I put this out on Twitter yesterday, so rather than starting my thoughts from scratch, let’s just repurpose my thoughts from that other place:
As I added in a follow up, it really does feel like the days of needing to touch every level for 500 or 600 at bats may be over. Youth and vitality and energy play in today’s game, and we’re seeing a lot of teams, including the Giants now, be much more aggressive about getting those young players pushed up.
And as I thought about this a little today, it made me think that when we look at player development — all of the “Player X needs to get a little better at Thing Y” analysis that tends to go on here — we have to remember that young players don’t have to be polished into Michaelangelo-esque pieces of marble before the big club can see a player who might contribute to victories. Prospects don’t necessarily need to be perfect before they’re “ready.” And that’s something that is probably a really helpful lesson to remember. Development doesn’t stop with the big league call up — it doesn’t stop with a big league career. It’s ever-present and ongoing. Brandon Crawford is still trying to develop — as is everybody at that level.
Casey Schmitt was putting up, by at least the highly imperfect measure of wRC+ (weighted Runs Created), production that was more than 15% below a league average performance, and he clearly still has adjustments to make with his swing decisions and chase percentages. But he’s pumped some real vitality and energy into the top club while hitting .325 and displaying incredible athleticism on defense. When the Giants called up Camilo Doval for the last time, he was walking 7 batters per 9 innings in Triple A. But they’d seen improvements from him in the previous weeks that they thought the big league coaching staff would be able to work with, and he became a crucial part of a classic pennant race.
So, that’s a good object lesson for me and for all of us. Kyle Harrison doesn’t necessarily need to be able to whittle his BB9 down to 3 and Luis Matos doesn’t need to have a wRC+ over 100 before they might be ready to contribute something good and meaningful. That moment may happen soon or it may be awhile in coming. The club is always looking — as are the players themselves — but players are never a “perfect version of themselves” nor a “finished product.” It’s always fluid, always dynamic. And the challenges never quit coming.
Speaking of which, as I suggested on Monday, the Giants have seen what they wanted to see from Jimmy Glowenke, and he becomes the latest of the 2020 Draft to get an early season promotion (every member of that draft class is now in Double A or higher). And now the next challenge begins….finish the puzzle.
HITTER of the NIGHT: Luis Matos (Sac), 3 for 5, 1 R
PITCHER of the NIGHT: Keaton Winn (Sac), 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Let’s get to the (slightly shortened) lines…
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