The Hillsboro Hops announcer gave a surprisingly glowing mention of Damon Dues, currently batting over .300 for the Emeralds. What do we know about this guy? (The player, not the announcer...)
Roger, I was struck by your recent comment that the SF farm system doesn't have many prospects that grade out as average MLB starters and that there is still much work to be done 4+ years into the Zaidi era. That's disheartening. But I appreciate that big picture analysis and hope you'll expand on it. We keep hearing about the org's commitment to and huge investment in player development (e.g. Papago Park). With so many 40-45 FV prospects in the system, it seems reasonable to think that effective development in the coming years would translate into a few more 50-grade players. Yet, this regime doesn't have a good track record of that to this point in the minor league ranks. What confidence level do you have that the Giants PD will help more players level up to become 50 FV prospects going forward? And why? With several high-bonus guys dropping a FV level (or more) and maybe only Luis Matos ascending to a 50 grade, I must say this normal optimist needs to see the proof in the pudding to be a believer. Sigh.
Thought of one more as I was reading your weekend review of Keaton Winn and looking at the Statcast data for that game. Winn seemed to be throwing a (new?) sharper breaker in his long search for something that moves to the gloveside. 6 pitches (#s 5, 18, 33, 41, 42, 52), 85 mph, -4 IVB, 0 HB, 2 whiffs, 2 called strikes, a routine fly ball, and good location. Shape was pretty consistent, almost like a curveball. Do you have any ideas on what breaker shape he's trying for or has felt most comfortable with (even though none have stuck)? Or just which you think would fit best with the rest of his pitches?
Not exactly a question but Randy Rodríguez's Saturday might have been as impressive a two innings as Sacramento's had this season (apologies to Kyle and Ryan Walker). There's a lot of action on weekends obviously, so just didn't want him getting lost in the shuffle. Hammering the zone with full velocity/strong pitch shapes, all his sinker misses were in, all his four-seam misses were up, all his slider misses were down, just like you'd want them to be for chases. Looks like he's tried to shorten things up and be more direct to the plate over the last few weeks (horizontal release point is more neutral, vertical release point higher). Just one game of course but was really great to see
So which one of these is the most true statement? 1) The Giants want to ramp up their pitching prospects slowly to avoid stress/injury during development. 2) The Giants are going all-in on the opener/featured pitcher approach, and are very comfortable having just 2 or 3 traditional starters. I know, two things can be true at the same time, but I am struck by how rare it seems to have prospects going over 60 pitches, even as we close in on the end of the season.
What are your thoughts on the wave of promotions this year, and most particularly Meckler? Are the Giants over rushing him considering he isn't Rule 5 eligible for a couple of years and he's got to prove himself ahead of players who've had much more playing time through the minors. You made a great point before about the difference in ball flight coming out of rows of seats/fabs/lights compared to single or two-story stands that I'd not really thought about before when it comes to adjusting to the bigs.
We hear countless stories of prospects and fringe players being signed out of organizations that previously employed current Giants employees, the Dodgers being the most obvious current example for us. Have Giants prospects who had to move on gotten similar lifelines from former Giants development folks now with other organizations?
Why hasn’t Diego Velazquez been promoted to Eugene? He seems to have more than earned it. Is he blocked by Arteaga and others? Or are they just taking their time with a young player?
As Kruk was saying wrt Yaz today, hamstrings have minds of their own and there aren't really any updates or signposts along the way. They just take as long as they take -- and you have to be really careful because they tend to pop again when you come back. Which is why I sort of doubt we'll see him again this year. It's possible -- his injury happened a little more than a week after Yaz, but the need to get him back is less so they might not want to rush it. Still, there are another 3.5 weeks of Triple A, so it's certainly possible
I’m big on starter mentality which used to be finish what you start but now should be get through 7.
I think the reluctance to let their starters build past 4 innings stunts their mental and physical growth as pitchers and if the reasoning is to protect arms I don’t think it’s working, there seems to be a lot of injuries maybe caused by high stressed pitching knowing a quick hook is coming instead of letting the pitcher work it out. What do you think of this?
The Hillsboro Hops announcer gave a surprisingly glowing mention of Damon Dues, currently batting over .300 for the Emeralds. What do we know about this guy? (The player, not the announcer...)
What are the odds Randy Rodriguez and Jose Cruz remain on the 40 man roster this offseason given their struggles to throw strikes?
Roger, I was struck by your recent comment that the SF farm system doesn't have many prospects that grade out as average MLB starters and that there is still much work to be done 4+ years into the Zaidi era. That's disheartening. But I appreciate that big picture analysis and hope you'll expand on it. We keep hearing about the org's commitment to and huge investment in player development (e.g. Papago Park). With so many 40-45 FV prospects in the system, it seems reasonable to think that effective development in the coming years would translate into a few more 50-grade players. Yet, this regime doesn't have a good track record of that to this point in the minor league ranks. What confidence level do you have that the Giants PD will help more players level up to become 50 FV prospects going forward? And why? With several high-bonus guys dropping a FV level (or more) and maybe only Luis Matos ascending to a 50 grade, I must say this normal optimist needs to see the proof in the pudding to be a believer. Sigh.
Thought of one more as I was reading your weekend review of Keaton Winn and looking at the Statcast data for that game. Winn seemed to be throwing a (new?) sharper breaker in his long search for something that moves to the gloveside. 6 pitches (#s 5, 18, 33, 41, 42, 52), 85 mph, -4 IVB, 0 HB, 2 whiffs, 2 called strikes, a routine fly ball, and good location. Shape was pretty consistent, almost like a curveball. Do you have any ideas on what breaker shape he's trying for or has felt most comfortable with (even though none have stuck)? Or just which you think would fit best with the rest of his pitches?
Not exactly a question but Randy Rodríguez's Saturday might have been as impressive a two innings as Sacramento's had this season (apologies to Kyle and Ryan Walker). There's a lot of action on weekends obviously, so just didn't want him getting lost in the shuffle. Hammering the zone with full velocity/strong pitch shapes, all his sinker misses were in, all his four-seam misses were up, all his slider misses were down, just like you'd want them to be for chases. Looks like he's tried to shorten things up and be more direct to the plate over the last few weeks (horizontal release point is more neutral, vertical release point higher). Just one game of course but was really great to see
So which one of these is the most true statement? 1) The Giants want to ramp up their pitching prospects slowly to avoid stress/injury during development. 2) The Giants are going all-in on the opener/featured pitcher approach, and are very comfortable having just 2 or 3 traditional starters. I know, two things can be true at the same time, but I am struck by how rare it seems to have prospects going over 60 pitches, even as we close in on the end of the season.
After the end of short season ball, how does the 2023 draft class compare to the previous five years drafts?
What are your thoughts on the wave of promotions this year, and most particularly Meckler? Are the Giants over rushing him considering he isn't Rule 5 eligible for a couple of years and he's got to prove himself ahead of players who've had much more playing time through the minors. You made a great point before about the difference in ball flight coming out of rows of seats/fabs/lights compared to single or two-story stands that I'd not really thought about before when it comes to adjusting to the bigs.
We hear countless stories of prospects and fringe players being signed out of organizations that previously employed current Giants employees, the Dodgers being the most obvious current example for us. Have Giants prospects who had to move on gotten similar lifelines from former Giants development folks now with other organizations?
Why hasn’t Diego Velazquez been promoted to Eugene? He seems to have more than earned it. Is he blocked by Arteaga and others? Or are they just taking their time with a young player?
Have we heard more about Luciano's injury? Will we see him again this year?
As Kruk was saying wrt Yaz today, hamstrings have minds of their own and there aren't really any updates or signposts along the way. They just take as long as they take -- and you have to be really careful because they tend to pop again when you come back. Which is why I sort of doubt we'll see him again this year. It's possible -- his injury happened a little more than a week after Yaz, but the need to get him back is less so they might not want to rush it. Still, there are another 3.5 weeks of Triple A, so it's certainly possible
Is Charlie Szykowny going to get the old school nickname of eye chart?
I’m big on starter mentality which used to be finish what you start but now should be get through 7.
I think the reluctance to let their starters build past 4 innings stunts their mental and physical growth as pitchers and if the reasoning is to protect arms I don’t think it’s working, there seems to be a lot of injuries maybe caused by high stressed pitching knowing a quick hook is coming instead of letting the pitcher work it out. What do you think of this?