Minor League Thread

[SF Kid]

No shit!

[Giants666]

Draft Musings

To many Giants fans, this draft might as well have been one pick long. Everything that they cared about, everything that had been talked about, was about the Giants first Top 10 pick since the 1997 draft. Giants fans were dreading a low ceiling ‘safe’ pick that was cheap. Certain national writers were predicting a pre-draft deal.

At the end of the day, however, the Giants simply got the best player available.

That’s not to say that first round pick Tim Lincecum is a sure thing. There are concerns about his workload, and his eventual role in the majors. But few people disagreed that Lincecum was one of the best pitchers in the draft, had some of the best stuff of the draft, or that he projected well to the majors. The results? Giants fans got a legitimate top prospect that was not in any way a safe or cheap pick, and every major writer gave the Giants high marks for the pick.

Let’s face it, when you get a guy that many people were legitimately discussing to go at #1 overall with the #10 pick, it’s a good thing.

But the draft isn’t one round, it’s 50. And the true value of a draft isn’t just in the top pick, but if you can find value in the later rounds.

The Giants seemed to do a solid job of that, as well. Another big pick was their first sandwich round pick, and for that they tabbed Kent State’s Emmanuel Burriss. Burriss isn’t the power hitter many Giant fans wanted, but he fits a theme that has been emerging for Giant picks the last few years: he’s fast. He had the fifth most stolen bases in the country. A lot of fans might see similarities to current prospect Marcus Sanders, and they wouldn’t be very wrong. But with Sanders struggling in San Jose, some redundancy in the system might not be a bad thing. Also, like Sanders, some think Burriss might go to second base eventually.

Quick players were a recurring theme among position players in theis draft. The Giants drafted 4 shortstops on the first day alone, along with a couple of center fielders, and more came on day 2. This fits a trend that has been growing since CF Marcus Sanders was picked up in 2003 draft as a draft and follow. The Giants picked up the speedy Clay Timpner in the 4th round of 2004, and made their top pick in 2005 the quick Ben Copeland, and followed that up with two more fast center fielders, Joey Dyche and Antoan Richardson.

This might indicate that in the future at AT&T Park, Brian Sabean envisions a team with fast, versatile players that can cover the deep corners in the outfield and cause havoc in the infield.

Ben Snyder, a LHP taken in the 4th round, was another savvy pick. The left hander doesn’t have velocity, but he’s got 4 very advanced pitches and can throw good innings. He didn’t have the best year at Ball State, but he’s a lefty in the mold of Kirk Rueter, and could move through the system quickly.

The Giants also picked a couple of center fielders who might have futures on the mound. 5th rounder Michael McBryde and 37th rounder Lance Salsgiver were both fast center fielders that seem to fit that new Giant draft mold of speed. But both had very good years as pitchers, with McBryde serving as Florida Atlantic University’s closer and Salsgiver as a starter with Harvard. McBryde in particular was looked at as a player who would be more likely to end up on the mound.

One other theme was the selection of several college relievers with high upside. Eric Stolts had a rough year as closer at the University of the Pacific, but he fits Dick Tidrow’s ideal of workable power arms that can work with the Giants minor league coaching staff (including MLB Career Saves leader Lee Smith) to refine his stuff.

Perhaps the biggest wild card in this draft class is third rounder Clayton Tanner. Tanner wasn’t very well known before the draft, and other than some basic stats, little has been talked about since. But the De La Salle Senior is reported to have some excellent stuff, and if the Giants can sign him away from his commitment to Pepperdine, the Giants may have found another local steal at the 3rd round.

A few more sleepers that could surprise from this draft class:

• LHP Paul Oseguera missed most of his UCLA career with injuries, but pitched his first full season in 2006 and dominated in one of the toughest baseball conferences in the nation. Left handed relievers might not excite many people, but Oseguera has the stuff to move quickly and be very effective.

• LHP Paul Ryan is stepping up as closer at CSU Fullerton for the NCAA Tournament after doing well as their primary setup man all year long. Again, lefty relievers don’t excite much, but few Giants fans will disagree that having young pitchers to fill out a bullpen is nice to have.

• SS Brian Bohlinger actually played at third most of the time for the Oklahoma Sooners, and while he’s not a pure power threat, he’s displayed the leadership and all-around play that is becoming more in vogue with the hot corner these days.

• 27th rounder Sean VanElderan may have played for a Division-II school in Mesa State, but he still powered out 13 home runs in 154 at bats playing through a hand injury. The Giants have earned a reputation for finding power arms in unlikely places (such as 27th rounder Jonathan Sanchez or 24th rounder Brian Wilson), but VanElderan might be an unlikely power hitter found in the late rounds.

• LHP Matt Fairel (32nd round) and RHP Ryan Butner (38th round) are both highly regarded high school players from Florida. Both are unlikely to be signed, but if one of them can be, the Giants will have found another steal.

[love_that_reefer]

No one in AA is hitting close to .300!

[Giants666]

I think the only guys in double-A worth a damn is Travis Ishikawa, Nate Shierholtz, and Eddy Martinez-Esteve...... As far as our position players are concerned.

[love_that_reefer]

Esteve had a good stint in Single A. There was talk of moving him from the OF to 1B to get him going and better his chances at making the big club but so far it hasn't happened.

[Giants666]

Well he's a damn good outfielder though, no point of moving him ............Gold Glove written all over this guy. 0 errors in 27 games so far this year and last season at San Jose he had 0 errors in 132 games.

[love_that_reefer]

The San Jose Giants will send four pitchers to the 2006 All-Star roster, sending four pitchers to the Midsummer Classic pitting the California League against the Carolina League on June 27 in Virginia.

Starters Nick Pereira (7-1, 2.11 ERA) and Alex Hinshaw and relievers Brian Anderson (first in the league with 17 saves) and Justin Hedrick will comprise almost half of the pitching staff.

[Giants666]

Update on Scott Munter:He's pitched in 3 games with Connecticut with 4.1 IP, has a 1.93 ERA and given up 4 hits and walked 2. I'm suprised they haven't used him that much.

Update on Jack Taschner:Been in 21 games for Fresno and has 21.1 IP with a 2.53 ERA, they've been having him close some games, he has 6 saves and he's given up 24 hits with 5 walks. It's good to see him performing well.

[love_that_reefer]

24 hits in 21 IP for a closer is not that good.

[Giants666]

24 hits in 21 IP for a closer is not that good.

It is the PCL, not a pitcher friendly league.

[love_that_reefer]

Eh, at least he has only five walks.

[Giants666]

I thought we were going to have Merkin Valdez close out games this season, at Fresno.......But his god damn walks, shit 18 walks in 24.2 innings ...........not good.........not good at all.

[Giants666]

Giants sign sandwich pick, 18 players overall from 2006 First-Year Player Draft

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants have signed IF Emmanuel Burriss, their sandwich pick from the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, and 17 other players from their 2006 June draft class, including: OF Michael McBryde, C Matthew Klimas, IF Brian Bocock, RHP Gib Hobson, OF Matthew Weston, IF Bradley Boyer, RHP Eric Stolp, LHP Paul Osegura, RHP Kevin Pucetas, RHP Adam Paul, LHP Steven Calicutt, OF Sean VanElderen, RHP Adam Cowart, IF Matthew Downs, OF Lance Salsgiver, IF Evan Bush and C Robert Davis, the club announced tonight.
The Giants drafted 26 pitchers, five catchers, eleven infielders and eight outfielders with their 50 picks. San Francisco selected 31 college players, seven junior college players and 12 from the high school ranks.

A full list of the Giants' selections follows, with signed players in bold:




2006 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
Round Pick Name Pos School HT WT B/T Birthdate Scout
1 10 Lincecum, Timothy RHP University of Washington 5-11 170 L/R 6/15/84 Woodward
A 33 Burriss, Emmanuel IF Kent State (OH) University 6-0 170 S/R 1/17/85 O'Connor
3 89 Tanner, Clayton LHP De La Salle HS (Concord, CA) 6-1 180 R/L 12/5/87 Snider
4 116 Snyder, Benjamin LHP Ball State (OH) University 6-2 205 L/L 7/20/85 Arnieri
5 146 McBryde, Michael OF Florida Atlantic University 6-2 170 R/R 3/22/85 Decillis
6 176 Rohlinger, Ryan IF University of Oklahoma 6-1 185 R/R 10/7/83 Thomas
7 206 Pill, Brett IF California State Univ., Fullerton 6-4 210 R/R 9/9/84 Krawczyk
8 236 Klimas, Matthew C Texarkana (TX) CC 5-11 185 R/R 7/3/87 Thomas
9 266 Bocock, Brian IF Stetson (FL) University 5-11 185 R/R 3/9/85 Tufts
10 296 Paul, Ryan LHP California State Univ., Fullerton 6-5 225 L/L 8/10/84 Krawczyk
11 326 Hobson, Gib RHP North Carolina State University 6-3 200 R/R 1/13/85 Portugal
12 356 Weston, Matthew OF University of Houston 6-3 215 L/L 5/20/84 Korenek
13 386 Boyer, Bradley IF University of Arizona 6-0 185 L/R 10/4/83 Carballo
14 416 Stolp, Eric RHP University of Pacific (CA) 6-3 200 R/R 8/18/84 Snider
15 446 Barbosa, Andrew LHP Riverview (FL) HS 6-8 205 R/L 11/18/97 Tufts
16 476 Oseguera, Paul LHP UCLA 6-0 190 L/L 1/6/84 Kendall
17 506 Pucetas, Kevin RHP Limestone (SC) College 6-4 225 R/R 11/27/84 Portugal
18 536 Stallings, Jeff RHP North Carolina State University 6-4 180 R/R 3/9/85 Portugal
19 566 Graham, Tyler OF Oregon State University 6-0 180 R/R 1/25/84 Woodward
20 596 Paul, Adam RHP Univ. of North Carolina-Wilmington 6-6 214 R/R 2/17/84 Portugal
21 626 Calicutt, Steven LHP East Tennessee State Univ. 6-2 190 L/L 2/7/84 O'Connor
22 656 Felmy III, Robert OF University of Georgia 5-10 168 L/L 4/29/84 Elder
23 686 Crow, Eddie RHP Sitka (AK) HS 6-3 205 R/R 3/15/88 Woodward
24 716 Walters, Jeffrey RHP Olympia (Orlando, FL) HS 6-3 170 R/R 11/6/87 Tufts
25 746 Moos, Joseph IF Williston (FL) HS 6-0 170 R/R 3/14/88 Tufts
26 776 Mathews, Shane RHP East Carolina University 6-3 195 R/R 3/28/85 Portugal
27 806 VanElderen, Sean OF Mesa State (CO) University 6-3 225 R/R 9/21/82 Strain
28 836 Harvard, Dusty OF Natrona County (Casper, WY) HS 6-2 185 L/R 10/28/87 Strain
29 866 Liles, Nick IF Scotland (Laurinburg, NC) HS 6-0 165 R/R 7/23/87 Portugal
30 896 Maday, Daryl RHP Univ. of Arkansas-Fayetteville 6-2 215 R/R 8/12/85 Thomas
31 926 McMurtry, Matthew LHP Minnesota State University 5-11 175 L/L 4/27/83 Arnieri
32 956 Fairel, Matthew LHP Winter Haven (FL) HS 6-3 210 L/L 7/28/87 Tufts
33 986 Siewert, Christopher C University of Tennessee 6-0 200 R/R 1/4/85 O'Connor
34 1016 Cranston, Jared LHP University of Nebraska 6-2 195 S/L 4/18/85 Thomas
35 1046 Cowart, Adam RHP Kansas State University 6-2 190 R/R 8/18/83 Thomas
36 1076 Downs, Matthew IF University of Alabama 6-3 190 R/R 3/19/84 Elder
37 1106 Salsgiver, Lance OF Harvard University 5-11 190 R/R 11/21/83 Tufts
38 1136 Butner, Ryan RHP Hialeah (FL) HS 6-5 160 R/R 12/21/87 Decillis
39 1166 Darracott, Lee IF Vernon Regional (TX) College 6-4 200 R/R 8/7/85 Thomas
40 1196 Amaya, Jonathon OF Diamond Bar (CA HS 6-2 188 R/R 11/25/88 Krawczyk
41 1226 Merrell, Bo IF Seward County (TX) CC 6-3 185 R/R 6/19/86 Thomas
42 1256 Grabham, Brandon RHP Grayson County (TX) CC 6-5 220 R/R 1/30/86 Thomas
43 1285 Boggan, Kevin RHP Boston College 6-2 195 R/R 5/2/85 Tufts
44 1314 Lafrenz, Kyle C Marshalltown (IA) JC 6-1 198 R/R 2/6/87 Arnieri
45 1343 Speake, Matthew RHP New Mexico JC 6-0 195 R/R 8/19/86 Carballo
46 1372 Hammack, Taylor LHP Angleton (TX) HS 6-3 210 L/L 3/13/88 Korenek
47 1400 Bradley, Ryan LHP Mattoon (IL) HS 6-1 180 S/L 7/15/88 Arnieri
48 1428 Bush, Evan IF University of Alabama 6-1 207 R/R 4/25/84 Elder
49 1456 Batts, Jonathan C Univ. of North Carolina-Wilmington 5-11 201 L/R 11/28/84 Portugal
50 1484 Davis IV, Robert C Univ. of South Carolina-Aiken 5-11 210 R/R 12/31/83 Elder
Bold - signed.

[Giants666]

2 Giants selected for All-Star Futures Game

Minor League Baseball announced the All-Star Futures Game rosters on Wednesday, and San Francisco Giants prospects Nick Pereira and Pablo Sandoval were among the top minor league players invited to play in Pittsburgh this July. Pereira was selected to play for the U.S. team, and Sandoval will play for the world team.

Pereira, 23, has been a pleasant surprise for the Giants in his first full season in the minors. A 10th round pick in 2005 out of the University of San Francisco, Pereira was promoted to High-A San Jose to start this season, and responded by dominating the California League, going 7-1 with a 2.06 ERA, and 76 strikeouts against 16 walks in 78.2 innings. Pereira was promoted to Triple-A Fresno this week, and was roughed up in his first start, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 6.1 innings, and giving up twice as many home runs (2) as he had given up in his entire professional career (129 IP) before the game. Pereira was ranked #48 by SFDugout.com in the preseason Top 50 Prospects.

Sandoval, 19, has played this season in Low-A Augusta. He has struggled a little this season after emerging as a top prospect out of Salem-Keizer in the short season Northwest league in 2005. After batting .330 with 15 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 home runs in 75 games in 2005, Sandoval has batting .259 with 12 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run in 55 games at Augusta. He has also changed positions for the 2nd time in three years. He was a catcher in 2004 with the rookie league team in Arizona, but played third in Salem-Keizer in 2005. This season, he was moved to first base in April and has played there consistently since. Sandoval is one of 6 players from Venezuela selected to play, tied for most for a country on the World Team with the Dominican Republic.

The All-Star Futures Game is Major League Baseball’s showcase of top prospects during the festivities at All-Star weekend. Each team has 25 players selected by the clubs and Baseball America to appear. The Giants were one of 20 teams to have 2 players selected this year. The game will be held at PNC Park on All-Star Sunday at 1 p.m. PT, and can be seen on ESPN2.

2 current major leaguers on the Giants are Futures game veterans. In 2005, SS Marcus Sanders and RHP Merkin Valdez were selected to play in the Futures Game, but Sanders could not play due to injury, so Kevin Frandsen went to play in his place. In 2004, the Giants sent Matt Cain.

[Giants666]

Minor League Notebook: June 21st

Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) - Fresno 6, Colorado Springs 5

3B Adam Shabala - 2-3, 2 R, 1 HR (4), 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 E (4), .312
1B Chad Santos - 2-2, 1 R, 1 HR (11), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 E (8), .254
RF Todd Linden - 2-5, 1 2B (5), 1 3B (2), 2 RBI, 1 SO, .237
LF Dan Ortmeier - 1-5, 1 R, 1 SB (6), .258
CF Fred Lewis - 1-5, 1 R, 2 SO, .276
C Justin Knoedler - 2-3, 1 BB, 1 SO, .215
SP Matt Kinney - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 5.06
RP Jack Taschner - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 2.59; W, 4-2
RP Brian Wilson - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.50; S, 2

The Grizzlies held on just long enough for this one and scratched out enough runs, despite giving up 3 errors. The Sky Sox biggest threat was in the 4th, when all three errors occured, two on sacrifice bunt attempts, led to 3 runs cutting Fresno's lead to 4-3. Colorado Springs would tie it in the 5th, but a Linden triple put him in scoring position for Santos to knock him in to give Fresno the lead back. The Sky Sox countered with a solo home run in the 8th to tie it up again, but in the bottom half, Shabala homered as well and that would be the difference.

Notes: Fresno is 28-43, but the win keeps them at 17 games back of first place Tucson, and 7 games away from Sacramento in third place. The Grizzlies were without Kevin Frandsen, who was once again called up to the majors on Wednesday.

Connecticut Defenders (AA) - Portland 7, Connecticut 3

3B Brian Buscher - 2-5, 2 R, 1 HR (4), 1 RBI, .273
1B Brian Horwitz - 1-5, 1 3B (1), 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 E (1), .250
DH Tyler Von Schell - 2-5, 1 2B (9), 2 SO, .245
RF Nate Schierholtz - 1-5, 1 R, 1 SO, .234
SP Geno Espineli - 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 3.34
RP Scott Munter - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.82; L, 0-2
RP Jason Waddell - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.28
RP Joe Bateman - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.19

Connecticut's offensive implosion continues, though Buscher's been hot of late. The most intriguing thing from this game is the start by Geno Espineli, the first start of his pro career. Espineli handled it pretty well, though he didn't go deep. The tough spot was Munter, who came in in the fifth inning. Espineli was lifted after allowing a one out triple, and Munter walked the next two batters, then gave up back to back doubles to allow 4 runs to come in, including the one charged to Espineli. An error by LF Alex Requena let one more come in in the inning. Munter, the ground ball specialist, gave up no ground balls.

Notes: Connecticut fell to 32-37, and is now 10.5 games behind first place Portland. Connecticut is in 3rd place, still a half game ahead of 4th place New Hampshire.

San Jose Giants (High-A) - San Jose 6, Visalia 3

LF Michael Wagner - 2-4, 3 R, 1 HR (4), 1 RBI, 1 HBP, .269
SS Tim Hutting - 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR (2), 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, .298
DH John Bowker - 1-4, 1 2B (15), 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 SB (4), .251
C Todd Jennings - 1-4, 1 3B (1), 2 RBI, 1 BB, .270
2B Mark Minicozzi - 1-4, 1 R, 1 SO, 1 HBP, .292
SP Anthony Moreno - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 4.62; W, 5-3
RP Nathan Pendley - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.59; H, 2
RP Brian Anderson - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1 WP, 1.23; S, 20

Moreno got into some early trouble in this one, giving up two singles and a double with two out in the first to fall behind by 2 runs early, but San Jose scratched away, a run at a time, to take the lead. Hutting's 2nd home run of the year was a solo shot in the 5th to cut the Visalia lead to 3-2, and after a three base error in the 6th allowed the Giants to tie the game, Wagner's 7th inning home run gave the Giants the lead.

Notes: San Jose is 2-1, and is now tied for first in the North Division with Stockton. Bakersfield, Modesto and Visalia are all a game back at 1-2.

Augusta GreenJackets (Low-A) - No Game Scheduled

Notes: Augusta is The All-Star break ends today, and Augusta will be back in action on Thursday.

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Short-A) - Salem-Keizer 6, Spokane 5

1B William Thompson - 2-3, 1 2B (1), 1 BB, .500
3B Ryan Rohlinger - 2-4, 1 R, .556
LF Matt Weston - 2-4, 1 R, .286
CF Michael McBryde - 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B (1), 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 E, .231
C Tyler La Torre - 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B (1), 1 SO, .125
2B Bradley Boyer - 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 SO, .250
SS Emmanuel Burriss - 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 CS (1), 1 PO, .100
DH Adam Witter - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 SO, .273
SP John Odom - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 WP, 1 HBP, 1.80; W, 1-0
RP Eric Stolp - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00
RP Adam Paul - 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HBP, 54.00
RP Juan Trinidad - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0.00; S, 2

This one got tricky in the 9th. Boyer put S-K ahead 2-0 in the third with his first home run of the year, and then the Volcanoes benefitted from a 4 run 4th inning that was helped along by an error, but with a 6-1 lead in the 9th, Adam Paul came into the game. Paul gave up 3 singles and a hit by pitch to load the bases and score one run, then he gave up a triple to score 3 more. Trinidad came in for the save attempt, and walked a man before getting a groundout for the game ending out.

Notes: Salem-Keizer is 3-0 on the young season, but hey, so is everyone (still) in their division!