A-Rod Part Deux

Link!

The Giants have officially entered themselves into the A-Rod race, which is not too much of a surprise. On a conference call Thursday, Brian Sabean admitted that while The Giants are in contention for the services of Alex Rodriguez, they are somewhat of a long shot. A-Rod might be the only thing that gives The Giants 2008 offense any chance of mediocrity. I know Ann Killion from The San Jose Mercury news wrote an article about how A-Rod would be just another Bonds. I think Giants fans seem to forget that Barry was sorta kinda the savior of The Giants. Barry's final years as a Giant might have blurred memories of complete dominance of the game, but Giants fans need to remember that a roster COMPLETELY built around him should have won the world series. In fact, A-Rod might be another Bonds except without the attitude problem.

Regardless of personalities, think of the possibilities of eliminating Pedro Feliz's lackluster hitting with the guy who will soon be named AL MVP. He might not be on Pedro's level defensively, but there comes a point where you kind of have to throw in the towel (AKA .708 OPS). A-Rod's slugging percentage alone is only .068 less than Peter Happy's OPS!!! That's insane!

To sort of rap things up, A-Rod is not going to instantly going to make The Giants a contender, but even down the road, having him as your steady number 4 hitter will be of great benefit to The Giants. At least until 2010, there are no majors hitters that will be on the free agent market. There will be a few people like Carl Crawford who have team options for a mere 7 figures which barring the apocalypse, will be picked up. The Giants best shot at winning in the future will be teams built around stellar pitching and adequate offense, something that is feasibly possibly with Alex Rodriguez. His financial burden won't be as steep as some might think. The Giants are already losing the salaries of Barry Bonds (about 16 million) and I guess Pedro Feliz (little over 5 million) which means the total team salary will only have to go up around 9 million give or take a few million.

A-Rod

Sportscenter has been running a short series about where A-Rod might end up next season. As you all know, with Scott Boras as his agent, he is going to demand something around 10 years/$300 million for his services. He might not be quite worth all that money, but the fact remains that he is a difference maker in any lineup. He also might be a good centerpiece for The Giants starting 9 at May Field, where left handed hitter come to die. There only seem to be a few contenders for A-Rod (not really surprising seeing that he is demanding .3 billion), The Yankees, The Red Sox (oh my!), The Angels, The Cubs, and The Giants. It seems very unlikely that A-Rod will stay in New York. After being the goat of the town, and being taunted like he was, A-Rod wants to stick it to the fans who gave him so much stress. At times, it didn't seem like he was well adapted for the New York media. The Red Sox are very much contenders in this race. They will be looking for a 3rd baseman because Mike Lowell is likely to depart, and A-Rod is as good as they come. However, with their payroll already stretched to the limit with recent signings of J.D. Drew, and Dice-K, I'm not too sure that The Red Sox can afford such a slugger. If they did sign him, they would easily have the most scary offense in all of baseball, but I really don't see it happening. The Angels seem like the most likely candidate for A-Rod. They certainly have the money, and their current third baseman Chone Figgins, can easily be moved to the outfield where he has lots of experience. They could then move Vlad permanently to DH and have a FIERCE lineup. The Cubs to me seem impossible. Their organization is in the process of being sold, so I don't think the Wrigley Company (their current owners) are going to really have much interest in making the team better this offseason.

And last but definately not least..The Giants. They definately will have a hole at 3rd base with Pedro Feliz and his sub .300 OBP. And they really are in need of some power, and generally offensive production. Besides Barry Bonds who will obviously be elsewhere, their leader in Slugging Percentage was Randy Winn! Randy Winn!!! When your best power hitter had 14 bombs you know you are bound for a lot of 1-0 losses. A-Rod's Slugging Percentage on the other hand is .645, and he has average 47 home runs over the past 7 seasons. In fact, he has 14 home runs before the calender turned to May. He seems like a perfect fit for The Giants expect for the whole .3 billion thing. We are talking about a team where half its payroll goes to 2 players (A-Rod and Zito). I don't think a team has ever won a championship that way, but in a year or two with the 1-2-3-4 punch of Cain, Lincecum, Lowry, Zito and an offense carried by A-Rod, I think they would have a chance.

Project Prospect Giant's Top 5

Project Prospect recently released their Giants Top 5 Prospect list. I generally agreed with their assessment of The Giant's farm system. They wrote that it might take another 2+ years for Angel Villalona to become a major leaguer (I think it might be more like 3+) but the sooner the better. They also wrote nice things about The Giants number one pick from the 2007 draft, Madison Bumgarner. I don't know how you can write him off as not having any good breaking pitches when his dad would not let him start throwing a curveball until he was 16. Most young pitchers start to mess around with a curveball when they are as young as 11 or 12 and seriously start using it at 13 or 14 so he is a little bit behind the curve (lol) but he definately has time to improve. Tim Alderson was ranked number 3 and they mentioned that he would be best suited as a reliever because of his awkward out of the stretch motion, but that he should remain a starter until it is more clear on what he is best suited for. I also heard my first words about Clayton Tanner (De La Salle grad) by any mainstream publication. They project him as a soft throwing 3rd-5th starter or a solid bullpen arm.

Minor League Baseball's Organization Review

I was very disappointed by MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Giant's Organizational Review. It was blatantly obvious that the author Lisa Winston, really does not know much about The Giants. She listed John Bowker and Sergio Romo as the organizational players of the year. I will admit that he put up very good numbers for AA Connecticut; .307/.363/.523 with 22 HR's and 90 RBI's. He also lead the entire Eastern League in LD%( Line Drive Percentage, the proportion of batted balls that are classified as line drives), which is a somewhat effective tool for predicting success at the next level. However, he played AA as a 24 year old and did not receive a September call-up like Eugenio Velez who also played with him on The Defenders, which shows that The Giant's don't consider him a huge part of their future. Sergio Romo has a dominant year in High-A for The San Jose Giants, posting a line of 66.1 IP/ 1.36 ERA, 106 K's. He is 24, and just like Bowker, his age is a concern for me. He likely won't reach the majors until he is at least 26 years old so he will likely end up a middle reliever and nothing more. Romo is going to pitch for the Scottsdale Scorpians in The Arizona Fall League this year so he will definately have an opportunity to prove himself. The rest of the article was kind of fluff, giving short 3 sentence descriptions of the organization's top players.

Villalona To 1st?

On The Giant's official website, there was an article about the strong possibility of Angel Villalona moving to 1st base. Here's the link. Apparently The Giants are having the almighty J.T. Snow show him the ropes in fear that he won't be able to stay at 3rd because of his suspect fielding ability. Villalona has an excellent arm, but plain and simple struggles with fielding groundballs. This has big implications for this years draft. I am a strong believer that drafting by need is something that you have to do. This means that Smoak and Wallace aren't the guys to draft this year. It looks like The Giants should look at Shortstop (Tim Beckham, Brandon Crawford), or maybe an outfielder (Jordan Danks, James Darnell, Isaac Galloway, Aaron Hicks etc.). As of right now it is too early to tell who is the best at what position but there are definately great possibilities at those positions.

The Giants Future Looking...Not So Bad???

The Giants finished their 2007 campaign with an 11-2 rout of The Dodgers. The team was playing primarily young players and for the first time in too long The Giants looked like a real offense. Granted, The Dodgers starting pitcher was Eric Stults, but nonetheless, The Giants were raking today. In fact, the younger half of their roster has been playing very well throughout the month of September. After being the forgotten back-up for most of the summer, Kevin Frandsen came alive down the stretch. In his 69 AB's this month, he has posted a line of .377/.429/.449 and really put himself in a situation to start somewhere in the infield next year. Dan Ortmeier also bought himself a starting role next year with his performance in the past couple of weeks. In 157 AB's he was .287/.317/.497 with 6 HR's while playing a good 1st base, a position he is playing for the first time. You could make an argument that The Giants had a more productive offense when they were playing the young guys.

Positional Possibilities For 2008

C- Molina----maybe Alfonzo
Bengie Molina had a better than expected season this year. He was third on the team with 19 HR's, and lead the team with 81 RBI's. However, at the tender age of 33, he does not appear to be a part of The Giants long term plans. He has also expressed great frustration with The Giants losing ways, and it won't get any better next year. His trade value might be too hard to resist trading him. He could bring in some decent bullpen help for when The Giants really make a run at things in a couple of years. At 29 on opening day 2008, Eliezer Alfonzo wouldn't be that bad of a compromise.

1B- Ortmeier
Dan Ortmeier proved to The Giants he could be an everyday player during his time in the majors. I was skeptical at first about Ortmeier, he had only batted .262 in a hitter friendly Pacific Coast League while at the prospect borderline age of 26. He did have some upside (switch hitter, 10 HR's, 16 SB in 79 games), but he looked like another career back up to me. While in the majors, he has shown decent gap to gap power while playing 1st base, a position where The Giants are not so deep.

2B- Frandsen---maybe Durham
Kevin Frandsen was coasting through much of the year as a back up utility man. He couldn't really get on a role because he was only having 4-5 AB's a week. However, after starting more games in succession during September, he showed The Giants that he really did know how to hit. He also played a good SS, and 3B when necessary. I doubt Ray Durham will be with The Giants next year no matter the size of his contract. He batted .218 while being The Giants everyday 2B for most of the year. It has been rumored that he badly wants out of San Francisco, and I don't think The Giants will mind.

SS- Vizquel---maybe Frandsen
Omar Vizquel did not have a productive offensive year (.246/.305/.316), But he did have another classic Omar Vizquel defensive year. He had the highest Zone Rating (the percentage of balls fielded in a particular defensive zone) of any Short Stop in the entire major leagues. He also had the 2nd highest fielding percentage among MLB Short Stops (.986), just behind Colorado's super rookie Troy Tulowitzki. It has been rumored that The Giants are trying to sign Vizquel to a one year deal, but if they don't succeed, Frandsen will likely take over.

3B- Feliz---maybe Frandsen
Pedro Feliz had another "Pedro Feliz" year, 20+ homers, a lot of strikeouts, and a lot of really good defense. He should win the gold glove award at 3B but his offensive inconsistence might overshadow his defensive accomplishments. The free agent market for 3B is limited, Mike Lowell is likely to stay in Boston, and A-Rod is going to demand $300+million (and get it). That 300 million dollars really isn't worth it for The Giants at this point so they should just resign Feliz for another year (not 2!) and build from there.

LF- Winn---maybe Scheirholtz
Randy Winn was probably The Giants most consistent hitter not named Barry Bonds. He batted .300 with with 14 HR's and 15 SB's while playing a decent RF. He might have some trade value but if he were to be traded I think The Giants offense might be even worse than it was this season... I know its scary.

CF- Davis/Lewis/Hunter???
Fred Lewis and Rajai Davis might have to duke it out during spring training to decide who patrols CF at Mays Field on opening day. Fred Lewis, 26, has more offensive upside while Rajai Davis, also 26, is a better defender and an elite base stealing threat. Torii Hunter also comes into the situation. He is probably the best thing out there on the market this winter and The Giants have a legit shot at signing him. He has been a consistent .285/.335/.500 hitter and a perennial gold glover for the past few years now. He would be able to replace a lot of the offense that is going to leave with Barry Bonds. He also fits well into The Giants scheme of position players with speed and good defensive skills. On the other hand, he is 32 and will be 34 or 35 when The Giants start to make a legit run for a championship. It is probably a good idea to wait until the 2009 class of free agents rolls around to make a big splash.

RF- Scheirholtz----maybe Winn
At only 23, Nate Scheirholtz is The Giants best prospect within reasonable reach of the majors right now. He is a good fundamental hitter with decent power (that really hasn't been there in his stint in the majors). He also has an above average arm and decent range in right field (likely better than Randy Winn's). His performance at the plate will really be a key factor in next year's offense.

Rotation
1. Matt Cain
Enough said.
2. Tim Lincecum
Enough said.
3. Noah Lowry-Not sure on how he will perform next year after having his elbow problems. He is still a real good guy to have as your number 3.
4. Barry Zito- If he performs like he did in the last 2 months of the season, he will be the best number 4 pitcher in the game.
5. Kevin Correia- Proved he is worthy of a starting spot (2.54 ERA in 46 innings as a starter).

Bullpen
Relievers:
Messenger, Chulk, Taschner, Kline, Misch, Walker

Set-up: Hennessey

Closer: WILSON!!

Random Prospect Jottings...

I was very pleased to see Angel Villalona really turn it on near the end of the Rookie League season. He ended up finishing .285/.344/.450 with 5 home runs in 200 at bats. Not too bad for someone who would just be starting his senior year in high school if he lived in the states. He even ended up as the 8th honorable mention (33rd overall i guess) on the Project Prospect Top 25. He is not far behind Josh Vitters, Mike Moustakas, and Matt Wieters, who were all top 5 picks in this past June's draft. He will likely start next year as a 17 year old playing in Low-A which is pretty unheard of.

Speaking of Project Prospect

Project Prospect also released their Top 100 Under 25. Topping the list for The Giants was Tim Lincecum at number 10 who was rated just behind Felix Hernandez, and in front of other pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Scott Kazmir. Someone who I thought would be much higher than 21 is Matt Cain. He is younger, and has put up better numbers than Justin Verlander who was rated higher than him. To put the icing on the cake, Angel Villalona holds down the 84th position. The only other 17 year old on the list (Carlos Triunfel), is 6 months older than Villalona and is 97th on the list.

Kevin Pucetas Wins MSPA

Kevin Pucetas of the Augusta Greenjackets, The Giants Low-A affiliate, won the Most Spectacular Pitcher Award. The award is given to the minor league pitcher with the lowest E.R.A. that qualified with 112 IP, or 45 IP if you were to play with a short season team. Pucetas was a pleasant surprise after being drafted in the 17th round last year and will likely start next season as a 23 year old in either High-A or AA, depending on his performance in Spring Training.

Draft Notes

With another lost today The Giants have fallen to 66-83. They are in a three way tie for the 7th worst record in the league (the draft order for the MLB draft is based on regular season records). At one point, The Giants were in line for at least the 3rd or 4th overall pick, but a streak of mediocrity (oh no!!) has sent them flying (well not really) up the standings. The Giants end the season with series at Arizona, Cincinnati, San Diego, then at LA. With the way they have been trying to protect their young arms, I could really see The Giants tanking as the season ends. This years draft is not that deep so it is important that The Giants get a pick somewhere in the top 5 (whoever thought that tanking for a better draft pick would exist in baseball). As I see it, this season has been over for months, so why not play some younger guys (AKA not Durham, Feliz, and Bonds), get them some experience, and maybe lose a few games. Its probably the best thing for the organization at this point. I am hoping that The Giants can get someone like 1B Justin Smoak out of South Carolina, or Isaac Galloway, a So-Cal high school outfielder.

Prospects

With September promptly approaching, The Giants roster will soon expand from 25 to 40 players. Casual fans are usually clueless on who these new young guys are so I thought it would be good to give a quick run down of The Giants farm system. Since they don't really have anyone besides Nate Scheirholtz that is a legit prospect and on the 40 man roster, I decided to show who are the best prospects on each of their minor league affiliates, and what their ceilings are.

Fresno Grizzlies- AAA- Pacific Coast League

Unfortunately, this team really isn't really what you want in your AAA team. Way too many of their players (especially pitchers) are non-prospect roster fillers in their 30's. However, they do have the best triplet of outfielders of any team in The Pacific Coast League.
Top Prospects
1. Nate Scheirholtz-LF/RF-- .325/.357/.541 14 HR's 59 RBI's 23 years old
Probably The Giants best prospect thats not 17 years old. Showed he can handle big league pitching in his brief stint in the majors this year. Has .300 AVG. 20-25 HR potential. Converted to outfield from 3rd base so his defense is average but improving. Can also play first base but he probably won't need to until late in his career.

2. Clay Timpner- OF-- .303/.362/.398 6 HR's 35 RBI's 24 years old
He has always been considered a stellar defensive outfielder (not quite gold glove caliber but something close to it), but never really could put up much offensive production. He has had a breakout season this year in Fresno, hitting somewhere around .320 all year until a recent slump. He can play all three outfield positions so he will definately be on The Giants roster sometime soon. He profiles as a solid 2nd place hitter or maybe something lower in the lineup because he does have above average speed, but is not much of a base stealing threat.

3. Brian Horwitz- OF-- .320/.375/.433 1 HR 18 RBI's 24 years old
The University of California graduate spent the first half of the season in AA Connecticut. He has good strike zone discipline and hits for a good average but might end up being a bench player because of his complete lack of power to go with his below average speed.

4. Fred Lewis- OF-- .292/.366/.550 8 HR 32 RBI's 26 years old
Some people might be surprised that I put Fred Lewis so low on this list. He has a decent pop in his bat and makes every groundball exciting with his blazing speed. However, Lewis has not managed to turn these tools into skills. This is because he didn't even start to seriously concentrate on baseball until he was 20. He seems fooled by any curveball thrown by a major leaguer and doesn't steal many bases because he can't seem to get good jumps. He can still be useful as a back up outfielder.

5. Travis Blackley- SP (lefty)-- 9-7 4.61 ERA 150.1 IP 108 K's Opp. Avg .262 24 years old
Travis Blackley was acquired for Jason Ellison in a trade just before the start of opening day. His season this year in AAA would be defined as inconsistent. At times he has looked like he should be starting for The Giants immediately and other times hes looked like he shouldn't even be playing professional baseball. Assuming he becomes more consistent, he could eventually have a few decent seasons as a 5th starter.

Connecticut Defenders- AA- Eastern League

The Connecticut Defenders might be the sorriest excuse for a minor league baseball team I have ever seen. They have two blaring whole in their team: they can't hit, and their pitching isn't much better. From a prospect standpoint, they have too many pitchers that post decent stats, but are 25-26 years old in AA which means they will likely never reach the show. I doubt anyone on this team will make any sort of impact on a major league club, or even make it there for that matter

1. John Bowker- OF-- .300/.352/.496 17 HR's 76 RBI's 24 years old
John Bowker is probably the best thing going for The Defenders these days. He has pretty good power from the left side and shows that he can get on base. However his strikeouts and lack of defensive versatility might keep him from ever making his mark in the majors. I see him as a potential 5th outfielder for a few years down the road.

2. Justin Hendrick- RP-- 3-6 2.43 ERA 63 IP 65 K's Opp. avg .230 25 years old
Hendrick just might make it to the majors as a middle reliever. Hendrick is kind of a late bloomer but he strikes out batters and generally gets the job done. His age isn't on his side but a reliever's age isn't as important as it is at all the other positions.

San Jose Giants- High A- California League

The San Jose Giants have a pretty good team this year. Their hitting is sort of average but they have TONS of speed and a few good pitchers. They won the first half crown in The California League.

1. Henry Sosa- SP-- 5-4 3.95 ERA 57 IP 69 K's Opp. avg .253 22 years old
Henry Sosa was finally able to harness his electric stuff this year and post lights out numbers earlier in the year while in Low-A. He's a hard throwing right hander who strikes out a lot of batters but at times can become rattles after allowing a few runs. His ERA doesn't represent how dominant he has been so far because of 2 starts (although they do still count) where he only went 2 innings or so and allowed 5+ runs. He played in The Future's game and is likely The Giants best pitching prospect.

2. Pablo Sandoval- C-- .292/.312/.488 11 HR's 51 RBI's (just turned) 21 years old
Pablo Sandoval has had a pretty good offensive season for a catcher after getting off to a bad start in the first two months of the season. He played in The Future's game last year so this isn't that much of a surprise to anyone in The Giants front office. He still needs to work on his OBP but he has time.

3. Brian Bocock - SS-- .225/.296/.328 3 HR's 35 RBI's 22 years old
Brian Bocock has always been considered a very good defensive shortstop; so after Emmanuel Burris was demoted early in the season, Bocock was called up in his place. He got off to a hot start in High-A but has cooled down significantly. He isn't extremely young so he will have to work on his hitting fast if he wants to make a name for himself. He played in this year's Futures game.

4. Jesse English- SP (lefty)-- 0-0 0.00 ERA 4.2 IP 8 K's Opp. Avg .154 22 years old
English is a little bit of a wild card. He was once considered a top prospect out of high school but sort of fell of the map in the past year and a half while battling injuries and inconsistency. He has seemed to found his old stuff again this year. He dominated in short season A-ball and was quickly promoted to High-A where his first few appearances have been very impressive. He might someday make the big club as a lefty specialist.

Augusta Greenjackets- Low-A- South Atlantic League

The Augusta Greenjackets are probably The Giants best minor league team. They have four young pitchers with an ERA under 3.00 (they had five until Henry Sosa was promoted). They also have a speedy shortstop who could be starting for The Giants in a few years.

1. Emmanuel Burris- SS-- .322/.370/.383 0 HR's 33 RBI's 22 years old
Burris was a sandwich round pick of The Giants in the 2006 draft. He impressed The Giants last year by signing early, then having a monster year in short season A-ball. They rewarded him with a promotion to High-A this season. That unfortunately, did not turn out too well. He struggled to get on base and within a month, was sent down to Augusta. Since then, he has been nothing short of stellar. He has great range at shortstop in addition to stealing 47 bases with The Greenjackets.

2. Kevin Pucetas- SP-- 15-3 1.81 ERA 139.1 IP 101 K's Opp avg .217 22 years old
Kevin Pucetas surprised people last year with a magnificent performance in short season A-ball last year after being a 17th round (506th overall) pick in the 2006 draft. He came out this year and dominated The South Atlantic League. He was rated by baseballamerica.com as having the best control in the SAL. He profiles as a middle of the rotation guy in a few years.

3. Clayton Tanner- SP (lefty)-- 12-7 2.85 ERA 129.1 IP 104 K's Opp avg .262 19 years old
After being drafted in the 3rd round (89th overall) in the 2006 draft out of De La Salle high school (Concord,CA), Tanner has been better than expected. He features a sneaky fastball and a tight, left handed curveball. The Giants have something to be excited about because at only 19, he is still growing. He projects as anywhere from a 2nd-4th starter down the road.

4. Benjamin Snyder- SP(lefty)-- 15-5 2.11 ERA 145 IP 138 K's Opp avg .229 22 years old
After a shaky career at Ball State, The Giants drafted him in the 4th round (116th overall) in the 2006 draft. In Low-A this year he has been part of a very dominant lefty one-two punch for The Greenjackets. He could have to be fast-tracked because of his age but he will definately make the majors somehow, but he might have to be a lefty specialist (lefties bat .192 against him as opposed to righties who are batting .240).

5. Juan Trinidad - CP-- 3-3 1.88 ERA 48 IP 48 K's Opp avg .167 21 years old
I don't know much about Juan Trinidad other than he was an international signee 2 years ago. Throughout his professional career, he has posted dominant strikeout numbers. He also has never had a WHIP over 1.00. I can see him being a valuable reliever down the road.

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes- Short Season A-ball- Northwest League

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have been incredibly dominant this season. They have posted a 50-15 record (.769 win pct.) while no one else in the league is even above .500. Their dominant pitching. combined with their deep lineup full of contact hitters, has made them the best short season team in recent memory. Unfortunately, they have had all this success with players who are somewhat old, and aren't really top prospects.

1. Daniel Turpen- RP-- 0-0 0.61 ERA 14.2 IP 15 K's Opp. avg .180 just turned 21
Daniel Turpen was the backbone of The Beaver's bullpen while at Oregon State. The Giants drafted him in the 8th round (254th overall) in the 2007 draft. He spent a brief period of time with The Giants rookie league affiliate in Arizona and didn't allow a run. He projects as a middle reliever down the road.

2. Daniel Otero- CP-- 0-0 0.47 ERA 19.1 IP 13 K's Opp. avg .121 22 years old
Daniel Otero was a starting pitcher while in college but once The Giants drafted him in the 21st round (644th overall), they immediately converted him into a closer. He has been lights out since he took the job, converting all of his save chances. He might move to middle reliever in the future, but there is a decent shot he will reach the majors.


3. Brock Bond-2B-- .328/.451/.397 0 HR's 14 RBI's 21 years old
After putting up decent numbers at Missouri, Brock Bond was drafted in the 24th round (734th overall) in the 2007 draft. He spent a short time in Rookie ball and wasn't that successful. However, the coaches must have liked what they saw and promoted him to Salem-Keizer. Since then he has shined at the plate. However, because of his lack of power, he might be limited to a back-up role in the future.

Arizona League Giants- Rookie- Arizona League

This team might hold a lot of the Giant's future on it. They are currently tied for 1st place in The Arizona League. They are nowhere near as dominant as Salem-Keizer has been in short season play, but they have many more legit prospects.

1. Angel Villalona- 3B/1B-- .267/.333/.439 5 HR's 34 RBI's just turned 17
The Giants broke their previous record for a signing bonus given to an amateur player last year when they gave Angel Villalona $2,100,000. He was offered over $3,000,000 by other teams like The Yankees and The Mariners, but he chose to sign with The Giants because he felt most comfortable with them. His season so far has been just average, but you have to take into account that if he was born in America, he would be entering his senior year in high school. He might have to move over to 1st base because of his lack of range, but he could be a 40+ homers a year guy in 5-6 years.

2. Nick Noonan- SS/2B-- .311/.353/.435 2 HR's 35 RBI's 18 years old
The Giants drafted Nick Noonan in the supplemental 1st round (32nd overall) in the 2007 draft. Some analysts thought that he was drafted too high but I really liked the pick. He has silenced his critics so far, posting one of the best season of any player straight from high school in The Arizona League. He is currently the team's starting short stop, but he will likely have to move to second base because he doesn't have top notch arm strength. He projects as a good defensive second baseman batting in the number 2 hole.

3. Wilber Bucardo- SP-- 5-2 1.94 ERA 60.1 IP 34 K's Opp. avg .213 19 years old
Wilber Bucardo was an international signee 2 years ago and has been the ace of the teams staff the entire season. He doesn't have dominating stuff, but he gets players to pound the ball into the ground. He could be a possible 4-5th starter down the road for The Giants

4. Charlie Culberson- SS-- .287/.370/.413 1 HR 16 RBI's 18 years old
Charlie Culberson was a surprise pick when he was selected in the supplemental 1st round (51st overall). He has more power than his one home run would indicate. He might not make the majors as a Giant because of their minor league depth at middle infield, but he will definately be in the majors for awhile somewhere else.

Dominican Summer League Giants- Rookie- Dominican Summer League

I don't know much about this team because all of these players are recent international signings and there isn't much information about any of them. All I know is that this league has slightly worse competition than The Arizona League. So I will just judge them by their stats and age.

1. Jorge Bucardo- SP-- 7-2 1.35 ERA 60 IP 39 K's Opp avg .200 17 years old

2. Francisco Peguero- CF-- .296/.324/.378 1 HR 15 RBI's 25 SB's 19 years old

3. Julio Izturis- 2B-- .245/.357/.266 0 HR 29 RBI's 35 SB's 17 years old

4. Kevin Marte- RP-- 5-1 1.62 ERA 61 IP 91 K's Opp. avg .167 19 years old

5. Hector Sanchez- C-- .288/.396/.475 4 HR's 18 RBI's 17 years old

Wilson For Closer???

Brian Wilson has been making some noise as of late with his 98 MPH fastballs and 92 MPH sliders, fooling bewildered hitters in his short time with the club since being called up from Fresno on August 11th. Last year Wilson showed that he had great stuff, but that he also had very poor command (21 BB's in 30 IP). He even allowed 32 hits in those 30 innings which means when he finally did get the ball over the plate, it wasn't exactly on the corner. However, in his 6 innings this year (albeit 6 innings), he has shown stellar control, allowing only 5 baserunners. Even though Brad Hennessey has done a pretty decent job as the closer since Armando was sent packing, we all know he doesn't have closer stuff, and is better suited as a set-up man. Another possibility for next year's closer job is Randy Messenger. He has closer stuff and a closer's attitude but it's hard to be a closer when you are always punching stuff. Brian Wilson's first 6 innings could be a fluke but I like what I see so far.

Lincecum

Anyone else like Tim Lincecum's performance on Tuesday night? I know the end result wasn't too pleasing but he definately showed that he can be a dominant pitcher right now (if he hadn't already it was just confirmation). He ranks 9th in the National League in K's even though he was in AAA all of April. If he had 26-27 starts like everyone else (he only has 20 so far) he would have 170+ K's which would put him 2nd only behind Jake Peavy. I also think the press made too big a deal about his fist pump after he struckout the last batter in the 8th inning. I can't really think of a reason why anyone would try to accuse Tim Lincecum, the guy who looks like he is in 7th grade, as being a show boater.

One last request...

Why is Ray Durham still playing at all??? He is batting .222 this season and an UNBELIEVABLE .103 in the month of August! Oh by the way he is also a very below average fielder to boot. On the other hand, Kevin Frandsen is 10 years younger, a better hitter, a better fielder, and a whole lot more scrappy in his sleep than Ray Durham has ever been. They do have exactly the same batting average but Frandsen's low average is a result of him not getting any consistent playing time. It's hard to hit big league pitching when you only face it once every week and a half. With this season really not going anywhere, I don't understand why they can't just give Kevin Frandsen a chance

Bumgarner, Fairley sign

Bumgarner, Fairley sign

As expected, The Giants signed their two unsigned first round draft picks before Wednesday's deadline. Madison Bumgarner, the hard throwing, high school lefty from South Carolina received a $2,000,000 bonus which was just under The Giants record for a drafted player (Tim Lincecum, 10th overall 2006 draft, $2,025,000). His holdout worked to some extent, his bonus exceeded the slot for the 10th overall pick by $200,000. However, it took him over 2 months to get .2 mil when he could be in Rookie ball becoming a better player and winning over Giant's coaches. As the deadline for signing draft picks approached there were rumors that Bumgarner was demanding $2,300,000 and if he did not sign, would attend community college so he could enter the 2008 Draft. Only hours after this was first reported, he signed and everything was well.

The Giants also signed their last first round pick, Wendell Fairley. The flashy outfielder from Mississippi received an even $1,000,000 bonus. Fairley's holdout was less successful than Bumgarner's. Instead of taking the recommended slot bonus of $990,000 he chose to holdout and only got a whopping $10,000 more. Its also very important for picks who aren't at the very top of the first round to sign early and report to camp so that they can set themselves up to succeed. On a more positive note, I am more excited about Fairley than any other of the Giant's picks. He has shown that he has the tools to be a top 10 or even a top 5 pick but wasn't considered one because he never showed any interest in going to any scouting showcases.

In Other Giant's News...

Randy Messenger broke his left hand while punching some type of an equipment cart. It was initially reported that he broke his hand while being struck with a line drive during batting practice before August 15th's game against The Braves but he fessed up to the truth a few days later. I remember reading about the trade that sent Randy Messenger to The Giants and Armando packing, that Messenger was considered a hard player to coach and that he had a short temper. I hope he can learn from his mistake and just focus on pitching.

Matt Morris Traded

Less than an hour before the trading deadline, The Giants acquired Rajai Davis from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Matt Morris and his bloated contract.

Giants exchange starter Morris for rookie outfielder Davis

What This Means For The Giants
As I read the bottom line on ESPN and saw that The Giants had traded Matt Morris, my first thought was 'The Pirates???'. There appeared to be three teams in the running for Matt Morris at one point, (Braves, Phillies, Mariners) but leading up to the deadline, The Mariners seemed liked the only team willing to take him. The Pirates have the worst record in the National League and you would assume be sellers at the trading deadline. What Shocked me most about this deal is that The Pirates were willing to take ALL of Matt Morris' salary (2 mil for the rest of the season and 9.5 next year).

The Giants also got what I expected in return for Morris: a 2nd/3rd tier prospect. Rajai Davis began this season on nobody's radar. He was ranked the 27th best prospect in The Pirates system which was ranked 19th in the majors (The Giant's farm system was ranked 20th). However, he was listed as the system's fastest base runner but he was known only for striking out too much and not getting very many hits. This season Davis took off. His line for his brief stint in AAA before being called up reads 211 ABs .318 avg. 4 HRs, 30 RBIs, 27 SBs, .383 OBP, .469 SLG

Davis profiles as a useful 4th/5th outfielder that The Giants can keep for a few years. Anyone who can steal 27 bases in in 53 games (lead The International league before he was called up) can definitely improve any team. He might turn out to be another Jason Ellison but what the heck.

With the departure of Matt Morris, a spot in the starting rotation will open up. My guess is that Russ Ortiz will fill in for the rest of the season because Pat Misch is not likely to be ready to start at the major league level in 4 days because just a week and a half ago he was a relief pitcher.

To wrap things up I guess I approve of this trade but I wish that Brian Sabean had pulled the trigger earlier when The Giants could have got an elite prospect.

Trade Deadline

Let me take you back in time, a little over a month and a half ago to be exact. Matt Morris had just rapped up his second complete game in a row(and third overall). His E.R.A. was a minuscule 2.56. By then it was obvious that the Giants weren't going to do so much down the stretch because their starting pitching was performing off the charts, and yet they still couldn't score enough runs to get them any higher than 5 games below .500(29-34). Rumors about Matt Morris being on the trading block had started to surface after his previous start(an 8 inning CG loss to the D'Backs 1-0). However, Brian Sabean was not willing to trade Morris because he set a good example for the younger pitchers on the Giant's staff, and most importantly, trading your teams best pitcher at the time (even if you knew he could not keep up his low E.R.A. for too much longer)for some top prospect the average fan has never heard of does not sell tickets.

A few bad starts followed his complete game performance, Matt Morris was finally performing like the Matt Morris we all loved from 2006(10-15, 4.98 E.R.A.). After his start against the D'backs on June 29th, his E.R.A. had risen to 3.25, and the Giants record had also fallen to 33-45. They were only 12 games out of 1st place with more than half the season left, but they had 4 teams to hurdle and their offense was as bad as ever. Even the Giants front office for once could tell it was time to maybe start building for the future.

The next afternoon mlbtraderumors.com reported that the Giants were starting to listen to offers for Matt Morris. As the month of July got started, 3 teams surfaced as possible buyers for Morris:The Mariners, The Mets, and The Braves. Each team had a young player or two that interested the Giants.

Mariners-Wladimir Balentien-->23 year old minor league outfielder from the Netherlands Antilles. Always considered to have 30 home run potential but struck out way too much. However, his woes at the plate seemed non existent when he started off the year in AAA batting over .300 and leading the team in home runs.
Jeff Clement-->23 year old catcher who profiles as a .300 20 home run, offensively minded catcher. Came only a few home runs short of breaking Mark McGuire's record at USC.


Mets-Lastings Milledge-->22 year old outfielder who for the past year had been optioned back and forth between the Mets and their AAA minor league affiliate in New Orleans. Scouts love his quick bat , he could probably start for most teams right now.


Braves-Jarrod Saltalamacchia -->22 year old, switch hitting catcher who is only on the block because of Brian McCann. He is considered a very good hitting catcher with average/above average fielding abilities.




The Giants have been rumored to be going after all of these prospects using Morris as their main bait. However the stock of Matt Morris has plummeted in the past two weeks. His E.R.A. in the month of July is a whopping 8.76! Teams have started to shy away from Morris and it is unlikely that The Giants will get any of those top prospects for just Morris. If The Giants trade Morris at all, it will be for a second tier prospect (Fred Lewis type). The Giants have likely wasted their biggest tool in their rebuilding efforts. However, The Giants do have a few other players on the block, who might bring in a little talent, if not at least rid The Giants of part of their salary.

Steve Kline-->34 year old left handed reliever. Is 0-1 with a 3.19 E.R.A. in 31 innings this year. Due to earn 1.75 million in 08'. Likely to be trade because he isn't terribly important to The Giants bullpen (Sanchez is good, Taschner is serviceable). Possible suitors: Phillies,Braves

Dave Roberts-->35 year old left handed outfielder. Batting .251 with 20 SB's in 63 games this season. He is in the first year of a 3 year 18 million dollar deal (#$@#@%#^#!!!!). He is unlikely to be traded because of his salary, but if The Giants are willing to pay a good portion of his salary he could be of some use to contenders who need a 5th outfielder/designated pinch runner. Possible suitors:Red Sox??

Omar Vizquel-->40 year old switch hitting shortstop. Batting .243 with 9 SB's this season. He is in the last year if his contract and is due to make about half of his 5 million salary. Still the most sure-handed shortstop in the game, even if his offensive production is lame. Might be of value to a team that is desperate for a shortstop and/or wants an excellent team leader for the stretch run. Possible Suitors:Red Sox...thats about it

Noah Lowry-->26 year old left handed starter. 11-7 with a 3.40 E.R.A. this season. He is signed through 2009 with a team option for 2010. He is by far the best player The Giants are willing to trade. He will likely only be traded if the deal is overwhelmingly in The Giants favor, or if the deal includes Mark Teixera. However, I suspect the Lowry for Teixera deal will not happen because the Rangers are reportedly demanding Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes from the Yankees who are both top notch prospects and at least to me seem more valuable than Noah Lowry. Possible Suitors:Rangers,Mariners