Prospect Watch 6/9/08

Fresno defeated Portland 8-7.

RF Nate Schierholtz: 3 for 5, 2B (298/346/538)

1B Travis Ishikawa: 3 for 4, 3 2B (328/391/689, 61 AB)
Travis is hitting everything with authority. Fifteen of his twenty hits have been for extra bases.

Connecticut shut out Binghamton 9-0.

CF Antoan Richardson: 2 for 5, K, 2 SB (26) (231/347/302)
Antoan has been hot of late, hitting .333 in 30 June at-bats. He has plus-plus speed and more importantly, he knows how to use it. On the season he has a 26:5 SB:CS ratio.

3B Ryan Rohlinger: 1 for 3, HR, K (305/359/475, 59 AB)

Visalia defeated San Jose 9-2.

1B Brett Pill: 2 for 3, BB (246/296/379)

SP Jesse English: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 2 ER (7.4 H/9, 3.33 BB/9, 9.1 K/9)

Augusta lost to Lakewood 6-5 in extra innings.

SS Charlie Culberson: 1 for 3, 3 BB, SB 2 (5), CS (5) (227/285/300)
Charlie was selected as the 51st pick out of high school in last year’s draft. He was considered an overdraft by some, with BA touting him as a 3rd round talent. Scouts praised his intangibles and his “Gamer” attitude, but noted that he did not have the range to stick at short. The Giants’ scouts obviously differed, believing that he was a supplemental talent. Thus far, Charlie hasn’t fared well. His defense has been atrocious and his batting average spent April on the interstate. It’s still too early to write Charlie off– he’s only 19 years old– but you can count me as displeased with the Giants’ pick here. Charlie will probably repeat next year at Augusta.

SP Daryl Maday: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 ER (1.57 ERA, 1.54 GO/AO)

Salem-Keizer routed Yakima 12-5.

1B Mike Loberg: 2 for 4, 2B, 2 BB (330/365/466, 88 AB)

RF Francisco Peguero: 4 for 5, 2B (316/350/421, 19 AB)
Francisco is hitting well at Salem-Keizer since his demotion from Augusta. He’s still 20 years old, so he’s got some time to learn his craft. Francisco is a C-level prospect for me, but I like the fact that he is playing at levels appropriate for his age. The Giants in particular are very methodical with their promotions. They generally don’t “challenge” a prospect unless they are certain that the prospect has a good chance of success. (Some other organizations like to aggressively push their prospects… Seattle is one organization that comes to mind.) The fact that Francisco started the year in Augusta indicates to me that the organization thinks highly of his bat.

RP Eric Stolp: 2.2 Ip, 1 H, 4 K
Eric has good stuff, working primarily in the mid-90s. If he develops a plus secondary pitch, you could see him move quickly. As it is, you might see him as a late season-promotion to San Jose or Augusta.

The Giants lost to the Brewers 3-2 in extra innings.

RP Scott Barnes: 2 IP, 1 BB, 5 K
This is Scott’s second appearance in pro ball, and he has yet to allow a run, striking out seven batters in three innings. The performance is impressive, but you’ve got to keep in mind that he was drafted out of college, and in many cases is facing competition that is a couple of years younger than him.

RP Justin Fitzgerald: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
See Scott’s note, except with four strikeouts in three innings.

Wednesday Web Wrap-up

From The Fresno Bee:

Marek Warszawski details the roster changes that the Grizzlies have gone through this season. The most interesting fact to me was that the Grizzlies had 80 roster transaction in 82 games. And that isn’t counting last night’s promotions/demotions.

From The August Chronicle:

Billy Byler writes a piece about Charlie Culberson’s struggles at the plate and in the field. Also has a nice quote from Andy Skeels, the Greenjackets’ manager, about Jackson Williams, comparing him defensively to Pudge and Sandy Alomar Jr.

And the best for last, Joe Perez interviews Ben Snyder and Pablo Sandoval! Some highlights:

• Ben is a self acknowledged crafty lefty, saying that he works in the mid-80s and relies on control and location.
• Pablo didn’t say that he will change his batting approach per se, but he did say that he will focus more on hitting line drives.

Prospect Watch 6/26/08

Fresno defeats Las Vegas 7-2.

Eugenio Velez: 1 for 4, HR, BB, K

Eugenio is hitting .313/.366/.507 in 134 AAA at bats. He also has a 10/6 SB/CS ratio. He is also hitting .213 against lefties and .368 against righties. The splits are probably SSS derived, as I had not remembered such drastic splits last season.

Travis Ishikawa: 1 for 3, HR, BB, K

Lazarus continues to do well against AAA, hitting .294/.381/.706 in his first five games at AAA. By most reckonings, the transition from AA to AAA is nowhere near as tough as the transition from A to AA. For Giants hitting prospects, the transition must be especially easy as they are moving from the pitching friendly EL to the hitting friendly PCL. In fact, according to this handy tool, Travis’s .291/.382/.462 mark in AA translates to .282/.371/.446 in AAA.

Connecticut lost to Portland 2-0.

DH Adam Witter: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, K

Adam was the only offense for the Defenders, as he raised his season line to .213/.333/.411. I like Adam a lot, even though at 25 he is already very old for the league. He’s on my list of players who will break out in a big way next season. Unfortunately, due to his age it may be too late when it happens. If things don’t break his way, he could be another AAAA lifer.

C Pablo Sandoval: 0 for 4, 3K

Ugly start, but at 21 years old, Pablo is at least three years younger than all of the other position players on the team.

SP Garrett Broshuis: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K

This is Garrett’s third straight start in which he has gone 7 innings (allowing 4 runs in those 21 innings). I’m rooting for Garrett because by all accounts he is a nice guy, but I don’t know if he has the pitches to succeed in the majors.

San Jose defeated Modesto 6-4 in 11 innings.

SP Henry Sosa: 3 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K

Henry’s only real hiccup since his return from the DL. Henry is allowing more hits this season than last, but he has also lowered his walk rate. He has 35 strikeouts in 32 innings.

RP Dan Griffin: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 K

A 6’7 RHP who throws from a low 3/4 angle, Dan is quite the presence on the mound. I like Dan more than I should. He’s already 23 and converted to a RP. His stats are good, but not fantastic (1.42 WHIP, 8.08 K/9) though he does induce a fair amount of groundballs (1.71 GO/AO). But if he can learn to control his pitches, his height and arm angle should make it hard for the batters to pick up the ball.

Augusta blanked Greenville 8-0.

2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 4 (.305/.334/.455)

1B Angel Villalona: 0 for 4, 2 K, (.233/.290/.408 )

SS Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4

Charlie had a terrible April (in which he hit .104) and a good May and June to raise his season stats to .219/.270/.306. If he ends the season at a .270/.360/.400, I would count his year a success. He is only 19 years old. Top 40 prospect for me, though he is more tools than skills right now.

SP Daryl Maday: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 R

A typical start for Maday, as he lowers his ERA to 1.58 and his WHIP to 0.95. A 6’2 RHP, he works in the low 90s, At 22 years old, I’d like to see him take on the Cal league, perhaps once Sosa, English or Pucetas get promoted. If he doesn’t get promoted, he may be the next Giant to win the Most Spectacular Pitcher Award.

Salem-Keizer defeated Tri-City 5-3.

Kelvin Marte: 1 IP, 1 K

I’m riding the K-train, and I’ve no intention of getting off.

The AZL Giants had the day off.

And of course, the really big news is Sergio Romo’s debut in the Giants game yesterday where he struck out two batters. Go Romo!

Sleepers

Well, I’m back in SF and will be here for a couple of weeks before I start on back to the Midwest. While I’m here, I plan on seeing some Fresno and BabyGiants games. It’s been a fun week on the road, but very taxing physically, so I’ll resume regular posting with Prospect Watch and the Minor Survey tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some players that just missed my June top prospect list (in order of prospecty-ness by level).

AAA
Clay Timpner

AA
Adam Witter
Paul Oseguera
Joey Martinez

A+
Dan Griffin
Sharlon Schoop
Kevin Pucetas

A
Francisco Peguero
Charlie Culberson
Daryl Maday

ssA
Wilber Bucardo