Two Giants made the Top 100 list: Gary Brown and Kyle Crick. Brown was ranked 87th, Crick was ranked 93rd. I don't recall where Brown was ranked pre-season, but I think he fell a little from where he was before because most will look at his season and think that it was not a good season. However, after struggling early in the season, he finally figured out the league and was hitting up a storm by the end. Crick rising into the Top 100 was due to his great pitching in the Sally, tied to his great set of skills and potential.
Here are the 2012 Giants Post-Season Top 20 Prospects (many are just what was written pre-season with added commentary on their season0:
- Gary Brown
- Kyle Crick
- Chris Stratton
- Clayton Blackburn
- Francisco Peguero
- Joe Panik
- Heath Hembree
- Martin Agosta
- Conor Gillaspie
- Eric Surkamp
- Ehire Adrianza
- Chris Dominguez
- Joan Gregorio
- Andrew Susac
- Ricky Oropesa
- Adam Duvall
- Chris Heston
- Jarrett Parker
- Jesus Galindo
- Christopher Marlowe
ogc Thoughts
The farm system overall was disappointing, but with key additions from the draft. Most of the top prospects did not keep their momentum going or sputtered early on. Clayton Blackburn rose a lot, rising from 11th to 4th, and I believe Crick rose as well. But injuries hampered many of them, including Heath Hembree, Eric Surkamp, and Josh Osich, who fell out of the Top 20.
But the ranking got key additions in Chris Stratton and Martin Agosta. Both are high quality prospects, with potential to be a top line starter but more reasonable expectations are middle rotation guys, perhaps a top reliever in Agosta's case. If the Giants want to push them, they could make an interesting four-some in San Jose with Crick and Blackburn.
And key hitters Brown and Panik both struggled early but ended on a great stretch of hitting to end the season on a very good note. Both should advance to the next level in 2013, and I'm still very encouraged that they will join the Giants at some point and be a starter, as I was last season about both their chances. This season, I would add Crick and Blackburn among the farm hands, and Stratton among the draftees, to the group of players I expect to make the majors at some point and be at least an OK contributor. And Agosta is pretty much there in my mind, but there was just too many walks, so I need a full season to get on board. I had been on board with Surkamp, but another injury is just too much of a warning sign for me on him. I like Heston's progress, but he's a "prove it to me at each level" type of prospect to me.
I think I will also add on Nick Noonan to the list now. His stock has fallen, but I still believed after his season in San Jose. He had a very nice season in AAA and we need to remember that he's still very young, so I think that he still has a chance to compete for the starting 2B position against Panik at some point.
I know it's not yours, but that's a awful list. I like Frankie Pegs more than a lot of observers but Panik should be ahead of him, and wheretheheck is Adalberto Mejia? Both he and Edwin Escobar had excellent seasons for Augusta and are young for the level? No Mike Kickham?
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your comment DrB, as I forgot to mention that oddity of Pegs over Panik. Given how poorly Peguero played in Fresno, whereas Panik ended the season on quite a hot streak plus had nice stats at the end, that was a headscratcher for me. Thanks again for pointing that out.
DeleteAbout the pitchers, I don't really know Meija and Escobar, but shame on me for forgetting Kickham's great season in Richmond, I agree, he should have shown up somewhere. And I should have added him to my list of prospects I expect to make the majors.
But awful? I guess I'm more sanguine about prospects. I think he got the Top 8 basically right (just Panik wrong), and for me, after that, it just gets too hard to really get too upset about his choices, for me, as they probably will never be a good player in the game. I don't like the Panik placement is about all I can muster up, and some do like Peguero a lot (not me, too, though), so that's why it's a headscratcher for me.
It's also a good sign of the improved health of the farm system, that Panik can be down in the 5/6 spot and legitimately so in most eyes.
Just my opinion, but I would include Mejia in the top tier of Giants pitching prospects and consider his exclusion to be a pretty big deal.
DeleteI noticed the change as well, although the non-update on description and video is a bit weak with all the resources Mayo should have at MLB. I am curious to his familiarity with the systems and his methology. If I had to guess he might pay attention to organization hype and maybe weigh proximity to the majors (ie if a guy is highly drafted and in the high minors its got more weight).
ReplyDeleteI think it hits on the strengths of the Gints system pretty well. We have the 4 stud pitching prospects, plus 4 more close by, and then Brown and Panik. I say Brown is still our best prospect, there will be a bunch of hand wringing about him I am sure and his fall from the 30s to the 80s will be talked about a lot. He had a solid season after a rough start, as did Panik.
4 best pitching prospects of Crick, Stratton, Blackburn and Agosta followed by Mejia, Surkamp, Kickham and Escobar.
I think Dominguez and Gillaspie are done as prospects now, and I was surprised Conor G wasn't shipped out to an AL team for a pitcher last month. I also think Parkers abysmal contact rate in repeat High-A dooms him. Adrianza is going to have to repeat the Eastern, and I just don't see his bat playing at all.
I like Duvall as a sleeper, and I think Shawn Payne has outplayed Galindo handily. On the top draft pick front, Ricky O and Susac had not great seasons, but they get another shot next year, and need to improve. Especially contact rates and power.
I think Bond and Noonan sneak into the end of the top 20, they might get a shot next year at the Burriss roll. If Burriss doesn't sneak in with his 11th life that is.
The relief types are plentiful, but nobody besides Cody Hall really stood out. Hembree had a down year, and Bochy has velocity concerns. There are a ton of guys who could step up though.
I would have a top six of Brown/Panik and the stud pitchers. Frankie Peggs is an enigma, but maybe that surgery at the beginning of the year sapped his mojo. If he isn't a run all over the place player I don't know if he holds his value.
And then... Gustavo Cabrera is out there, lurking. That is the cream on top.
Thanks for bringing up Gustavo, I should have included him as well among names to watch.
Delete