(Hey! That’s Joe Panik! Sorry it’s not a great pic.)
I heard an interview that Alex Pavlovic and Laura Britt of NBC Sports Bay Area did with Farhan Zaidi yesterday, and in the course of it, he talked about a couple of things that I’ve been noting lately in various Minor Lines. Most of the interview was on the major league squad, of course, but Alex did ask some player development questions, and the answers were illuminating.
Probably most important was that Zaidi directly addressed the organization’s strategy of pitcher usage. Asked specifically about the shorter outings that Kyle Harrison has had, Zaidi said throughtout the org they’ve been sticking to 3-4 innings and 50 or 60 pitch limits — that’s something that I’ve taken note of a few times lately. But he also gave an interesting reason for that usage. Zaidi said the data that they’ve looked at has shown that since the pandemic (and the lost development time that occurred), they’ve seen that pitchers that ramped up too heavily and too quickly in April tended to see their stuff fall off dramatically later on. So the Giants are being very deliberate about innings levels early in the season with most of their starters at every level. Presumably, that will gradually change as we get into May and June.
Secondly, when asked about potential promotions for Harrison or Casey Schmitt, Farhan noted that the organizational follows a (rather obvious) categorical imperative when it comes to all player promotions: they want to see players command the zone. Whether that’s hitters or pitchers, if a player isn’t commanding the zone — throwing strikes and not balls for pitchers; swinging at strikes and not balls for hitters — the thought is that the next level will be that much more difficult. Not too surprising, then, that the first promotions go to Patrick Bailey, with his exceptionally low chase rate and OBP of .400, and Carson Whisenhunt, with his 20 to 4 K:BB ratio. Throw strikes if you’re a pitcher, don’t swing at balls if you’re a hitter. That’s always going to be the priority factor when it comes to considering promotions for players in this organization. That’s the next level the org is waiting to see from Harrison (20 K and 17 BB in 12.0 IP) and Schmitt (23 Ks to 3 BB in 102 PA).
Still, Schmitt can do this — which is pretty cool!
Anyway, it’s a very good interview, and you can hear it in full on the Giants’ Talk podcast, or read about it at NBCSBA.
And with that, let’s get to last night’s action.
HITTER of the NIGHT: Luis Toribio (Eug), 2 for 4, HR (4), R, 4 RBI (13), BB, K
PITCHER of the NIGHT: Mason Black (Rich), 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Alright, now buckle up and let’s get ready for take off on another round of Minor Lines! Shane Matheny will be your captain for this flight!
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