Your 2020 Giants: Rule 5 Draft Pick, RHP Dany Jimenez

The Giants selected RHP Dany Jimenez (again from the Blue Jays, who they took another pitcher last year) in the Rule 5 Draft, filling in their last 40-man roster spot.  As usual, they need to keep him on their 25-man roster the whole 2020 season, or they'll have to offer him back to the Blue Jays for half what they paid them (I think it's $100,000 to select him, but could be more now).

Here is what Baseball America had to say about him (got it from Hank Schulman tweet):

Fangraphs' Eric Longenhagen wrote: 

Dany Jimenez, RHP (from TOR)
Like Ramirez, Jimenez also signed late, agreeing to his first pro contract just before he turned 22. He also missed most of 2017 due to injury, and those sorts of factors combined to limit him to just 33 innings above A-ball even though he is about to turn 26. He sits 93-95, touches 97, the heater spins at about 2450 rpm, and Jimenez’s vertical arm slot makes it hard for hitters to discern the fastball and his power breaking ball from one another. I think he’s pretty likely to stick in a relief role.

Alex Pavlovic wrote about the pick:

Jimenez has a live arm and better command than you usually see from Rule 5 picks. The Giants will throw him in the bullpen mix but must return him to the Blue Jays if Jimenez is not on their big league roster. 

"We were happy he fell to us," general manager Scott Harris said. "As we talked about all week, we're trying to find talent. We're trying to find new creative ways. This isn't the most creative way but we got an arm we like." 

...

Jimenez has a strong shot at making the opening day roster and has a better shot than most Rule 5 picks of surviving. It's easier to hide a pitcher in your bullpen all year, particularly with the rosters expanding and the Giants able to carry 13 arms throughout the season. Jimenez also has more experience than Bergen did. He reached Double-A last season and dominated, posting a 1.87 ERA and striking out 46 in 33 2/3 innings.  

Harris said Jimenez has a fastball in the upper 90s. He has averaged 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings in the minors and has kept his walk rate on the high end of what's acceptable. That might play in the big leagues, giving the Giants a free reliever at a time when their bullpen is undergoing massive changes. 

The Giants did not lose anyone in the major league portion of the draft, but lost three prospects in the minor league phase:

• pitcher Adam Oller was selected by the Mets
• infielder Manuel Geraldo was selected by the Nationals
• pitcher Miguel Figueroa was selected by the Reds

These players are gone, they do not need to be returned.

Your 2018 Giants: Rule 5 Draft: Lose One, Gain One

In the Rule 5 Draft today, the Giants selected the Rockies flame throwing RHP, Julian Fernandez, who has been recorded as hitting 102 MPH before.  Just 22 YO, the Giants are paying $100K to find out if this right-handing can jump to the majors from A-ball, where he did pretty well.

Meanwhile, the D-backs grabbed Albert Suarez from the Giants.  He was valuable in 2016, and the D-backs clearly hope to return him to that for 2018, after a poor 2017 season.

2013 Rule 5 Draft: Giants Add 1, Lose 1

The Rule 5 Draft was held the other day, BA has a nice list of all the players taken at their website.

The Giants lost one player in the AAA Phase, Round 2, RHP Cameron Lamb.  Here is what BA said about him:

Aussie has yet to pitch in full-season ball, but coming off solid season in Northwest Lge

But in the AAA Phase, Round 1, the Giants selected RHP Scott Shuman from the Rays. Here is what BA had to say about him:

Pitches at 93-95 mph with power slider. Tough look for RHB (36 SO% at Double-A)

ogc thoughts

Not sure why the Astros took Lamb.  He's 23 YO and hasn't even pitched for a full-season team yet.  And in the Short Season Northwest League, he was hardly dominating with 6.5 K/9, though nice control, with only 2.4 BB/9.  Good luck to him.

Shuman look very interesting.  His 2011-2012 seasons was not anything to look at, his K/9 was great 14-15 K/9 but his BB/9 was horrid, 10-12 BB/9.  He is 24 (25 next year March) and just pitched in AA.  As BA noted, mid-90 power with power slider and is a bit of a Roogy. But, ugh, that walk rate!

This pick, I think, shows the influence of John Barr.  Since we got him, the Giants started to take more fliers on prospects who once was a big talent but for whatever reasons, lost a bit of their shine and fell a bit or a lot.  Shuman was ranked the Rays #24 prospect after his 2010 season.

His 2010 season was what was so interesting.  Age 22 so old for A-ball, but he had a 3.01 ERA, 13.9 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9, high but doable when you strikeout nearly 3 times as many.   And he only gave up 50 hits in 71.2 IP, plus only 5 HR (a trait he kept on his way up the ladder, low HR/9).

That reminded me of another 22 YO (though LHP so that is special) with mid-90 velocity who did well in A-ball:  Jonathan Sanchez.  He was a starter but in 125.2 IP, had 8.7 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 11.9 K/9. It was the K/9 that was very interesting.  Walks could be worked on, Matt Cain used to be a wild thrower with us in the minors, it is amazing to see him control his pitches so well now compared to then.

Not that he'll necessarily be like Dirty, but he showed some potential in A-ball before getting lost the past two seasons.  Hopefully Tidrow, our pitching doctor, will prescribe something good for him and get him back on the prospect path.  And if not, no big loss, we only paid $50K to get him, and if the other team takes him back, we get $25K back, so at worse it costs us $25K to take a look at him and kick his tires.  Tidrow loves power arms like this, who knows what might happen?

Rule 5 Draft: 2008

The results are here on MLB.com.   The Giants drafted:

• RHP Luis Perdomo in the major league portion of the draft (from the Cardinal's)
  
• LHP Matt Yourkin in the AAA portion of the draft (from the Marlins)

and lost three players:  

• CF Ben Copeland to the A's in the major league portion of the draft
• C Elio Sarmiento to the Rangers in the AAA portion of the draft
• 2B Kyle Haines to the Phillies in the AAA portion of the draft

At the MiLB's rumor blog, Jon Mayo wrote this about Perdomo:

There were rumors the Nationals were going to trade the No. 1 pick -- with some clubs interested in moving up to take Cardinals reliever Luis Perdomo -- but they plan to use it to make their own selection.

So apparently he was much in demand.

Luis Perdomo

Formerly with the Indians (Bobo's kindly provided this link), the 25 year old (for 2009 season) was acquired by St. Louis just before the end of 2008.  He had a very nice season statistically, 72.1 IP, 49 hits, 2.36 ERA overall, 82 K, 30 BB, so good K/BB ratio of 2.7, though high BB%, which is acceptable when he strike out a lot.  Only bad thing to note was his ERA rose with each rise or change in farm system teams:  0.92 ERA in 39 IP in A+, 3.52 ERA in 15.1 IP in AA, with Indians, 4.50 ERA in 18 IP in AA while with Cardinals.  Still, very nice stats (though small samples) in AA with Cardinals:  18 IP, 18 hits, 6 walks, 22 strikeouts, plus suffered from a bad BABIP of .357.  He didn't deserve that 4.50 ERA.

He will have to stay on the 25-man (i.e. major league) roster all season or would have to offered back to the Cardinals for half the money the Giants paid.  He is probably competing with Yabu, Taschner, Hinshaw, Sadler, Pichardo, Misch, and Matos (plus Valdez if healthy and perhaps Pucetas, if he pitches well) for the remaining bullpen spots.  With a 7 man bullpen and Wilson, Howry, Affeldt, and Romo all holding spots, that leaves three open spots.  

None of my prospect books have anything on him for the past three years.   His stats were very nice peripheral-wise, but his ERA was nothing great plus he was beating up on younger players.  Even in 2008 he was old for the leagues he were in.  Still, with such a good strikeout rate, even some deflation would yield a very good pitcher.   And with a mid-90's fastball, he certainly has the talent to be a very good reliever.

But just remember, the Giants drafted a reliever last year (Jose Capellan/Red Sox) and he didn't make it, getting resent back to the Red Sox at the end of spring training.

Matt Yourkin

He will be 27 for the 2009 season, and has never made it beyond AAA.  In fact, the career reliever got sent back to A+ and AA in 2008, after making it to AAA the previous two years before.   He strikes out a lot of guys, but limits his walks, which is good.  Unlike Perdomo, Yourkin at least got his name listed on BA's depth chart, though not their Top 30 list for 2008.

Giants Thoughts

Both are nice pickups, strikeout artists, that will give our bullpen some extra competition.  I'm sorry Copeland never got a chance with us, but he has no power and strike out a little too much, though he does walk a heck of a lot.   This follows the A's picking off Rajai Davis from us last season, a similar AAAA player with more speed than Copeland.  Don't know much about the other two guys.

2007 GM Winter Meeting: Final Outcomes

ogc brief

I don't think Rios trade is happening, nor was the Giants seriously considering it, it was a dry hump.

Giants inquired about Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui. Hope they ask for Betemit too.

Rule 5 Draftee: Jose Capellan. Could be Loogy for 2008, nice prospect, but hasn't even played full season ball yet. Only 21 next year I believe.

Giants view 2008 as rebuilding? When does a competing team Rule 5 draft a player who hasn't even played full season ball yet?

Rebuilding good: shows what we got, thus what we need, hopefully get more to trade, plus get a Top 5 draft pick.

ogc thoughts

I am beginning to think that this whole Rios for Lincecum thing was mainly the Blue Jays coming to the Giants and making that ridiculous offer then leaking it out, because the accounts of Sabean today have been noting that Sabean is still not addressing this deal specifically, he would talk elliptically about potential deals but not about any specific deal. The confusion for me has been that the accounts reported previously made it seem like Sabean was talking specifically about the deal, which as I noted before, would be something new for him as he always, as he likes to say, keep the kimono closed on any potential deals the Giants might have out there.

Given Sabean's reputation for the "dry hump" - that is, he would act interested in your deal but then it goes nowhere - I think basically Sabean is willing to hear any crackpot deal that the other team is willing to throw out there, and perhaps discuss some parameters around that deal, but that doesn't mean that he's going to give you that deal.

As I noted yesterday, given all of Sabean's hems and haws about dealing Lincecum, this deal was never really probable, but it was intriguing enough for Sabean to make note of it in the media, leading to the leak of what the deal was for. Given how awful it is, I assume he might have willingly had one of his employees confirm it to the press so that the fans know how bad the market is for Lincecum, so get off his back about trading him off. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Godzilla From NY Rumor

Latest rumor is that the Giants kicked the tires with the Yankees about the availability of Hideki Matsui. It makes some sense, in that the Giants are right now trying to find a team willing to give up a high priced vet for not as much in return from the Giants since the Giants are taking the player off their hands. Kind of like how the Giants only got Rajai Davis from the Pirates for Morris, when he's not that bad a pitcher for his contract, given the marketplace where Vincent Padilla got so much.

The Yankees are looking for starters and relievers, so the fit appears to be there. Also, they have a spare 3B in Wilson Betemit who was a starter before for the D-gers and Braves, which would be perfect for the Giants need for a 3B. Obviously the Giants could trade, say, Lowry or Sanchez plus Chulk or Messenger plus maybe Kline, for the two players plus maybe a low promising prospect, like C Jesus Montrero.

That would not work for my plans, but would work for the Giants as they would gain two middle of the lineup hitters in Matsui and Betemit. Unfortunately, that means no spot for Frandsen at 3B, meaning he would have to win the 2B battle, and probably no spot for Schierholtz in the OF, as it would then be Roberts, Matsui, Winn in the outfield.

Fans still diss Roberts and want him traded, but he was great in the second half of the season once he recovered from his surgery. Ideally we trade Durham for someone's 1B "Durham," which Sexson appears to be right now, so that Frandsen can play 2B. I like Ort but I want Frandsen to get a shot at starting before he does.

Just to be clear, as I've stated before, I would prefer to start Ortmeier at 1B, Frandsen at 3B (if Durham is on the payroll, he's playing 2B), and Schierholtz in RF. I think both Frandsen and Schierholtz have done enough in the minors to have earned a chance to start and show what they can do in the majors. And I like Ort (hey, he was good enough that Bonds deigned to get a photo op of him personally giving Ortmeier some tips on batting). But I know I'm not going to get what I want, so I try to figure out what the Giants are trying to do, and write accordingly. If that's too confusing for some, let me know, I know I switch back and forth sometimes.

Player From Rule 5

The Rule 5 draft was held today and the Giants drafted two players and lost one. The player lost was Travis Blackley, but he would have to stay on the Phillies roster all season for them to keep him, though they could always try to work out a trade with the Giants to keep him.

The key player the Giants drafted was Jose Capellan, not the 100 MPH guy that they tried to get mid-season, but another guy, who only just finished rookie short season ball (similar to Salem-Keizer) for the Red Sox. The articles notes that he has a lot of movement on his pitches, which include a low 90's fastball and a slider. While he has been a starter thus far, they are looking to bring him up to be a lefty reliever for the team, since Kline and Taschner failed miserably at that duty in 2007. The Giants think he's got a premium arm.

Capellan finished 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA for Lowell, walking only 11 and striking out 71 in 75 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder allowed 68 hits and only one home run. An industry source said that Capellan was so impressive that three other teams had lined up behind the Giants to draft him if he had remained available.

Nice to know that he was so good that other teams wanted him.

He had a wonderful K/BB ratio, almost 7 with 71 strike outs and only 11 walks. This will be even more aggressive than when they basically brought Jonathan Sanchez up from Advanced A ball - with quick stops at AA and AAA - as he hasn't even played full-season ball yet, it would be quite a jump. Capellan is currently relieving in the winter league, where he's 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in seven appearances. I believe he'll be 21 years old next season, so he's young, we can keep him on the roster and keep permanent control then drop him back to AAA in 2009 if necessary.

I think this could be a sign that the Giants are viewing 2008 as a rebuilding year. Only rebuilding teams make space on their 25 man roster for a player so far down in the minors.

Rebuilding Benefits

I think it would benefit the Giants in two important ways if they would just accept 2008 as a rebuilding year. First, they give a lot of propects the opportunity to show what they got and when you do that you get surprises like Dan Uggla with the Marlins or, if you are really lucky, Johan Santana with the Twins. That sets the table of what the Giants need to do in the offseason after 2008, where prospects failed, the Giants would have to look to acquire players for those positions, either via trade or free agency. Plus, hopefully we get a better feel for how good certain pitchers are, which will give us (hopefully) more pitchers we can trade off for these position needs, particularly if Bumgarner or Alderson rise fast through the system like Lincecum did. Then we truly would have a surplus of pitching, not like right now.

More importantly, rebuilding teams typically don't do that well in the win/loss column and the Giants would get another high (top 5) draft pick in the 2009 draft to go with the high pick they get in 2008. Together, they can be the most important pair of picks since drafting Will Clark then Matt Williams in the late 80's, because the odds of finding good players are much greater once you enter the top 5 picks overall, and if you can pick two, you really hit the jackpot.