Giants Depth Chart: RH Relievers

There's a slough of 'em!

I know you must feel like you’ve been shipwrecked on Right-Hander island for years after what was supposed to be a one-day tour. But we’re finally nearing the end! Promise!

And the thing is, this isn’t some after-thought runt-end post you can just skip over. There are ARMS here y’all (can I pull off “y’all?” Hmm… seems dubious)! Here’s the challenge in trying to discuss relief arms these days — the thing that might separate the valuable big leaguer from the career minor leaguer is getting harder and harder to see or predict. Everybody has the stuff! Which means the separators are subtle and obscure. The possibly apocryphal story of Tom Glavine randomly picking up a ball shagging in the OF and discovering a new grip for his changeup? The capricious tales that make you think Baseball is either a whimsical genius or fitful tyrant? This is the stuff that makes the difference between a big league career and Indy Leagues at 28 for relievers these days.

Tyler Cyr summed it up best in this tweet last summer:

Tyler Cyr @tycyr93

Put this into perspective, my AA bullpen has 10 people in it. 9 of which consistently hit 95+, 3 people have hit 100+, the other guy is low 3/4 arm action with BOWLING ball fstblls. We all go multiple innings. The game is changing, work harder & smarter

We know perfectly well that Tyler Cyr, or any of those bullpen mates from Richmond he was describing — Ryan Halstead or Carlos Navas or Raffi Vizcaino or, heck, Caleb Simpson — could easily become the Giants or some other team’s Santiago Casilla or Dan Otero five years down the line. Waived by five clubs only to pick up important outs in a League Championship series for a sixth because fortune turned to greet him with exactly the right expression at exactly the right moment. And because of that, the final line for every single blurb that follows is of necessity: “¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Could turn out to be a valuable big leaguer someday!”

But I don’t really feel like copying and pasting the shrug emoji so many times, so I’ll trust you to just be saying that part in your head. And with that gargantuan caveat leading the way, let’s press on and try to bring some order to this madness.

A Tier of His Own

Tyler Rogers, 29 yrs old, 3.27 ERA 180 K/95 BB in 236.2 IP in 4 career AAA seasons

I shouldn’t have wasted that “Guys who are…” bit on Jose Marte, because Tyler Rogers really is the sui generis arm of the organization. Don’t believe me? Utilizing the irreplaceable Baseball Savant once again, here’s a graph of pitch release points from a random assortment of 2019 Giants pitchers. One of these things is not like the others.

There’s no need to belabor the obvious joys of watching Rogers pitch (I’ll let my good friend Kevin do that part), though we might want to celebrate the perseverance it has taken to finally get to this point. In an era obsessed with maximum velocity, Rogers tops out at about 83 mph, rarely throws a fastball, has a wiffleball slider-curve thingy that seems to break upwards, and brings a refreshing oddity to his every motion on the mound.

As an aside, one of my personal favorite things about Rogers is that when he pitched in Richmond, he had a bullpen mate named Phil McCormick — a lefty who similarly threw from an extremely low angle. And when they would pitch in succession the Squirrels appeared to be employing bookends around the batters. One time McCormick came in mid-inning to take over for Rogers and while going through his warmup pitches a distracted patron looked up at the field and said: “wasn’t this the guy they just took out?”

But I digress. Let us pose the question: will the funhouse perspective Rogers forces on hitters be enough to sustain a major league career? The release point and movement is unlike anything else hitters from either side will see. But major league hitters are extraordinarily skilled at making adjustments. Will he induce big league batters to chase whacky balls out of the strike-zone and miss bats. As you can see in the chart below, Rogers extreme movement causes him to pitch out of the zone a decent amount of the time.

Throughout his minor league career he has actually had fairly elevated walk rates without creating swings-thrus at a particularly high level (his career K9 in the minors is just 7.9). That can be a dangerous combination vs big leaguers. Is Rogers a unicorn who can fool hitters with deception, change of pace, and circus mirror angles sustainably? I think we can all say that we hope so! Because bullpens are just too overloaded these days with sameness and blandness. Give us the kook! Please.

One thing’s for sure: at 29, the carousel won’t slow down for Tyler for very long. Now is the time. When play resumes he’ll need to jump on and grab the ring as tightly as he can. If his grip looses the chance might not come again.

Top Tier

Blake Rivera, 22 yrs old, 3.95 ERA, 87 K/ 39 BB in 73 IP in Augusta
Camilo Doval, 22 yrs old, 3.83 ERA, 80 K/ 34 BB in 56.1 IP in San Jose
Melvin Adon, 26 yrs old, 2.60 ERA, 59 K/26 BB in 45 IP in Richmond, 18/8 in 10.1 IP in Sacramento
Prelander Berroa, 20 yrs old, 5.86 ERA, 55 K/26 BB in 50.2 IP b/t AZL, Appy and NWL

If you like giant fastballs and ungodly power breaking stuff, have you come to the right post! Because here. they. be! If you like some sense of certainty or consistency of delivery, I refer you to some other blog, good sir or madam, because this is not the time or place for that nonsense. These four arms all feature a variety of explosive stuff that makes one easily dream of late inning dominance and a killer entry song. But knowing what you’re gonna get from pitch to pitch is not the business of these cats.

I hesitate to write this — because I realize just how ludicrous it sounds — but if you scrunch up your eyes and tilt your head, there’s a degree to which Doval is Tyler Rogers with an extra 20 mph in his pocket. He twists and gyrates like a little Luis Tiant, he brings a ferocious, slinging side-armed motion with a leap at the batter that seems to hide the ball behind his ballet kick at the end.

And on top of all the deception, the stuff is simply frightening. High 90s fastball that touches 100, mid 90s cutter that slashes across the plate — you can hear it cut through the air. And by Fangraphs peek at the Trackman data those pure numbers come with unheard of spin rates and perceived velocity behind them. All the makings of a monster starter kit (check out the career 12.8 K9!). But he’s not a monster yet.

He can be maddeningly inconsistent from game to game or pitch to pitch. Eric Longenhagen once wrote that it seems like he sometimes forgets how to hold the ball. He’s walked nearly 5 batters per 9 IP in his career and is prone to disaster outings where he simply can’t throw a strike. He’s also been vulnerable to damage from lefties (.876 OPS against him in 2019 compared to .447 from righties) as everything he throws has natural action into LHH. But if things come together right… woah will he be fun.

And paired with an almost equally mercurial Blake Rivera? Rivera was likely miscast as a starter last year with Augusta but getting him as many innings as possible to try to harness his stuff certainly seems wise. While not threatening triple digits the way Doval does, Rivera has an electric heater that can live in the upper 90s. But his true feature is the organization’s best breaking ball — a true hammer that is often compared to fellow Wallace State CC alum Craig Kimbrel (no doubt an unfair comparison foisted on Rivera by fate and circumstances). Fellow Greenjacket Seth Corry stole the limelight last summer, but Rivera was working on a terrific full-season debut until being felled by back issues near the All Star break. Rivera struck out close to 30% of the batters he faced, posting a K9 of 10.73 with that fastball/curve combo. Next step will be keeping the fastball in the strikezone the majority of the time and whittling away at that 4.81 BB/9.

The time might be now for Adon as well who moved by fits and starts in 2019. After a dominating AFL in 2018, Adon had a rocky entry to AA as he struggled to find consistency with either his triple digit fastball or his dastardly slider. After allowing 15 walks and 12 earned runs over 18 IP through the season’s first six weeks, things clicked into place. Over the next two months he had just a 1.00 ERA and a 36/11 K/BB in 27 IP. Things didn’t carry over upon his promotion to AAA however, where another bumpy landing ensued. He walked 8 batters and allowed 16 earned runs in his 10 IP with Sacramento. The most encouraging stat from Adon’s 2019 is probably the most unusual — for a guy who regularly throws triple digits, 2019 was the first season in which he had struck out more than a batter per inning. Would you have guessed that?

Berroa was the last and youngest of the pieces Minnesota sent the Giants way in the Dyson Heist. Right now he’s just a bundle of arm strength and possibilities (like Adon and Doval were a couple of years back as well). He’s another thin kid with a whippy motion that can generate high 90s heat and he at least raises eyebrows from scouts with a couple of different breaking balls. If one of them clicks and the fastball gains some semblance of consistency (check out the part of the above clip where he nearly falls off the mound), you have another late inning reliever possibility.

And before I leave, it should be noted that along with these other “here be monster” types, if Gregory Santos ultimately can’t stick as a starter he could be as diabolical as any of this group in the back of a pen.

Major League Depth Pieces

Dany Jimenez, 26 yrs old, 2.59 ERA, 93 K/21 BB in 59 IP b/t A+ FSL and AA EL
Tyler Cyr, 26 yrs old, 2.05 ERA, 57 K/22 BB in 48.1 IP in Richmond
Rico Garcia, 26 yrs old, 1.85 ERA in Hartford, 6.90 in Albuquerque, 10.50 in Colorado
Raffi Vizcaino, 3.66 ERA, 44 K/27 BB in 46.2 IP in Richmond
Sam Wolff, 29 yrs old, 1.78 ERA, 42 K/11 BB in 35.1 IP in Richmond
Carlos Sano, 27 yrs old, 7.03 ERA, 27 K/14 BB in 24.1 IP across 4 levels
Pat Ruotolo, 25 yrs old, 0.95 ERA, 24 K/9 BB in 19 IP low level rehab assignments
Rodolfo Martinez, 26 yrs old, 4.56 ERA, 52 K/27 BB in 47.1 IP across 4 levels

Oh the humanity! This is like trying to distinguish between extras in a Cecille B. DeMille movie — “no, the guy third from the right in the 47th row when the Red Sea collapses. No, no! The one with the beard!” The bottom line is that there’s no particular reason why any of these guys couldn’t Jean Machi their way to a perfectly respectable multi-year career. But there will end up being some specific reasons for most of them why they likely don’t. Health issues that never clear up (Sam Wolff), command that isn’t quite precise enough (Raffi Vizcaino), or just maddening inconsistency (thy name is Rodolfo).

But here goes:

Dany Jimenez, like Adon was a very late international sign, has missed time with injuries, and has progressed slowly enough that at 26 he’s barely thrown 30 innings above class A+. But in those 33 innings he struck out 46 Eastern League batters. Being a Rule 5 draft pick in a year when the major league roster is about to balloon up to 40 or so seems like having the lottery come in. He sits in the 93-96 range and can get higher, and features a lively slider.

Tyler Cyr returned from a broken elbow to feature maybe the most consistently nasty stuff in the Richmond bullpen last year. His velocity was up several solid ticks from pre-surgery and he still had the biting change. Cyr is aiming to be the second big leaguer to graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (though I’m going to guess many of his classmates are doing better financially) and I’m betting he’ll make it. This is an outstanding arm with a great idea of how to pitch.

Garcia has spent his entire career in the Rockies system — which is a level by level assault on every pitcher’s confidence and stat line. He throws a low-to-mid 90s fastball and good-not-great breaker which is no match for the Asheville-Lancaster-Hartford-Albuquerque gauntlet. Imagine pitching in the forgiving climes of Oracle after four years of that.

Vizcaino can get his fastball up in the 96-97 range consistently, but he can’t always keep hitters off of it. His go to pitch is the change and he tosses a dandy enough curve as well. But, at least against AA hitters he didn’t throw any of them enough for strikes, or for quality strikes. The stuff to be a big leaguer is definitely there but the command and athleticism make you wonder if he’ll make it.

Wolff, too, has easy big league stuff but can’t ever seem to stay healthy. He’s missed fairly significant portions of each of the last five seasons with various injuries. When he’s on the mound though the stuff pops. Sano was injured much of last year, but can get it up in the upper 90s and has some serious riding movement the fastball.

Pat Ruotolo was on the Tyler Rogers career path — piling up a track record of success despite somewhat pedestrian stuff and an unimposing physique — until he was felled by a torn UCL and went the TJ route. He was able to return to the field before 2019 ended and show he was ready to pick right back up where he had left off.

Rodolfo, oh Rodolfo, where art though Rodolfo. Mostly bouncing between levels, throwing a fastball that wavers all over the map, sometimes threatening triple digits, often languishing around 90. And searching for the slider that made him almost unhittable in San Jose back in 2016. Searching…searching…searching…

Oh and I haven’t even mentioned Ryan Halstead yet. God.Somebody in this group is going to be a big leaguer. Multiple somebodies I would guess.

Low Level Guys to Keep an Eye on

Keaton Winn, 22 yrs old, 3.32 ERA, 99 K/26 BB in 127.1 IP in Augusta
Jesus Tona, 24 yrs old, 1.50 ERA, 60 K/17 BB in 42 IP in Augusta, 5.71 ERA, 14 K/14 BB in 17.1 IP in San Jose
Ben Madison, 22 yrs old, 3.04 ERA, 52 K/23 BB in 47.1 IP b/t Salem-Keizer and Augusta
Ryan Walker, 24 yrs old, 3.36 ERA, 61 K/18 BB in 59 IP in Augusta
Jorge Labrador, 21 yrs old, 3.60 ERA, 46 K/10 BB in 35 IP b/t AZL and Salem-Keizer

Like Rivera, Keaton Winn might have been miscast as a starter and a move to the bullpen could bring out the best in him. He features a sinking fastball that is made to chew up bats and pick up ground balls. Jesus Tona is a converted Catcher who is on the short side for a pitcher, but has seen tremendous success since his conversion, riding the tails of a low 90s fastball with movement and a changeup with even more. After dominating in Salem-Keizer and Augusta the past two years, he got lit up in a 17-inning stint with San Jose at the end of 2019.

The dreadlocked Madison led NAIA pitchers with over 16 K/9 as a starter at Central Baptist College in Arkansas, and has shown an impressive power arsenal in the low minors. Another fastball-slider guy, he’s a big physical presence and has a nice athleticism about him. Walker was a mainstay in the Augusta bullpen last year, piling up a 61 to 18 K/BB ratio in 59 IP.

Labrador’s progress has been painfully slow — he’s repeated both the foreign and domestic rookie levels. But he’s always had a feel for his secondary pitches and could grow into enough fastball to make them effective. He struck out nearly 12 per 9 last year split between the AZL and Salem-Keizer.

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On this day in history

Nobody came up with the 1963 Tacoma Giants! Jerry Thomas’ complete game and Jim Ray Hart’s two hits helped Tacoma sweep a double-header over Dallas-Ft. Worth. The 21-year old Hart was on the verge of finishing a blistering minor league career in which he posted a .966 OPS over five levels. He’d make his major league debut at the end of that year and in 1964 set an all time Giants’ rookie record with 31 home runs.

Guess the team and the year:

1. Christian, CF

2. Stromsmoe, SS

3. Gillaspie, 1b

4. Kieschnick, LF

5. Culberson, 2b

6. Linden, RF

7. Noonan, 3b

8. Bond, DH

9. Whiteside, C

10. Burres, SP

2005: Todd Linden picked up two hits, including a three run homer that accounted for all of Fresno’s runs in a 6-3 loss. Linden was starting his third full season in AAA and had already had two brief appearances in the majors. But the 2005 season was destined to be something special. This game was the beginning of an epic month of May during which he posted a 1.262 OPS including 10 HRs and a .493 OBP. It appeared that Linden was about to deliver on his 1st round pick promise. But a 60 game audition with the Giants in the second half produced a disappointing .216/.280/.330 line and his last best chance at establishing himself as a regular had passed.

2009: I know I keep returning to the 2009 San Jose Giants, but what a monster start this team got off to! Brandon Crawford hit his 6th HR of the season — in just 20 games — and Thomas Neal added a two-run double to power a 4-0 victory over the Modesto Nuts. At 14-8, the San Jose team featured three different players with OPS over 1.000 for the start of the year with Posey’s 1.045 lagging behind Crawford and Neal (both over 1.100). Crawford’s 6th HR was his final one with San Jose as he was promoted five days later. He’d struggle with the quick promotion to AA, though, hitting just four more HRs the rest of the year and posting a .294 OBP in 108 games.

2016: After hitting under .200 with just 2 HRs in April, Jarrett Parker exploded for three home runs on May 1. That was just the start of a power surge. Parker would homer four more times in the next five games and ultimately would hit 11 home runs for Fresno during the month — despite two different stints in San Francisco. This was Parker’s second three-homer game in a span of just 28 games, having memorably gone deep three times in Oakland the previous September. He would turn the hat trick again in 2019 while playing for Salt Lake.

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A final thought

Prospects Live @ProspectsLive

🚨🚨BIG ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨🚨 On May 1st at 8:30 PM ET we will he hosting the first annual @ProspectsLive MLB MOCK DRAFT. Along with some very special guests we will mock the first three rounds of the draft in real time. So what makes this unique? OUR DRAFTERS (See below)

A few folks have asked me if I’m going to get into draft prospects and yes, I do plan to do that as we move closer to the event. But for those folks who just can’t wait, I’m going to be leading a Giants mock “front office” for this Prospects Live draft bonanza special tonight at 8:30 ET. I’m going to be joined by draft guru @brian_recca and @maddelucchi as my war room braintrust (who may help curb some of my wilder notions). So check out the @PropsectsLive twitter feed tonight and see what we get into! I promise a very different direction from my past draft crushes!

Hope to see you there!

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