Results tagged ‘ Gary Brown ’
Two Prospect Rankings in Two Days
The future of the game and the future of the teams baseball fans have loved for years rest in the bats, gloves, and arms of a lot of these kids that are occupying the Minors and some even have knocked down the door into the national spotlight. People love rankings, so when it comes to ranking the future, it’s easy to see how people can get excited, as well as downright stupid, when these rankings come out. MLB.com released their rankings last night for the Top 100 prospects in baseball, and Baseball America came out with their rankings for the San Francisco Giants farm system this morning, so it’s given us some time to consider what the Giants farm has to offer. Since both these sites are free to access, I’ll post the pictures that give Giants fans what they’re looking for right here:
If you can’t read it because the font’s too darn small, that’s Kyle Crick at 86th, and Gary Brown at number 100. Not a huge surprise to a lot of people, given the hype of Crick we’ve been hearing throughout the year, and even validated by Fangraphs and SBNation rankings from December, and November, respectively. Gary Brown did not have a stellar first half to the year in Double-A Richmond and reports on him soured during that time.
This is Baseball America’s ranking, and here’s a another spot where Crick comes before Brown, but this one has Joe Panik and Chris Stratton before Brown! The Giants farm system is fascinating to me because it seems to be that Crick is the consensus #1 and then from there it’s a lot of cross-checking on strengths and weaknesses on the different guys within the system, which can understandably jumble up the list. Another cool point about this list:
In that list, Crick (#1), Stratton (#3), Blackburn (#6), and Mejia (#10) all are possible starters for High-A San Jose in 2013.
— Stuart Jones (@HeHitsItDeeeeep) January 30, 2013
Top picks for the Giants of 2009 (Brown), 2011 (Panik), and 2012 (Stratton) are all within the Top 5, so while none of them may be gracing the Top 10 of any league-wide national rankings, they are all projected for the moment to be of some use to the parent club, which is a credit to the scouts and decision makers within the organization. However, things don’t always go the way we expect them to, much like the front office may have when they decided to keep Brown and trade Zack Wheeler for old friend Carlos Beltran.
It’s a good idea not to get too overly invested in prospect rankings to the point where you are getting angry over something like Panik being #3 instead of #2 unless you are a prospect evaluator that has plenty of sources to double-check reports. Now, if you do want to become invested in this, take the reports in, ask questions to people in the industry, go to San Jose to catch some games, talk to some scouts to get some info, make some phone calls, and you’ll be on your way to making your own ranking, which is exactly why I don’t make my own rankings on prospects.
As for what’s next in prospect rankings, I’ll be waiting on Baseball Prospectus, as well as MLB.com to release their rankings of the Giants system like Baseball America did today so I have a better idea of some of the kids I might get to see over the course of Spring Training.
So Now What?
Frustration, betrayal, sadness, anger, disappointment would all be reasonable feelings for fans of the Giants and Melky
You know the news, you’ve had nearly a good half-day to digest the news of the Giants OF now being vacant of a certain hit-generator, laser arm, and wry-smile guy Melky Cabrera. Yes, he’ll be gone for fifty games which includes the rest of the season and would also include the first five games of the postseason if the Giants even get that far. We know that, so now what?
If the Giants get to the NLCS, does he play?
Manny got to rehab in the Minors, but what about Melky?
Theoretically, if the Giants play a one-game playoff, he’d be eligible for NLDS Game 5, too, but let’s just say NLCS for argument’s sake. Melky Cabrera would have to train on his own to be in game-ready shape. Most of the time, like Guillermo Mota would get to, and Manny Ramirez got to, players get to rehab in Minor League games but unfortunately those MiLB games will be over and therefore why Melky would have to be relatively self-reliant to get ready.
I believe the Giants would do their absolute best to get Melky ready for an NLCS and/or World Series appearance if the Giants get lucky enough to get that far (not because they’re an unskilled club, but let’s remember how predictable baseball can be). I say in the NLCS, Melky becomes a bench player; World Series, a regular.
This is not a predicting piece saying the Giants will make the postseason. I want to make that clear, just spelling out what I think if the opportunity presented itself.
What happens to Melky and the Giants?
Say what you want about Melky lying to Andrew Baggarly about the rumored drug use, keep in mind though it’s not the first time in history a person has lied to a journalist trying to do their job. I’m not backing Melky, but if you’re going to get mad, make sure you get mad at everyone else.
The Giants save $1.666MM with Melky’s suspension. Melky is a free agent after this year, and while the Giants will have an exclusive negotiating period with Cabrera, it’s anybody’s guess as to what they will do, but a no brainer to the heart-strings if he becomes a postseason hero. Melky is 28 right now, but he will be entering what they call his age 28 season next year, which is supposed to be when players are still within their prime.
I wish we knew how long Melky’s been using the PED, and he’s in a bad situation: if you tell the Giants/MLB how long you’ve been using it, your sticker price goes down; if you don’t tell organizations how long you had been using and they feel they can’t trust you, the sticker price may be even lower.
In the end, I’d expect a 2-year, $8MM deal offer assuming no postseason heroics. “Offer” does not mean he signs it.
The roster moves from here?
Let’s start with this: there are two rosters for an MLB organization that are pretty important — the 25-man, which we know as the MLB squad, and the 40-man roster which encompasses those 25 and includes others the Giants can protect from other clubs. Admittedly, I am not an absolute expert on the rules of moving guys to and from, and who and who is not protected, but let’s start with this:
This means that the Giants don’t have to designate a player currently on the 40-man and risk losing him to another team, I mean, not that teams are on the hunt for Justin Christian or anything, but he’s there for a reason. I’m guessing Melky will be on the Restricted List tomorrow because:
Poor Dan Otero came up for a short bit then goes back down. This opens up two spots on the 25-man roster, and there’s already one open on the 40-man. However, just because there’s a spot open on the 40-man doesn’t necessarily mean someone will be moved onto it. Brett Pill and Justin Christian could come back and my whole next one sentence paragraph could be just a waste of imagination. One option in Roger Kieschnick who is on the 40-man already got eliminated today:
So now we’re left with choosing between the obvious guys of Justin Christian, Brett Pill, and the you-wouldn’t-be-surprised in Xavier Nady (who’s doing horribly in AAA) or even Francisco Peguero (who’s doing better, but not “WOW” better), and the end of the spectrum of surprise in top-prospect Gary Brown.
My guess based off of 100% pure guessing of a guess I’m making in my head: Brett Pill and Francisco Peguero, while the spot in the 40 stays open.
And now…
A day off tomorrow probably won’t help matters, but the roster moves will help everyone move on. Winning against the Padres and Dodgers in the next six games will cure many cuts should that winning happen and really there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. If the Dodgers can put together a hot streak with Matt Kemp out and a mediocre roster, why not the Giants?
Really, why not them?
Fifty-Gamer: Melky Cabrera Suspended
Is this the end of Melky in a Giants uniform?
Melky Cabrera, as announced by MLB, has tested positive for testosterone as a performance enhancing drug and will thus be suspended for 50 games effective immediately. The Giants have 45 games remaining and the suspension will carry over into the postseason if necessary.
“My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension… I apologize to the [Giants] and their fans.” –Melky Cabrera
Melky Cabrera will enter his age 28 season next year and will be a free agent after this 2012 season, and should be interesting how much lower his sticker price has become going into that FA period for him. Him being suspended for the first 5 games of the season in 2013 should the Giants not make the playoffs will probably be an overplayed talking point when we have nothing to talk about over the winter.
Melky, who celebrated his 28th birthday four days ago, was having another great year like he was in Kansas City with 159 hits, .346/.390/.516 line, a .387 wOBA, and a 146 wRC+. What would be intriguing here is if the Giants use top prospect Gary Brown in some capacity after his AA season in Richmond is done. That is pure speculation and nobody has been saying anything of that sort. I expect Gregor Blanco to take Melky’s place in the lineup.
