Giants’ Mac Williamson does it again — homer beats Nationals - SFGate

It looks like the only thing that can slow Mac down is the Giants ridiculous on-field bullpen mound. and perhaps Hunter Pence's triumphant return to the lineup as rally-killer.

Remove the mound. Build a 21st century bullpen. Ignore the return of Pence as far as lineup changes go. We won't get Adam Duvall'd again.

from SFGate.com
Giants’ Mac Williamson does it again — homer beats Nationals - SFGate:

"The Giants have their first three-game win streak and their second consecutive series victory regardless of how they fare against Max Scherzer on Wednesday.

They have taken four of their past five games in a run fueled largely by homers from Williamson and Brandon Belt. On Tuesday, both homered in the same game for the first time."

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Giants make roster moves, expected to cut Uggla | CSN Bay Area

Dan Uggla went 0 for 11 with six strikeouts in his stint with the Giants committing three errors in three starts. (USATSI)

No surprise here. We're seeing Utley and Zobrist mentioned less and less and the Cubs Emilio Bonifacio and Indians Asdrubel Cabrera mentioned more and more.

from CSN Bay Area:
Giants make roster moves, expected to cut Uggla | CSN Bay Area:

As the club boarded a flight to New York for a road trip that begins Friday at Citi Field, they were not joined by Uggla or Colvin. MLB.com’s Chris Haft reported that the Giants released both players, although the club officially confirmed only that Colvin had been optioned to Triple-A Fresno. They did not make an announcement regarding Uggla.

 Giants GM Brian Sabean continues to be active in trade discussions for a second baseman, with Emilio Bonifacio expected to be dealt by the Cubs soon and the Indians also looking to move Asdrubal Cabrera.

........

 Giants GM Brian Sabean continues to be active in trade discussions for a second baseman, with Emilio Bonifacio expected to be dealt by the Cubs soon and the Indians also looking to move Asdrubal Cabrera.

First baseman Brandon Belt could return sooner than expected from the concussion DL. If trade discussions fall through, there’s also an outside shot that the Giants could take a flier on promoting Matt Duffy, who put himself on the radar by hitting .332/.398/.444 in 97 games for Double-A Richmond. Duffy, 23, was an 18^th-round pick out of Long Beach State in 2012 and recently moved from shortstop to second base for the Flying Squirrels. He received serious consideration for a promotion before the Giants signed Uggla to a minor league contract.

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The Giants own AA shortstop Matt Duffy is a dark horse if the Giants do not pull the trigger on one of the many 2B prospects out there. In that case, presumably Joe Panik returns to join Adam Duvall in AAA.

Duffy was a recent addition to Jonathan Mayo MLB.com's top 20 prospect list:

Matt Duffy

Rank: 18

Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA)

ETA: 2015

Position: SS

Age: 23, DOB: 01/15/1991

Bats: R, Throws: R

Height: 6' 2", Weight: 170

Drafted: 2012, 18th (568) - SF

Twitter: @mm_duffy

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Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 30 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

Long Beach State has sent several of its shortstops to the big leagues through the years, with Chris Gomez,Bobby Crosby, Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria and Danny Espinosa all making appearances in the last decade. The next in line is Duffy, who was far less heralded than his predecessors when he signed for $50,000 as an 18th-round pick in 2012.

Duffy batted .303/.389/.433 in his first full pro season, then he got off to an even better start in 2014. He has a quick bat and controls the strike zone well, though he won't have more than gap power. Duffy's speed is fringy, but he shows some aptitude for stealing bases.

Duffy is a steady if unspectacular defender. While he lacks the quickness of a typical shortstop, he has reliable hands to go with a solid arm. Duffy may not be able to displace Brandon Crawford as the Giants' starting shortstop, but Duffy could find a role as a utilityman.

The best thing to come out of this for the Giants is they were able to see what the have in C Andrew Susac, 2B Joe Panik and  3B Adam Duvall. I would be surprised if all three were not contributors next year and a couple of them could start. Although his season was cut short by injury, OF Mac Williamson (6-5, 240 lbs.) could give the Giants a power bat to replace Michael Morse in LF should the Giants go that route. We have to see what he can do against major league pitching.

The Giants face some major roster decisions after this season. Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro are both signed for 2015, however Pablo Sandoval ($8.25M) and Michael Morse ($6M) are not. Among the pitchers, Ryan Vogelsong ($5M) and Sergio Romo ($5.5M) are free agents as well. Conceivably all four could be playing out the string. Morse has to show whether he is more the player we saw in the first 50 games rather than the last 50 games version. From all indications, Sandoval's price may be too dear for the Giants as he is reportedly asking for Hunter Pence money, which is more than Buster Posey money for 2015. Vogie appears to be playing his last days as a Giant and unless Romo finds the slider and the swagger he mysteriously lost, he could be gone. That's $24-$25M that could come off the books.

Arbitration decisions also need to be made on Gregor Blanco ($1.35M) Joaquin Arias (0.925M) Brandon Belt ($531K) Tony Abreu ($500K) Yusmeiro Petit and Brandon Crawford could see salary increases. Blanco is iffy. Arias has value with his defense and versatility. Belt is going to ring the register. Abreu and Petit would appear to be gone next year, although Petit is valuable insurance to the starting rotation. I'm sure he would prefer the opportunity to pitch more innings. Brandon Crawford's recent trip to the principals office notwithstanding, would appear to be secure in his position.

Based on what we've seen, I would not be uncomfortable with Duvall replacing Sandoval at 3B, but I would prefer a more definitive answer in LF. If you put a healthy Scutaro, Pagan and Belt back in the top of the lineup, with Pagan and Scutaro playing for their next contracts, I like the Giants chances. I think the system is well stocked to handle any injuries or performance declines from the starting rotation, but a clearer picture regarding the closer position is needed.

Duvall debuts with a dinger

Maybe, just maybe he can add a little power boost to the 3B slot. Sandoval has a weird split in that he is a .803 OPS versus RHP this year, yet a .604 OPS versus LHP when he hits from the right side.

.....And Duvall conveniently hits from the right side.......Hey, wait a minute!!! You're not suggesting that Bochy entertains the notion of platooning the rookie with the Panda at 3B are you?

Yes, I am. Why not?

If it motivates Pablo, so be it. If it gives them future leverage in contract negotiations down the road, so be it. If Duvall is the real deal, you have to find out sooner rather than later.

In his most complete season with San Jose in 2012, Duvall struck out 116 times while sporting a 30-100-.258 stat line in 598 plate appearances. This year he was on pace for approx. 46-134-.297 with a .980 OPS. A bit of a pull-back in 2013 at AA Richmond across the board for Duvall stat-wise, so the Giants hope that his breakout is more a case of the light-bulb going on for a power hitter rather than a park-induced statistical mirage. He will be transferring from a hitter friendly park to AT&T Park.

Time will tell, but time is ticking as far as the position goes, so IMO there is no time like the present to find out how much Duvall can produce. He's likely to only get a small sample of 100-250 bats, barring the unforeseen, but it will be something and the Giants have made snap decisions on hitting prospects before, albeit with varying results.



from Giants Extra:

POSTGAME NOTES: Crawford, Pill, Guillermo Mota (!) and more -- Duvall joins the club; Timmy talks Powerade bath and GIFs - Giants Extra:

Adam Duvall has been here about a minute and a half, but he already knows all about AT&T Park. When Duvall hit a two-strike slider deep into the night, he wasn’t sure he had his first career homer.

“To be honest, I was just hoping it would go out,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of talk that it doesn’t fly here. It’s hard to hit one out. I was just hoping it would be enough. It was a pretty cool feeling.”

It’s one 13 Giants have felt before, including Brett Pill (the last) and Brandon Crawford (the one you probably remember). Duvall joins the trivia list of players who can say their first hit was a homer in their first game. You know who else can say his first hit was a homer? Guillermo Mota, with the Expos. And that’s why baseball is awesome.

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It's tough to be a Giants fan sometimes

So we're 2-3 games into the Joe Panik experiment and we're all ready to admit defeat and disappointment?

Oh yeah, and Buster Posey sucks!!

from CSN Bay Area:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/rewind-roster-changes-loom-after-padres-rough-giants?

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants tried to spark a spiraling team by calling up second baseman Joe Panik from the minor leagues. They’re expected to add another new face today – Adam Duvall, anyone? – as Angel Pagan is all but certain to cozy up to the disabled list.

Let's not be delusional -- I know defeats are tough to take in droves -- but Adam Duvall's career minor league OPS is .842 versus Joe Panik's .803 coming into this year. So let's not harbor any illusions that Adam Duvall is going to swoop in like Troy Glaus and save the season.

I'm sure it didn't help anyone's disposition whatsoever that Young Beedah -- or what ever the hell his alter ego's name is -- did this last night.

Tyler Beede gave up six runs off 10 hits while striking out four in 6.2 innings pitched.(AP)  

Granted, the kid is in a tough spot, pitching for his team and trying to stay clean enough to sign a big contract. That can't be an easy place.

But......I don't even know where to begin.

Maybe he should change his stage name to Young GetsHitALot or something.  At least until he announces his presence with more authority. I just didn't get the future ace of the staff vibe from him at all. More like a struggling sophomore at times. Hopefully, it's the contract thing, which would kinda suck for his teammates and the "gamer" crowd.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it. IDK.

Oh yeah, did you know that Buster Posey sucks all of a sudden?

It's tough to be a Giants fan at times. Many times.   How soon they forget.

John Sickels ranks six Giants prospects in his top 150 - McCovey Chronicles

from McCovey Chronicles:
John Sickels ranks six Giants prospects in his top 150 - McCovey Chronicles:

Plus, he's kind of bullish on Giants prospects. He gave the Giants six of the top prospects in his 150-player list on Thursday, including four in the top 100. Those players:

#36, Kyle Crick, RHP
#79, Edwin Escobar, LHP
#83, Andrew Susac, C
#97, Clayton Blackburn, RHP
#115, Chris Stratton, RHP
#126 Adalberto Mejia, LHP

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My list at this point would be somewhat different:

Among the pitchers, as of today, I would rank them :

1. Ty Blach
2. Clayton Blackburn
3. Derek Law
4. Kendry Flores
5. Aldaberto Mejia
6. Kyle Crick
7. Heath Hembree
8. Jose Casilla
9. Joan Gregorio
10. Keury Mella

That's just based on how efficiently they are pitching, based on their level and age.

Edwin Escobar scares me, not so much for anything he has done, but for what it is that people see in him that elevates him up so many of these lists. His stats are decidedly mediocre.

Chris Stratton is an enigma in that some love his stuff, but I can't seem to get past his age and the level he is currently struggling at. His stats are decidedly unimpressive.

Same with Martin Agosta. His stats are also showing signs of struggle at a low level. Not good. Both Agosta and Stratton should both be competing at the AA level by now, where they would likely be struggling even more, which leads me to believe the Giants are protecting them somewhat. Have to swim in the deep end of the pool at some point or you go from prospect to suspect.

Hembree and Crick are going to determine how well or poorly we talk about this group of prospects. Both are flashing warning signs, mainly in the command and control area. How each one irons out this area determines how high they fly or how quickly they crash. If the Giants go 2 for 2 here, they should be able to paste together a good rotation and bullpen. One for two probably doesn't work, given the organizational emphasis on pitching and the age of both the current starters and some in the bullpen. Oh for two is going to be an unmitigated disaster. 

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Among the hitters, it's probably Panik and Susac and then not much else. The power hitters were led by Mac Williamson, but now he's down due to Tommy John surgery. It could be worse, TJ surgery does not keep hitters down as long as pitchers, and it could have been one of the pitchers, so I consider the organization fortunate at this point. 

We lose Roger Kieschnick to the D-Backs, but he joins the growing line of ex-Giants fringe OF's patrolling the majors, a la Nate Schierholtz, Francisco Peguero, etc. Ricky Oroposa, Jarrett Parker seem headed down that path. 

I'm still not sure what to make of Adam Duvall at 3B in AA or Chuckie Jones OF in Lo-A. Maybe Duvall gets a shot if Panda's AVG stays lower than his weight and his contract demands don't exceed Scott Boras' wildest imagination. 

We shall see....

BaseballAmerica.com: Stats: Adam Duvall

Duvall is one of the better power hitters in the organization with 58 HR's in 1,181 AB's but his .269/ .351 / .491 slash line demonstrates that he may have trouble hitting for a high enough average to advance beyond Fresno. We'll see if he can pick up the pace at AA Richmond. It looks like he'll strike out around 100+ times a season, but his 30 HR's and 100 RBI at San Jose (Hi A) will garner attention. He's batting .417 in the early going for Richmond (AA) with 2 HR's and 9 RBI's.

Duvall attended Louisville, the same college as AAA Fresno 3B-OF Chris Dominguez,  who is also a premier power hitter to keep an eye on for the Giants.

from Baseball America:
BaseballAmerica.com: Stats: Adam Duvall:

Adam Duvall, 3b, Giants

Proper Name: Adam Duvall

Born: Sept. 4, 1988 in Louisville
High School:

College: Louisville
Ht.: 6-1 Wt.: 205

Bats: R Throws: R

DRAFT HISTORY [-]

Drafted in the 11th round (348th overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2010

CAREER TRANSACTIONS [+] 

ORGANIZATIONAL RANKINGS [-]

Ranked San Francisco Giants #28 prospect after the 2011 season 

Ranked San Francisco Giants #11 prospect after the 2012 season 

ORGANIZATION BEST TOOLS [-]

Rated Best Power Hitter in the San Francisco Giants system after the 2012 season

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