The Giants have only a handful of position players under 30 who are even remotely interesting. Five, by my count. There isn't a great prospect in the bunch; you just hope that one of the five will become something as valuable as a pre-Fenway Bill Mueller. Nate Schierholtz is the youngest of the bunch. Rajai Davis has the electric small sample from last year. Fred Lewis seems to be that weird brand of player that will put up the same stats at every level. These are players who would be afterthoughts in other organizations, but maybe one of them will turn into something more for the Giants.
Kevin Frandsen also fell into the category of "remotely interesting." True, he's almost 26, but it isn't as if he's older than most prospects because he stalled at a minor league level. He's a career .328/.393/.459 hitter in the minors -- that's not legendary, but it's nothing to dismiss completely either. But he's probably gone for the season now. Sigh. There was a big part of me that wanted to believe that Frandsen's final 70+ at-bats in 2007 were more meaningful than his previous 300. I knew it was a pipe dream. It still would have been nice to find out.
The three outfielders mentioned above are all blocked. Frandsen is injured. Eugenio Velez, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo woo woo. Velez should have a clear path to the quasi-utility role that Frandsen had last year, with a potential for more if Ray Durham disintegrates during the season:
Eugenio Velez
AVG: .278
OBP: .317
SLG: .401
HR: 4
3B:6
AB: 358
SB: 23
CS: 8
The batting average and stolen bases will inflate his perceived value by a bunch, and he'll open 2009 as the starter at second base.