Here's some science. Some cold, hard science. I'm ready to drop it.
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.
Sciiiiiiience. The San Francisco Giants called up Hector Sanchez today, according to Baggs. There's no word on a corresponding move just yet, but with Eli Whiteside hitting well, and Chris Stewart's arm being the Terrell Lowery of catcher's arms, it's almost a given that Stewart will be the one to go.
It's an interesting move, with shades of the second Posey call-up. Not that Sanchez is as good of a prospect as Posey was, but there are still questions about his defense. Like, a lot of questions. But has some interesting offensive tools.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 17 | Giants | DOSL | FRk | 44 | 119 | 34 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 15 | .286 | .401 | .471 | .872 |
| 2008 | 18 | Giants | DOSL | FRk | 55 | 207 | 72 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 29 | .348 | .458 | .502 | .961 |
| 2009 | 19 | Giants | ARIZ | Rk | 33 | 117 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 21 | .299 | .403 | .410 | .813 |
| 2010 | 20 | Augusta | SALL | A | 89 | 310 | 85 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 50 | .274 | .336 | .394 | .730 |
| 2011 | 21 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A+-AAA | 67 | 258 | 78 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 54 | .302 | .337 | .465 | .802 |
| 2011 | 21 | San Jose | CALL | A+ | 42 | 176 | 53 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 41 | .301 | .321 | .511 | .832 |
| 2011 | 21 | Fresno | PCL | AAA | 25 | 82 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 13 | .305 | .370 | .366 | .735 |
| 5 Seasons | 288 | 1011 | 304 | 70 | 5 | 22 | 113 | 169 | .301 | .379 | .445 | .825 | ||||
| FRk (2 seasons) | FRk | 99 | 326 | 106 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 55 | 44 | .325 | .438 | .491 | .929 | |||
| A (1 season) | A | 89 | 310 | 85 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 50 | .274 | .336 | .394 | .730 | |||
| Rk (1 season) | Rk | 33 | 117 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 21 | .299 | .403 | .410 | .813 | |||
| AAA (1 season) | AAA | 25 | 82 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 13 | .305 | .370 | .366 | .735 | |||
| A+ (1 season) | A+ | 42 | 176 | 53 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 41 | .301 | .321 | .511 | .832 | |||
He used to catch the eyes of amateur prospect mavens because he was like the Moneyball-era Kevin Youkilis of teenaged catchers -- walks-a-plenty. This is why it was bizarre that he was having success in A-ball this year with a Jeff-Francoeur-with-an-eye-patch approach, and it's good to see that he resembled earlier incarnations of Hector Sanchez in his small sample with Fresno. The reports on the defense were encouraging, but he never got a lot of love from Baseball America. He also never got a lot of love from the Giants -- of the 89 games he played last year, a lot of them were at DH, as he yielded a ton of time to Tommy Joseph in low-A.
And then one year later: catching Tim Lincecum in the majors. Surprise! Hope you're all good now.
I have no idea if this is a good move -- I'll defer to the front office for this one. Couldn't tell you if reports of raw defense are overblown, or if his Fresno line is filled with bloopers and walks that should have been called strike-threes. What I do know is that the Giants will have another hitter that will be interesting to watch. That's not always a good thing -- Scott McClain fell under that umbrella too, sort of -- but I'm looking forward to watching Hector Sanchez.
Also, don't forget the science. Those 21-year-old Venezuelan catchers with walk-light batting averages in a A-ball who jump quickly to the majors after missing the Baseball America top-30 list have always -- always -- produced immediately. Like, we're talking a 100% success rate. So now that our offensive problems are over, l'm going to work on a 10-part series about long relievers who should be available at the trade deadline.