Just heard

via a poster on MCC that Ryan Rohlinger has been called up. Should be interesting. I think you could see John Bowkerish production out of him (250/300/400), albeit at a more difficult defensive position. Apparently the Giants are also thinking about using him at 2B and SS. Most scouting reports say he doesn’t have the range for SS, but he could have quite a bit of value at 2B.

Prospect Watch 7/27/08

Fresno defeated Albuquerque 8-7.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 2 for 4, 2 HR (274/328/624, 8 HR)

Travis’ eight home runs at Fresno match his eight home runs at Connecticut. He has managed to accomplish this feat in Fresno in exactly half as many at-bats.

Fooling Around with Milly Part 1:Rounding First Base

MLE’s (or Major League Equivalencies) are interesting because they translate the statistical performances of players from the minors and give for an estimation of how the player could have done had he been in the majors league. A more thorough explanation is here.

Using Minorleaguesplits’ batting calculator, I’ve input the MLE’s of select batters in the upper minors. Please note that these numbers are not meant to be predictive, or at least not any more predictive than minor league stats are meant to be. Rather the numbers are meant to quantify the context (ballpark, league difficulty, etc) so that the results are more meaningful. Here are the translated numbers for Fresno batters:

Prospect Watch 7/7/08 (Minor League Mashers Edition)

Fresno defeated Portland 11-10, with Scott McClain hitting a walk off home run to win in the 11th.

3B Scott McClain: 4 for 5, 2 HR, BB (308/394/552)
A monster game for Scott as he scored his 1,000th run in the minor leagues. He also has over 1,000 RBI’s, and he leads all active minor leaguers with 279 career home runs. You won’t see Scott mentioned much in Prospect Watch as he’s not really a prospect in the true sense of the word. In his career, he has spent fifteen years in the minors and three years in Japan. He was drafted in the 22nd round by the Orioles in 1990. As a frame of reference, Angel Villalona was born a couple of months after that year’s draft. I applaud Scott’s determination to stick with the game. At 36 years old, he probably has two or three more years left in him at most. He might be part of a ceremonial September call-up, but at his age, he doesn’t figure into the Giants’ longterm plans.

RF Nate Schierholtz: 3 for 6, HR (294/344/535)
Nate is back with a bang after an undisclosed week-long hiatus. He has 12 home runs on the season.

CF-LF Sergio Leone: 3 for 3, 2 HR, BB (244/359/503)
This 31 year old minor leaguer seems to be headed down the Scott McClain path. Sergio can also play some infield, so you might see him as an emergency call-up as a utilityman. That is unlikely, however, since there’s no place for him on the team with Velez and Castillo (two other players who project to be utility players) playing at his positions.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 2 for 4, 2 2B, K (296/361/630, 54 AB)
One point of concern is his 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s doing okay right now, but that’s one possible indicator of future contact problems, especially if he gets promoted to the majors.

Connecticut defeated New Britain 5-3.

SS Kyle Haines: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, K (312/409/394)
After spending four seasons in the lower minors, Kyle is having a breakout season in AA. At 26 years old, he is already pretty old for the league. He might have the bat to be a utility player in the majors, but it will probably be with another team. It’s just as likely that he’ll end up like McClain and Leone as minor league filler.

CF-LF Ben Copeland: 2 for 3, SB (16) (241/320/381)
Ben is justifying my faith in him as he raises his average to .241. Ben’s got good plate discipline, decent power, and the range to play CF (though he’s probably better suited for RF). His upside could be a Randy Winn type player with a tick less power.

DH Pablo Sandoval: 3 for 5, 2B, 2 K (260/302/380, 50 AB)
The strikeouts are worrisome but when you consider that he plays a premium position and that this was his first 50 AB’s in the upper minors, the numbers aren’t bad at all.

LF Eddy Martinez-Esteve: 2 for 5, 2B, K (314/395/407)

3B Ryan Rohlinger: 2 for 5, 2B (260/315/360, 50 AB)
What makes Pablo a B-level prospect and Ryan a C? Well Ryan is two years older and plays an offense oriented position. If Pablo were to switch off of Catcher, his value would be greatly diminished. Ryan, however, has better plate discipline than Pablo, which may indicate more success down the road.

SP Joey Martinez: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 10 K
Joey has been more of a groundball pitcher than a strikeout pitcher, so this game was an aberration.

San Jose had the day off. Some prospects I’m watching:

2B Brock Bond: 429/489/524, 42 AB
C Jackson Williams: 310/394/345, 29 AB

SP Tim Alderson: 8.38 H/9, 2.86 BB/9, 7.80 K/9
SP Clayton Tanner: 10.06 H/9, 3.31 BB/9, 6.75 K/9
SP Henry Sosa: 8.24 H/9, 2.27 BB/9, 9.27 K/9

Augusta defeated Lakewood 7-6

2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 5, 2B (301/329/448 )

1B Angel Villalona: 1 for 5, 2B (237/293/405)

SS Charlie Culberson: 2 for 5, K (226/275/300)

RF Tayler Creswell: 4 for 5, K
Taylor’s full-season debut is a good one. He was selected out of high school in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft. He’s struggled to hit in the last two seasons, but because he was drafted from high school, he has had the time to improve. He is now 21 years old. As an interesting sidenote, Tayler, like Ehire Adrianza this year and Jeremiah Luster last year, Tayler was called up to Fresno two years ago and appeared in one game. As you can see, such a call-up doesn’t portend anything in the long-run.

SP Chance Corgan: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K (1.36 WHIP, 1.84 GO/AO, 24.1 IP)

Salem-Keizer lost to Tri-City 9-6.

DH Michael Ambort: 3 for 5, 2B, HR (268/348/585, 41 AB)
Michael Ambort was drafted as a catcher out of college in the 6th round of last year’s draft. He was drafted more for his bat than his glove, though his defense is adequate. He is already 23 years old. I would look for him to start in San Jose next year. He reminds me of Adam Witter.

C Trent Kline: 3 for 3, 2B (269/381/462, 52 AB)
Like Ambort, Kline was drafted last year, though much later in round 49. Not much have been written about him, so until I see a scouting report or he has a full year of at-bats under his belt, I would take his stats with a grain of salt.

The AZL Giants were destroyed by the Cubs 17-4.

OF Wendell Fairley: 1 for 5, K (213/284/251, 52 AB)

RF Ryan Mantle: 3 for 5 (300/360/460, 40 AB)
It’s still to early to be excited about Ryan. I’m waiting for a bigger sample size or a higher level of competition.

SS Ehire Adrianza: 2 for 4, 2 BB (267/365/400, 45 AB)

SP Jorge Bucardo: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 ER (4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP)
Wilber’s younger brother had a fine start before the bullpen imploded. He is only 18 years old, someone to keep an eye on.

Prospect Watch 7/5/08

Fresno defeated Sacramento 4-1.

C Steve Holm: 1 for 3, K
This is Steve’s first game back in the minors.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 1 for 3, HR (286/354/571, 42 AB)
The 42 AB’s are still a very small sample but I’ve been very impressed by Travis’s year in the minors. He should get called up in September and be given a chance to compete for a spot on the major league roster. He’s been around so long that its easy to forget he’s only 24.

Connecticut blanked New Britain 5-0.

CF Antoan “Excitement” Richardson 2 for 5, HR (225/346/300)
Antoan hit a drive down the right field line for an inside the park home run to spark the Defenders offense. Antoan’s always had a decent batting average to go with the speed and the plate discipline until this year. But I don’t think you can blame his offensive struggles on the pitcher friendly park. In the last three years, Antoan saw his ground ball percentage fall from 60% to 53% to 47% with each level promotion. His BA similarly fell from .292 to .279 to .225. Intuitively this seems to be correlated, as Antoan’s best tool is his excellent speed which would allow him to beat out grounders. There are related factors of course, the most important of which may be that he is facing better defensive infielders in AA. Incidentally, many scouts had noted before the season that he had a hitch in his swing. If Antoan ever manages to hit for a decent average, he has a bright future as a lead-off man.

C Pablo Sandoval: 0 for 4, BB (225/279/350, 40 AB)

DH Adam Witter: 2 for 3, 2 HR, BB (223/342/437)
A monster game for Adam. He is hitting .324 in his last ten games. If he finishes the season with a BA above .260, I would count it a success.

RP Justin Hedrick: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 K (1.62 ERA, 9.14 K/9)
Justin’s has not been scored upon in his last eight appearances. He’s a flyball/strikeout pitcher (0.38 GO/AO) who has given up three home runs away and none at home. I would look for his ERA to jump quite a bit when he gets promoted to Fresno.

San Jose downs Rancho Cucamonga 3-2, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

C Jackson Williams: 1 for 4 (280/379/320, 25 AB)

SS Sharlon Schoop: 1 for 2, BB, K (230/289/325)

RP Steve Edlefsen: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K (2.90 ERA, 2.39 GO/AO)
Steve reportedly throws a fastball in the low 80s and a fantastic slider. Last year, he used the slider quite effectively in Salem-Keizer, putting up a 1.62 ERA with a 3.80 GO/AO.

Augusta lost to Charleston 6-3.

1B Angel Villalona: 1 for 3, BB (239/294/405)

SS Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4, K (222/273/297)

RP Paul Lussier: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K (2.61 ERA, 0 BB/9, 8.71 H/9, 10.1 IP)
Paul was drafted out of high school in the 36th round of th 2004 draft. This is his second year in Augusta. Last year he struggled, allowing over a hit an inning.

Salem-Keizer lost to Tri-City 4-1.

SS Vladimir Frias: 2 for 2, SB (250/375/300, 20 AB)

SP Mike Loree: 7 IP, 1 H, 7 K, 1 HR, 1 ER (1.23 ERA, 0.36 WHIP)
Mike took a perfect game into the 7th inning before he gave up a home run his perfect streak of 38 retired batters. Count me as firmly on his bandwagon because he pitches good and he makes me look good .

The Giants defeated the Angels 6-2.

OF Wendell Fairley: 2 for 5 (214/300/262, 42 AB)

C Johnny Monell: 3 for 5, 2B, K (409/480/727, 22 AB)

LF Ryne Price: 2 for 3, 2B (353/542/529, 17 AB)
Ryne was drafted in the 33rd round of this year’s draft from Kansas. He is a local boy, born in Palo Alto.

RP Scott Barnes: 1 IP, 2 K
This is Scott’s first appearance. He was drafted in the eighth round this year from St. John’s. He is a lefty who throws in the low 90s with a slider, change and curve. You can find a scouting report of him here.

RP Eric Surkamp: 1 IP, 2K
Eric was drafted in the sixth round of this year’s draft. This was also his first appearance. Eric has a fastball in the high 80s to go alongside his curveball and changeup. A longer scouting report is here.

RP Justin Fitzgerald: 1 IP, 1 K
Justin was drafted by the Giants in the 11th round of this year’s draft from UC Davis. (Go Alma Mater!) Justin works in the low 90s, touching 95. He also has a changeup and a slider in his repertoire.

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!

Prospect Watch 6/24/2008

Fresno lost to Colorado Springs 11-7.

2B Matt Downs: 3 for 5, 2B, HR, SO
It’s still early, but Matt has shown no signs of slowing down. Suddenly, the Giants’ system has four legitimate homegrown second base options for next year: Kevin Frandsen, Eugenio Velez, Matt Downs, and Travis Denker. Exciting times.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 2 for 5, 2B, HR, SO
Travis is hitting with authority, but with Bowker’s success at the MLB level, Travis may find it hard to crack the Giants’ roster.

Connecticut lost to Portland 6-5.

3B Ryan Rohlinger: 2 for 4, HR
Ryan’s big problem has always been hitting for average. Already 24, this season may be Ryan’s last to prove himself a bona fide prospect.

RP Ronnie Ray: 3 IP, 2 SO
A starter converted to reliever this year, Ronnie has dominated in his last ten appearances, going 14.2 innings with 13 H, 3 BB, and 10 SO. He has always been too hittable, allowing more hits than innings pitched in his last three minor league seasons.

The California League All-Stars lost to the Caroline League All-Stars 3-1

C Pablo Sandoval: 0 for 3, 2 SO
SP Ben Snyder: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 SO, 1 WP
SP Kevin Pucetas: 1 IP, 1 H
SP Jesse English: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 2 ER

Augusta defeated Greenville 8-2.

2B Nick Noonan: 3 for 5
Nick is hitting 17 for 42 in his last ten games, good for a .405 BA.

DH Angel Villalona: 2 for 4, 2B, HR, SO
Angel has struck out 19 times in his last 38 AB’s. For you math-averse types, thats a strikeout every other at bat. Ouch.

RP Ryan Paul: 2 IP, 2 BB, 5 SO
Ryan was demoted from the California league earlier in the season. In a combined 25.2 innings, he has walked 22 and struck out 26.

Salem-Keizer loses to Tri-City 6-5.

RP Edwin Quirarte: 1 IP, 1 SO
Edwin takes the loss here, as a batter reaches on an error and scores as the eventual winning run. This is his second straight outing without allowing a hit or a walk.

AZL Giants lose to the AZL Cubs 4-3.

1B Craig Ziegler: 2 for 4, HR
From Chris’s excellent blog Bay City Ball:

Ziegler was drafted in ‘07 by the Cardinals in the 37th round but he didn’t sign and went back to college for his final year. As a senior at the University of Arizona, Ziegler had a fine year. He hit: (.338/.425/.667) with 20 HR’s, 17 2B’s, and 1 3B in 240 AB’s. Ziegler looks like your typical slugging college first baseman, maybe this year’s Andy D’Alessio? Because he went late in the draft I assume there were doubts that he’ll be able to hit MLB pitching, but you never know and for a pick this late in the draft, it’s not a bad pick at all.

I agree wholeheartedly with Chris’s assessment. Andy D’Alessio is a good comp.

Minor Transactions

Travis Ishikawa promoted to Fresno Grizzlies.

Matt Downs promoted to Fresno Grizzlies. (!!!)

Pablo Sandoval promoted to Connecticut Defenders.

Ryan Rohlinger promoted to Connecticut Defenders.

Daniel Otero promoted to San Jose Giants.

David Mixon assigned to Augusta Greenjackets (from extended spring training).

The Giants also signed LHP Aaron King who was drafted in the 7th round of this year’s draft.

Minor Note: I had heard second hand from Gary Davenport (San Jose’s batting coach) that Matt Downs was going to be promoted, but I did not expect the jump to Fresno. If you’ve read some of my previous entries, you would know that I am a big Matt Downs booster. I am quite pleased by this move.

Prospect Watch 6/12/2008

Fresno lost to Colorado Springs 4-2.

2B Eugenio Velez: 2 for 4, CS(4), PO
The hitting is encouraging, but Velez getting picked off negates any of his offensive accomplishments in this game. Eugenio MUST refine his SB skills in order for him to be a viable major leaguer. Moderated update: stop getting picked off dammit.

Connecticut defeated Trenton 3-0

DH Travis Ishikawa: 2 for 4, 2B, HR
Reputed to be excellent defensively, Ishikawa’s offense has stalled the last couple of years in AA. This year, however, he has hit to the tune of .292/.383/.472 while maintaining an excellent 32:41 BB:K ratio. Is this improvement for real? Probably. But he is still hitting a terrible .154/.297/.192 in 52 AB (SSS) against lefties. If he doesn’t improve against lefties, Travis may find his major league future short lived.

SP Joey Martinez: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Joey also had an 8:3 ground out to fly out ratio, which raises it to 2.39 for the season. He also struck out 47 batters in 71 innings. If he builds on todays performance and raises his strikeout ratio to a more respectable rate, he may have a future in the majors as a back of the rotation pitcher.

San Jose lost to Lancaster 8-4

SP Jesse English: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Another standout pitcher of the little Giants’ excellent rotation, Jesse has struck out 66 batters in 68.1 innings this season. He will turn 24 in September. It feels like Jesse’s been around forever, but that’s because he was reportedly kept in extended spring training due to anger issues. Jesse has always had the ability to strike people out on less than stellar velocity (I’ve heard high 80s/low 90s heat), but I have doubts as to whether he will be able to keep his walk rate down in AA. But because of his age, Jesse is another prospect who I’d like the Giants to promote aggressively.

Augusta defeated Asheville 4-3

1B Thomas Neal: 1 for 3, BB, K
An athletic first baseman (he was converted from the outfield), Neal followed up a terrific April with a terrible May in which he hit .217. It looks like he is raking again in June, as he boosted his season line to .265/.351/.429. He is still relatively young– he will turn 21 in August– and he has shown a propensity to take walk in a system that doesn’t seem to teach that skill very well. If his power develops and he continues his solid hitting in San Jose, he will rocket up prospect lists. As it stands right now, he is a top twenty prospect in the system.

RP Andy De La Garza: 3 IP, 0H, 0BB, 7k(!)
San Francisco seems to be very adept in finding pitching talent in the later rounds of the draft. Andy was drafted last year in round 18. A lefty at 6’4, he has struck out 49 batters in 45.2 innings this year while only walking eight. It’s only low A and Andy is already 23 years old, so take these results with a grain of salt. I’m going to wait to see how he fares in AA before I tag him as a legitimate prospect.

Comment starter: Who would you consider to be the superior prospect, Joey Martinez and his GB tendencies or Paul Oseguera who is slightly younger and left-handed? Or is it the secret special answer… neither?