We’re still enjoying a little down time here at There R Giants, but once the calendar turns to 2025, I’ll return from hibernation with a brand new Free For All Mailbag.
Super big picture question…what do the Giants need to do differently to improve their perennial bottom third farm system? And as followers of the system (and There R Giants), what should we be watching for as signs, even small signs, that the system is improving?
I remember hearing in the past a sentiment that the giants farm system has been undervalued for some time because rankings are partially based on the past few years of prospect graduations/contributions, and the giants had very few from say 2015-2023. Am I remembering that correctly? If so is it still true?
Also, do you think the recent success stories (young as they are) would change how people viewed the giants system in past years when looking back?
I think one of the most effective ways to flip a talent deficit, and also one of the hardest and riskiest things to do for a front office, is to determine which prospect breakouts are sustainable and which are not, so as to sell high on the prospect to bring more proven, and expensive, major league talent into an org. Sabean was very good at this, where Evans was not (or maybe unlucky in a small sample) and Zaidi was seemingly too timid to try it for anything less than an obv superstar (and thus never did it). Do you think Buster’s FO will try to move any of the ML ready youngsters to less wealthy clubs for more proven talent?
SFG had six players taken in the Minor League Rule 5. LAD had five taken. How much weight can we put on that as judging the value of a team's system? It seems like at least one indicator to me.
Who is one player in the giant system that doesn’t get talked about much who you are high on as a prospect and where do you see that player eventually fitting on the big league roster in the future?
Anything interesting from Giants players playing in the various winter leagues? (the only thing I saw is that it looks like Matos is doing pretty well) Do these winter leagues correlate to their future performance in the majors at all?
Among things that seem to stand out in the Giants' player development process (have SPs throw <50 pitches per game, heavy reliance on K/BB metric for hitters, etc.), would you know which ones were mandated (might be too strong a word) by Zaidi? And would you expect these to go away now?
Super big picture question…what do the Giants need to do differently to improve their perennial bottom third farm system? And as followers of the system (and There R Giants), what should we be watching for as signs, even small signs, that the system is improving?
Merry Christmas!
I remember hearing in the past a sentiment that the giants farm system has been undervalued for some time because rankings are partially based on the past few years of prospect graduations/contributions, and the giants had very few from say 2015-2023. Am I remembering that correctly? If so is it still true?
Also, do you think the recent success stories (young as they are) would change how people viewed the giants system in past years when looking back?
I think one of the most effective ways to flip a talent deficit, and also one of the hardest and riskiest things to do for a front office, is to determine which prospect breakouts are sustainable and which are not, so as to sell high on the prospect to bring more proven, and expensive, major league talent into an org. Sabean was very good at this, where Evans was not (or maybe unlucky in a small sample) and Zaidi was seemingly too timid to try it for anything less than an obv superstar (and thus never did it). Do you think Buster’s FO will try to move any of the ML ready youngsters to less wealthy clubs for more proven talent?
Related question to Travis...
SFG had six players taken in the Minor League Rule 5. LAD had five taken. How much weight can we put on that as judging the value of a team's system? It seems like at least one indicator to me.
Who is one player in the giant system that doesn’t get talked about much who you are high on as a prospect and where do you see that player eventually fitting on the big league roster in the future?
Anything interesting from Giants players playing in the various winter leagues? (the only thing I saw is that it looks like Matos is doing pretty well) Do these winter leagues correlate to their future performance in the majors at all?
Who has better stuff in the long run, Eldridge or Jordan?
Among things that seem to stand out in the Giants' player development process (have SPs throw <50 pitches per game, heavy reliance on K/BB metric for hitters, etc.), would you know which ones were mandated (might be too strong a word) by Zaidi? And would you expect these to go away now?