“I haven’t asked one yet, you know!” Sorry, just fooling around for my own amusement. But seriously, send me some mailbag questions for next Tuesday’s post!There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Hi Roger. Can Keaton Winn be a solid MLB starter with just his fastball-splitter combo (like we saw with Gausman), or does he need a consistent third offering? What development do you need to see from his slider to be confident that he'll stick as a starter? Also, do you envision the Giants employing Tyler Fitzgerald at more positions (maybe playing some outfield) in order to maximize his profile? If so, I can see him being a solid utility piece for us next year and going forward.
Watching the NBA playoffs, I've thought a lot (as I'm sure many others have, as well) about how the Miami Heat have done so well and gotten so far with undrafted talent. Obviously, the hope for any professional sports organization is for linear and predictable development from everyone, but it is so multivariate. Roger, you have access to players and I assume can get some sense of them off the field, you have a sense of what kind of culture/system this organization is trying to cultivate, and you've gotten to see which players get promoted and how far they go. Given all that, if you put on your player development hat and you fully exclude the physical aspect of development/performance, have you noticed any particular traits or similar backgrounds/experiences of players who have gotten promoted within this organization and done well vs those that don't? Is there a "type" of individual that would thrive in the Giants' current system/culture, when considering mental make-up?
Does it seem to you that Matos, Luciano, and Brown will be the next batch of rookie position players, and if so, how do you see these players being incorporated into the existing lineup? In particular, the IF of Wade, Estrada, Schmitt, Davis, Flores seems pretty solid and doesn't leave a lot of space for Luciano..
I'm a regular poster on Together We're Giants, a wonderful Giants fan blog. A couple of us are wondering about the status of Seth Corry. He was a top five prospect before the shoulder surgery that cost him more than a year of MiLB service time. Do you think we will see him pitch this year, and in your opinion will he be able to climb back into the top 20-25 prospects in the organization?
Roger, I want to know how the kids from the last two crops of international signings are doing. In your opinion, which five are most likely to make it to the bigs? Could you rank them and give us a little info about each: best case scenario on the Giants (35 to 80 scale), strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement needed? Thanks brutha, keep up the amazing thing you do.
If the giants were to apply last years draft strategy where they targeted players who were hurt and suspended in the first two rounds, who might they target in this years draft? And tangentially, do you think that strategy was used because they were picking in the bottom of the draft?
Looking across all levels and seeing areas of need, have you gotten any indications of what the Giants’ draft strategy will be this year or what kind of players they are looking for (e.g., best player available, college bats, high ceiling high schoolers, other)?
Hi Roger. I saw your note about Will Bednar today, but what’s going on with him is still a but of a mystery (to me, at least). Is it still his back? Does the org seemed concerned? Do people think he can still be an impact starter once he’s healthy and gets his velocity back? I assume his struggles last year were health related.
Hi Roger. Excepting Wade, who are the future 1B prospects to keep an eye on. I'm not seeing many options in your top 50 unless they are converted outfielders or lefty infielders. Carter Aldrete and Victor Bericoto are interesting but right-handed hitters. If you have an infield of Schmitt/Villar, Luciano and Estrada, wouldn't you need a lefty at 1B? Logan Wyatt?
Reggie Crawford pitched 2 innings last night on his build up. Has there been any indication of when or how often he might DH? Assume first and foremost they want him to pitch/build his pitch count but wouldn't want him to lose his timing etc from lack of hitting
Richmond and Eugene both seem to have lost their mojo recently. Are they just playing like most minor league teams and I'm just spoiled from recent success at those levels? Or what?
I'm not sure how candid anyone would be or who you might reach out to, but I think a very very interesting question regarding the annual draft would be that since Farhan took over, looking at each year in the first round and who we picked versus maybe the next 5 to 10 players that were chosen after our pick and who we missed on and what evaluation had us passing on that player or few players versus choosing who we did? I know every draft first round is a crapshoot but clearly there are players we missed each of the past few years that we would absolutely take in a redraft and the logic behind why we didn't like that player or players versus why we like the player we took better. Hopefully that makes sense LOL
Thinking about the Giants' signing of guys like Vaun Brown, Carter Howell, more recently Turner Hill, as well as to a lesser extent Matt Higgins or Wade Meckler. That is, D-II or D-III (or in Meckler's case, a guy who walked on to a D-I program) who have athleticism or standout tools. Do you think this is a conscious effort by the Giants to try to gain a competitive advantage? Is this a "market inefficiency" that the Giants are exploiting? And in relation to that, in your experience watching and covering minor league baseball, how prevalent are D-II and D-III guys now compared to 10, 20, or 30 years ago?
Roger, can you clarify the position with Blake Sabol's R5 timings. By my reckoning 90 days on the active roster is about the end of June. Can he be optioned or IL'd after this point without the Giants being penalised? I'm sure both the Giants and Sabol wouldn't mind him having a break given the rigours of the majors for a rookie - by my reckoning only Davis hasn't had time off this year from a position player perspective.
Hi Roger, what's your take on Vaun Brown and what his ceiling/floor is? He was able to put up pretty great numbers in 2022, but I took that with a grain of salt given his age compared to the competition. However, it seems like he can keep up the production even going up the levels, so how excited should we get for him?
Hi Roger. Can Keaton Winn be a solid MLB starter with just his fastball-splitter combo (like we saw with Gausman), or does he need a consistent third offering? What development do you need to see from his slider to be confident that he'll stick as a starter? Also, do you envision the Giants employing Tyler Fitzgerald at more positions (maybe playing some outfield) in order to maximize his profile? If so, I can see him being a solid utility piece for us next year and going forward.
Watching the NBA playoffs, I've thought a lot (as I'm sure many others have, as well) about how the Miami Heat have done so well and gotten so far with undrafted talent. Obviously, the hope for any professional sports organization is for linear and predictable development from everyone, but it is so multivariate. Roger, you have access to players and I assume can get some sense of them off the field, you have a sense of what kind of culture/system this organization is trying to cultivate, and you've gotten to see which players get promoted and how far they go. Given all that, if you put on your player development hat and you fully exclude the physical aspect of development/performance, have you noticed any particular traits or similar backgrounds/experiences of players who have gotten promoted within this organization and done well vs those that don't? Is there a "type" of individual that would thrive in the Giants' current system/culture, when considering mental make-up?
Does it seem to you that Matos, Luciano, and Brown will be the next batch of rookie position players, and if so, how do you see these players being incorporated into the existing lineup? In particular, the IF of Wade, Estrada, Schmitt, Davis, Flores seems pretty solid and doesn't leave a lot of space for Luciano..
I'm a regular poster on Together We're Giants, a wonderful Giants fan blog. A couple of us are wondering about the status of Seth Corry. He was a top five prospect before the shoulder surgery that cost him more than a year of MiLB service time. Do you think we will see him pitch this year, and in your opinion will he be able to climb back into the top 20-25 prospects in the organization?
Roger, I want to know how the kids from the last two crops of international signings are doing. In your opinion, which five are most likely to make it to the bigs? Could you rank them and give us a little info about each: best case scenario on the Giants (35 to 80 scale), strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement needed? Thanks brutha, keep up the amazing thing you do.
If the giants were to apply last years draft strategy where they targeted players who were hurt and suspended in the first two rounds, who might they target in this years draft? And tangentially, do you think that strategy was used because they were picking in the bottom of the draft?
Looking across all levels and seeing areas of need, have you gotten any indications of what the Giants’ draft strategy will be this year or what kind of players they are looking for (e.g., best player available, college bats, high ceiling high schoolers, other)?
Hi Roger. I saw your note about Will Bednar today, but what’s going on with him is still a but of a mystery (to me, at least). Is it still his back? Does the org seemed concerned? Do people think he can still be an impact starter once he’s healthy and gets his velocity back? I assume his struggles last year were health related.
Hi Roger. Excepting Wade, who are the future 1B prospects to keep an eye on. I'm not seeing many options in your top 50 unless they are converted outfielders or lefty infielders. Carter Aldrete and Victor Bericoto are interesting but right-handed hitters. If you have an infield of Schmitt/Villar, Luciano and Estrada, wouldn't you need a lefty at 1B? Logan Wyatt?
Reggie Crawford pitched 2 innings last night on his build up. Has there been any indication of when or how often he might DH? Assume first and foremost they want him to pitch/build his pitch count but wouldn't want him to lose his timing etc from lack of hitting
Richmond and Eugene both seem to have lost their mojo recently. Are they just playing like most minor league teams and I'm just spoiled from recent success at those levels? Or what?
I'm not sure how candid anyone would be or who you might reach out to, but I think a very very interesting question regarding the annual draft would be that since Farhan took over, looking at each year in the first round and who we picked versus maybe the next 5 to 10 players that were chosen after our pick and who we missed on and what evaluation had us passing on that player or few players versus choosing who we did? I know every draft first round is a crapshoot but clearly there are players we missed each of the past few years that we would absolutely take in a redraft and the logic behind why we didn't like that player or players versus why we like the player we took better. Hopefully that makes sense LOL
Thinking about the Giants' signing of guys like Vaun Brown, Carter Howell, more recently Turner Hill, as well as to a lesser extent Matt Higgins or Wade Meckler. That is, D-II or D-III (or in Meckler's case, a guy who walked on to a D-I program) who have athleticism or standout tools. Do you think this is a conscious effort by the Giants to try to gain a competitive advantage? Is this a "market inefficiency" that the Giants are exploiting? And in relation to that, in your experience watching and covering minor league baseball, how prevalent are D-II and D-III guys now compared to 10, 20, or 30 years ago?
Roger, can you clarify the position with Blake Sabol's R5 timings. By my reckoning 90 days on the active roster is about the end of June. Can he be optioned or IL'd after this point without the Giants being penalised? I'm sure both the Giants and Sabol wouldn't mind him having a break given the rigours of the majors for a rookie - by my reckoning only Davis hasn't had time off this year from a position player perspective.
Hi Roger, what's your take on Vaun Brown and what his ceiling/floor is? He was able to put up pretty great numbers in 2022, but I took that with a grain of salt given his age compared to the competition. However, it seems like he can keep up the production even going up the levels, so how excited should we get for him?