Former Okie Okert opening eyes in Giants camp

This blurb from Andrew Baggarly and Bruce Bochy caught my eye a couple of days back. So far Okert is not stepping down from major league hitters ( and a smattering who will be in the minors soon ).

from Giants Extra:
SPRING NOTES: So-so outings for Cain, Vogelsong, but it's all good for them at this point - Giants Extra:

I will make no secret of my fondness for up-and-coming lefty reliever Stephen Okert. I predicted on Twitter tonight that this guy’s going to be in the majors before the year’s out and that he’s the likely Affeldt heir apparent. I don’t know if Bochy was reading my feed, but when I asked him about Okert after the game, here’s what he said: “This kid’s going to be all right. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at some point. He has good stuff, throws strikes, he’s tough on lefties and he can face righties. He’s a guy who can give you an inning-plus.”

'via Blog this'

His stats in the spring are comparable to his minor league career numbers, which may say something about the intensity of the games played in Arizona, a point Bochy also took pains to point out after yesterdays shellacking. I guess other teams just are not impressed or dazzled by the three rings.

I like the comps to Affeldt, who was a power lefty when he came up. If the kid can have close to the career Affeldt had, I think you would take it at this point.

Okert is a 6-3, 210 LHP who turns 24 this coming July. He is 6-4 2.45 ERA across 118G and 157IP in the minors. This spring he has pitched only in 4.2 innings, so it's the consummate small sample size (SSA alert!!), but he has impressed most every evaluation since last years Arizona Fall League stint.

Comparison from Minor League Career Stats versus spring training:

                      Minors     Spring
K/9:                10.22      9.64
BB/9:              3.31        3.86
WHIP             1.26        1.29
G/F Ratio:      2.29        2.33

I like Bernie Pleskoff's write-up from MLB.com. If he hits it on the mark, this kid could sink and slider his way into the Giants bullpen pretty quickly. You can never have too many lefties who can get guys out and throw strikes coming out of the bullpen.

Good job again by the Giants scouting and developmental people.

from MLB.com:
http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/105199976/bernie-pleskoffs-scouting-profile-steven-okert

Okert is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. He could stand to add additional weight to his frame, but at the age of 23, he might not change physically. He is currently No. 10 on the Giants Top 20 Prospects list.

Okert had inconsistent mechanics and lost his release point at times in college. However, using more consistently sound mechanics, Okert's delivery looked effortless to me. He has a bit of a "slinger" delivery that is extremely challenging to left-handed hitters. This past year, lefties hit only .165 in 103 plate appearances against him. Right-handed hitters had a batting average of .259 in their 180 trips to the plate. Throughout his brief three-year career, those lefty-righty splits have consistently been drastically different.

While his command and control may easily be good enough to grab a role in the starting rotation, he would likely need more refinement on his third pitch and the development of a fourth pitch to be considered as a starter. Consequently, it is most probable Okert could claim a permanent home in the Giants bullpen. Even using a limited, two-pitch fastball/slider combination, he projects as a situational lefty, setup man or even as a closer at some point.

Okert may need more time and additional innings in development. His poise, maturity and overall ability to keep the opposition in check in late innings mirror the quality pitching every club covets and requires.