Remember when I wrote my top 30 prospects list? Of course you do. SportsCenter wouldn’t shut up about it. Well, if you’re in a good mood today, I apologize. It’s time to review just how those exciting prospects are doing.
Exceeding expectations
Jorge Bucardo (#14)
Jose Casilla (#21
Meeting expectations
Buster Posey (#1)
Madison Bumgarner (#2)
Dan Runzler (#9)
Eric Surkamp (#13)
Hector Sanchez (#16)
Brock Bond (#27)
Slightly disappointing
Thomas Neal (#3)
Brandon Crawford (#7)
Clayton Tanner (#19)
Chris Dominguez (#26)
Ryan Cavan (#30)
Disappointing
Nick Noonan (#6)
Tommy Joseph (#10)
Ehire Adrianza (#11)
Francisco Peguero (#12)
Henry Sosa (#20)
Waldis Joaquin (#23)
Jason Stoffel (#24)
Craig Clark (#25)
Oh...oh...dear god...why....
Rafael Rodriguez (#5)
Roger Kieschnick (#8)
Aaron King (#15)
Conor Gillaspie (#17)
Darren Ford (#18)
Mike McBryde (#29)
Incomplete
Zack Wheeler (#4)
Matthew Graham (#22)
Edward Concepcion (#28)
A few notes:
- Brandon Belt was a just-miss from the original list, as was Ryan Rohlinger, so they would have added a little bit of optimism to the top of the list.
- It’s probably overreacting to put Rafael Rodriguez where he is, as he’s still just a zygote and the sample is small. Still, yeesh, he hasn’t been good.
- When I write that Buster Posey is "meeting expectations", I mean that he’s the incandescent ball of awesome I was expecting. When I write that Brock Bond is doing the same, I mean that he’s doing things in Fresno that show promise he’ll be a solid utility man someday.
- Of the "Dear god...why" group, I’ll go with Kieschnick as the biggest disappointment. He’s a 23-year-old corner outfielder -- he doesn’t have the same margin for error that Nick Noonan might.
The farm system that I was so excited about in March is a big reason why I don’t want the Giants to make a trade in July. The team would either a) be selling low, or b) getting rid of one of the two or three prospects who are actually producing. And for what, Corey Hart? Nah.
So here’s hoping for a Gary Brown-led renaissance. The Giants aren’t going to spend on international free agents this year, so if the draft was a dud, the bleak will get bleaker.
Have a nice day.