Giants AFL Players Announced

Got the news from Baseball America. Here are the players, with one huge surprise:

• Steve Edlefsen, RHP: been on the prospect radar since he started out nicely with the Giants.
• Joe Martinez, RHP: gives him more experience with top level competition in preparation for next season since he missed all of this season, for the most part.
• Daniel Runzler, LHP: the huge surprise. Never heard of him until today when I was reading Andy Baggerly's blog, but he has risen from Augusta to Norwich this season, 24 years old, 0.80 ERA overall, reliever with 17 saves, 56.0 IP, only 21 hits !!!, 24 walks, and 80 strikeouts. Not too shabby!
• Buster Posey, C: needs no introduction. The recent announcement by Sabean that Posey would not be coming up in September, partly because he could be playing on Team USA overseas, implied to Baggerly that Posey is not ready to take over the starting job next season. If so, if the Giants want Molina back, he wants a two-year contract and hopes to get one. The article also notes that he also knows the Giants don't want to block Posey, but he doesn't believe the two choices are mutually exclusive, which implies that he would be ready to be Posey's backup buddy at some point during those two years, probably ideally he starts in 2010 while Posey spends a year in AAA, then if Posey is ready, he comes up in September and they split the games, then Posey starts in 2011 with Molina backing up plus getting regular starts if Posey needs to sit. That could work for me if the money is not too bad, but I expect him to want full price and that I don't want. Since the comment in the article linked about him auditioning for himself, he has a 4 game hitting streak, batting .294/.368/.412/.780 but only 1 RBI and 2 runs scored and 4 strikeouts in 17 AB.
• Brandon Crawford, SS: he had a great start to his pro career, then he got sent to that hell-hole of a stadium, Dodd Stadium, to play for the Connecticut Defenders. He suffered there. This situation should give us a better idea of where he is developmentally, the hot hitter he was in San Jose, or the lousy hitter he was in Norwich.
• Thomas Neal, OF: a mild surprise, though not too much since he hit very well there. He has hit .331/.422/.582/1.004 in San Jose this season, 20 HR in 428 AB, 80 RBI, but 91 strikeouts, though plus 55 walks. He outdid Kieschnick, who hit 23 HR in 471 AB, 101 RBI, but 118 strikeouts and 34 walks, .301/.351/.546/.897.