With the recent prospects that have been let go, it got me thinking: who would be in your all-time starting lineup of former SFG prospects who you enjoyed watching that you wished would have made it to the major league club in San Francisco, but never did (for whatever reason)?
in recent months. with the new stadium taking shape in Richmond, there seems to be more talk about the Nats moving to Richmond as i think a AAA team. where the AA Squirrels would go curiously does not seem to be part of the chatter. Roger, have you heard such talk? maybe this outside of your purview but thought i'd toss it out there. p.s. the new park looks like it will be a beauty! thanks. i will hang up and listen.
Two mailbags in succession, what a treat! Not deadline related, but something I've been thinking about lately. In recent years, the Giants have had a lot of team success in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, but struggles at the higher levels. Obviously team performance is not the point of the farm, but it's generally fairly reflective of the individual performances!
I think some of the gap can be attributed to overly-aggressive promotions, which have had the double whammy of both sapping a lot of the upper-minors talent through too-early MLB promotions, and putting a lot of players in the upper minors before they're ready, where they then struggle. But it would seem like more is going on than just that. Is it a developmental issue? Is it a case of not drafting/signing good enough athletes, but rather players who have the skills to excel at lower levels but stall out at higher levels? A penny (or however much your subscription cost is!) for your thoughts. Here are the 3-year running records for all the levels:
Roger, I was quite surprised at their round 3. Pick in Cohen. He wasn’t even ranked!! Was this just a way under slot pick to use what available money they have to sign players in later rounds? Many pundits didn’t understand that pick at all.
Are the players and staff at the Alou academy in the DR entirely from Latin America? Do you have any sense of whether US-based coaches spend time there?
Hey Roger, thank you for all you do to keep us up to date on everything minors!! My question is: what are the chances of the Giants packaging Luciano, Matos, McCray, and some of the young pitching to get pieces for the future? Do you think there would be any takers? I’m thinking contact hitters with quick bats. I’d just hate to see them lose them this winter when they could possibly get some return.
It appears that Walker Martin has been quietly improving throughout the year, his OPS has climbed every month. According to milb.com his second half slash line is currently 302/417/448/865 with 24/17 K/BB. It looks like he may be doing a lot of the same things Jordan has been doing this year. What have you been hearing from scouts on his progress, and where do you think he ends the year in your rankings?
Maui Ahuna moving to Eugene has calmed a lot of things in my mind. But I would love to hear your thoughts on where all of these shortstops are going to play. And how might it continue to affect the non-SS infielders? Who might join Ahuna in Eugene, to potentially make room for Jhonny Level and/or Gavin Kilen? Or even Lorenzo Meola?
I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff recently about training and quantifying vision in sports (no pun intended). Are the Giants incorporating players’ vision into their evaluation and or development practices? Where are they in this potential arms race compared with the rest of the majors? Seems like it could be a place to find a winning edge.
Will Marco Luciano or Luis Matos find themselves in the same situation in spring of 2026 that Bart was in last spring?
What kind of value would you say they have for immediate help at the big league level? Would Andrew Heaney and IKF be a fair return for either or are they worth more/less than that?
Hi Roger - somewhat related to Patrick's question, what can you say about the development of the starting pitchers at Richmond. I know in your re-rank you have Whitman highest with JMB and Choate making the list. But if there was a shuffle in Sac, are any of the current starters at the point where they can be successful at Sac and which of them (if any) can you see as a starter at the MLB level? thanks and no problem if this needs to wait for a future bag!
“Think of it as a graph with two trendlines: one always going up, and one gradually coming down over time. The one going up is skills/experience, the one steadily coming down (after about age 25) is physical tools. You want that tools line to start up as high as it can be, so that you have a longer and more productive decline period as the skills line is coming up to, first, meet and, then, cross over it.”
Would you be able to draw or post a visual of this concept, and/or expand on it? I found it very interesting, but difficult to visualize!
Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.
In today's post, you mentioned that you'd love to "be a fly on the wall" for the FO conversations about Rafi Devers and Eldridge co-existing in the same lineup. What might those conversations sound like today, 7 days before the trade deadline?
Per Baseball America, in the last 11 years, only two top-10 MLB Pipeline prospects have been moved at the deadline (Eloy Jiménez '16 and Addison Russell '14), and only two top-20 have been moved at the deadline in the same period (CJ Abrams '22 and Keibert Ruiz '21).
As you're well aware, Eldridge is #17 on the MLB Pipeline list as of this moment, and the Giants are committed to Devers through 2033. Plenty of MLB scribes have opined that Buster Posey already made the "biggest" trade of the season to acquire Devers. What would you guess the odds are that Buster Posey steals the show once again by moving the #17 prospect in the game?
In her article today, Slusser asked Buster about Eldridge, saying that Boston and other teams this winter were told he was "untouchable," but Posey (playing cards close to vest) wouldn't confirm that status as of today, saying that they "have to listen on everything." I'm having a hard time coming up with a haul that would make me comfortable with such a trade, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
Over my many years of watching the Giants, I have often heard announcers comment about hitting to the opposite field as something that is desirable, or that shows that a batter is getting locked in. Is this skill something that is taught explicitly and valued in the Giants organization? For example, Jung Hoo Lee looks to my untrained eye like he is flying way open as he hits, and his average has been trending down. Just last night, Chapman hit a homer and Javy Lopez said on the broadcast, "when he has a good swing, he has a lot of power to right field." I would be curious on your take on this. And thanks so much for your immense Giants knowledge -- I look forward every day to what you have to say.
Not to be too negative about a player who is chasing a dream, but do you have any insight on why the organization has been so incredibly patient with Juan Mercedes this year? I was surprised to see him assigned to Sacramento at the beginning of the year given his rough Cactus League showing and lack of previous Triple-A experience, and it feels like he’s struggled to have any encouraging outings with the River Cats. Maybe I’m missing something under the hood, but I’m surprised he hasn’t at least been sent back to Richmond, especially since guys like John Michael Bertrand and Evan Gates are lingering in Double-A with little to nothing left to prove.
With the recent prospects that have been let go, it got me thinking: who would be in your all-time starting lineup of former SFG prospects who you enjoyed watching that you wished would have made it to the major league club in San Francisco, but never did (for whatever reason)?
in recent months. with the new stadium taking shape in Richmond, there seems to be more talk about the Nats moving to Richmond as i think a AAA team. where the AA Squirrels would go curiously does not seem to be part of the chatter. Roger, have you heard such talk? maybe this outside of your purview but thought i'd toss it out there. p.s. the new park looks like it will be a beauty! thanks. i will hang up and listen.
-e
Two mailbags in succession, what a treat! Not deadline related, but something I've been thinking about lately. In recent years, the Giants have had a lot of team success in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, but struggles at the higher levels. Obviously team performance is not the point of the farm, but it's generally fairly reflective of the individual performances!
I think some of the gap can be attributed to overly-aggressive promotions, which have had the double whammy of both sapping a lot of the upper-minors talent through too-early MLB promotions, and putting a lot of players in the upper minors before they're ready, where they then struggle. But it would seem like more is going on than just that. Is it a developmental issue? Is it a case of not drafting/signing good enough athletes, but rather players who have the skills to excel at lower levels but stall out at higher levels? A penny (or however much your subscription cost is!) for your thoughts. Here are the 3-year running records for all the levels:
DSL: 179-112
ACL: 138-94
A-: 203-153
A+: 179-178
AA: 173-195
AAA: 197-201
Roger, I was quite surprised at their round 3. Pick in Cohen. He wasn’t even ranked!! Was this just a way under slot pick to use what available money they have to sign players in later rounds? Many pundits didn’t understand that pick at all.
Hi Roger,
Are the players and staff at the Alou academy in the DR entirely from Latin America? Do you have any sense of whether US-based coaches spend time there?
Hey Roger, thank you for all you do to keep us up to date on everything minors!! My question is: what are the chances of the Giants packaging Luciano, Matos, McCray, and some of the young pitching to get pieces for the future? Do you think there would be any takers? I’m thinking contact hitters with quick bats. I’d just hate to see them lose them this winter when they could possibly get some return.
It appears that Walker Martin has been quietly improving throughout the year, his OPS has climbed every month. According to milb.com his second half slash line is currently 302/417/448/865 with 24/17 K/BB. It looks like he may be doing a lot of the same things Jordan has been doing this year. What have you been hearing from scouts on his progress, and where do you think he ends the year in your rankings?
Maui Ahuna moving to Eugene has calmed a lot of things in my mind. But I would love to hear your thoughts on where all of these shortstops are going to play. And how might it continue to affect the non-SS infielders? Who might join Ahuna in Eugene, to potentially make room for Jhonny Level and/or Gavin Kilen? Or even Lorenzo Meola?
I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff recently about training and quantifying vision in sports (no pun intended). Are the Giants incorporating players’ vision into their evaluation and or development practices? Where are they in this potential arms race compared with the rest of the majors? Seems like it could be a place to find a winning edge.
Will Marco Luciano or Luis Matos find themselves in the same situation in spring of 2026 that Bart was in last spring?
What kind of value would you say they have for immediate help at the big league level? Would Andrew Heaney and IKF be a fair return for either or are they worth more/less than that?
Hi Roger - somewhat related to Patrick's question, what can you say about the development of the starting pitchers at Richmond. I know in your re-rank you have Whitman highest with JMB and Choate making the list. But if there was a shuffle in Sac, are any of the current starters at the point where they can be successful at Sac and which of them (if any) can you see as a starter at the MLB level? thanks and no problem if this needs to wait for a future bag!
Luciano?
That's a very cryptic question, Bob!
I figured it’s all that was necessary. lol.
To add - do you think he will be traded? Or called up. And how has he been in LF.
From the previous mailbag:
“Think of it as a graph with two trendlines: one always going up, and one gradually coming down over time. The one going up is skills/experience, the one steadily coming down (after about age 25) is physical tools. You want that tools line to start up as high as it can be, so that you have a longer and more productive decline period as the skills line is coming up to, first, meet and, then, cross over it.”
Would you be able to draw or post a visual of this concept, and/or expand on it? I found it very interesting, but difficult to visualize!
Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.
In today's post, you mentioned that you'd love to "be a fly on the wall" for the FO conversations about Rafi Devers and Eldridge co-existing in the same lineup. What might those conversations sound like today, 7 days before the trade deadline?
Per Baseball America, in the last 11 years, only two top-10 MLB Pipeline prospects have been moved at the deadline (Eloy Jiménez '16 and Addison Russell '14), and only two top-20 have been moved at the deadline in the same period (CJ Abrams '22 and Keibert Ruiz '21).
As you're well aware, Eldridge is #17 on the MLB Pipeline list as of this moment, and the Giants are committed to Devers through 2033. Plenty of MLB scribes have opined that Buster Posey already made the "biggest" trade of the season to acquire Devers. What would you guess the odds are that Buster Posey steals the show once again by moving the #17 prospect in the game?
In her article today, Slusser asked Buster about Eldridge, saying that Boston and other teams this winter were told he was "untouchable," but Posey (playing cards close to vest) wouldn't confirm that status as of today, saying that they "have to listen on everything." I'm having a hard time coming up with a haul that would make me comfortable with such a trade, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
Hey Roger -
Over my many years of watching the Giants, I have often heard announcers comment about hitting to the opposite field as something that is desirable, or that shows that a batter is getting locked in. Is this skill something that is taught explicitly and valued in the Giants organization? For example, Jung Hoo Lee looks to my untrained eye like he is flying way open as he hits, and his average has been trending down. Just last night, Chapman hit a homer and Javy Lopez said on the broadcast, "when he has a good swing, he has a lot of power to right field." I would be curious on your take on this. And thanks so much for your immense Giants knowledge -- I look forward every day to what you have to say.
Not to be too negative about a player who is chasing a dream, but do you have any insight on why the organization has been so incredibly patient with Juan Mercedes this year? I was surprised to see him assigned to Sacramento at the beginning of the year given his rough Cactus League showing and lack of previous Triple-A experience, and it feels like he’s struggled to have any encouraging outings with the River Cats. Maybe I’m missing something under the hood, but I’m surprised he hasn’t at least been sent back to Richmond, especially since guys like John Michael Bertrand and Evan Gates are lingering in Double-A with little to nothing left to prove.