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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Minor Thoughts

AAA Fresno | 32-41

Brett Pill (26 y.o.) continues to drive in runs (49) despite hitting only .231 (9-39) in his past 10 games.  While he doesn’t seem to fit anywhere on the current Giants team, you have to be impressed with his numbers against lefties.  In 81 AB, he’s hitting .321/.379/.959 with 5 HR and a 5:3 BB to K ratio.  One thing the Giants could really use is a reserve infielder who can play multiple positions and hit against lefties.  Just a thought.
Speaking of reserve first basemen, Travis Ishikawa has been placed on the 7-day DL.  He’s still only hitting .251, including a 3-30 slump in his last 10 games. 

Some catching notes:
The Giants signed Max Ramirez and assigned him to Fresno.  Ramirez (26) is a veteran who’s had a couple of Short major League stints in his career.  He’s known for his bat, not for his glove, and could potentially be a short term option behind the dish.  Fresno is Ramirez’ third AAA stop of the season.  In 36 games total, he’s hitting .223/.261/.592 with 3 HR and 19 RBI. 

Recent San Jose call-up Hector Sanchez (21) is hitting .286/.342/.771 through 10 games with Fresno.  The young catcher has been the subject of recent rumors regarding a possible call to the big leagues.  While I do believe he should receive some looks in the future, I just can’t see the Giants turning to a kid who spent last season hitting .274 in a part-time role at Low-A Augusta to solve their catching woes.  He’s also not on the team’s 40-man rotation.  But at this point, I guess anything is possible.
Pitcher Dan Otero (26) has earned 3 saves without allowing a run since his promotion from AA Richmond.  Otero has always seemed to be an overlooked player in the organization, as you would assume most relievers would be.  But his numbers are always impressive, and this year has been no different.  In 41 IP between Richmond and Fresno, he’s posted a 1.32 ERA with 44 K and only 5 BB.              

Barry Zito seems to be nearing the end of his rehab stint.  In his most recent start, he fanned 7 hitters in a two-hit shutout of Salt Lake City.  Other players of note in the Fresno rotation include Shane Loux and Andrew Kown.  Both pitchers have sub-4.00 ERA’s despite low strikeout numbers.  It’s unlikely that either will see a big league call-up anytime soon, however.




AA Richmond | 36-34
Roger Kieschnick continues to improve his numbers in June, although his batting average hasn’t risen significantly.  In his last 10 games, the outfielder is batting .278/.333/.972 with 3 HR and 11 RBI.  He now has 7 HR on the season, and most in the Giants’ organization would like to see his power numbers continue to rise through the summer.

Promising infield prospects Nick Noonan and Charlie Culberson still cannot seem to break out of their first-half slumps.  In his last 10 games, Noonan is hitting .219 while Culberson is hitting a paltry .163 during the same stretch.  Both players need to produce in the second half to remain on the big league radar.
Since his promotion from San Jose, 3B Chris Dominguez is hitting .227 with 2 RBI in only 6 games.  He seems to be improving, though, collecting 3 hits with two doubles on June 22. 

Pitching Notes:
Starting pitcher Eric Surkamp (4-3, 1.88 ERA) is currently on the 7-day DL.  

Heath Hembree has a 9.00 ERA and 4 BB through 2 IP since his promotion from San Jose.  The dominant SJ Giants closer has earned 2 saves in 3 AA appearances. 
Ryan Verdugo was starting to earn some recognition for his impressive play in late May and early June, but has since allowed 14 hits and 13 ER in only 7.0 IP in his last two starts, losing both of them.  He’s now 4-3 with a 3.84 ERA.

High-A San Jose | 50-19
Francisco Peguero continues to hit well since recently beginning his season.  In his past 10 games, he’s hitting .333/.409/.871.  In 16 games total, he’s hitting .324/.387/.828 with 2 HR, 9 RBI, and 4 SB.  He should be looking at a promotion to AA any time, one would imagine. 

Alex Burg is an interesting player who’s popped into the scene a bit this month.  A 23 y.o. catcher from Washington State, Burg was drafted in the 24th round of the 2010 draft, and is hitting .462/.533/1.226 through a small 8 game sample.  He’s been sharing time behind the plate with Tommy Joseph since the promotion of Hector Sanchez to AAA.
Gary Brown has cooled off, but continues to rake… if that makes any sense. 

Craig Westcott’s win totals (8) are rising, while his ERA (2.09) is lowering.  His strikeout numbers are very low, but the gritty starter has yet to lose a game this season.

Chris Heston gave up 8 ER on June 2, but has allowed only 3 ER in two starts since.  During those two starts, he has 17 K and 0 BB in 14 innings of work. 


Low-A August | 32-42
Adam Duvall: .264/.358/.884 17 | HR 57 RBI, 32 BB 51 K (21 Errors)

Carlos Willoughby: .264/.376/.711 | 1 HR 22 RBI, 25 SB, 44 BB 43 K
Devin Harris: .225/.302/.722 | 9 HR 31 RBI, 23 BB 80 K

Rafael Rodriguez: .248/.291/.609 | 1 HR 18 RBI, 12 BB 36 K
Ehire Adrianza: .239/.325/.716 | 3 HR 17 RBI, 18 BB 30 K

Shawn Sanford: 17 G, 3-6 3.04 ERA, 83 IP 78 H, 46 K 18 BB
Taylor Rogers: 14 G, 6-7 2.68 ERA, 80.2 IP 64 H, 47 K 22 BB

Stephen Harrold: 30 G, 11SV, 4-3 1.89 ERA, 33.1 IP 25 H, 31 K 13 BB
Brett Bochy: 13 G, 1.72 ERA, 15.2 IP 8 H, 22 K 5 BB

2 comments:

  1. Man after going to Sacremento and seeing the River Cats and Grizzlies play, I'm speaking up and saying Thomas Neal, Hector Sanchez, and Tyler Graham can rake! They were hitting the cover off the ball when I saw them a week ago man. Call all of em' up if the vets continue to disappoint.

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  2. Thanks man! We have the worst offense in the league! I can't imagine bringing up some kids would make it any worse than it already is. September is going to be the most exciting month if some of these guys get called up!

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