San Francisco Giants – Hefty Headlines

Are the San Francisco Giants Tanking Their 2020 Season In Hopes of Landing Trevor Lawrence In The 2021 Draft?

A few weeks ago I tweeted the following question:

Are the @SFGiants throwing the 2020 basebal season in hopes of drafting Trevor Lawrence first overall? #CFPNationalChampionship #Clemson #CFP #MLB
— HeftyHeadlines (@HeftyHeadlines) January 13, 2020

Initially I asked this in a joking manner. Obviously there is nothing serious about this. Trevor Lawrence plays football – he doesn’t play baseball.

I did not receive a response. Was it because my 19 followers were busy at work – unable to engage? Was this simply too abstract of an idea for people to pay attention to?

The more likely thought is that I uncovered the secret plans of Farhan Zaidi and the San Francisco Giants front office.

It is no secret that the Giants are re-building their minor league system and hoping to acquire assets. They recently traded for a washed-up Zach Cosart and his $12M salary just to get a prospect. They then released Cosart – willing to pay him $12M in 2020 to not play baseball for the club.

Go with me here. Farhan is looking to acquire talent and value – no matter the cost. Is there a more valuable asset than the #1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft? I believe there is a scenario where the Giants and Zaidi could be willing to take on a bad NFL contract in exchange for the #1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The Lions are a good fit here. They have Matthew Stafford with a $135M contract through 2023. Would the Giants be willing to trade a PTBNL for Stafford and their #1 pick in 2021?

The next step is analyzing the value of Trevor Lawrence. He has to be the most valuable draft asset since… Greg Oden? Andrew Luck? Herschel Walker? Mario Williams?

Is there a world where the Giants can obtain the draft rights for Trevor Lawrence, and flip him for assets? Probably not. However – this organization is now known for their out of the box thinking – I’m just trying to keep up with Farhan.

– Buzz

Do The Giants Have The Worst Lineup In All Of Baseball?

*Kevin Pillar is not a member of the 2020 San Francisco Giants – This is a recycled image from an old article.

On January 30th, Bradford Doolittle wrote an article for ESPN+ ranking the best MLB lineups. I opened the link and scrolled all the way down to the bottom – anticipating the Giants to be the last team on the list. I was surprised to see they were in fact not the worst lineup in baseball…only the 5th worst. Here is a screenshot of how the Giants are ranked:

Obviously, things have changed since January 30th. The Giants made a few additions since then – Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, and Billy Hamilton. Not that any of those additions truly impact this roster.

I decided to take a look at the other bottom feeder rosters – would I prefer to have any of the lineups from teams ranked below the Giants? Long story short, yes I would.

The Royals come in just below the Giants – but honestly…are they worse? At the top of the lineup they have Whit Merrifield, one of the best hitters in baseball. He is followed by speedy Adalberto and a big hoss in Hunter Dozier. Jorge Soler and Salvy Perez are joined in the middle of the lineup by Alex Gordon. They have Maikel Franco in the eighth spot – who hit 17 HR last year, good enough for 4th on the 2019 Giants.

This one is easy. I would take Blackmon, Dahl, Arenado, Story, and Murphy in a heartbeat.

Yikes, this one is gross. OK so I finally found one lineup worse than the Giants.

I somehow found myself at two Orioles games last summer – some of these boys can hit. Alberto, Mancini, Santander and Nunez put up solid ABs. Hell, Wilkerson can even throw and inning or two. With that being said, I’d still rather watch the Giants hit than see the bottom half of this lineup.

Wrap-Up

The Giants lineup is gross, but not the grossest in baseball. There are clearly two teams below them – the Orioles, and Tigers. I can safely say that the Giants have one of the top 28 lineups in all of baseball.

– Buzz

WHAT ARE THE GIANTS DOING!? WHY DID WE SIGN HUNTER PENCE!?

I have no idea what is going on with this ball club. From a baseball and organizational perspective I have no clue how this can benefit the franchise. I understand that Pence was a great player and clubhouse guy – but it is time to move on from the ’10, ’12, and ’14 seasons. If we are going into full re-build mode then it doesn’t make any sense for us to sign a 36 year old outfielder. Even if he is brought in at the league minimum salary – he is taking ABs away from our future outfielders.

The Dodgers – who already had better outfielders across the board – went out and got Mookie Betts. We brought back Hunter Pence.

– Buzz.

Do Not Worry Giants Fans: Chris Shaw Likes Gabe Kapler

This has been a tough offseason to be a fan of the San Francisco Giants. Bruce Bochy retired. We lost Madison Bumgarner to the Diamondbacks. Our front office has not made a single significant addition to the major league roster.

🧭 #SFGiants

via @KNBR pic.twitter.com/u6pKK6N7Pi
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) January 4, 2020

Today – the tweet above came across my timeline. Chris Shaw, a forever prospect for the Giants organization, is excited about the direction the organization is heading under Gabe Kapler.

Why is Chris Shaw meeting with Gabe Kapler? The 26 year old outfielder was 1/18 last year and is 11/72 on his career. There is no world where Chris Shaw should be in Gabe Kapler’s plans.

The depth chart above is what we are currently looking at to start the season. This is not a competitive roster.

Don’t worry though, Chris Shaw likes our direction.

– Buzz

Fixing The Franchise: The San Francisco Giants – August, September, Playoffs 2019

If you want to catch up on the season so far, click the links below:

Spring Training 2019
Opening Day 2019
April 2019
May 2019
First Year Player Draft 2019
June 2019
July 2019

August Trades

Guess what!? You can still trade in August. Anyone not on the 40 man roster is eligible to be traded – it is time to shake things up a bit.

Joey Bart is struggling in the the Majors as we enter the month of August. After just over one hundred ABs he is hitting .187. He needs some time back in AAA to figure things out – he just is not ready for the bigs yet. I decided that this was a good time for me to grab a top tier prospect for a few of my own.

Ramos, Toribio and Callahan

Player	Age	Ovr.	Pot.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Heliot Ramos	19	64	A	Orioles	Adley Rutschman	21	C	71	A
Luis Toribio	18	56	B
Jamie Callahan	24	64	C

I am sad to see Heliot Ramos go, but I was able to grab the #1 pick from the (actual) 2019 MLB draft. Adley Rutschman will be able to play immediately for me behind the dish.

Rutschman

Davidson, Lovegrove, and Sierra

Player	Age	Ovr.	Pot.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Logan Davidson	21	65	B	Padres	Jose Castillo	23	RP	76	B
Kieran Lovegrove	24	64	C
Jamie Callahan	20	59	C

I was high on Logan Davidson when I initially acquired him. Unfortunately for him, he is the 4th best shortstop in my organization. I move Davidson and two C level prospects for a reliever that will immediately help my Major League roster.

Castillo

MLB Debut For Rutschman

Adley Rutschman showed up to Oracle Park ready to play. He took the first pitch he saw and lined it up the middle for his first major league hit.
In the 4th inning, on just the second pitch he saw as a major leaguer, he flared a single to left field.
In the 6th inning – he hit a ball off the pitchers shin for another hit.
During his fourth at bat – he probably had his best hit ball of the night – but lined out to the left fielder.
The Giants won the game 4-3 and Rutschman finished the night 3/4.

Roster Moves/Injuries

Joey Bart was sent back down to AAA – he needs some time to improve his bat and get it ready for the 2020 season.
On August 13th, Adley Rutschman was promoted to the MLB squad – he will wear #35.
On August 13th, Jose Castillo was promoted to the MLB squad – he will wear #65.
Travis Bergen was sent to AAA.
On August 16th, the Giants claimed 2B Esteban Quiroz and 2B Peter Van Gansen from the Padres.
Cliff Pennington was placed on trade waivers – and was unclaimed. He was sent to AAA.
Esteban Quiroz was promoted to the MLB squad – he will wear #92.
On August 21st, Royce Lewis broke his arm – ending his season.
Logan Wyatt returned to the Flying Squirrels on August 28th.

Regular Season Results

MLB

The Giants finished the year with a 64-98 record – dead last in the N.L. West. Only the Orioles had a worse record in all of baseball, and the Giants were only better by one game.

AAA

The River Cats finished the season with a 59-81 record. They did not make the playoffs.

AA

The Flying Squirrels finished the season with a 77-63 record. They made the postseason as a wild card team. The Squirrels were swept by the Eerie Seawolves in the first round.

Awards

Award	Player	Stats	Team
NL MVP	Ronald Acuna Jr.	.362 AVG, 47 HR, 125 RBI	Braves
NL Cy Young	Clayton Kershaw	16-6, 2.48 ERA, 220K	Dodgers
NL Rookie of the Year	Austin Riley	.257 AVG, 31 HR, 108 RBI	Braves
AL MVP	J.D. Martinez	.298 AVG, 59 HR, 141 RBI	Red Sox
AL Cy Young	Chris Sale	17-5, 3.12 ERA, 258K	Red Sox
AL Rookie of the Year	Vladamir Guerrero Jr.	.292 AVG, 31 HR, 92 RBI	Blue Jays

Playoffs

Wild Card

Mets over Phillies
Yankees over Blue Jays

Divison Series

Indians over Astros 3-2
Yankees over Red Sox 3-2
Pirates over Dodgers 3-1
Braves over Mets 3-1

Championship Series

Indians over Yankees 4-1
Pirates over Braves 4-2

It looks like the trade I made with the Pirates prior to the season has really impacted the playoffs this year. The Pirates won the N.L. Central. Madison Bumgarner has pitched 25 innings so far in the playoffs. He is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA and 26 K. In game 6 of the NLCS – Bumgarner threw a complete game shutout while batting 2/5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. The Pirates won that game 26-0. Will Smith has 2 saves for the Pirates so far with a 0.00 ERA. Steven Vogt, who I traded in July to the Pirates – is now their everyday first baseman. He is hitting .359 in the playoffs so far.

I also had a trade that impacted the Indians. Carlos Asuaje is starting at second base and hitting 2nd for the Indians through their postseason run.

World Series

The Cleveland Indians won the World Series 4-2. Asuaje led the league in hits throughout the playoffs with 19.
Madison Bumgarner had 3 HR in the postseason. He hit .333/.400/1.083. He ended the postseason with a 4-0 record over 41 IP with 39 K and a 0.66 ERA.
Will Smith ended with 4 saves and a 0.00 ERA.
Tyler Naquin was the World Series MVP with a .391 AVG 1HR and 7 RBI

Season Stats

Hitting

Name	Pos.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Adley Rutschman	C	37	132	14	37	4	13	12	33	2	.280	.342	.447
Joey Bart	C	29	107	7	20	1	6	9	19	2	.187	.250	.234
Josh Bell	1B	160	539	76	161	33	81	99	107	8	.299	.410	.534
Abiatal Avelino	2B	66	244	29	65	6	20	20	55	6	.266	.328	.422
Ke’Bryan Hayes	3B	69	265	27	59	10	33	23	66	4	.223	.286	.396
Cole Tucker	SS	151	558	60	137	9	47	47	119	8	.246	.309	.366
Dominic Smith	LF	154	542	56	139	25	74	52	120	9	.256	.323	.434
Chris Shaw	LF	111	302	29	71	15	46	10	93	2	.235	.259	.417
Mike Yastrzemski	LF	88	304	36	83	12	39	35	59	7	.273	.349	.470
Steven Duggar	RF	141	497	61	128	10	42	60	124	14	.258	.344	.400

Josh Bell is easily the best bat in my lineup. He led the team in every offensive category except for stolen bases.
Young Adley Rutschman came along and put up some nice numbers at the end of the season. His performance may have made Joey Bart expendable.

Pitching

Name	Pos.	W	L	SV	IP	SO	ERA
Alek Manoah	SP	1	7	0	50.2	49	6.93
Darwinzon Hernandez	SP	8	11	0	155.0	119	4.18
Dereck Rodriguez	SP	3	4	0	82.1	59	2.62
Jefry Rodriguez	SP	4	4	0	75.0	56	4.20
Shaun Anderson	SP	6	14	0	163.1	138	4.52
Reyes Moronta	RP	1	1	44	53.2	60	1.34
Jose Castillo	RP	0	0	0	11.0	9	1.64
Caleb Ferguson	RP	5	5	0	84.0	70	5.57
Vince Velasquez	RP	6	4	0	111.1	106	4.77
Miguel Diaz	RP	6	2	0	62.2	61	6.03
Tyler Rogers	SP	6	5	0	101.0	71	3.30

Reyes Moronta and Jose Castillo are solid arms in my bullpen. I will be able to build around them heading into next season.
Dereck Rodriguez is a great arm – when healthy. I need to get a full season out of him next year.

Coming Up

We will head into the offseason and see what moves I can make to improve this roster. Hopefully the Giants can start to compete as we head into the 2020 season.

– Buzz

Fixing The Franchise: The San Francisco Giants – July 2019

The San Francisco Giants have had a rough season so far. If you want to catch up on the season so far, click the links below:

Spring Training 2019
Opening Day 2019
April 2019
May 2019
First Year Player Draft 2019
June 2019

We enter the month of July and with the trade deadline approaching I have decided that it is time to call it a season and let the kids play. I want to get a jump on the deadline and unload some of my players – so I am going to begin trading early in the month.

As it stands, the following teams are within reach of winning their division:

Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Royals, Astros, Braves, Pirates, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Dodgers, and Rockies.

The following teams have a shot at a wild card spot:

Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers, Rays, White Sox, Athletics, Twins, Mets, and Nationals.

The Tigers, Orioles, Padres, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Brewers all are below .500 and do not have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. They are all beyond 5 games out of a playoff spot and would not reach the playoffs without an unprecedented run.

By trading players in early July I give my organization more possible trading partners and feel like this a good opportunity for me. I believe that the following players could possibly help a contender down the stretch and I have decided to make them available: Bartolo Colon, Santiago Casilla, Joaquin Benoit, Ty Blach, Steven Okert, Stephen Vogt, Francisco Pena, Carlos Asuaje, Jose Reyes, Chase Headley, and Pablo Sandoval.

My current budget is as follows:

Keeping the contenders in mind, I am only going to follow through with trades that make sense for the teams listed above.

Asuaje

The first player I am looking to move is Carlos Asuaje – he hasn’t shown that he fits the long term vision of my franchise, yet his is talented enough where he can help out a contender. I will only be looking to move Asuaje to a team that needs help at 2B or as a UTIL player.

Asuaje would be an improvement at 2B for the Indians and Cubs. Those are the teams that would likely pursue him. The Indians came to the table with the better offer:

Traded	Age	Ovr.	Pos.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Carlos Asuaje	27	76	2B	Indians	Jefry Rodriguez	25	SP	73	B
					James Karinchak	23	RP	60	C

I am able to grab a starting pitcher that they Indians are not using, yet he is good enough to make my big league club today.

Headley, Casilla and Benoit

Chase Headley is aging and a change of scenery could revitalize his career. He has a reasonable salary that any contender could pick up without any issues. The Royals have Hunter Dozier at 3rd, but he is injured. I also have aging relief pitchers in Santiago Casilla and Joaquin Benoit that would improve the bullpen in Kansas City.

Traded	Age	Ovr.	Pos.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Chase Headley	34	74	3B	Royals	Richard Lovelady	23	RP	64	B
Santiago Casilla	38	73	RP		Jake Newberry	24	RP	61	B
Joaquin Benoit	41	72	RP

I grab two relief pitchers that can help with my pitching depth. As I have mentioned before, my organization needs help at the RP position.

Colon

Traded	Age	Ovr.	Pos.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Bartolo Colon	45	64	SP	Blue Jays	Zach Jackson	23	RP	62	C

For some reason the Blue Jays wanted Colon. I grab an OK pitching prospect, mostly for depth.

Sandoval, Pena and Blach

Traded	Age	Ovr.	Pos.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Pablo Sandoval	32	69	3B	Cubs	Brendon Little	22	SP	65	B
Francisco Pena	29	70	C
Ty Blach	28	68	RP

Sandoval becomes another player the Cubs can plug in anywhere. Pena becomes their new back-up catcher and Blach works into their bullpen.

Little

I am able to pick up 2017 first round pick Brendon Little – this helps make up for the lack of SP I was able to grab in the 2019 First Year Player Draft.

Vogt, Reyes and Okert

Traded	Age	Ovr.	Pos.	To	Rec.	Age	Pos.	Ovr.	Pot.
Stephen Vogt	34	68	C	Pirates	Gage Hinsz	22	SP	62	C
Jose Reyes	35	65	2B
Steven Okert	27	65	CP

I grab another pitching prospect in exchange for two players in their mid-30’s and a career minor league closer. Not bad.

Roster moves

I accidentally placed Richard Lovelady on Waivers when trying to move him to AA. Luckily nobody claimed him.
Ke’Bryan Hayes was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #31.
Joey Bart was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #9.
Shea Langerliers promoted to AAA.
Abiatal Avelino was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #46
Jefry Rodriguez was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #68.
Ryder Jones was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #14.
Will Maddox, Kody Hoese, Jonah Arenado, Ray Black, and Kieran Lovegrove to AAA.
Miguel Diaz was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #47.
Joey Gerber was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #35.
Austin Slater was sent to AA to make room for Mike Yastrzemski.
On July 20th, Alexander Palma (AAA) dislocated his shoulder – sidelining him for two months.
On July 27th, Dereck Rodriguez broke his forearm and will be out for two months.
Alek Manoah was promoted to the MLB squad. He will wear #47. Miguel Diaz now has to wear #48. (Manoah only threw 3.2 IP in his debut but struck out 8 and only gave up 4 hits).

Free Agents

Player	Pos.	Age	Ovr.	Pot.	Yrs.	Contract
Cliff Pennington	SS	34	64	C	2	$1.2M
Jim Johnson	CP	35	66	C	1	$600K
Trevor Brown	C	27	64	D	2	$1.4M

New Budget

Out budget is incredibly low at this point. According to Sportrac, the Red Sox have 10x the payroll that we have. Our payroll is also $40M less than the next lowest team, the Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB Debuts for Hayes, Bart, Avelino and Gerber

On July 1st in San Diego the Giants decided to let some of the kids play and make their debut.

Ke’Bryan Hayes led off for the Giants, and on just the second pitch he drove the ball to the right-center gap for a double and his first major league hit.

With two outs in the inning, Joey Bart lined the first pitch he saw up the middle. This gave him two firsts, not just his first major league hit but also his first major league RBI – as Hayes scored from second.

Offense was limited and we had a straight up pitchers duel until the 7th, when Austin Hedgers homered to tie the game. With two outs in the inning – Joey Gerber made his Major League debut and got the only batter he faced out.

With one out in the 8th, Hayes doubled again – this time to left-center field. Dominic Smith hit a deep fly ball to center, which moved Hayes to third. Josh Bell was intentionally walked to bring up Joey Bart with two outs. Bart flew out to center field to end the threat.

A double switch was used in the bottom of the 8th, and the pitcher was put in Bart’s spot since he was the last out. I brought in Aramis Garcia to catch and hit in the 9 spot.

With one out in the 9th, Abitial Avelino was hit by a pitch to reach base for the first time in his career. The Giants could not put a threat together and the score remained tied heading into the bottom of the 9th.

In the bottom of the 10th the Padres were able to capitalize on an error and take home the victory.

Futures Game

Our organization sent three players to the Futures Game: Seth Elledge, Alexander Palma and Matt Beaty.

Palma had an RBI single in the 3rd inning and another hit in the 5th inning, he also stole a base.
Matt Beaty had a single in the 7th inning.
Elledge pitched the 8th inning – striking out one and allowing zero runs on zero hits.

The AL Futures won 3-2. Nick Madrigal (now on the Yankees) was the MVP.

All Star Game

I have no idea how this happened. Ke’Bryan Hayes, who just made his debut days earlier – was now on the N.L. All-Star team.

Hayes hit into a double play his first at bat and singled his second time up, also scoring a run.

The N.L won 19-10.

AAA All-Star Game

Matt Beaty started at 1B and hit 5th, while Heliot Ramos was on the bench. Beaty was 0/2 and Ramos singled in his lone AB.

The I.L beat the PCL 5-1.

AA All-Star Game

I had three AA All-Starts: Sam Wolff, Jin-De Jhang, and Brice Turang – all of which started on the bench.

Wolff threw a perfect 7th inning.
Jhang singled in the 7th.
Turang did not play – which is pretty disrespectful.

Block Buster Trades

This is an interesting move for both squads. The Rockies pick up an elite starting pitcher in James Paxton in exchange for their closer – Wade Davis. I think the Rockies won this trade.

Jose Berrios for Matt Olson – the Twins are 9.5 games back and the A’s are 15.5 games back. No idea who this helps.

Another trade that caught my attention but did not produce a graphic was Josh Hader to the Mariners for Jarred Kelenic and Jordan Cowan. The Brewers are out of the playoff race, and pick up an elite OF prospect in Kelenic for a solid lefty-reliever in Hader.

July Results

MLB

We had a couple exciting debuts to start the month. Cole Tucker returned from injury on the 4th of July. Mike Yastrzemski returned on July 6th.

Hot and Cold

MLB

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Ke’Bryan Hayes	3B	.284 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI

We have had a pretty solid start from the young buck at 3rd base. Hayes is hitting for average and power in his first month in the bigs.

AAA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Ray Black	RP	0.68 ERA, 17 K, 13.1 IP
Kody Hoese	3B	.313 AVG, 64 AB, 6 RBI

Ray Black has adjusted to AAA incredibly well, hopefully he is finally living up to his potential. Kody Hoese is filling in for Hayes at AAA quite nicely.

AA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Jackson Rutledge	SP	0.00 ERA, 13K, 14.1 IP

Jackson Rutledge has bounced between A and AA all year, but he had a solid month at AA and is hoping to stay.

Prospects

With all of the players I moved around – the prospect list did not update or reflect that quite yet. I will show an updated prospect ranking after August.

Waiver Wire

Some teams put some incredible talent on the Waiver Wire as we entered August. I know that I am out of contention for the year, but this could be a way that I grab some talent for the 2020 season. I could even do what Oklahoma City did with Paul George or what the Toronto Raptors attempted with Kawhi Leonard. Get talent into the organization – hopefully they like it and sign long term.

I placed claims on the following players:

Player	Pos.	Ovr.	Age	Pot.
Blake Treinen	CP	94	30	A
Anthony Rendon	3B	90	28	A
David Peralta	LF	90	31	B
Jonathan Villar	2B	89	27	C
Marcus Semien	SS	83	28	B

I am curious to see which players are allowed to walk and come to San Francisco, and which players are pulled off of waivers once teams see that I have made a claim.

Coming Up

July was a busy month. As we head into the last few months of the season we will see how our young rookies are doing. We will also keep an eye on that waiver wire and see if there are any more moves we can make prior to the offseason.

– Buzz

Fixing The Franchise: The San Francisco Giants – June 2019

June was not a great month for the Giants. If you want to catch up on the season so far, click the links below:

Spring Training 2019
Opening Day 2019
April 2019
May 2019
First Year Player Draft 2019

June Results

MLB

Another terrible month for the Giants who finished the month with a 10-17 record – putting them at 31-53 on the season. Our organization is now 22 games back of the division leading Dodgers. It is safe to say that playoffs are not in our near future. We will be unloading players at the deadline.

AAA

The River Cats started the month with a 10 game losing streak. They were only able to collect 10 total wins on the month while losing 17. This brought their season record to 36-47. The Cats are in last place in their division – 9 games back of first.

AA

The Flying Squirrels were 14-14 through the month of June- bringing them to a 43-37 record on the season. The Squirrels are tied for the division lead with the Eerie SeaWolves.

Hot and Cold

MLB

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Pablo Sandoval	3B	.283 AVG, 12 HR, 39 RBI*

We are getting a pretty solid season from Pablo Sandoval so far. He is hitting for average and power – this is a nice surprise.

*Season stats

AAA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Jose Mesa	RP	2.03 ERA, 12 K, 13.1 IP
Matt Beaty	1B	.341 AVG, 91 AB, 13 RBI

Looks like I made a solid pickup in Jose Mesa – who had a great debut month for our organization. Matt Beaty was also swinging a hot bat through the month of June.

Cold

Name	Pos.	Stats
George Kirby	SP	5.76 ERA, 11 BB, 29.2 IP

George Kirby struggled this month – although I am not too concerned, I expect him to bounce back just fine.

AA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Alek Manoah	SP	3.31 ERA, 21K, 16.1 IP
Brice Turang	SS	.315 AVG, 92 AB, 12 RBI

Alex Manoah is a strikeout machine – I have high hopes for him in the future. Brice Turang has been a consistent bat for the AA Flying Squirrels.

Roster Moves/Injuries

Jason Hammel separated his shoulder on June 8. He was placed on the 60 day IL. Ty Blach pulled his hamstring on the same day and was placed on the 10 day IL. I didn’t want to rush any of my younger arms to the bigs – I called up 28 year old Tyler Rogers from AAA to replace Jason Hammel. Conner Menez took the spot of Tyler Rogers in the AAA rotation. Gregory Santos was called up to AA amongst all of the shuffling.
The squad was needing some help – we only had 13 relief pitchers within the organization. I signed the following player:

Name	Pos.	Age	Ovr.	Pot.	Yrs.	Contract
Jose Mesa	RP	25	63	B	1	$80K

Alek Manoah returned from his injury on June 16th. He returned to the AA rotation.
Logan Wyatt broke his foot on June 30th. He was placed on the 60 day IL.

Prospects

As we enter the month of June, things have changed in the Top 50 Prospects list. Here is where things stand:

Some players within the organization found themselves at new spots on the MLB Top 50 Prospects list. Here is where I would rank the prospects within our system after a month of baseball:

Org. Rank	MLB Rank	Player	Age	Pos.	Pot.	Ovr.	Level
#1	#8	Royce Lewis	19	SS	A	66	AAA
#2	#21	Alexander Palma	22	RF	A	66	AAA
#3	#40	Joey Bart	22	C	A	66	AAA
#4	#46	Ke’Bryan Hayes	22	3B	A	69	AAA
#5	NR	Heliot Ramos	19	CF	A	63	AAA
#6	NR	Hunter Bishop	20	CF	A	61	AA
#7	NR	Logan Davidson	21	SS	B	65	AAA
#8	NR	Shea Langeliers	21	C	B	67	AA
#9	NR	Alek Manoah	21	SP	B	66	AA
#10	NR	Jake Wong	22	SP	B	66	AAA

Coming Up

I will breakdown July, as well as all of the All-Star festivities that happen during the month. We will also trade anything we can not that we are completely out of the playoff picture.

– Buzz

Fixing The Franchise: The San Francisco Giants – MLB First Year Player Draft 2019

The Giants have the 10th overall pick heading into the 2019 First Year Player Draft. Our organization is hoping to grab some talent on the mound – but we have to take a best player available approach. Having the 10th pick in the draft is not a terrible spot, but some of our preferred players will be off the board when it is our turn to pick.

Looking ahead at the players available – there are a significant amount of 80 grade potential prospects.

What I am going to do is breakdown how the first nine picks of the draft play out – then provide the pool of players I am deciding between at pick 10.

Round 1

1. Orioles – LF – Jose Vizcaino

Scouted

There is no doubt that Jose Vizcaino is a threat on the bases – he is already scouted near elite speed. Although Vizcaino is just 18 years old, the Dominican shortstop is below average at the plate – and projects to be above average at best as he gets older. His glove is not elite, which is what I would want if I were picking first overall. I think this is a reach for the Orioles.

Current Overall

The potential grade is there – but overall he is not talented and won’t impact the Orioles for quite some time. Hopefully he can grow into that 6’5″ frame and develop a bit at the plate.

2. Royals – SS – Dwight Ludwig

Dwight Ludwig seems to be a more balanced player that the #1 Jose Vizcaino. Ludwig is coming out of college and I would want a more polished 21 year old if I were picking at #2 overall.

This pick was a reach and the Royals truly botched this pick. Ludwig has potential, but I don’t see him living up to that anytime soon. He could end up like Ray Black in my organization – high potential but low overall late into his 20’s.

3. White Sox – SS – Jason Fisher

My guys scouted Jason Fisher as the best of the first three players taken. He projects well at the plate and in the field. He has the potential to be an everyday player in the White Sox organization.

These first three picks were shocking to me. These are three organizations that took long term projects – two of which are already 21 years old.

4. Marlins – C – Ethan Schmoll

Ethan Schmoll is another older draft pick – at 22 years old. He projects to be an above average hitter and catcher. He has a big frame and should be pretty solid behind the plate. With that in mind – this is a reach at #4.

Yikes – 46 overall. Without that high potential, Schmoll would not make it onto many of these rosters.

5. Tigers – SP – Travis Akers

Travis Akers was the #1 player on my draft board. He currently has a good skill set and projects to have elite stamina and velocity. He enters the draft at just 19 years old, which gives him some time to figure things out in the minors.

Akers is already a solid pitcher and would have been fighting for a spot in my Major League rotation already. I am sad to see him off the board. The Tigers made a good pick here.

6. Padres – 1B – Hank York

I see this as a pretty bad pick at #6. The Padres definitely reached here. Hank York has good potential – but it is in many areas that you don’t seek out for a first baseman.

Luckily for the Padres Hank York is just 19 years old. He needs to really develop that bat in the Minor Leagues to have a chance in the Major Leagues. The Padres attempted to draft the heir to Eric Hosmer at first base and I am unsure if York is that guy.

7. Rangers – CF – Omar Cedeno

Omar Cedeno is the first outfielder off the board in the 2019 draft. He is a speedy center fielder that projects to be a good contact hitter at the plate.

So far in this draft – my scouts have been pretty on the mark. They have been correct with the potential and overall of all players drafted so far. Cedeno is another player that I would deem a reach this early in the first round. After seven picks, only one player that I was considering for the #10 pick has been taken.

8. Reds – SP – Frank Pond

I spoke too soon, there goes #2 from my draft board. Frank Pond is a smaller pitcher – but he projects to be a solid Major League arm in a few years.

This was a good pick for the Reds. He already has a decent overall and is just 18 years old.

9. Blue Jays – CP – John Lovallo

For me, this is a bit early to draft closer John Lovallo, but the Blue Jays were high on this guy. The German righty brings the head and has elite break on his pitches already. Give him a couple years to work on his control and he has the potential to be an All-Star.

Great potential and the velocity and break are already there. This was an OK pick for the Blue Jays at #9.

10. Giants –

At pick number ten, only two of the players I truly had my eyes on were off the board – Travis Akers and Frank Pond. I had identified pitching as an area of need heading into this draft. However, there were not many pitchers that I deemed worthy of the #10 pick at this point. As an organization we are far away from fielding a competitive team, so it may be better to draft based on best player available rather than need.

One player that caught my eye through the scouting process was 18 year old Dominican LF Miguez Becerra. He has elite future grades in the areas of contact and speed.

Roger Miranda, a 22 years old also from the Dominican Republic – is another player that can hit. He already is scouted to have elite speed as well.

Second baseman Alvin Darden looks to be a solid prospect. He is young and has a solid bat already. He looks like he will continue to develop at the plate.

This is something that totally surprised me. With the minimal scouting I have done on this prospect, Clifford James is already graded as an elite player. When I look across the board at his abilities all I see are Well Above Average to Elite future grade. Is his potential worth the risk here at #10?

I came into this draft wanting to take a pitcher at #10, and Dane Dagenais is available. I had him ranked as the third best pitching prospect. To me, he projects to be a middle of the rotation guy. He is also just 18 years old, which is enticing.

10. Giants – LF – Miguel Becerra

With the 10th pick in the 2019 draft I decided that Miguel Becerra was the best guy to get. I am very pleased with this choice – he already can hit and run with the best of them. Becerra may find his way into the Giants lineup as soon as Opening Day 2020.

14. Phillies – SP – Dane Dagenais

The Phillies grabbed Dagenais shortly after my pick at #10.

Comp Round A

1. Marlins – CF – Roger Miranda

There goes Roger Miranda. I am glad that I went with Becerra at #10 over Miranda – but damn, look how fast Miranda is already.

Round 2

5. Tigers – 2B – Alvin Darden

I have filed a petition with Major League Baseball to look into the scouting practices of the Detroit Tigers. This is the second player that I have been high on that they have taken shortly before me. I was hoping that Darden would make it to me in the second round.

10. Giants –

Of the players I mentioned earlier – Clifford James was still on the board. I know that I have hardly scouted him. I know that he will probably not be as elite as my minimal scouting says he will be.

10. Giants – 3B – Clifford James

I drafted him anyways. There was nobody else that I was super high on and decided he was worth the risk. The potential is not quite there, but he is already a decent player. Not a bad second round draft choice.

Round 3

10. Giants – SP – Connie Nowakowski

This was another player that I did not thoroughly scout – but from what I saw he looked to be elite. Definitely worth the risk in round 3.

Dang. Connie Nowakowski is a decent arm already, but I do not anticipate much from him past AAA in the future.

Round 4

10. Giants – CP – Edgar Nunez

Somehow Edgar Nunez was still around in the fourth round. He projects to be an elite closer – he just needs to work on his control.

Honestly, not a bad pick in the 4th round. He will spend a few years in the system – I am optimistic that he will develop into a solid bullpen piece.

Round 5

10. Giants – SP – Paul Finn

More of the same, a player that I had not really looked at – but I deemed worth the risk of taking in the 5th round.

He is an OK talent with good potential. We will have to wait and see on this draft choice.

Round 6

10. Giants – RP – Willy Anderskow

A total crapshoot in Round 6. If he comes out as a somewhat decent player I’ll be happy.

Honestly, not too bad for my last pick in the draft.

Draft Day Steals

Round 6 – Andres Campos – Mets

Although the potential is not there, the overall already is. Andres Campos is a talented 3rd baseman that should make his way onto the Met in 2020.

Round 5 – Edgar Merced – Orioles

Edgar Merced is a pretty talented 18 year old. He can do it all. The potential is not there, but I don’t think that is needed with the skillset he already has. He should be starting for the Orioles in 2020.

Coming Up

We will cruise through the rest of the month of June to see where the organization is at. How do you feel about the draft choices I made? Are you all in on Becerra?

– Buzz

Fixing The Franchise: The San Francisco Giants – May 2019

We are back to chronicle another month of baseball for the 2019 San Francisco Giants. If you want to catch up on the season so far, click the links below:

Spring Training 2019
Opening Day 2019
April 2019

May Results

MLB

After a 3-5 start to the month, the Giants were able to sweep the Reds to bring their record to 6-5 for May. The series finale on May 12th was capped by a walk-off single by Pablo Sandoval for a 5-4 victory and series sweep.

The Giants ended the month with a 12-15 record, this was an improvement over the previous month – but still not great. The Giants are now 21-36 on the season and 15.5 games back of the Dodgers in the N.L. West. As far as records go, the Giants are now the 3rd worst team in all of baseball – ahead of the Orioles and the Tigers.

AAA

The River Cats struggled this month – producing a 10-20 record in April. They have fallen to dead last in the PCL Pacific North Division – 3 games behind the Rainiers.

AA

The Flying Squirrels were 15-14 through the month of April – bringing them to a 30-23 record on the season. They currently sit in second the the EL Western Division – 1 game back of the Eerie Seawolves.

Hot and Cold

MLB

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Josh Bell	1B	.311 AVG, 12 HR, 34 RBI*

*Season stats

Josh Bell is a solid player and he is having a great season so far. I need to make sure that I can keep him happy so he is willing to stick around for this rebuild. As long as I can keep his morale up we should be good for a few years. Bell is making a case to be my only All-Star this season.

Cold

Name	Pos.	Stats
Williams Jerez	RP	8.13 ERA, 21 BB, 27.2 IP*

*Season stats

Williams Jerez was designated for assignment after another poor month.

AAA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Sean Hjelle	SP	3.09 ERA, 28 K, 32 IP
Heliot Ramos	CF	.294 AVG, 85 AB, 10 RBI

After a terrible first month to the year, Sean Hjelle was able to bounce back with a solid May. Heliot Ramos is starting to heat up as well, which is what I expect from one of the top prospects in the organization.

Cold

Name	Pos.	Stats
Jake Wong	SP	4.60 ERA, 14 BB, 31.1 IP
Ryder Jones	3B	.158 AVG, 57 AB

Jake Wong looked very below average on the mound in May. I was hopeful that he would be able to pitch for the Giants by the end of the season – but now I am not so sure. Ryder Jones struggled at the plate and may be destined to be a career minor-leaguer.

AA

Hot

Name	Pos.	Stats
Ray Black	RP	3.38 ERA, 9K, 8 IP

Ray Black has been talked about as a top prospect for the Giants for a long time – and at 28 years old he is finally starting to perform.

Cold

Name	Pos.	Stats
Seth Elledge	CP	5.95 ERA, 16.2 IP

Not much to say here – this was a bad month for Seth Elledge from the bullpen.

Roster Moves/Injuries

Ronnie Jebavy (AAA) sprained his ACL and missed two weeks.
Logan Wyatt (AA) pulled his hamstring and missed a few weeks.
Dereck Rodriguez returned from the Injured List on May 30th. James Shields was struggling on the mound – with a 1-8 record and 5.64 ERA. I decided to check the market and see what kind of return I could get for him before releasing him. Nobody seemed interested, so I designated Shields for assignment.
Travis Bergen was called up from AAA to take the spot of Williams Jerez, who was also designated for assignment.
Conner Menez was sent up to AAA after posting a 1.77 ERA in 40.2 IP at AA.
Jackson Rutledge was sent up to AA.

Prospects

As we enter the month of June, things have changed in the Top 50 Prospects list. Here is where things stand:

Some players within the organization found themselves at new spots on the MLB Top 50 Prospects list. Here is where I would rank the prospects within our system after a month of baseball:

Org. Rank	MLB Rank	Player	Age	Pos.	Pot.	Ovr.	Level
#1	#9	Royce Lewis	19	SS	A	66	AAA
#2	#35	Joey Bart	22	C	A	66	AAA
#3	#40	Ke’Bryan Hayes	22	3B	A	68	AAA
#4	#41	Alexander Palma	22	RF	A	65	AAA
#5	NR	Heliot Ramos	19	CF	A	63	AAA
#6	NR	Hunter Bishop	20	CF	A	61	AA
#7	NR	Logan Davidson	21	SS	B	64	AAA
#8	NR	Shea Langeliers	21	C	B	66	AA
#9	NR	Trevor Stephan	22	SP	B	62	AA
#10	NR	Jake Wong	22	SP	B	66	AAA

Coming Up

I will breakdown all of the prospects that the Giants are looking at in the 2019 First Year Player Draft.

– Buzz

Would Zack Greinke – A Pitcher – Be The Best Hitter On The San Francisco Giants?

The Diamondbacks took down the N.L. West leading Los Angeles Dodgers last night, thanks in part to a Zack Greinke homerun in the second inning. That was his third homerun of the year, and it got me thinking – is Greinke a better hitter than anyone playing regularly for the San Francisco Giants?
*Outside of Alex Dickerson

Through 18 games at the plate – Greinke is putting up the following numbers:

AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	BA	OBP	SLG
36	7	11	2	1	3	6	2	.306	.342	.667

Those are some solid numbers – especially for a pitcher. Obviously, Greinke does not play every day, so we need to take those numbers and project those out as if he were playing regularly:

AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	BA	OBP	SLG
180	35	55	10	5	15	30	10	.306	.342	.667

It is unlikely that Greinke would keep hitting at the same rate – but those numbers are all we have to work with. Keeping the above stat line in mind, I will include a screenshot of the regulars for the Giants from Baseball Reference below:

If Greinke were playing in the everyday lineup for the Giants – he would be leading the team in 3B, HR, BA, OBP and SLG. He would be second in RBI and third in hits. He would without a doubt be the best bat in their lineup.

The question is, would the Diamondbacks be willing to trade Greinke, the hitter, to the Giants? Is it possible to work out some kind of time-share where Greinke plays for the Giants on his off days?

– Buzz