Photo Credit: Samantha McCloskey | Richmond Flying Squirrels
Hi there! Welcome to the first There R Giants’ Free For All Mailbag! I plan to make this at least a monthly feature this season. It’s my chance to see what players and topics interest you most, and hopefully bring you a little closer to the players and their development.
Today’s Mailbag nominally focuses on the There R Giants’ Top 50, but I got questions on a wide-ranging host of topics. Let’s see if I can answer them all satisfactorily!
Let’s get to the questions.
One pitcher who had a breakout year in 2022 across three levels was Evan Gates. He has also had an appearance in spring training. Seems like he could fit somewhere in the rankings.
Evan Gates is a truly fascinating pitcher — and he was the subject of one of the most fascinating baseball articles of the last year. From a statistical perspective, very few pitchers posted as dominant a season as Gates last year, rising from Low A to Double (or, I guess, to be perfectly accurate, moving from High A to Low A back to High A and on to Double A) while posting an outstanding 2.28 ERA and striking out a third of the batters he faced. And yet, as the Prospects Live article points out, he accomplished that without overwhelming stuff (he averages about 90-93 on the fastball), a particularly nasty breaking ball (his slider grades out as his best pitch on Stuff+ models, but is more in the “above average” tier than truly deadly), or a Maddox-esque sense of command (he’s a solid strike thrower, but, even then, lives in the middle of the plate a dangerous amount of the time.
And yet for all of that, as Tieran Alexander wrote, “[Gates] missed bats in the strike zone at an elite rate, got chases at an elite rate, and he found the strike zone at an above-average rate.” That’s all pretty darned good!
So the answer to your question is: yes. Gates could certainly have fit on this list. His Richmond teammate, Chris Wright, was one of the last pitchers on the list, and his only real advantage over Gates comes from his left-handedness. But Gates’ ability to tunnel his three pitches (fastball, cutter, slider) so effectively that batters truly struggle with differentiating between them might give him the leg up on Wright. I suppose there is inevitably just a little bit of skepticism towards pitchers like Gates, who produce dominant results without dominating stuff. We’ve seen other, similar players, ultimately rise to levels where the deception doesn’t play quite as well (such was the case with Patrick Ruotolo last season). So we’ll need to see him keep doing it level by level. But the Giants have done a great job of developing these sorts of pitchers (Wright fits in the same group, as does the dear, departed Taylor Rashi, and of course, the Original Rogers, Tyler). I’ll be watching his progress closely this coming year and hope that he continues his astonishing success rates.
Carter Williams as an Undrafted [player] is the kind of guy who makes for a good story too. Is First Base possible for him?
I've been pestering you about Carter Williams since he was signed. Glad to see you coming around. I kid. I kid 😆
I suppose if my answer to all of these question is “ayup, he coulda gone on the list,” then this won’t exactly be a scintillating Q&A chock full of scorching hot takes, will it? But truly, ayup, Carter Williams could easily have gone on the back half of the list — which, after all, is made up of a wealth of players with fairly similar profiles or ceilings. In the Depth Charts, I gave Williams a 35 FV grade, which was the same as players right on the back end of the list — Alex Suarez or Victor Bericoto for instance, and even the same as 2022 SF Giants Bryce Johnson and Luis Gonzalez.
Is there a world where Williams could bust out and grab a Rookie of the Month Award just like Gonzalez did last May? Yes, certainly, I can see that happening. Williams has always shown an ability to get the bat on the ball, and that’s a skill that will allow a player to keep moving upwards (as he displayed when he banged his way out of San Jose last year by hitting a Splendid Splinterrific .386!). From the sounds of it, he’s also been dedicated this offseason to getting stronger and more physical — which is a high priority for new GM Pete Putila.
What he needs to do now is really separate himself from his teammates and grab a steady role. Last year Williams bounced back and forth a bit from Eugene to San Jose and back, and had trouble making himself an every day option. Perhaps that’s what motivated the question about 1b. To that I’d say that I’ve never seen him taking grounders or trying the position out. For now, he’s an outfielder with the offensive potential to cement himself in a lineup. Whether that will initially be in Eugene or perhaps Richmond, we’ll see in a few weeks. But it’s certainly been good to see him playing an active role in the Giants’ camp games. That means he’s catching the eye of organizational evaluators after a strong off-season.
Ok, now I really am going to try to make my takes more spicy from here on out?
Regarding PJ Hilson, do you think the Giants will be more pessimistic with him because he spent 4 years in the Complex league or promote like any other player if he performs?
They took a long time to promote him to SJ, the small sample size I saw there was a dynamic offensive player with a 70 grade defense in CF or RF. He also has one of the strongest most accurate arms I’ve seen in person. Pretty much everything your write up said. Keep on hitting PJ!
Oh, dang. I can’t spice up this one either! No, the Giants really love P.J. Hilson. Their Player Development staff has consistently praised his exceedingly loud tools as well as his steadfast work ethic. He’s a player whom the pandemic would almost seemed to have been targeted out. A raw, toolsy high school who needed time and reps to start translating those raw abilities into steady skills and instead got a big, gaping hole deposited smack in the middle of his development curve.
One thing that the most successful player development organizations have in common is that they treat all prospects like players who can be developed into productive big leaguers. I don’t know if it’s true that they treat all players the same per se, because money and expectations do have a way of impacting reality, but they treat low round draftees or small dollar signings like players with the potential to do great things. Putila has talked a lot about this as a key to Houston’s development successes.
It’s reasonable to wonder if Hilson’s long journey out of the complex level suggests that he’ll struggle to make the needed adjustments at higher levels, but I don’t believe it’s done anything to dampen the Giants’ enthusiasm for him as a player or person. For one thing, the work ethic he’s shown under circumstances that can get truly disspiriting are certainly a mark in his favor. If he can continue to make progress and conquer the challenges to come, they will gladly keep advancing him and admiring his progress.
Give players the resources and support they need, understand that there are many, many obstacles on this path, and see how things turn out. Oh, and be happy for the small successes along the way.
Will Luciano get the opportunity to play SS in San Francisco during the 2023 Season?
Far be it from me to try to predict the outcome of a 162-game major league season — I’ve seen too many of them go off the rails in wildly unpredictable fashions. I’ve even seen some go careening off the rails and miraculously land on completely different rails that turned out to be the correct ones all along! When I was in grad school in Boston, the Red Sox had an offseason promotion where fans could mingle with players on a cruise to an unnamed location in the Caribbean that they called the “Journey to Nowhere.” As the season descended into a chaos that included literal fist fights on the team bus and the manager pretending to be oblivious to them, the local media made hay with that “Journey to Nowhere” promotion as a tag line for the ages.
The 1993 Giants disastrously crashed and burned in September, falling out of 1st place by losing 9 out of 10 games that dropped them four games out of first place with just two weeks to go. And somehow with all hope gone, they rallied to win 14 of the next 16 to move back into a tie …and then something mumble mumble don’t really remember. The moral? When you think you’ve got baseball figured out, buddy you are dead wrong!
So, yes, there are certainly scenarios that could lead to Marco Luciano lining up at the six sometime before the season is over. They’d involve some combination of catastrophe (to the Giants in general or Brandon Crawford and possibly a succession of others specifically) and success (for Luciano). That’s certainly not the likeliest outcome for this season, but it sure would be a joy to watch Luciano put himself in contention for it, even if next year is a more likely goal.
Hello Roger: more a question for you, about you: you watch a lot of minor league games live. how often have you said, ok, that's a major leaguer! and it turned out to be true. seeing games live, i am amazed at how clueless i am despite decades of watching games. it is so hard to make it in the league, it boggles the mind. thanks. i will hang up and listen. -e
Hm…that’s a tough one. Reading your question, the first image that pops into my mind is seeing Manny Machado for the first time in Bowie when he was 18 or 19 years old — not doing anything in particular really, just playing catch. But he just stood out brilliantly. He was SO much bigger and broader-shouldered, and just physically impressive than everybody else on the field. He wasn’t just bigger. He was bigger while showing the kind of explosive grace of a much smaller player — a point guard in a small forward’s body, a Magic Johnson. He didn’t do much that game — though I do recall him almost lazily yanking a breaking ball deep into the night but far foul — and ended the night striking out against a pitcher named Daryl Maday with the tying run on second base. But even so, he was clearly the big leaguer in the park that night.
Which I guess is to say that my attention tends to get drawn to physical characteristics. Long time readers know of my love for true speed (watch that Brayan Rocchio when he comes up to Cleveland) or a huge arm. But simply the way a guy fills out a uniform can tell you a lot about his ability to turn on the engine of his machine. It’s the reason I refer to players’ “physicality” so often. Tools really do play at the top level.
HOWEVER, tools play when they’re combined with skills, and that’s always the crucial what if. Francisco Peguero looked great in a uniform, ran like the wind, threw with the strength of Zeus’ thunderbolts, and had some real juice in his bat. But Frankie Pegs never quite polished the rough edges off of all of those raw tools to make a gem of a career.
I’m no scout, as I feel the need to repeat constantly. I’m terrible at evaluating catchers’ ability to receive. I’m not great at judging how a batter’s hands work or see when a pitcher is flying open with his upper body or failing to land consistently with his front foot. Those are the things that scouts note. But give me the biggest, fastest, and most dynamic guy on the field, and I feel like I’ve got a good head start.
There was a bit of a debate on the Athletic about whether Winn's likely future is as a starter or not. Have you seen anything to suggest that the Giants are considering shifting him to the pen?
I have heard absolutely no talk of moving Keaton Winn to the pen and plenty of firm belief that he is a “not very far away” starting pitcher. The Giants love them some splitters — they particularly seem to love splitters in a starter’s arsenal (think Kevin Gausman, Alex Cobb, Kodai Senga….uh, that one didn’t work out so well). And Winn has a fantastic one!
I have seen plenty of chatter on the internet regarding moving Winn to the bullpen, however, and I suspect that originates predominantly in his having hit 100 mph with his fastball in an early season start when he was limited to 2-3 inning outings. But, at least as of yet, that doesn’t appear to be a direction the Giants are interested in with him. They like the fact that he can go out and throw strikes at 95-96 for five or six innings at a time more and then drop in the devastating split to pick up strikeouts in bunches.
Of course, all of that comes with the standard caveat: in the minors you develop the whole player to the best of his ability, but in the majors you focus on getting outs. And players don’t always get a ton of opportunities to prove they can get those outs in starters’ bunches — think of how quickly the team moved on from Sam Long as a starting pitcher, as an example. For that matter, had Logan Webb not demonstrably improved — had he continued to give the Giants more of his 2020 level of performance, how long would the rope have been before the team chose to look for the next option? Things happen fast up there!
So, yes, the day may come when the team decides Winn is more suited to shorter outings, but that is definitely not the thought right now. Right now, the team thinks it might have a useful starting pitcher who can integrate into a rotation within the next couple of seasons.
What pitchers do you think have the best chance of sticking as Starters? Roupp? Lonsway? Black? Silva?
This question pairs well with the one on Winn above, so I’ll just encourage you all to go back and re-read the previous paragraph. There. Done? Great.
Giants Amateur Scouting Director Michael Holmes’ standard line is that everybody the team drafts is a starter until they prove they’re not. For some that proof might come relatively quickly and they’re shunted off to a relief role from the start of their careers. For others, the change might not happen for years (Kyle Crick was in his seventh season in the minors when the Giants finally gave up on him as a starter. For Chris Stratton, the move didn’t happen until he was in the major leagues).
Of the pitchers specifically named, Seth Lonsway is probably the most questionable in a starter’s role — he started just nine of 26 games last year, though he operated mostly as a piggyback starter, and did stretch out reasonably well in his first full season. Landen Roupp, Mason Black, and Eric Silva are all starters for now, though if you wanted to imagine why they might eventually fade from that role you can come up with reasons (Roupp and Black both have two excellent pitches but weaker third offerings; Silva has questions regarding stamina).
That said, to me, Black, Roupp, Winn, Silva, Tristan Beck, Ryan Murphy, Carson Seymour, along with lefties Carson Whisenhunt and Nick Swiney, are all good starting candidates working their way up the levels. And there are more potential starters further down who have yet to be tested by a full season. I’ve been a big advocate of Gerelmi Maldonado, and on the draft side, I can see Hayden Birdsong really breaking out this year as a starter. Of course, whether any of them can be successful major league starting pitchers is a different matter! That’s a very high bar to pass.
So if that’s your real question, then the easy answer is this guy:
Kyle Harrison would be the only guy in the system right now that I would assume will have a career as a major league starter (good health willing of course — for the love of god, get some wood for me to knock on!!!!).
My perception is the Giants organization is middle of the pack or slightly above in terms of development track record. I think of St. Louis, Houston, Tampa Bay, and (gag) LAD as systems that always seem to have plenty of high ceiling guys in spite of lower draft and IFA budget position. I would like to know whether you agree with my perception and what gaps you think the Giants need to fill to rise to the top tier.
Here’s my view of this: there are a handful of organizations that are truly great at player development — and clearly leading the industry. St. Louis and the Dodgers have been great at it seemingly as long as I’ve been alive (which is, sadly, not a short period of time), and certainly have been Best in Class for this entire century. To the teams you’ve mentioned, I would add Cleveland and Atlanta. Those teams have been sending rivers of talent from their minors to their major league roster for long enough now to say pretty definitively that it’s not an accident or an aberration or a confluence of outside factors. They’re just really good at it.
After you leave that top group though? Most every organization is packed together. There isn’t really any such thing as “slightly above the middle of the pack” when it comes to player development. There are the really good … and everybody else. Yes, I suppose you could be mean and carve out one or two organizations that seem to have real issues with their player development — organizations where players seem to get worse when they go there. My local team, the Nats would seem to be in that hole right now — though then again, they have the same basic infrastructure that once upon a time produced Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and many others, so why they’ve fallen on such hard times development-wise is a little hard to say. And then there are organizations that have one specific development weakness (Kansas City Pitching: Discuss!)
But basically, all of those teams that aren’t the industry leaders are stuck in a middle ground of successes and failures, scattered about in somewhat equal numbers, struggling to produce sporadic big league value. Some teams, recognizing that ultimately it is incredibly difficult to get successful major leaguers out of minor leaguers, are relentless about using their farm systems as trade capital. The New York Mets have been extremely quick to move high draft picks in deals the last few years, and, of course, A.J. Preller with the Padres seems to have a particular knack for finding the kind of high ceiling, toolsy teenagers who make particularly good trade capital and moving them when their buzz is highest in return for outstanding major leaguers (you think the Padres’ system has been “gutted?” Think again! The buzz on some of their low level guys is cranking right back up again).
That’s an area that I think you could legitimately critique the Giants. Both in the Brian Sabean era and the Farhan Zaidi one, they have shown a strong proclivity to draft older players and often avoid high schoolers altogether. And they’ve been conservative in their assignments and promotions, traditionally fielding teams that are, relatively speaking, old for the level. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently remarked on this trend, wondering out loud whether the Giants knew or cared that other teams value age vs. level very highly in their player valuation models? The Giants also haven’t really prioritized athleticism — another area that can move the trade needle (and pay dividends for the big league roster). I’ve remarked on this before, but there’s not much speed in the organization after a very small handful of players. There’s not a lot of that dynamic, explosive, quick-twitch athleticism that gets scouts excited (again, once you leave behind the Vaun Browns and Grant McCrays of the world). They made a big play at athleticism last year when they selected Reggie Crawford, but it hasn’t been a big part of their draft strategy in most years.
So yes, I think the Giants are right now in that tier of “everybody else.” They’ve been doing a good job of developing pitching, I’d say — though interestingly they don’t seem to be part of the industry trend that gets big velo jumps from guys as soon as they enter the system (the Dodgers, Guardians, and Yankees are kings of that game!). But they do seem to have a knack for pitch design and optimizing pitch shapes. They love sweeper sliders, sharp vertical curves, and diving splitters, and they’ve done a good job with fastball shapes as well. Their use of new technology and data-based teaching models is, if maybe not at the spear’s tip, then certainly caught up with the leading edge.
I also think the team has done a great job of “building up the machine.” Their focus on strength and conditioning is definitely paying dividends. It’s incredible to see how strong these kids are, almost uniformly, when seen up close or in the batting cages. Nutrition, diet, workout regimens — this org nails all of those things, I think.
On the downside, their hitters overall really did a poor job of controlling the strike zone last year, and I’m sure that’s an unpleasant surprise within team HQ. There were far too many strikeouts at virtually every level, and higher chase rates than the team would like to see going forward. That’s a clear area that needs growth. I also am not sure they’ve shown the same success at optimizing bat paths that we’ve seen with the Dodgers’ organization, for instance. There are players whose launch angles have really improved (David Villar, Casey Schmitt, and Carter Aldrete are some obvious examples), but I’m not sure that’s been wide-spread throughout the system.
And absolutely, positively, for the love of God, they have to break this cycle of — not just 1st round disappointments, but IMMEDIATE 1st round disappointments. They’ve had a few too many high round talents that have gotten poor reviews from pro scouts virtually as soon they’ve gotten on fields. That trend must get turned around!
I’ll probably have some “Major Storylines To Follow this Year” posts coming this month, and one of them is definitely: get the high price talent to play like high price talent! Get 1st rounders to look like 1st rounders. It would be a major step forward for the team if Crawford displays — even in small, rehab-restricted samples — that jaw-dropping physicality of his or if Rayner Arias takes the ACL by storm and perhaps even hits his way out of the complex at 17, as Luciano did four years ago. Some big wins (along with further gains from last year’s pop up prospects) would go a long way to re-writing the narrative. And, of course, some more major league success stories (Villar, Harrison, Schmitt) this year would help, too!
Ok, that one got a little long-winded — so it’s time to go speed round!
Carson Seymour is a name I’ve been getting more and more interested in. I enjoyed your write up on him and forgot about how highly Prospects Live had him ranked. Is it too optimistic to think Seymour could be knocking on the MLB door by the start of 2024?
I would say 2024 is optimistic, yes (depending on how loud you want those knocks to be). Last year was his first full season in pro ball, and he’s thrown just 80 innings in High A. But he’s a real arm to watch out for this year.
In recent years, the Giants have consistently prioritized offense, and have been willing to sacrifice defense in favor of dingers and OBP. Does that philosophy suggest that the “defense-first“ prospects are slightly more likely to be traded or to be held back in hopes that they'll develop more substantial offensive abilities, and are generally unlikely to [be] able to ride defense to the majors? In other words, do you think there's any likelihood that we'd see Arteaga as a glove-first SS who can develop at MLB, or will he be called up only when his bat is ready?
This is a great, great question — so great, in fact, that I asked it myself of Alex Pavlovic when he was on the podcast. By their own strong admission, the Giants’ Front Office prioritizes getting above average offense up and down their lineup, 1 through 9, and I don’t anticipate that preference changing any time soon.
Joseph Young
I’m wondering if you have an impression worth sharing of Heliot Ramos in spring training so far. As discussed extensively, he really hit a wall at AAA last year with a new approach at the plate. In listening to the games in AZ, my impression has been that he seems to be having more success elevating the ball?
My spring training so far has been limited to listening to the games on the radio (as is true of most Giants’ fans, a sore subject for another day), so not really. He does seem to be having issues fielding, however, which has been a bit surprising. As far as elevating the ball goes — nothing that happens in spring training will be particularly meaningful, I’m afraid, as the conditions just aren’t ripe for it. And I think the org has made clear that they aren’t going to get excited by another big performance in Scottsdale. He’ll need to prove that things have changed in Triple A this year.
Two questions:
1) If you could have one of the top 50 prospects hit his ceiling, who would you pick?
2) Which 5 prospects, of the top 50, will you be following closest, in terms of progress? Alternately, 2 in the top 10 and 2 in the bottom 40. Why?
Thanks for all of the work you do, it is tremendously fun to follow and read!
I would like to think that all of my subscribers know perfectly well that I’ll be following ALL 50 CLOSELY! And the next fifty beyond that, too! But I suppose the answer to your first question is the obvious: Luciano — because his ceiling is so high! Although, as Bobby Bonds’ #1 fan as a kid, I am tempted to say the power-speed combo of Brown. A best case outcome for Brown would certainly bring the thrill back to Oracle Park!
As for the second question, let’s say Brown and McCray from the top 10 and maybe Maldonado and Reckley in the bottom 40. The former two to see if they can springboard off their big gains from last year and the latter to see if they can actualize their tremendous talent (Arias fits in with that theme as well, and maybe he’s the real answer). Another name I’ll throw out their is Diego Velasquez. It may surprise readers to hear this, but that kid has one of the prettiest swings in this system — in fact, he has two of them! If he hits the gym and gets a little of Putila’s strength and fitness religion in him, he can be something!
I'll ask about Jimmy Glowenke. He's a 2nd round pick, and just 23 (turning 24 this year), but he doesn't make your Top 50 for obvious reasons (swing-and-miss being the biggest one). What's your read on him/how do you think the Giants feel? Is he a draft miss, like many fans (rightly or wrongly) are saying about 1st rounders like Bishop and Bailey? Where do you think he'll start the season, and is there room for him to rise, or will he be viewed as someone who just needs to grind his way up level by level?
I think the biggest surprise with Jimmy Glowenke as a pro has been his approach. He had a reputation as an advanced-feel-for-hit kid in college, but he’s really sold out for power in the pros, and I’ve heard some sentiment that has had a detrimental affect on his over-all production. Tone it down, use the whole field, and go back to being a solid all around hitter would, in this view, serve him well. He’s a prove it level by level guy who has a chance to start out in Richmond, but might be returning to Eugene to start out. (And yes, to your PS, his 2nd round selection did probably have a lot to do with slot value and working the board to put them in position to nab Harrison in a later round).
A) in order to retain Sabol, he has to be on the major league team on opening day, right?
B) what is the likelihood that Sabol finishes the year a Giant?
C) how would you fill out his “starts by position” pie chart? Reasoning?
A) The IL can be used as a “timeout,” but otherwise, yes.
B) I know they are really, REALLY fascinated by him, but I think it’s a tough ask for him to stick on the roster personally.
C) If he does so, he almost HAS to be predominantly a catcher (with some DH work thrown in), because there just isn’t roster space for a 14th position player all year, so unless one of the corner outfielders suffers a major injury, I don’t see how he would fit there.
What’s the scoop on Estanlin Cassiani from scouts? You grade him at 35 overall, but flirting with .400, he must have a pretty good hit tool? He doesn’t strike out much, but has a very high BABIP. 🤔
DSL All Star Estanlin Cassiani possesses an outstanding contact tool for sure. He’s very small and, so far, doesn’t impact the ball much, but there’s a feel for hitting that is certainly worth watching when he comes Stateside this year. He just turned 20, so he’s not exactly a youngster, but there’s something interesting there.
I know that everyone loves Ismael Munguia for his aggressive style of play. Your sources at the minor league camp: do they think he gets healthy and back on track this year?
YES!
Thanks for the series Roger - a really fun and fascinating read. A couple of questions if I may:
A name I haven't seen mentioned (I think) is Jared Dupere, who seemed to have a good 2022 getting promoted to High A; what are your thoughts on him?
Do you see the Giants trying to 'fix' Matt Miikulski as a starter or do you think he is destined for the 'pen?
Good call! To be honest, I haven’t really clarified my thoughts on Jared Dupere as of yet. Big time power which I’ve personally witnessed in games. But I think there are questions on where the hit tool goes. His contact rates last year were in the lower tier. Dupere has a fire-hydrant shape, and a muscular, powerful upper half. It’s all about the bat for him.
As for Matt Mikulski, that’s a tough one. It was a really tough 2022. I’ll say he didn’t look like starter material last year. We’ll see what the stuff looks like this year, but relief track is definitely an option is they think his stuff will play up better there.
and finally…
Not a top 50 question, but when are the rosters for the minor league teams typically announced?
Usually not until just days before the season begins. Minor league camp will break at the end of March, and players will head out for their respective full season clubs. The Triple A Sacramento squad will actually open this month, on March 31 (the day after the big league club). The other three levels start the following Friday, on April 7, and normally the team rosters come out a few days before that. I’ll be in Richmond for Media Day probably on Tuesday or Wednesday of that week to report on the Double A roster.
Which segues us to our next Mailbag. I’ll take your questions on the opening day rosters or my observations from spring training and bring you a new edition of the mailbag on April 6.
As I say, my plan is to have Mailbags once a month during the season, but I’ll be heading out to spring training for 10 days later this month, so how about we plan to have one more at the end of the month, just as minor league camp breaks and players head out for their full season assignments.
Start thinking up questions for the next Mailbag: Season Assignment Edition!
And, of course, if you enjoyed today’s Mailbag, why not become a full-time subscriber to There R Giants, which will return to daily Monday-Friday posts on March 20!
Great stuff as usual. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
I'm glad someone asked about Jared Dupere (Thanks, Mike Harrison--odd avatar name, BTW). He's one of the names I looked for every day late last season. Dingers do catch my attention! Shaped like a fireplug, yes, but that just makes me think Steve Garvey.