joe Biagini, LHP, UC Davis, (6'4", 215) DOB=5/29/90
Biagini was a draft-eligible sophomore, so he's very young for his college draft class. Biagini's father, Rob, played Minor League ball in the Giants' organization acouple of decades ago. Biagini made 13 appearances out of the pen for UC Davis this spring after transferring from the College of San Mateo in 2010. He posted a 3-1 record and 7.47 ERA, but there are signs of potential as he struck out 18 batters in 15 2/3 innings.
Stats: G=13, IP=15.2, ERA=7.47, FIP=4.08, WHIP=2.11, K=77, BB=18, K/9=10.3, BB/9=5.2, K/BB=2, BABIP=.489
After the 2011 college season, Biagini pitched for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Leaguer, including a game in the playoffs, with good results. In 17 relief appearances he pitched 20.2 innings with the following results:
Cape stats: G=17, IP=20.2, ERA=1.31, WHIP=1.16, H=18, BB=6, K=21, BB/9=2.6, K/9=9.1, K/BB=3.5, BAA=.23
VID: (live game - May 2009 - slow motion): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ8_os8znw4
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Susac vid clips
From his 2010 Cape Cod League season:
VID 1: (Live AB – 7/11/2010 – HR vs Yarmouth): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5y2Dg_4nXE
VID 2: (Live AB – 8/10/2010 – HR vs Chatham): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTVDG66sEPc
VID 3: (Collage of highlights from Cape 2010): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0bGEeWbTno
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Oropesa vid clips
From his 2011 college season and 2010 Cape Cod League season:
Vid 1: (3 live ABs – 3/27/11 vs. UCLA – single, HR, single, 5 RBI): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91BqUosceuA
Vid 2: (live AB vs. Trevor Bauer – 3/26/11 – 3 straight K’s): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpSlzNkK368
Vid 3: (live AB – Cape Cod League – 7/1/10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0j8Snidv8c&feature=fvst
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Beacom vid clips
From his 2010 and 2011 seasons for UCLA:
VID 1: (warming up – March 2010): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2uJ83ZuKQA
VID 2: (warming up – April 2011): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQMlkQr7dL4&feature=related
VID 3: (warming up – May 2011): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPCfX-ZkEMg&feature=related
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Osich story #1
This was pieced together from a longer newspaper article filed after his no-hitter against UCLA:
Osich was able to begin throwing again in January of this year. When the season started in February, [OSU pitching coach] Yeskie had him on a strict pitch count. At first, 35 pitches. Then 40, and 50 and on up. Then last week, Yeskie lifted all restrictions from his fireballing southpaw as the UCLA series approached. No pitch count, and the introduction of the curveball for the first time since surgery.
"There’s a time period following Tommy John (surgery) for the curve," Yeskie says. "We were in the gray area where we might be able to start incorporating that pitch. "We talked (on Friday). He said, ‘Coach, I’m ready.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s do it.’ That, along with a couple of other pieces of the puzzle, led to what we saw on Saturday."
"I told myself I had to pitch inning to inning," Osich says. "To be just as good as he is and let my teammates scrap for me."
Osich, who piled up 13 strikeouts, threw 121 pitches. He estimates he used the fastball about 90 times, the changeup about 30 times, the curve no more than 10 times.
"The 10 or so he threw had a positive effect, even if they weren’t all for strikes," Yeskie says. "It’s going to become a weapon for him down the road."
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Osich story #2
Unlike 99.99% of all pitchers that undergo Tommy John surgery on their elbows, Osich did not blow out his elbow while pitching, nor did he do it while throwing a ball. Here’s the story of his freak accident in November 2009:
Osich was rehabbing from a minor elbow surgery – to repair an ulnar nerve following the 2009 season, his sophomore year – and was throwing the ball in the outfield during 2009 fall ball when disaster struck.
"I happened to see it," OSU coach Pat Casey says. "I was walking to the bullpen. Josh was 100 feet away. He slipped while throwing, tried to catch himself and his arm got pinned behind him. He got up and was holding his elbow. That was it."
It was a major blow to Osich, who had enjoyed a promising sophomore season in the bullpen, with a 2.05 ERA and 34 strikeouts with 17 walks in 26 1/3 innings as opponents hit .170 against him in his 17 appearances. It was a major blow, too, to Casey and pitching coach Nate Yeskie, who had Osich ticketed for a spot in the starting rotation for 2010. Instead, Osich underwent Tommy John surgery in January 2010 and sat on the shelf as a redshirt that season, wondering if and when his arm would come back.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Osich game log
It looks like they at have cost Osich quite a bit of money by getting a bit reckless with his pitch count. Just looking at numbers his stuff and command seemed to be picking up steam.
2/21 Fresno State: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 3 FO, 0 GO, 51 Pitches.
2/28 UT San Antonio – 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2 FO, 1 GO, 46 pitches.
3/06 Hartford – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 FO, 1 GO, 58 Pitches.
3/13 VMI – 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1FO, 10 GO, 66 Pitches.
3/19 Long Beach – 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 2 FO, 6 GO, 83 Pitches.
3/26 UCSB – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 5 FO, 4 GO, 86 Pitches.
4/02 Arizona – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 9 FO, 9 GO, 99 Pitches.
4/09 AZ St – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 5 FO, 5 GO, 81 Pitches.
4/16 Stanford – 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 SO, 8 FO, 3 GO, 101 pitches.
4/23 Wash St – 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 5 FO, 6 GO, 116 Pitches.
4/30 UCLA – 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO, 5 FO, 9 SO, 121 Pitches.
5/07 Cal – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 7 FO, 7 GO, 93 Pitches.
5/13 Wash – 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 2 FO, 2 GO, 86 Pitches.
5/22 USC – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO, 5 FO, 7 GO, 99 Pitches.
5/28 Oregon – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 7 FO, 2 GO, 77 Pitches.
6/05 Georgia – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 2 FO, 1 GO, 27 Pitches.
by hammystyle on Aug 16, 2011 3:35 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Yeah. Apparently the difference in his velocity and control in every start after the no-hitter were very noticable for all to see. It’s troubling that they let a TJ guy throw 116 and 121 pitches in back-to-back games less than 16 months after his operation. Reading between the lines of several reports I read, it seems as if he also tweaked his back while compenating for the sore elbow and dead arm during his last 5 starts.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
story on susac in sac bee today
nice job fla……
here is a story on susac from today’s sac be:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/16/3841471/former-jesuit-catcher-signs-san.html
remembering that he IS a sacramento area native (roseville), still, the article says he was the best catcher in this year’s draft…
if most catchers play the position for 10 years and there are 30 starting catchers at any one time, one must assume that each draft should produce two or three eventual starting mlb catchers…
so, if the scouts are right, you have to conclude that susac IS the eventual starting catcher for the giants and that they intend to move posey to first base (i’m not sure he could play anywhere else)…
so, brandon belt should be doing most of his work in left field and any crazy talk of picking up johnny damon would be just that – because i think damon is at the stage where left is the only outfield spot he could logically still play…
noting that the third round pick is also from oregon state, i decided to check out their website… it says baseball america ranked them 10th in the nation at the close of the 2011 season, so it looks like he was in a good program…
they list 27 alumni in the minor leagues and two (all-star jacob ellsbury, darwin barney – who the site says is hitting .306) in the majors… wouldn’t you LOVE to have ellsbury?…
here is a link to their other alumni:
http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/071311aaa.html
the site says that he was an all-star in the cape cod league, named the fifth best prospect (baseball america) in that league last summer… the year before, in 2009, he was drafted in the 16th round by the phillies (didn’t sign)… that summer, he played in the corvallis league and baseball america ranked him as the number one prospect in THAT league (although he hit only .208)…
in 2009, after his senior year of high school, he was named all-state by rawlings and espn and all-america by louisville slugger… also played in the 2008 aflac all-american game in dodger stadium after his junior year…
here is his bio page from oregon state:
http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/susac_andrew00.html
so, we get the catcher of the future, a local kid from a good program already well versed in wearing orange and black…
i hope the scouts are right about this kid and i like it that he played two years of college – to me, that confirms the scout’s assessments of his talent… it also seems like he has no doubt he will be playing in the majors – otherwise he would stay two more years and get his degree (he’s halfway there now)…it’s always a good thing to get the best catcher in the draft – worked pretty well the last time we took a catcher and as i recall, we did pretty well with another pick from the pacific northwest…
wishyouweredead
by wishyouweredead on Aug 16, 2011 3:59 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
You’re not sure Posey could play anywhere else but firstbase? Seriously? He’d be an ideal 3B. If he were healthy right now, he’d be a better choice at SS than either Tejada or Cabrera (faint praise, I know). He’d be a better choice than Fontenot or Keppinger at 2B. Heck, I’d be happy with him in either LF or RF, for that matter. And, yes, he was a pitcher in college, for what that’s worth.
If my life is for rent, and I don't learn to buy, then I deserve nothing more than I get, 'cause nothing I have is truly mine. - Dido Armstrong
Posey’s going to be the starting catcher for at least 3 more seasons – he’s just too good not to be back there. None of Sanchez, Joseph or Susac will be ready to take over for him on a full time basis before then anyways.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
i agree
honestly i would even go as far at to say there’s probably less than a 2% chance he’s anything other than a catcher until his legs start falling off like Joe Mauer, then they’ll move him.
by you'vejustbeenCAINED on Aug 16, 2011 10:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Assuming Posey CAN play catcher, I agree that that is where Bochy will play him. My larger point was that Posey is capable of playing almost anywhere on the diamond, and would excel at at least 2 of those positions. Moreover, he’d be an improvement over what we’ve been trotting out there this year in several other positions as well.
If my life is for rent, and I don't learn to buy, then I deserve nothing more than I get, 'cause nothing I have is truly mine. - Dido Armstrong
No worries. My reply wasn’t meant to be to your post, but to the one above yours. I agree with what you wrote, except for the part about Posey playing RF.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
first base is it for posey
i understand that posey used to be a 3b/ss…
but, WHY do you think that he was moved to catcher?
the answer is probably the same reason they moved russell martin from infield to catcher – they saw that he could hit big league pitching, but did not think that he could play infield in the major leagues…
but my point is that i think the decision has been made to move him to first base very soon… i’m just guessing about this next part (maybe someone knows for sure), but my guess is that there are more major leaguers who played their high school baseball in california than any other state (and i’m guessing that texas and florida are #2 and #3)… susac was all-state in california his senior year (and a louisville slugger all-america)… that guy will be behind the plate very soon…
wishyouweredead
by wishyouweredead on Aug 17, 2011 2:47 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
And Lyle’s point was that Posey at shortstop would be better defensively than Tejada and probably just as good as Cabrera. Which I agree with. Although, now that I think about it, I’m not entirely sure he was referring to Posey without the broken leg…
"When the Giants call up a 21-year-old Venezuelan catcher who started the year in San Jose, was hitting well with poor plate discipline, but wasn't on Baseball America's preseason list of the organization's 30 best prospects, only good things can happen."
Congratulations, Hector!
Posey was drafted as a catcher, so no one in the Giants organization had any input on him moving there. He was moved to catcher because his college team needed one and he was willing to learn a new position.
Posey has said that he wants to remain a catcher (and that’s where his most value lies), so I have to assume that he will stay one for the immediate future unless the injury precludes him. But everything I’ve read about that says that he should heal fine–and is healing fine–and shouldn’t expect any near-term complications to staying at his position. I agree that he will eventually move, but who knows if that is three, five, or 10 years down the road?
That being said, I’ve always harbored a fantasy that they’d move him to 2B. I don’t know if he would have much range there–and I’m certain he would have no where near enough range for SS–but he would hit well enough to be in the upper echelon at the position. Kent part deux.
He would make a lot more sense at third base than second; his arm won’t be of much use if he’s playing second base.
"Lee pitches...Renteria hits a high drive, deep left-center field, David Murphy going back, he's on the warning track—it is...go-one!"
With Pablo to 1B? Pablo has looked really fucking good at 3B this year. The slow roller to end the game today was quite a good play, and he made it look easy.
Adopted father of Chris Lincecum, without whom (quite literally) Timmy would not exist.
I wonder if the new fit and slim Pablo can actually move to 2B. If he can be an average defensive 2B-man, that would increase his value, and preserve Buster’s value at 3B.
If they're gonna do that
They might as well move him to SS. You need an arm to play 3B, range to play 2B, and both to play SS; if he’s got the range to play second he has the range to play short (without suffering a considerable drop in production) and the arm too. I don’t think he could handle either position; Pablo has a great arm and great hands, and looks much better charging the ball this year, but his left/right range is about how far he gets when he dives from a standing position.
Also, 2B/3B (and CF) have the same positional adjustment, +2.5 runs. Besides, Sanchez has the position locked down next year; if we need to move Posey off C he’s almost certainly going to play LF I think (Huff 1B, Sandoval 3B, Belt RF) which is a huge hit from C but suits him well enough – he doesn’t have great speed but his instincts are fantastic, he’s very intelligent, and he’s got a plus arm. He definitely wouldn’t be terrible in the OF, though it’s possible he’s a better fit at short just because even playing below-average defense would give him the positional adjustment to possible make it worthwhile.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Call me crazy
I think they should move Posey to catcher.
Gigante. Campeón. Pumpkin. Andrés Torres.
Dursh nerf darsh narf. Poop.
Oh, absolutely
I think he’ll be fine, and even if he’s not he’ll play there anyway because that’s where the Giants want/need him and that’s where he wants to be. I’m just thinking out contingency plans.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
We don't have to guess why he was moved to catcher
His coach said that he didn’t have the lateral quickness to play SS in the majors. But he said at the time that he thought he could play catcher or third base. From a 2006 article:
“I’ve thought about it as soon as I saw Buster when we recruited him,” Martin Jr. said. “He’s got a catcher’s body. He’s got great hands and arm strength and obviously he can hit. I’ve always thought he would be very valuable to a major league club as a catcher/third baseman. I think everybody sees he’s not a major league shortstop because of foot speed and range. That’s not demeaning to him at all; that’s just the way he is. But his body is very sturdy and it’s very conducive to catching and playing third base.”
I see no reason why that would have changed, but it does indicate that he probably couldn’t play second base at a high level.
That said, as long as Pablo’s on the team, if you make Posey an infielder, one of the two has to play first and the other has to play third. One of them, then, would be merely a pretty good first baseman. But since Pablo is already a good third baseman, there’s no reason to move him to put an inexperienced guy there. If Pablo gets fat again (but can still hit), then maybe you’d think about whether Posey could play third.
That's a good point
Posey would almost certainly be a bad SS, but if a contender is willing to roll out Tejada on a regular basis….
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
OSU
Many college coaches have their guys pitch way too much. When OSU won the CWS two of their starting pitchers were drafted pretty high. One of them was hurt during the season but kept pitching and had sugery before he even played one game in the minors.
OSU is nowhere near the only college team to overuse a pticher, nor is it anywhere near one of the worst offenders. They actually seemed to handle Osich pretty conservatively this season until the 2 back-to-back 116+ pitch starts. I can even give them a pass for letting Osich throw the 121 pitch no-hitter, since it was against UCLA – one of the teams they were fighting against for the league title. The only issue I have with the coach is that he let Osich throw 3 games of 93, 86 and 99 pitches in the 3 weeks directly after his no-hitter – when his velocity and control were obviously well off his previous norms.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
the pitcher you are referring to is dallas buck, who was the ace of the 06 CWS team.
daniel turpen, joe paterson, mike stutes (phillies), jorge reyes (padres i think), and eddie kunz (mets) were all pitchers for oregon state’s 2007 CWS-winning team and all have enjoyed success in the minor leagues: in stutes and patersons’ cases making it to the majors, and even kunz for a short time.
Super Rodgers Bros.
#20
Oropesa due in Scottsdale on Thursday
Per his twitter account.
I imagine that Susac and Osich will also be there then. I think that Oropesa and Susac will get into games for the AZL Giants and/or Salem by the end of this week. I doubt that Osich will pitch again until next year.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Amateur scouting report on Cameron McVey
Here’s a brief profile and eyewitness scouting report from an Alaskan baseball blogger who concentrates on the Alaskan amateur scene:
http://49thstatehardball.com/2011/07/2011-player-profiles-cameron-mcvey.html
Key quote:
McVey is a power pitcher all the way. He is a big guy, an athletic specimen, who can squeeze some mustard out of his heater. His fastball is his best pitch and he relies on plus velocity (93 mph) and a bit of a late tailing action to get the outs. He complements this with a curveball that settles in about 85 and breaks from noon to 6 o’clock. He deals out of a funky 3/4 slot with a big slingshot delivery which is a little bit deceptive; if he signs with the Giants they might be working with him to develop an adequate third pitch.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Michael Williams definitely did not sign
I saw in 2 separate places that Michael Williams, the catcher from the Univ. of Kentucky and 37th rd. draftee, decided the day before the deadline to turn down the Giants offer and go back to Kentucky for his senior season:
http://www.truebluefan.com/news/bat-cats-catcher-will-return-to-kentucky-not-turn-pro/
This wasn’t much of a surprise or disappointment to me, as I saw Williams as likely roster-filler and really couldn’t see him winning a spot on one of our full-season affiliates next season.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
The name of the 38th signee continues to be mysterious
Kendall Rogers of PG.com updated his draft database about 10 hours ago, and he now is suddenly showing Adam Paulencu as being signed. He never did have him listed previous to today. Here’s the link:
http://www.perfectgame.org/draft/signings.aspx
You’ll notice that he doesn’t have McVey, Biagini or Travious Relaford listed as being signed yet, so the list is known to contain some errors. It appears now that we’re back to only knowing that one of the following 4 guys have signed:
Paulencu, Leslie, Otero, Fischer
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
It's Otero
BA list has been updated and shows Otero as signed. Relaford too.
Thanks
We already knew about Relaford. The Otero signing was my guess on deadline night when we figured that one of the guys from the Leslie/Otero/Fischer list had to have signed to make the “27 of the top 31” statement true. My reasoning was that Otero would be the guy that could have signed anytime in the past 2 weeks and nobody would know about it (because he’s from Puerto Rico and has no internet presence for the news to leak out on). If it had been Leslie or Fischer then the news would have surely gotten out on the UCONN website or through Leslie’s local news media.
It would be cool if they also have Paulencu stashed away in Scottsdale somewhere, but I’m guessing that he must have failed his physical.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
According to BA.com, we also signed Jake Smith the 48th rd. pitcher from Campbell University in North Carolina.
That means the final deadline tally was 39 of 51. We also have the likelihood of signing the remaining 2 college seniors sometime in the next 10 months – so the final total could easily hit the 40s..
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Does this mean we missed out on the best name in our draftees?
Waldyvan Estrada, wherefore art thou?
It seems that way, but I won’t fully believe it until I can find some kind of confirmation (keep hope alive!). He has a scholarship commitment from Bethune-Cookman University (right here in Fla.), so we should know fairly soon whether he’s on campus this semester – they start classes next week.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Thanks a bunch F-G
And I’m happy that so many of these guys got signed.
Don't think he can cut it in the bigs? Brock Bond will be the bigger man and walk walk walk away.
Beacom's numbers
are even more impressive if you consider that 3 of his 9 BBs were intentional.
Catchers
I think Posey will be the main catcher for a couple more years but will start giving him starts at other positions more frequently. Even the Santana kid is playing 1st base at Cleveland.
Young and loaded with potential
18.567 – Cristian Otero, SS, RHH, Puerto Rico BB Acad., (6’0", 170) DOB=3/30/93
Otero is the 2nd P.R. shortstop the Giants drafted (Jean Delgado was the other one), but Otero is the one that is much more likely to stick at SS in his career. Otero’s story is the same as the vast majority of young Caribbean SS prospects that make it to America – plus range, hands and quickness, but unlikely to ever be a very proficient big league hitter. I really like this kid – you can never have enough high-upside plus defenders at SS in your system. Otero had a scholarship lined up to Florida International Univ., a 4-year college with an up-and-coming baseball program, so I have to believe that the Giants ponied up between $50K-100K to sign him away.
Perfect Game rated Otero as the best defensive player in his draft class in Puerto Rico, and rated him as the #9 overall Puerto Rican prospect. Here’s their scouting report on him, posted after seeing Otero play in the 2011 World Showcase games in Florida this past January:
CRISITIAN OTERO – ss, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Vega Baja
Best defensive SS in P.R., + range/actions, slick glove, strong arm, lacks present strength at plate.
Otero is a 2011 MIF with a 6-0 168 lb. frame from Vega Baja, PR who attends Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. Loose athletic build, prototypical middle infielder. 6.81 runner, light on his feet, athletic balance on defense, smooth easy hands, very good arm strength, can stay at shortstop at the next level. Simple short right handed swing, limited weight shift, some hand quickness, good feel for the barrel, will improve offensively with added strength. Solid all around prospect. Good student.
Vid 1 (Batting practice – World Showcase – Florida – Jan. 2011):
http://www.baseballwebtv.com/Video.aspx?videoID=50681
Vid 2 (IF practice – World Showcase – Florida – Jan. 2011):
http://www.baseballwebtv.com/Video.aspx?videoID=50682
Vid 3 (60 yard dash – World Showcase – Florida – Jan. 2011):
http://www.baseballwebtv.com/Video.aspx?videoID=50680
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Roster-filler?
48.1467 – Jake Smith, RHP, Campbell Univ., No.Car., (6’4", 190) DOB=6/2/90
Smith has an ideal good pitcher’s frame and appears to be an above-average athlete, but he has yet to put things together on the mound. Smith pitched this summer for the St. Cloud team in the Northwoods Baseball League (NBL) with middling results (strangely enough he exactly matched his K/BB rate from his college season). I’m not sure what the Giants see in this guy, besides his great pitcher’s build. It’s possible that he has above-average velocity, because I did see that Smith posted much better K rates during his JuCo and high school days, before transferring to Campbell University for the 2011 season. Perhaps he has a wild streak that caused his peripherals to go way down when he faced tougher competition, or perhaps he was struggling with a nagging injury to his arm?
Here’s the link to his university bio page, followed by his stats from 2011:
http://www.gocamels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15300&ATCLID=205081149
Stats: G=21, GS=5, IP=52, ERA=7.44, WHIP=1.90, BAA=.332, K=39, BB=26, K/9=6.8, BB/9=4.5, K/BB=1.5
NBL Stats: G=9, GS=7, IP=32.2, ERA=5.51, WHIP=1.50, H=36, BB=13, K=19, K/9=5.2, BB/9=3.6, K/BB=1.5
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Grading this year's draft
I’m really having a hard time deciding whether I love this draft or just like it.
It seems we added a ton of talent, specifically pitching depth, but with Susac, Panik, and Oropesa, some promising hitters, too.
However, I see what Toronto, Washington, Cincy, and even the Padres within our division did, and I wonder, what if the Giants weren’t so budget-limited, what could they have done? Did they miss a big opportunity?
Good question
IMO, it’s not fair to compare the Giants draft to teams like Toronto, SD, Washington, Tampa Bay, Boston and a few others that had multiple picks in the top rounds, or that drafted at the beginning of each round. It’s a lot easier to take chances on hard-to-sign draftees when you have another pick a few spots later. The only thing that you can truly fault the Giants for is not drafting a hard-to-sign guy like Bell or Norris with their first pick, but even there we just don’t know how they interpreted what the prospects were telling them pre-draft.
Check out these figures:
Giants = 3 picks between #29 and 86
Tampa = 12 picks between #24 and 89
Boston = 4 picks between #19 and 40 and then one more pick at #81
Toronto = 5 picks between #21 and 57 and then 2 more at #74 and #78
Nats = the #6, #23 and #34 picks
Pads = 2 picks at #10 and #25 then 4 picks between #48 and 82
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
I’m surprised that you mentioned Cincy as having a good draft, because I didn’t think much of it. Basically, it looks to me like they got Stephenson, Ryan Wright and Amir Garrett (who’s going to play basketball in college) then a bunch of ho-hum dudes.
As for the Giants, I don’t think anybody could make a good case for giving them anything lower than a B, and I personally give them a B+ right now. I think that the definitely ended up with a draft class that was in the top 15 of all the teams, and I’d personally put them at #11 – give or take 1 spot. That’s pretty good, when you consider that they were drafting at the end of every round except for their single supplemental comp pick at #49 overall. Check out these figures:
The Giants drafted (and signed) Panik, Crick, Susac, Oropesa, Bandilla, Marlowe and Osich in the first 6 rounds (between picks #29 and #207). Baseball America ranked those guys as their #67, 47, 30, 57, 117, 99 and 41 overall prospects in the entire draft, respectively. That means that the Giants were able to get 7 of BA’s top 117 ranked players, 6 of the top 99, and 3 of the top 47. That’s pretty damn good, considering that they only had 4 of the first 146 picks, and 3 of the first 116 picks. Looking at it from another angle, the Giants were able to sign 3 of BA’s top 47 prospects despite only having 1 of the first 48 picks.
Add to that good list the 8 athletic and toolsy teenagers (Jean Delgado, Christian Diaz, Clayton Blackburn, Cristian Otero, Drew Stiner, Jonathan Jones, Demondre Arnold and Travious Relaford), the 2 high-upside college sophomores (Derek Law and Kentrell Hill) and the 4 well-ranked and solid college juniors (Ray Black, Kelby Tomlinson, Garrett Buechele and Tyler Mizenko) that they snagged after the 6th round and I think you have to come to the preliminary conclusion that the Giants got a very good haul of new talent in the draft.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Ooops...
I meant the Pirates, not Cincy.
I guess the issue comes down to playing “what if?” as in…
What if the Giants had no draft budget? Who could they have drafted in each slot, instead? They could have had both Bell and Norris. Susac still would’ve been there at #86. Hell, Shawon Jr. and Holmes lasted till the 9th and 11th rounds. They could’ve had them instead of Black or Delgado or Law.
Thinking of a Bell, Norris, Susac, Osich, Shawon Jr, Holmes draft class blows the mind. And it would barely cost half of what the Giants are paying Huff.
huff gets ten a year
bell got 5, thats already half
Adoptive father of 18th round draft pick and future ace, BRANDON ALLEN
by Nnamdi Asomugha on Aug 18, 2011 12:27 AM PDT up reply actions
I agree that they definitely should have taken a few more of the tough-to-sign kids in the later rounds, but Dunston, Jr. wouldn’t have been on that list for me. I also can’t fault the Giants from not drafting Bell – the letter that he sent out was very convincing and up until the last 15 minutes before the signing deadline every single expert was predicting that he wouldn’t sign even for $8M. I do wish that they had pulled the trigger on Norris at #29 (I think that Panik would have still been available at #49), but then I think that what if the reason why they didn’t go after Norris was that Tidrow doesn’t like the kid’s chances? Tidrow loves Crick, and it’s hard to argue with his judgment. The guys that I wish they would have gone after in later rounds are Tyler Greene, Christian Lopes, Matt Dean, Phil Evans and Preston Tucker.
Of course, I also wish that the Giants had signed their own 15th rd. pick, Tyler Leslie. I don’t believe that he was so set on going to a JuCo that another $100 – 150K above their final offer wouldn’t have changed his mind. In the grand scheme of things that amount of money is like pennies to the Giants.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Tyler Greene would have been great, he was drafted in what, the 11th round?
I think he signed for over 300K which isn’t too crazy.
Adoptive father of 18th round draft pick and future ace, BRANDON ALLEN
by Nnamdi Asomugha on Aug 18, 2011 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions
i think they had plenty of $$$ at the time
they were willing to pay all of Beltran’s salary…i’d bet they still have another $10 mil to use at this point if they needed to…
by repeat_in_2011 on Aug 18, 2011 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Kyle Crick
Pardon the stupid question – it’s been a crazy-busy time for me, with grad school and everything, so I haven’t been able to follow stuff as closely as I’d like. I tried some Googling, and found scouting reports mostly about his stuff, but not a real answer to my question.
Anyway, I was looking up what Crick’s done so far in the Arizona League, and he hasn’t pitched much, but when he has, it’s been exclusively as a reliever. A middle reliever apparently, since he’s only finished 1 of the 5 games he’s pitched in. So I’m curious – is Crick, in fact, pretty much 100% a reliever? Or is he a starter, and this is their way of easing him into pro ball after his senior year of high school?
Glad to have the World Series win, but still waiting on my Kim Batiste bobblehead. GET OFF YOUR HANDS, GIANTS BRASS!!!!
Adopted Giant: Dave Dravecky, starting pitcher of the greatest regular-season game I've ever attended.
He's a starter
He’s just getting a few innings at a time as a way to ease into pro ball. Fla says he didn’t pitch a lot in high school either so I’d imagine the Giants are going to take it slow and build him up, but the plan right now is definitely to have him start.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Well, he didn’t pitch that much prior to the summer of 2010. He did pitch a lot last summer for his amateur league team and in showcase circuit games (when his FB velocity took a 2-4 mph jump). He was then the frontline starter for his HS that ended up only 1 win away from playing for the state championship game, so he had pitched a lot more innings over the 4 months of the HS season than he ever had in his entire life. The Giants understandably have kept his innings low after he signed and reported to Scottsdale, but that doesn’t mean he won’t likely be pitching in the starting rotation for Augusta next April.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Excellent. Thanks, folks!
Glad to have the World Series win, but still waiting on my Kim Batiste bobblehead. GET OFF YOUR HANDS, GIANTS BRASS!!!!
Adopted Giant: Dave Dravecky, starting pitcher of the greatest regular-season game I've ever attended.
Mergenthaler
Fla. You stated that Mergy wouldn’t make it past AA, Does he surprise you so far?
No
Good AZL stats aren’t very meaningful for college juniors and seniors. He’s pretty much what I expected so far. A really steady guy that you can depend on to play well, play hard, and be a good teammate, but not a lot of tools to work with. If he makes it to the majors it will likely be on the sheer force of his willpower.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.
Wow. Tyler Matzek of the Rockies has walked more hitters this year than he’s struck out.
Adopted father of Chris Lincecum, without whom (quite literally) Timmy would not exist.
He's been all over the place
Two out of his last 3 or 4 games he has gone for a 7 IP, 9K, <2 BB. But every once in awhile he just seems to implode for 6 or 7 BB games. Generally, his stats look better since he took the mental health break and switched up his training. Luckily for us, he still seems to have a long way to go before he exorcises the BB demons
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