Top 10 Prospects: The San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants
2010 MLB Record: 92-70 (1st in the NL West)
Minor League Power Ranking: 20th (out of 30)
Click for: Last Year’s Top 10 Prospect List
The Prospects
1. Brandon Belt, 1B
Acquired: 2009 5th round (University of Texas)
Pro Experience: 1 season
2010 MiLB Level: A+/AA/AAA
Opening Day Age: 22
Estimated Peak WAR: 5.5
Notes: Belt was a steal as a fifth round pick out of the University of Texas in 2009. He didn’t make his pro debut until 2010 but the left-handed hitter absolutely exploded – despite the lack of experience – and rose to triple-A. Belt posted a .485 wOBA in high-A, .447 in double-A, and .419 in triple-A. At the senior level, he produced a triple-slash line of .229/.393/.563 in 61 plate appearances. He also showed a solid eye at the plate with excellent walk rates and reasonable strikeout rates for a power hitter. Along with ISO rates of .244/.286/.333, Belt showed his value as an all-around player by stealing 22 bases on the season; he succeeded on the base paths due to smart base running as opposed to blazing speed. Belt’s success in pro ball can be linked to mechanical adjustments at the plate. He has a wide, well-balanced stance at the plate. He occasionally gets out on his front foot a bit, which robs him of some power. His swing also gets loopy at times but, when he’s on, Belt shows good bat speed and the barrel carries well through the strike zone.
2. Zack Wheeler, RHP
Acquired: 2009 1st round (Georgia HS)
Pro Experience: 1 season
2010 MiLB Level: low-A
Opening Day Age: 20
Estimated Peak WAR: 5.0
Notes: One of the top prep arms in the 2009 draft, Wheeler signed late and did not make his debut until 2010 at low-A ball. He displayed rusty control (5.83 BB/9) but still posted a 3.11 FIP and a strikeout rate of 10.74 K/9. Wisely, the club was cautious with the right-hander’s workload, making 13 starts and pitching out of the bullpen another eight times. Overall, he pitched 58.2 innings and allowed just 47 hits. Impressively, the teenager produced a ground-ball rate of 63% and did not give a home run all season. His repertoire includes an 89-95 mph fastball, a slider, and a changeup. Wheeler throws with a low-three-quarter arm angle but does a nice job of staying on top of the ball. He utilizes his legs well with a long stride. Wheeler does, though, occasionally leak out over the rubber in his delivery.
3. Francisco Peguero, OF
Acquired: 2006 non-drafted free agent (Dominican Republic)
Pro Experience: 5 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: high-A
Opening Day Age: 22
Estimated Peak WAR: 4.5
Notes: A top Latin signee, Peguero has truly taken to baseball in North America. He spent 2009 in low-A ball and hit .340/.359/.437 in 248 plate appearances. He moved up to high-A in ’10 and managed a triple-slash line of .329/.358/.488 in 510 PAs. Although he has managed impressive batting averages, Peguero has been aided by high BABIPs, including .396 in ’09 and .382 in ’10. His speed helps him take advantage of balls in play but it remains to be seen how well his BABIP rates will translate at higher levels of pro ball. He nabbed 40 bags in 2010, but he needs to show more patience at the plate (3.3 BB%) to take advantage of his speed. Peguero doesn’t have a huge build and doesn’t project to be a power hitter, although his ISO rate almost doubled in 2010 to .159.
4. Ehire Adrianza, SS
Acquired: 2007 non-drafted free agent (Venezuela)
Pro Experience: 3 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: high-A
Opening Day Age: 21
Estimated Peak WAR: 3.5
Notes: Shortstop Adrianza is a slick fielder whose bat remains a question mark. He spent the 2010 season in high-A ball and the 21-year-old hit .256/.333/.348 in 508 plate appearances. With a slight build, Adrianza doesn’t possess much power and produced an ISO rate of .092 with 30 extra base hits. He does have some speed, stealing 33 bags in ’10. He does a solid job of getting on base and has produced a walk rate of 9.3 BB% over the past two seasons. Adrianza could make a nice No. 2 hitter if he can continue to develop his small-ball skills. He also needs to get stronger. In the field, he displays outstanding range, excellent hands, and a solid arm. At worst, he should develop into a solid utility player or a Cesar Izturis-type middle infielder.
5. Gary Brown, OF
Acquired: 2010 1st round (Cal State Fullerton)
Pro Experience: 1 season
2010 MiLB Level: Rookie/Short-season
Opening Day Age: 22
Estimated Peak WAR: 4.0
Notes: Brown, 22, is a high-risk, high-reward player who was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft out of Cal State Fullerton. He’s an explosive fielder with blazing speed, which ranks as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. Unfortunately, Brown’s hitting comes with a number of question marks. He has good bat speed but he needs to learn to use his lower half to improve upon his below-average power. Brown has a busy stance with a lot of unnecessary movement. He also has a foot tap that almost looks like a false start and almost seems to kill the momentum of his forward stride. He could end up as a poor man’s Drew Stubbs with much less power.
6. Thomas Neal, OF
Acquired: 2005 36th round (Riverside Community College)
Pro Experience: 5 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: AA
Opening Day Age: 23
Estimated Peak WAR: 4.5
Notes: Neal, 23, had a breakout season in 2009 by posting a .444 wOBA but failed to see that success carry over into 2010 at double-A. He didn’t have a bad season, but his triple-slash line was just OK at .291/.349/.440 in 525 at-bats. His ISO rate dropped from .242 in ’09 to .149 in ’10. Neal has shown a significant improvement in his strikeout rate since ’08 as it dropped from 24.1 to 20.6 to 17.9 K%. He stole 11 bases but doesn’t have good speed; he’s a relatively smart base runner, though. Neal hits with a quiet, well-balanced stance. He stands up straight and has a quick bat and strong wrists. Defensively, Neal doesn’t have great range and his arm strength is just OK. He’s pretty much limited to left field.
7. Charlie Culberson, 2B
Acquired: 2007 supplemental 1st round (Georgia HS)
Pro Experience: 4 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: high-A
Opening Day Age: 21
Estimated Peak WAR: 3.5
Notes: Culberson had a breakout season in 2010 in high-A ball. The infielder, who was drafted in the supplemental first round of ’07 out of high school, took advantage of the potent California League. He hit .292/.342/.457 in 503 plate appearances. Culberson saw his ISO rate rise from .061 to .165. He even trimmed his strikeout rate to below 20 K% for the first time. His walk rate remained low-ish at 6.0 BB%. At the end of the regular season, Culberson moved on to the Arizona Fall League and hit .366/.394/.591 in 93 PAs. Defensively, he’s still trying to find a home after seeing time at shortstop, third base, and second base. The keystone appears to be his best position.
8. Hector Sanchez, C
Acquired: 2007 non-drafted free agent (Venezuela)
Pro Experience: 4 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: low-A
Opening Day Age: 21
Estimated Peak WAR: 3.5
Notes: Sanchez probably didn’t make many Top 10 lists despite a solid 2010 season, but he has solid potential and plays a key position in an organization that doesn’t have a ton of depth at the position (beyond Buster Posey, of course). Sanchez has offensive potential and is improving defensively. Behind the plate, he shows a solid arm and calls an OK game. His receiving skills, though, need a lot of work. He also needs to focus on his conditioning, as he played out of shape in 2010 and had trouble getting down to block balls. At the plate, Sanchez handles the bat well. The 21-year-old switch-hitter batted .271/.333/.390 in 310 plate appearances. He has shown a pretty good eye at the plate and posted a walk rate of 11.5 BB% in 2009 and 8.2% in 2010 at low-A ball. He doesn’t have a ton of power right now but he did manage 20 doubles in 89 games. Sanchez needs to quiet his bat at the plate, as he whips it around and isn’t always in the best position to swing. He clears his hips well but he gets out in front of off-speed pitches.
9. Brandon Crawford, SS
Acquired: 2008 4th round (UCLA)
Pro Experience: 3 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: A+/AA
Opening Day Age: 24
Estimated Peak WAR: 3.0
Notes: Crawford had a reputation as a good fielding shortstop with a weak bat in college. His profile changed a bit when he got off to a strong start in high-A ball in ‘09. His bat wilted with a promotion to double-A. Back at the same level in 2010, Crawford struggled offensively once again and produced a triple-slash line of .241/.337/.375 in 342 plate appearances. Strikeouts are one of his biggest weaknesses, posting a strikeout rate of 26.5 K%. He doesn’t hit for much power and doesn’t steal bases so his offensive profile is limited. Crawford does show good patience at the plate and had a walk rate of 11.4 BB%. He has a nice quiet stance but could stand to use his legs more. Crawford also pulls his head off the pitchers at times. Despite his limitations, his work at shortstop could earn him a regular gig at the MLB level but his ceiling could be that of Adam Everett or perhaps J.J. Hardy with less power.
10. Jorge Bucardo, RHP
Acquired: 2007 non-drafted free agent (Nicaragua)
Pro Experience: 4 seasons
2010 MiLB Level: A/A+
Opening Day Age: 21
Estimated Peak WAR: 3.5
Notes: Bucardo has been hanging around the periphery of the Giants’ top prospect group for a few seasons now. His overall ceiling is still a little up in the air because he’s so raw, but the right-hander has a lot of potential. Some see him more of a reliever, but he has a chance to be a solid starter in the National League. Bucardo has a nice fastball but is still working on his secondary pitches. He produces outstanding ground-ball rates, including 62% in low-A ball in 2010. Bucardo had a solid FIP of 2.82 in 114.0 innings and also shown excellent control for his experience level with a rate of 2.45 BB/9. He does need to miss a few more bats after posting a strikeout rate of 7.50 K/9. Bucardo also made eight appearances at high-A ball and had a FIP of 4.65 with 46 hits allowed in 38.2 innings. Fellow pitcher Eric Surkamp narrowly missed the Top 10 list.
Nice list. No major arguments here. I’ll just add a few comments:
I think Thomas Neal’s season was better than it looks due to league/park factors. Agree he’s a LF which hurts his overall value.
My own scouting report on Adrianza is that he has a frame that can carry more weight. He’s still young enough to fill it out and produce better power numbers.
I would probably put 2010 draftee Chuckie Jones at #8 on this list. As far as catchers in the system, I would rank Johnny Monell ahead of Sanchez. I know he’s not a great defensive catcher, but Monell has a good arm and is learning the more subtle points of catching defense. He’s shown way more power. A case could be made for Tommy Joseph ahead of Sanchez too.
I’m not as high on Bucardo as a lot of Giants fans. I would probably rank 2010 draftee Seth Rosin ahead of him. Probably Heath Hembree and Kendry Flores too. Heck, there’s actually quite a few I would rank ahead of Bucardo!
I think Rafael Rodriguez has been written off way too early by some prospect watchers.
Sleeper watch: Jose Valdez. 6’7″, 250 lb RHP, reliever who missed some development time to Tommy John surgery. 2011 will be his second full season back. Carlos Willoughby, switch-hitting 2B with plus on-base skills and plus speed.
I recognize that these are all debatable and your list is good. The Giants don’t have quite the star power at the top as last year with Posey and Bumgarner, but Belt is exciting and Wheeler has a high ceiling. The rest of the system has been getting deeper and stronger for several years now. Lots of good prospects in the system!
It’s a great time to be a Giants fan!!
DrB,
You’re somewhat famous for keeping a diligent eye on the SF farm system, but I feel you may be a bit too close for objectivity. Belt is clearly a high-ceiling prospect, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a Posey-type breakout this year. After him, however, I wouldn’t bet that there is another MLB-regular position player in the entire system. There’s a bunch of guys with incomplete skills sets who aren’t well-rounded enough to become ML impact players. Replacement level back-ups? Sure. But SF already has plenty of those–so many that they cut Velez. That this list puts a low-A ball teenager as the #2 prospect in the entire organization ought to be more than a little worrisome. Also Sickels’ list, which puts a college player with NO pro experience at #2, ought to raise alarm. Personally, I think Brown was a wasted pick. Let’s hope I’m wrong about all of this except Belt.
I think you are wrong.
It’s not surprising that the Giants might not have a ton of great prospects in the upper minors after graduating both Posey and Bumgarner last year. It is a bit of a reloading year. Still, I seem to recall Bumgarner rated pretty high after his season in Augusta, so being in the lower minors does not disqualify a player from being highly rated. Wheeler’s season wasn’t nearly as impressive mainly due to missing a good part of the season to a torn fingernail, but he did show evidence of having a high ceiling.
As for the rest of the system, it is way more athletic with way more high ceiling players than at any time in my memory. Not all of them will pan out, of course, but there is strength in numbers. I am quite confident that there will be at at least 1 or two prospects with elite status at the top of next year’s list too.
I was hoping the Giants would take a pitcher with their first round pick as the system is suddenly a bit thin on the pitching side, but the Brown pick is growing on me. All the scouting reports I’ve seen have him as an 80 defender in CF. I figure he’s at least a 2 WAR player on defense alone which means he barely has to be better than replacement on offense and you have a pretty valuable player.
As for the pitching, the Giants still have no shortage of high ceiling arms. Keep the names Seth Rosin, Mike Kickham, Kendry Flores, Jacob Dunnington, Jake Dunning, Jose Valdez, Matthew Graham and Brandon Allen in mind. It is likely that 2 or 3 of those names will emerge as highly rated prospects by this time next year.
I remember blogs being posted last year stating that Posey need a couple of years before he would be ready for MLB. Most said he could not hit for power and did not expect him to bat over .250. They said it would take several years before he could work with pitchers. He is a natural athlete. Those kind of players learn and grow up in a short period of time.
Charlie Culberson is that same type of individual. Give him a chance in spring practice and you will see what he can do with some confidence in fielding. He can hit, steal bases, and score runs already.
Here here.
By 2012, Giants will be in need of a prospect to fill in at SS or 2B. Belt should be a given by then, but the 2012 payroll and the rotation’s fee sure could use Neal for outfield depth as an affordable roster slot. Maybe Brown or Peguero could have a Belt-like season in ’11.
The farm also sorely needs some upper level arms. Who are the 6th & 7th starters right now ? No idea…
Just wanted to point out — I believe the low innings total for Wheeler in 2010 was as much a product of a cracked fingernail / blister (can’t remember which) as it was prudence. Assuming he’s healthy, Wheeler will probably throw 130+ this year as a starter, which may tell us a lot about where he might be headed.
It was a cracked fingernail, and it kept him out of action for more than 5 weeks in June and July. It was well-publicized, so it’s hard to understand how Marc’s report on Wheeler could have gotten it so wrong. He also had 2 other major mistakes on Wheeler
1. He totally missed the fact that Wheeler developed and added to his repertoire a very good cut fastball in 2010. He used that pitch with very good results in the 2010 Futures Game. He seemed to have a lot of confidence in that pitch and was throwing it more than any other secondary pitch.
2. He doesn’t throw a slider. His main breaking pitch is a slurve that is closer to a curveball than a slider in its characteristics.
Does Crawford play OF (as listed) or SS (as described) more?
Brandon Crawford played SS in AA and 3B after he came back from injury in San Jose. Interesting that he was the one who moved off SS rather than Adrianza.
Perhaps the writer is confusing Brandon Crawford with Evan Crawford, the OF traded to the Cubs for Mike Fontenot? Or it could be just a typo!
I assumed Crawford moved off of SS because he was moved to the SJ squad where Ehire was already there.
@Mike That was a rehab assignment
I think you have Culberson, Peguero and Adrianza terribly overrated.
Adrianza has never hit acceptably at any level, and his MiLB numbers are worse than Manny Burriss. No amount of slick fielding will turn that into an acceptable MLB starter.
Peguero had a BB% under 4 in high A. His career BB% is something like 4.5%. That’s lower than pretty much every noted MLB “free swinger”. That BABIP will fall off as he moves up levels, and unless he develops some serious power and becomes much better at swiping bags (his CS% was unacceptable), it’s not going to be pretty.
Culberson had a 2 year track record of sucking in A ball before becoming OK (but nothing special) at A+. He’s also supposedly terrible defensively.
I agree with the above, nice post, it had a lot of good info in it.
Some comments and questions:
Belt: I would note that some commenters at the time of the draft said that Belt was an overdraft where the Giants drafted him.
Adrianza: “some speed”? Guys stealing 33 bases usually have a lot of speed. Are you saying that he is doing that more with technique than speed?
Brown: What is your definition of “below average power”? Is that your opinion about his future if he does not change? Because his ISO in his last year of college was pretty good. Also, I would have placed him higher.
Neal: I would add that his line is not just OK if one is looking for a starting MLB LF, it was poor in this context. He’s not as bad as that line suggests, because of the pitchers league and park, but he’ll need to return in 2011 to his 2009 performance to revive that possibility. Hopefully he’ll be promoted to AAA Fresno and can show stuff there.
Culberson: Surprised he’s so low. Do you need to see him do it again to be sold?
Sanchez: You say he handles the bat well, but that batting line suggests otherwise. Is this your observation of what to expect going forward?
Lastly, I think I would rate Surkamp in Top 10.
I agree with DrB regarding Chuckie Jones and RafRod, and generally most of what he noted.
Again, nice list, best I have seen you do on the Giants, look forward to your coverage of the minors in 2011!
Thanks for catching the OF/SS… just an input error.
The thing about the Giants list is that they have about 5-6 players that could fall in the 8-10 range on the list because they’re all very close. It all comes to personal preference. I watched the players, looked at their stats, skills, etc. and chose my favorites. Some others will disagree for sure… I just wasn’t that comfortable promoting Jones.
Thought y’all would like to compare above list to John Sickels’ (w/ grades) :
Belt A-
Brown B
Wheeler B
Peguero B-
Neal B-
Jose Casilla B-
Jarret Parker B-
Adrianza C+
Bucardo C+
Culberson C+
11- Crawford C+
12- Surkamp C+
Hector Sanchez – out of top20
Seems like a pretty solid agreement there.
Finally some love for Adrianza, not that I would have him 4th at all, but it’s nice to see him rated ahead of Crawford. Also, the Giants don’t need a DH so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with Clank Culberson. Also, Thomas Neal isn’t for real, his line wasn’t that bad, until you consider that he’s a left fielder and not a 2B. If he’s having a hard time hitting in Richmond’s park, what’s he going to do for night games at Telephone Park? Future 4th OF, at best.
AT&T is actually a slightly above-average hitter’s park for rught-handed power hitters. Richmiond is a notorious pitcher’s park from way back. Many a Braves AAA prospects saw their power numbers severely depressed while playing their home games in the 80s and 90s – including one proven MLB power hitter named Chipper Jones. Neal had a ISO of .198 on the road in the very tough Eastern League.
Neal finished last season as a 22 year old.
League average line in the Eastern League this year: .259/.332/.397
Neal home: .292/.363/.387
Neal road: .291/.352/.489
Average position prospect age in the Eastern League: 24.3
He was young for the league, put up a significantly better batting line than the league average in a park that seriously suppressed his power (only 2 HR vs. 10 on the road). I’d say that’s a pretty successful season.
Thanks for the splits and the league average line.
How about one more split, Post All-Star game : 308/381/470.
Not too shabby, but if he can’t hit in the PCL…
No mention of Roger Kieschnick in either Sickels’ or @MarcHulet system reviews, nor any in the comments. Anyone have any idea what happened to him? He was ranked 4th last year. Did he get traded? Anyone?
If I remember correctly, last year in ST Lincecum called him a hitter ‘a lot like Chase Utley but bigger’. Vanished..
Kieschnick had back problems all year in AA, and when he did play, he didn’t put up great numbers. .251/.305/.368 in 246 PA
I believe his back was healthy for the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season. Then he hurt it, sat out for around 2 weeks, came played poorly for about 3 weeks then was put on the DL for the rest of the season. His stats are meaningless since his back was only healthy for less than 100 AB’s. I’ve been unable to find any reports on whether there might be long-term effects due to the back injury, but I expect Kieschy will bounce-back and have a much better season in 2011 if there is no lingering effect.
Got hurt and missed most of last year. Last played on July 3 for Richmond (AA), and was not hitting well. Don’t remember what injury. So he is in line to repeat AA based on performance. Maybe if he looks tremendously healthier he could jump to Fresno.
Kieschnick is at the tail end of Sickels’ I do believe. C prospect.
Peguero is far too high. The BABIPs and total lack of walks are a concern; I find it hilarious that people simultaneously deride Brown and support Peguero. Brown’s got better defense and speed, similar power, and similar walk rates. He’ll probably also post a higher average. I don’t see any situation in which Brown is a worse prospect than Peguero; right now, he’s better or equal to Peguero in every respect, and he projects to be better than or equal to Peguero in every respect (Peguero could perhaps be a better power hitter, but Brown may well post a higher ISO).
Adrianza also seems high. He and Crawford are very similar players, except Crawford has shown some offensive potential. Adrianza’s young age is a huge factor in his favor, but youth does not equal potential. He’s got more time to hit, but what if he doesn’t? Crawford’s not-uniformly-awful offensive track record makes him the better prospect IMO.
Culberson is high for the reasons some noted: he spent two years in A ball being horrible, and after one good season he’s the No. 7 overall prospect? The Giants’ system is better than; Culberson has a bad offensive record overall and a worse defensive reputation. If he becomes a ML player it will be a surprise and he’ll have to significantly improve his defense as he won’t hit enough to be a DH/1B.
Neal is too low; as Tedfordfan pointed out, he actually had a pretty good season considering context. Moving out of the hitter-friendly Cal League and into the death trap that is the EL he maintained an .800 OPS and with a promotion to the PCL it wouldn’t be surprising to see him post some great numbers (ignoring context).
Overall, not a bad list, but Peguero ahead of Brown and Adrianza ahead of Crawford doesn’t make a lot of sense; in both situations you have the better player lower ranked. Culberson and Adrianza probably shouldn’t be in the top 10, and two of Mike Kickham, Eric Surkamp, and Chuckie Jones probably should be.
Surprised not to see more love for Thomas Joseph in the comments or rankings. He struck out a great deal, and didn’t walk much, but those were things that he was expected to have to work on out of HS, and he showed off solid power. Given his age and ceiling he’d make my top-10 Giants prospects.
I’m loving the top ten lists…but I think it’d be cool to have something like an MLB player comparison for each of the prospects. Just my two cents.
Check out the key for Sickels’ grading system. Doesn’t name names but creates parameters for potential.
Nice list.
You have to give Neal some credit for puttting up a dangerous line in a pitching-heavy league. He’s the ideal replacement for a Huff/Burrell platoon in left, so a good season from him in AAA could be huge for the Giants.
I like that you ranked Adrianza above Crawford. A lot of Crawford’s potential stems from his ability to sustain the power he exhibited in A+, and he hasn’t done that. Adrianza’s progression seems more of a sure thing, given the athleticism. A smarter game at the plate is all he needs.
I’d be interested to see how the estimated peak WAR is calculated. Perhaps it could make a good subject for an article after the top 10 lists are finished.
I agree with Josh. No love for Tommy Joseph? He was only 18 last season and showed good power. I hope he can work on that walk rate. I cam live with the high strikeout rate if he has a good walk rate. He’s a catcher now but will he stick there? I have my doubts.
any opinions on Quinowski? always has good numbers and might start off in Fresno this year. Dr. B?
Thanks for this list and all the comments. Very thorough as a set. Y’all know your stuff!
Am working on a book about the Giants’ season, and whether they can possibly repeat, and feel much better informed now…
I am replying to Marc Hulet’s comment about Charlie Culberson. Charlie is one of the youngest in the top ten prospects for the Giants. He was drafted out of high school when he was only 18 years old.
Charlie has the tools, athleticism, natural ability, knowledge of the game, and stamina to be a great MLB player. Witness this past year with some key help from coaches got Charlie to relax on his hitting. His fielding is suspect but I believe that is due to lack of confidence. You must remember Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter started off making errors but by the end of their first year in the majors they were helping the Yankees to win. They were natural athletes. The NL & the American leagues are full of average players without athleticism. This must be taken into consideration. Buster Posey would not be the player he is if he did not have the athleticism he has.
The Giants need to base their players for the future with this in mind. You need a person who has speed, can run the bases intelligently, who has the desire for the team to win, and can make outstanding plays. Hitting and fielding is important but the second sentence of this paragraph is too. Many coaches overlook this reasoning.
Watch spring training for Charlie Culberson play. I think he will be playing with the big boys by the end of the season. The Giants have too many older players who will not be able to complete an entire season.
Actually, Neal had an OBP of .359, not .349…
Crawford does not have any more hittiing ability than Adrianza. He had a hot start in San Jose in 2009 but has since cooled off. He is also two years older. Someone to watch is Ydwin Villegas. He is very similar to Adrianza but struggled last year after multiple years of success.
Here’s my top ten list for this year:
1. Brandon Belt
2. Damon Minor
3. Jesse Foppert
4. Nate Bump
5. Joe Fontenot
6. Jerome Williams
7. Lance Niekro
8. Merkin Valdez
9. Eddy Martinez-Estevez
10. Jason Grilli
8.
“Belt shows good bat speed and the barrel carries well through the strike zone.”
Ok, will someone please explain how a bat’s barrel carries…
1. Well
2. Poorly
…through a strike zone?
Or should I just shut up and admire the versimilitudinariasticism of the phrase?
Not too punchy, not too leaky?
Where would you rank Roibal, who is now playing for
Salem-Keiser?
I love Brandon Belt’s swing. But I’m not a fan of Crawford’s swing. Mechanics are off. He’s an arm swinger. Whoever worked with Brandon needs to do the same thing with Crawford. BTW, who is that coach.
And a long shot, but keep your eye on Austin Fleet, P. Lead Giants in ERA and K/BB ratio rookie year of draft. Now tearing up the Arizona Fall League. Kid pounds the zone.