Although I am really happy for the success of the Rays this season, it strikes me as sad that I have to hope that an organization with a history and tradition as rich as the Giants may have to follow the Rays path to success.
Lord knows the current game plan of searching out every washed up, has-been, aged free-agent veteran and overpaying him has not been working lately. Unfortunately, the latest rumors have the Giants interested in Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko and Dan Uggla.
Now Uggla might make an impact and he is still young enough, but not if the G-men have to give up any young pitching. PLEASE!!!
A small ray of hope for the organization is contained in the most recent edition of Baseball America (Oct 19th) minor league post season scouting reports. The cover of the issue features "teen sensation" lefty Madison Bumgarner. Great, first a romance novel name and now the term "teen sensation". With all this attached to his name, is this guy destined to flame out like Leif Garret or what?
Seriously though, BA has him ranked as the top Sally League prospect this year. Other quotes I liked attached to his name were "94-95 MPH fastball", "ever-improving breaking ball and change up", "pounds both sides of the plate", "hits his spots with precision" and exhibits a killer instinct".
All good things to hear about the organizations top pitching prospect.
Others mentioned:
Arizona Fall League Participants:
Kelvin Pichardo, P (AA)
Kevin Pucetas, P (A-San Jose)
Ben Copleand, OF (AAA-Fresno)
Emmanuel Burris, INF
Ryan Rohlinger, INF
Nate Schierholtz, OF - 13th ranked PCL (AAA) prospect
Tim Alderson, RHP - 6th ranked California League prospect
"best attribute is impeccable command", "dominates without overpowering stuff", "fastball sits at 88-92", "aggressive and willing to work inside", "changeup is developing".
Pablo Sandoval, C/1B - 7th ranked California League prospect
"equally adept from either side of the plate", "can pull the ball to hit for power or take pitches the other way", "shows good discipline", "looks less comfortable on defense", "threw out 46% of base stealers".
Angel Villalona, 1B - 6th ranked South Atlantic League prospect
"showed tremendous raw hitting ability", "several observers questioned conditioning", "hitting will improve once he gets a better grasp of the strike zone".
Nick Noonan, 2B - 9th ranked South Atlantic League prospect
"sweet swing that produces line drives to all fields", "plus runner", "sound offensive mechanics", "plate discipline slipped", "going to hit for more power".
Conor Gillaspie, 3B - 5th ranked Northwest League prospect
"consistently put the barrel of the bat on the ball", "should hit for average with gap power", "speed and athleticism play up thanks to his instincts and aggressiveness", "so-so range", "soft hands and solid arm strength", "has necessary work ethic to get better defensively".
Ehire Adrainza - SS 4th ranked Arizona League prospect
"terrific instincts, quick first step, above average range and soft hands", "switch hitter with smooth stroke and good bat speed","extreme contact hitter..can develop enough power to hit 12-15 homers per year".
Jose Casilla, RHP - 9th ranked prospect Arizona League
"90-95 MPH fastball", "pitches down in the strike zone", "hard, late braking slider.
Kyle Nicholson, RHP - 17th ranked prospect Arizona League
Maybe in the future, with all these prospects, I'll have something more constructive things to write about the Giants season into October.
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