Prospect Watch 8/14/08

Happy Friday, all. A dismal day in the minors yesterday as the AZL Giants were rained out (isn’t the point of playing in AZ to avoid rain outs?) and Connecticut lost for the first time in six games. The less than inspiring lines:

Minor Transactions

Daryl Maday and Waldis Joaquin, two prospects who I’ve been keeping an eye on, have been promoted– Daryl to Connecticut and Waldis to San Jose.  You can see a short write up of Waldis in today’s Prospect Watch.  Daryl works in the low 90s with a good breaking ball.  His pro career has been marked by good control and groundball tendencies.  He profiles as a back of the rotation starter or reliever.

Wednesday Web Wozzle

• There is an article in the Fresno Bee about Matt Downs’ promotion from San Jose to Fresno. It contains some good information on what the transition from San Jose to Fresno is like, especially for a young player.
• The Fresno Bee also has an article on Dave Roberts that covers rehab, his Red Sox history, and what effect his presence may have on the youngsters.
• Joe Perez has a good blog entry on the possible affiliation changes next year. I’m rooting for the Giants to move their AA team to a location closer to Indiana, so I can go to a couple of games, but it doesn’t look likely.
• The Augusta Chronicles has an article on Daryl Maday and his conversion from relief pitcher to starter. Daryl is one of the prospects that I’m keeping an eye on.
• Here’s a good analysis of the Velez call-up on Chris’s excellent blog Bay City Ball. It gives me an idea for an MLE entry later this week.
• Speaking of blogs, I’ve added two more Blogs to the roll on the right column, El Lefty Malo and ObsessiveGiantsCompulsive. Lefty’s blog is written with more than one dash of panache, and Martin’s work is always very informative. Definitely worth a look.

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!