minor lines, 7/8/06

by steve S on Jul 9, 2006 2:02 AM PDT Comment 33 comments

AAA: Fresno lost to Colorado Springs 11-0

Fresno: 2B Kevin Frandsen: 1 for 4, E
Fresno: RF Todd Linden: 2 for 4
Fresno: SS Tomas De La Rosa: 0 for 3, GiDP, E
Fresno: C Guillermo Rodriguez: 0 for 1, 2 HBP
Colorado Springs: 2B Jayson Nix: 3 for 5, HR, 2B

Fresno: RHP Jeff Peterson: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR--2 HB
Fresno: LHP Erick Threets: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR--1 WP
Fresno: RHP Merkin Valdez: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Colorado Springs: RHP Sun-Woo Kim: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR--2 HB

The Grizzlies managed just 6 baserunners (3 H, 0 XBH, 1 BB, 2 HB). Linden raised his AVG to .287. Frandsen has struggled for hits since returning to the PCL, and his AVG has dropped over 35 points to .297. De La Rosa rejoined the Grizzlies' active roster. G-Rod is not afraid to get plunked. A few years ago Nix and his brother were both considered very good prospects. Their careers stalled, and Jayson entered the day hitting just .244/.309/.290 before tonight's big game.

With Fresno short of pitchers, Peterson was thrust back into the starter's role, with the familiar poor results. Maybe the most impressive thing about Threets' performance is that he needed just 35 pitches in 3.1 IP, which included 23 strikes. By comparison, Peterson threw just 33 of 56 pitches for strikes, and Valdez threw just 22 of 40 pitches for strikes. Valdez's ERA continues to climb, now at 6.88. The Rockies' Kim made his 11th start in the PCL a very impressive one. More starts like this one could get him back to the majors.

AA: Connecticut defeated New Britain 1-0 (7 innings) in game 1

Connecticut: LF Brian Horwitz: 1 for 2, PO
Connecticut: RF Nate Schierholtz: 1 for 2, 2B, SO

Connecticut: RHP James Garcia: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Connecticut: RHP Billy Sadler: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
New Britain: LHP Glen Perkins: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR--1 HB

Generally not a good sign when you are the cleanup batter and bat only twice in a game, but Horwitz did have the game's only RBI. He raised his AVG to .247; Schierholtz his AVG to .240.

This seems like Garcia's best start of the year. It lowered his ERA to 2.31 in 4 starts for the Defenders. Sadler retired both batters for his 12th save. Perkins is the top 100 prospect for the Twins who is really struggling this year. He pitched much better than he did a few days ago against the Defenders, but the complete game loss dropped his W-L record to 2-10 with a 4.05 ERA. He had a 2/11 GO/FO mark in this game. Total gametime was 1:35.

AA: Connecticut lost to New Britain 2-1 (7 innings) in game 2

Connecticut: 2B Derin McMains: 1 for 2, BB, CS
Connecticut: 3B Brian Buscher: 2 for 3, E
Connecticut: LF Brian Horwitz: 1 for 3
Connecticut: 1B Travis Ishikawa: 0 for 3, 2 SO
New Britain: DH Matt Moses: 2 for 3, HBP

Connecticut: LHP Jason Waddell: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR--1 HB

McMains scored both of the Defenders' runs in the doubleheader, and Horwitz did have the RBI each time. This game raised Horwitz's AVG to .250. Buscher raised his AVG to .276 but committed his 11th error. Time to be worried about Ishikawa? He is slumping, with his AVG down to .227, and the strikeout rate is climbing even higher. Moses entered the year as a top 100 prospect for the Twins, but he entered the day hitting just .242/.295/.390.

In his first start of the year after 28 relief appearances, Waddell lowered his ERA to 2.65. His GO/FO mark was 2/6.

A+: San Jose defeated Stockton 5-2

San Jose: CF Alex Requena: 2 for 5, 2B, SO
San Jose: C Todd Jennings: 0 for 4, HBP
San Jose: LF John Bowker: 3 for 4, 3B, 2B
San Jose: 2B Mark Minicozzi: 1 for 4, SO
San Jose: RF Carlos Sosa: 3 for 4, SO
San Jose: 1B Will Thompson: 1 for 4, SO
San Jose: DH Simon Klink: 1 for 4, 2B, SO
San Jose: SS Johany Abreu: 1 for 4, SO, PO

San Jose: RHP Brooks McNiven: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR--1 E
San Jose: LHP Nathan Pendley: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR-1 WP
San Jose: RHP Brian Anderson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Requena's double is an example of what speed can do for you. Leading off the game, he hit a soft, bouncing ground ball towards the second baseman, who charged the ball to be able to make a play on the speedy Requena. The ball hit the lip of the grass, took a low bounce under the second baseman's glove and on into right field. Requena sped into second base for what was essentially in an infield double. His other hit was a bunt single as I recall. Jennings does have a fiery personality. He was talking to the opposing pitcher all the way up the line after being hit by the pitch. Bowker sprayed line drives around the field, although his triple was a line drive misplayed by the CFer, who cut in on a ball on which he should have cut back. Minicozzi moves well in spite of his somewhat burly frame, at least for middle infielder standards. His hit was an infield single. Sosa hit the ball through the infield a couple different times with a runner on third base for the RBI. Thompson got off to a bit of a rough start in his first game in full-season ball, but he came through with an RBI single in the 8th inning. Klink pulled a ground rule double down the right field line. Can Abreu hit? After a hot start with San Jose, his AVG is down to .215. He hit a single through the middle of the infield before being picked off. One thing I did notice in the San Jose dugout is that Marcus Sanders has his left thumb wrapped. So I am not sure that he is on the DL because of his shoulder situation.

After 23 appearances, including 4 starts, McNiven has a nice 3.30 ERA. He did a nice job hitting the corners of the strike zone and he got a lot of called strikes on pitches that the Stockton hitters kept taking. His own throwing error, which should have started a double play, led to the only run he allowed. On the stadium radar gun (which I have thought was slow in the past), Pendley was consistently around 88-90 mph with his fastball. (McNiven and Anderson were slower on the pitches I saw.) His off-speed stuff was about 81 mph on the gun, primarily a slider I believe but one pitch to a RH-hitter appeared to be a changeup from my angle (which would be suboptimal to figure out that kind of thing). Pendley's motion looked easy enough that I was surprised by the radar readings. He prefers to work from the stretch. In his mechanics, he take the ball out of his glove early, and brings the ball back behind him a bit, which may be leading to some deception for the hitters when they can't see the ball. He was consistently around the knees with his pitches out of the windup. His pitches got up in the strike zone sometimes from the stretch. The one run against him was really the result of a bad hop. The runner who scored reached on a ground ball to shortstop that on the third bounce suddenly took a high hop over the shortstop's head. A double down the left field line subsequently scored that runner. What can I say about Anderson, who collected his 25th save and lowered his ERA to 1.05. His stuff is not necessarily that impressive, but he hit his spots with basically every pitch.

A-: Augusta defeated Asheville 10-6

Augusta: LF Ben Copeland: 0 for 3, 2 BB, 2 SB
Augusta: RF Mike Mooney: 3 for 4, BB, SO
Augusta: 2B Eugenio Velez: 3 for 5, 2 2B, SB, E
Augusta: C Barry Gunther: 2 for 4, 3B, SO, PB
Augusta: CF Antoan Richardson: 2 for 3, BB, SO, 2 SB

Augusta: RHP Ryan Shaver: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Augusta: LHP David Quinowski: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Augusta: RHP Wayne Foltin: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR

Many of the usual suspects contributing in the Augusta lineup. Not that there is currently a weak link, except perhaps for the DH and 1B spots oddly enough. No hits for Copeland, but he does have 20 SB on the year, which is still good for as much as I have bemoaned his poor success rate on the bases. Richardson has 40 steals; he raised his AVG to .269. Mooney raised his AVG to .294; Velez his AVG to .292. Velez now has 22 doubles. Gunther hit his first triple of the year, not surprising for a catcher; he also has 7 passed balls in 53 games.

Shaver returned to the rotation after missing one turn. Perhaps the rust showed as his ERA rose to 2.76. His GO/FO mark was 10/5. Sure Quinowski and Foltin didn't allow an earned run, but 6 H in 3.0 IP is pretty poor by their standards this year (previously 45 H in 81.2 IP this year combined).

ssA: Salem-Keizer lost to Vancouver 4-3

Salem-Keizer: CF Brad Felmy: 1 for 4, SO, E
Salem-Keizer: 1B Brett Pill: 0 for 3, BB, SO
Salem-Keizer: RF Thomas Neal: 1 for 3
Salem-Keizer: LF Matt Weston: 0 for 2, BB, SO

Salem-Keizer: LHP Kevin Pucetas: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Salem-Keizer: LHP Paul Oseguera: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR--1 WP
Salem-Keizer: LHP Buster Lussier: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Salem-Keizer: RHP Steven Calicutt: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Limited offense for the Volcanoes with just 4 baserunners, but they bunched it together for 3 runs in the 3rd inning. A walk, a single and an error loaded the bases. The runners all advanced on a wild pitch. After two ground outs to first base, Felmy came through with the 2-RBI single. This is the first time I recall Felmy, the 22nd round pick who is hitting .320, playing CF. Neal is hitting .323. Weston, the 12th round pick, is off to a slow start as he entered the night hitting .189/.268/.270 in 37 AB. Pill, the 7th round pick, now has 16 AB, 4 H, 1 2B, 2 BB so far in his young pro career.

Pucetas, the 17th round pick, lowered his ERA to 3.60 in 4 starts. His GO/FO mark was 10/4. Oseguera, the 16th round pick, saw his ERA rise further to 11.37. The bullpen just struggled, although Lussier and Calicutt still have nice ERAs at 2.84 and 3.12, respectively. The winning run scored when the first batter Calicutt faced executed a suicide squeeze (or at least an RBI sacrifice bunt).

R: Royals at Giants was postponed due to a tragedy

Now that is something that piques my curiosity, but with the sparse reporting on the AZL, I wonder if we will ever know what the tragedy was. Was it so the team could attend the funeral of Fred Stanley's wife?

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: minor lines, 7/8/06

Ishikawa is a tough call. I could buy that his taste of life with the big club has made him press a bit too hard because he wants to be moved up. His strikeout rate, though, is pretty alarming. His isolated power and walk rate were good with SJ last year, but the .282 average (largely because of the high SO rate) makes me think they should have left him at SJ to begin the season, especially considering his age.

It doesn't do a prospect much good, usually, to repeat a minor league level, but in this case he could have stayed specifically to improve his contact rate. It's all fine to have a guy in MLB that has a low average with a lot of strikeouts, so long as he has a good walk rate and good power (think Adam Dunn). But that .282 average in high A isn't going to progress well through the minor league levels.

Plus, the Eastern League isn't making it any better. It isn't that nobody can hit there, and indeed some of the parks seem to average out as favoring hitters (Portland is a good example). Most of the parks in the Eastern League North are pitchers' parks though, and Connecticut plays in what is on average the best pitchers' park in the league. If the Giants want to leave him there to sink or swim, so be it - it's probably better to prepare him for life at AT&T - but if they wanted to nurture Ishi through the milb ranks, Connecticut is about the worst place he could be.

Now, with Thompson up to SJ, if Ishi is to move, the only place to go is up. That may not be a bad move, especially considering that Fresno is going nowhere and the only guy he would be blocked by currently is Santos. Santos has had a, shall we say, less than illustrious minor league career with the mighty Royals, and they might as well just dump him. He's basically roster filler anyway. He's in his second year at AAA after repeating AA and the results aren't any better, even playing in Fresno's hitter-friendly park.

Of course, if Sabean manages to make a trade, then your Fresno Grizzlies may have a guy named Niekro manning 1B.

by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Jul 9, 2006 4:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ishikawa and Frandsen

Does the yo-yoing have an impact on their current performances? They both rotted on the bench in SF for a long stretch. Hitting is such a fine tuned timing thing. How long should it take a hitter to get back in the groove? If it is related to the shuttling back and forth, how much is it due to messed up timing and how much to psychological factors such as thinking too much about getting back to the good life?

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 7:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Connecticut

That yard in Norwich must be a real piece of work. CT has the lowest Team ERA in the EL and the lowest Team BA. Now, I could understand the lowest BA. Maybe all those hitters who looked so good in SJ have just hit the wall? After all, they did have their flaws. What about the pitching though? It's not like the CT roster is chock full of can't miss pitching prospects. They now have at least 3 starters doing very well who absolutely blew chunks when they were in Fresno. Take last night for example. Jeff Garcia wins and 1-0 game, Jeff Freaking Garcia!! When I glance at the other EL scores, I see CT in 1-0, 2-1 games day after day while other scores in the league have more runs. I don't have the home/away splits for Team ERA, but it doesn't seem to make much difference whether the Defenders are home or away. Maybe there is a psychlogical carry-over from their park when they are on the road?

I will say this after perusing the Team Stats for several minor leagues. Pitching is much more dominant across the board this year than last. The EL isn't even the best pitchers league, probably not even the 3'rd best. Last year at this time, there were 3 PCL teams with ERA's over 6. This year there is just one over 5, Fresno of course. Cal Leaugue ERA's are down too. The only league I could find that is more of a hitter's league than last year is the AZL where the Giants are in the middle of the pack at 5.04.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 7:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Connecticut

While his struggles at the plate documented Travis glove has flashed some real nice leather the last few games so it's good to see him not taking his slump out onto the field. He looked totally lost at the plate in both games last night. Time for a day off.
Dodd a piece of work? Yes, and they brought in the fences after the first year (1995) and they (Yankees) lowered the wall. But guys like the mayor, Clark, Ortmeier, Alfonzo and before that plently of Yankee prospects hit there and hit well. Also in the Northern Division Binghampton, Portland and Trenton are hitter friendly; New Britain isn't.
Why these guys --Travis, Nate, EME (who was slumping at time of injury), Timpner is a mystery. The managing is one thing that has been tossed around out here.
Buscher is the best hitter this time around in his second tour of the EL but Von Schnell continues to get above .250 in his third go around.

http://gregsconnecticutdefenders.blogspot.com

by greg8370 on Jul 9, 2006 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Abberration

Brian Sabean made a comment about Travis that would seem to indicate that he(Sabean) regards the hitting environment in CT an abberration and not necessarily a true picture of what a player's potential may be. He said something to the effect that when Travis gets to Fresno, we'll get a better idea of where he is offensively. What my fear is, of course, is that CT is the truer picture and Fresno is the abberration and all these guys truly suck.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 9:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Abberration

I know you've offered the interpretation of the Sabean comment a couple times now. That is not necessarily how I took it. I took it to mean that how a player performs in triple-A is a truer measure of the player than how he performs in double-A. There's less projection from one level away than from two levels away. Without looking up the quote, I think the comment was vague enough that both interpretations are possible.

by steve S on Jul 9, 2006 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Abberration

If a Sabean quote can't be interpreted several ways, it's probably been misquoted.

by BruteSentiment on Jul 9, 2006 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Abberration

Whatever. IMO, Sabean was quite clear that he was referring to the specific environment in CT.

BTW. Excuse me for being repetetive.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Abberration

I heard the same interview and got the same impression you did Dr. B. Sabean was singling out Conneticut and the Eastern League as being brutal on hitters.

by BleacherEd on Jul 10, 2006 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Connecticut

I'm getting sick and tired of everyone dumping on Dodd. This Ct. team can't hit, for whatever reason. As Greg pointed out,and on point, many have hit here before. It isn't the park people.

T.I. is a more interesting situation. I don't think he and Machemer get along that well. Today a foul pop was botched up by Andy Busch(Catcher) and TI.I saw it as Andy's fault, but Machemer had words with TI and TI gave it back to him as Mach trotted to the 3rd base coaches box. This was not the 1st public incident between the two.

You guys want to FIRE FLIPPY, we want to SACK MACH.

by the hondo hurricane on Jul 9, 2006 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Connecticut

Thanks for the perspective on Machemer.

I think we also tend to overlook that Eliezer Alfonzo got his season together when he went to Connecticut (after being below the Mendoza line in Fresno). He had a .351 OBP there in 65 AB, although not much power with just 3 doubles among 18 hits. So it's not like everyone has struggled there.

by steve S on Jul 9, 2006 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Park?

I'm not saying the CT hitters don't suck, but how do you explain a bunch of mediocre at best pitching prospects having the best Team ERA in league?

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Park?

This may be one of the best pitching staffs that Ct. (or Norwich) has seen. I imagine you categorize them as mediocre thinking towards their performing at higher levels and I can't argue that point. But, as a Double A staff, they are excellent, primarily because they all have damn good control. There is also have a pretty good defense behind them.

by the hondo hurricane on Jul 9, 2006 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Park?

Because Begg, Misch and Palmer have been in the EL forever, Sanchez was a starter for a month, Floyd is a lot better than 2-9, Geno Epsineli has filled in great, Garcia has pitched well and Barrett B. only had a couple of bad starts.
It is possible to have a team pitching great and hitting lousy at the same time without comdemming the rest of the league.

http://gregsconnecticutdefenders.blogspot.com

by greg8370 on Jul 9, 2006 7:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Condemning the League?

Who's condemning the rest of the league? I think I mentioned in my original post that other EL teams seem to hit pretty well, at least when they are not playing the Defenders. I also mentioned that the EL did not have the lowest Team ERA's in the minors as it did last year.

CT has several players from last year's SJ team who it might be reasonable to expect that they would have hit better than they are. They also have a bunch of mediocre to non pitching prospects who are dominating the hitters in the league. I'm just asking why.

Why does Travis look pretty good in SF, but stink in CT? Why does Clay Timpner hit .300 in Fresno and barely .220 in CT? Why are Jesse Floyd and Geno Espinelli lights out in CT when they were barely mediocre in SJ last year? Why have Begg, Misch and Garcia not just struggled, but absolutely blown chunks in Fresno and shut teams down in CT? Why does Brian Horwitz hit well over .300 at every other stop and see his BA sink to .209 in CT? Why, when perusing the EL scores on a typical night, do you frequently see scores like 9-6 and 8-4 in other games and most often see scores of 1-0 and 2-1 in CT games. Just asking, that's all.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 9, 2006 8:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Condemning the League?

Just a few partial answers here.

Floyd was very good last year in the first half, being named to the all-star game. The second half was horrid. Perhaps this year he is better maintaining how he pitched in the first half last year. Espineli was actually pretty good in his time with San Jose (2.66 ERA with better than decent peripherals) but walked a lot of batters in his time with Fresno.

In Misch's case, he apparently lost velocity last year, plus the reports about predictable pitching patterns. Begg is a sinkerballer who just started elevating his pitches for the month he spent in Fresno, and the ball carries in the PCL it would seem.

Garcia did struggle a year ago in the Eastern League. He lost his spot in the rotation and finished the year with a 4.93 ERA.

by steve S on Jul 10, 2006 1:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Explanations

Yes, I know you can come up with explanations for each individual pitcher. How come is it that things seem to always come together for pitchers in CT and then fall apart as soon as they leave? When does the law of averages kick in? is Bob Stanley really that good of a pitching coach?

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 10, 2006 6:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

I don't think anybody on this site has been as supportive of Travis Ishikawa over the years as me, but I have to say the idea that there's some mysterious reason for Travis' struggles is farcical. This is a guy who's spent essentially 4 seasons in A ball (and SS) and has a career .260 BA, while compiling almost 450 Ks in 1400 career ABs. He has flaws in his swing and his batting approach. He obviously has massive holes in his swing. The same can be said of Schierholtz and his K-rates. These guys have flaws and when you move up in the minors, flaws get revealed. It's survival of the fittest. These guys need to start fixing their problems as hitters or they're not going to succeed at higher levels. And Clay Timpner? He's struggling in the EL because he's nobody's idea of a future major league hitter, small success at Fresno aside, the guy's upside is left-handed Jason Ellison. They're collectively struggling because they have flaws as hitters. As I recall, Alfonso Soriano tore Dodd Stadium apart really putting himself on the uber-prospect map while in Norwich. I'd rather our AA team was back in Texas, but ultimately at whatever level or stadium you adjust or you fail, it's really that simple.

by Roger on Jul 10, 2006 6:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

Well, Fred Lewis and Dan Ortmeier have certainly shown that their numbers last year at Norwich weren't much different and possibly better than this year at Fresno. I'm certainly open to the possibility that our hitters there just suck. I'm just dismayed that they all suck and find it curious that at the same time, no matter what mediocre pitcher we throw out there, they seem to thrive.

BTW. I have never suggested that there it anything "mysterious" going on. There is obviously some rational explanation and maybe yours is right.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 10, 2006 8:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

The pitchers issue is a strange one, but the Giants org has tended the last several years to leave pitchers who have plateu'd about a level too low (I'm expressing that badly, but I'm thinking of putting people like Kinney and Song at SJ last year, moving Misch back to Norwich and not promoting him, etc). It keeps the team's competitive without really hampering anyone's development, because frankly they're a little barren on starting pitching prospects right now. I feel your dismay, and your comment (in your other diary) that you wished we had half LA's system is a pang that I think we all feel right now. Damn that Logan White, why cna't you be ours?

by Roger on Jul 10, 2006 8:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Logan White

Maybe he could be ours. All we need to do is fire Brian Sabean and hire Dan Evans before some other team hires Evans. Evans is the guy who hired Logan White and who made a commitment to drafting, signing and developing good players from the farm system and not trading them away for immediate help. I am really ready for a new GM and I would like it to be Dan Evans, even if he does wear pink shirts.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 10, 2006 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

Hopefully this does not seem too nitpicky ...

I didn't think Misch was held back by the Giants organization last year. At the start of his secon full season, he was assigned to Fresno. He was lit up nearly every start, and eventually they had to demote him back to Norwich for his own good it seemed to me. They waited a fair amount of time before they did that I thought. Was it mid-July?

I don't think it is fair to say that Ishikawa has holes in his swing. As far as the mechanics of his swing, it sounds like he has the best swing with the most coverage of anyone in the system. For Ishikawa I believe the issue has always been pitch recognition. As far as his approach, he has at times been criticized for being not aggressive enough. I don't know if that is still the case.

Schierholtz has had issues with a high strikeout rate in only one out of four seasons in his pro career, but he also had a .300+ AVG in every month of that season. That is not to say that there his swing is not flawed, as the Cal Leaguer last year noted the hitch that Schierholtz got into his swing.

by steve S on Jul 10, 2006 9:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

Nate's had only 1 year in which his K rate increased above 1 in every 4 AB, but i don't think 1 in 5 (which is where he's at this year and where he was in '04) is exactly issue-free. And yes, Ishi clearly has holes in his swing -- he flails at fastballs away and always has. He definitely does have pitch recognition issues (particularly in that he's too passive going after good pitches early in the count) but, I think it's fair to say when you've K'd every 3.25 at bats for 5 years, you've got holes that pitchers are taking advantage of as well..

by Roger on Jul 10, 2006 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

I always considered a SO/AB ratio of 20.0% the basic benchmark. If we are talking about a hitter with some power (e.g., a corner outfielder or corner infielder) as opposed to talking about a contact hitter (e.g., SS, 2B or CF who profiles as the conventional leadoff hitter), any number below 20% is not much to worry about. Or so I thought. Schierholtz's SO/AB ratio has been up in recent weeks, but still below that benchmark figure. Schierholtz's SO/AB ratio by season: 13.6% in 2003, 18.9% in 2004, 26.3% in 2005 and 18.0% so far in 2006. As a whole, the Eastern League is striking out this year in 22% of its AB. Reading is currently the only team in the league with a SO/AB below 20%.

As for Ishikawa, my point was to question whether there is a legitimate distiction to draw between having holes in one's swing versus having holes in one's approach.

by steve S on Jul 10, 2006 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

I saw a lot of Ishikawa in both of his Hagerstown stints and I believe that some of both are at work -- although an over-passiveness does seem to get him in trouble alot (something like Todd Linden at the major league level, taking 1st pitch fastballs he could do soemthing with a flailing at tough breaking balls).

As for Nate, I'd draw the line a little higher (unless he was doing soemthing else extremely well). 20% may be an average, but I'd rather see above average in the minors to get excited. Scouts like to talk about the super prospect: more BBs and XBHs than Ks. Of course, these guys don't show up very often but the point is you want to benchmark at the highest levels because only those guys are likely to survive the the ride to the top. Jeremy Hermida was close to a super-prospect last year (79Ks, 111BBs, 49 XBH) at the highest level of the minors, and even he has had some issues adjusting to the majors.

Nate's K to BB ratio has always been terrible and his K/XBH (an undervalued stat I think) has run at about 1.7/1 the last couple of years. This year it's over 2/1. These are developmental warning signs.

So I guess our biggest philosophical difference is I want to see a real separation from the mean from a AA player in order to project major league performance. Perhaps I'm wrong on that, though, Hanley Ramirez is reproducing almost exactly his EL stats from last year as a major league rookie.

by Roger on Jul 10, 2006 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

My general impression was that Ishikawa had stepped up his aggressiveness at the plate before he was promoted from Hagerstown to San Jose. I really don't know to what degree he would be considered aggressive or passive now. He did seem a bit more aggressive in his major league stints.

Since Hanley Ramirez was always considered a prospect with elite tools, I don't know that he is the best comparison. It's nice to see him finally get things together with a performance that matches his raw abilities.

I can see your point about wanting more than just a league average strikeout rate from a hitting prospect. But maybe it is not so much really what the strikeout rate is, but what the other rates are. It's not so much that his strikeout rate is average, but that his AVG and IsoP are also so average, while his walk rate is below average. I doubt we would mind a 25% strikeout rate too much if it was accompanied by a .300 AVG and something like a 40+% XBH/H ratio. Yes, we would bemoan the strikeout rate, but we would be happier in that scenario than the current one.

by steve S on Jul 10, 2006 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

Yes. That's right.

by Roger on Jul 10, 2006 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ishikawa

I'm going to take a different tack on Ishikawa and say I just don't like his body. He is massive in the legs, not in a good way, and thin in the upper chest and shoulders.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jul 10, 2006 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Explanations

Two quick notes. First, I don't know that I came up with an explanation for every pitcher, but I think there are some notable circumstances for about half of them. Second, one would suspect that a good pitching coach would have effects that last longer than their current assignment.

Incidentally, if Stanley is good at teaching the sinker, that might be more useful in Fresno and the PCL than in cavernous Dodd Stadium. Then again, Stanley may insist on working with an East Coast affiliate. No one talks about it, but (as I recall) Stanley was the pitching coach for Cain and Valdez when they were in Hagerstown. (Was Stanley also in Hagerstown for Liriano and Hannaman in 2002?)

by steve S on Jul 10, 2006 9:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Connecticut

If Mach wants the yell at anyone; it's Begg--who should have played traffic cop between TI and Busch; but it was TI's ball

http://gregsconnecticutdefenders.blogspot.com

by greg8370 on Jul 9, 2006 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: minor lines, 7/8/06

On Sanders, hearing about the left thumb being wrapped intrigues me. It was the left hand that he got hit on in April that had him miss a few games. It certainly brings up the question of whether he let that injury heal, and if the hand has been what's bothering him all year.

by BruteSentiment on Jul 9, 2006 11:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: minor lines, 7/8/06

Oh, and in the AZL, what I heard is that it was the coaches who wanted to go to Lynn Stanley's funeral. It's my understanding a couple of other coaches from throughout the system also went to the funeral.

by BruteSentiment on Jul 9, 2006 11:54 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: minor lines, 7/8/06

3 Comments in a row...I'm going to bore y'all.

But since today is the All-Star Futures game, here's a question for everyone: What one or two Giants prospects do you think has a chance to represent the Giants system next year at AT&T Park?

Tim Lincecum is almost certainly at the top of the discussion. But who else?

The Americans in the system are obviously stronger. If healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if EME was given a shot. If the Giants go with lower level guys, Copeland and Mooney could have legitimate chances as well.

For the World side, I think the only realistic guy right now is Shairon Martis. Maybe Schoop, if his offensive outburst isn't a fluke.

by BruteSentiment on Jul 9, 2006 1:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs