Flying Down to Papago

Let's Get This 2025 Thing Started!

Unbeknownst to my loyal readers, while the Top 50 has been rolling out (presumably) on schedule the last couple of weeks, I’ve actually been incommunicado. A long-anticipated trip to Costa Rica for some off-the-grid birding and eco-adventure has been taking up my time, and I’ve hardly had either the personal or digital bandwidth to follow the goings on in spring training. You’ve no doubt wondered about my curious failure to write about the spring breakout game and other PD stories that have cropped up lately, and this is the reason. Sorry, I forgot to turn my “Out of Office” auto-reply on. But as recompense, enjoy this incredible shot of one of the most elusive and beautiful birds in the world: the Resplendent Quetzal, which I spent a solid hour gawking at last week. Amazing!

Dude’s a punk rocker!

Anyway, I’ve been blessedly unaware of any major or minor stories in Giants’ camp. How are things going? Hopefully, they didn’t trade Bryce Eldridge before my #1 Prospect post came out. That would be embarrassing! (Based on a total lack of readers rushing to inform me of a major gaffe, I will assume that didn’t happen).

Anyway, that all ends today! I’m finally home, exhausted and just a little ill, and washing all the dirty laundry in my luggage so that I can pack it up again. Tomorrow morning I’ll be wending my way through Sky Harbor Airport and Car Rental Station (a process that sometimes takes as long as the flight itself), and by tomorrow afternoon, I should be catching my first real action of the year. There’s always that rush of joy upon arriving at Papago. The warmth of the sun, the buzz of activity, the sounds of ball on leather as guys warm up, the familiar staff and scouts to say hello to.

Sometimes, there’s an immediate burst of action. I’ll never forget a couple years ago when I barely had time to put my gear down and turn on my phone before Luis Matos took Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt deep on literally the first pitch I witnessed. You don’t get that kind of immediate gratification every day!

Still, I feel confident that there will be some captivating moments caught on video in the coming days. And, of course, you will be getting it all, as Camp Notes will be coming your way soon. In some ways, this is my favorite content that I provide here at There R Giants — that opportunity to put eyes on so many players across all levels of the farm in such a tight window of time.

And there are so many things to pay attention to! Grabbing velocity readings wherever I can — and advanced data on pitches and swings when possible (usually the Giants provide staff from visiting teams with trackman readouts, and a sharp eye can pick things up here and there). Some players show increased size, strength, power — I think back to a homer I saw from Heliot Ramos at the end of camp two years ago, and the pure power of it, the massive impact. Though he hadn’t shown consistency in the previous couple of years, that pure ability to hit the ever-loving crap out of a ball in a way that separated him from others was, in retrospect, still very meaningful.

All these thoughts circle in my mind as I’m winging my way across the land and anticipation begins to build. For today’s post, let me try to focus that anticipation into some coherent thoughts and organize the frenzied chaos of the 10 days to come.