Surkamp joins Kickham at the AAAA level

Both have shown that they may be 'not ready for prime time' players for now and will re-unite in AAA Fresno,  along with fellow LHP Dan Runzler, on the junk pile that has become the Giants elusive search for the next Madison Bumgarner.

Should be an interesting battle either late this season, should the Giants fall out of contention, or in next years spring camp.

Both are victims of the Giants current need to rush development of rehabilitation due to the drop in performance of the Big Five starters. It may not be fair to the younger guys, but it is what it is. You never know when opportunity is going to knock...you have to be prepared. I'm get more concerned about rushing a guy back from rehab then pushing up the developmental track of a healthy pitcher. But, that's just me.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

LHP Eric Surkamp has been one of the Giants' hottest pitching prospects in the minor leagues in recent years. He was deemed so ready for the big leagues, he was given a better than 50-50 chance to beat out LHP Barry Zito for the fifth spot in the Giants' rotation in 2012 spring training.

However, he hurt his elbow in the process, and four months later, he underwent Tommy John surgery. Surkamp has been on the comeback trail this season, but perhaps the wheels got spinning too fast this week. Coming off a poor effort at Triple-A Fresno, Surkamp was called up to the majors to face the hot-hitting Reds on Tuesday. It did not go well (seven runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings), and Wednesday he was sent back to Fresno for further seasoning. The goal now: Have him ready for a September audition should the Giants fall out of the playoff race.

'via Blog this'

Cain is far from able and Kickham kicks it to Fresno

Going from bad to worse at a stunning rate of speed - your 2013 Giants. When your ace cannot throw strikes, nor can he get out of the first inning -- versus the Mutts BTW -- how much worse can it get?

Quote To Note:

"I wasn't throwing strikes. We needed a chance to win and I wasn't giving us an opportunity."

—RHP Matt Cain, after getting yanked in the first inning of an eventual 7-2 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.

Kickham continues to struggle. He'll work it out at Fresno for the near term.  He seems to be a different pitcher ( effective vs. ineffective ) with nobody on base versus with runners on. Throwing from the stretch decreases his effectiveness. So therefore making him a relief pitcher, where throwing from the stretch and with runners on base is at a premium, does not seem like a long-term option.

The second time through the lineup issue is a bit more of a head scratcher since he does seem to have a decent enough mix of pitches to work his way through a lineup 2-3 times. I still like him better as a starting pitcher versus a reliever but some of the kinks in his game that should have been ironed out in the minors were exposed a bit at the major league level.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

LHP Mike Kickham demonstrated in his first three appearances for the Giants an ability to get batters out the first time he faced them. Unfortunately, he didn't do nearly as well in subsequent matchups. The left-hander continued that trend in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the New York Mets. After relieving RHP Matt Cain in the first inning, Kickham shut out the Mets on no hits through the fourth inning, facing three batters twice and the other six once. But the Mets solved Kickham in the fifth and sixth innings, belting three doubles and a home run among five hits while adding four runs to their 3-0 advantage. Kickham did strike out six in a season-best 5 1/3 innings. But, once again the conclusion was he's not ready for the multiple-inning task of being a starting pitcher. He will remain in relief for the foreseeable future.

'via Blog this'

San Francisco Giants - Team Report - Yahoo! Sports

Chris Dominguez hit a three-run home run and RBI double to help lead the Fresno Grizzlies to a 6-2 win over the Reno Aces on Monday at Chukchansi Park.

One of the positives to come from all the injuries is getting a read on some of the higher level prospects in the organization. The 'Frisco - Fresno shuttle is working overtime lately for the Giants. Noonan and Juan Perez accompanied Mike Kickham back to Fresno, and Jake Dunning -- who has been showing well in his opportunities -- remains with the big club. The kid just consistently throws strikes with some stuff on it.

Perez showed some defense, good speed and a cannon arm, but .230-.240 is not going to get it done. Pegeuro blew a .190, so I'm not sure what he brings. Roger Kieschnick was lighting up Triple A pitching early, but now is down to .270. Chris Dominguez 3B-OF who was down, is now lighting it up of late, so maybe one of the two is next up.

If this team is bound and determined to go double-digits under .500, we might as well play for the future. Be advised Giants fans, the next Buster Posey is not walking through that door via the Fresno - 'Frisco shuttle. We would do better if the next Marco Scutaro or Cody Ross comes in via trade.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

INF Nick Noonan responded well to getting demoted to Triple-A Fresno earlier this month. By keeping his average at a solid .311 in Fresno, Noonan remained first in line among infielders if/when the parent club called with a need. Sure enough, with INF Joaquin Arias forced to the disabled list following an appendectomy Sunday night, the Giants made the call and Noonan quickly packed his car for the three-hour drive north. Noonan didn't start Monday's game, putting himself in a position to deal with an embarrassing distinction he'd had in 43 games with the Giants this season. He'd gone hitless in his last 21 consecutive pinch-hit opportunities. Make that 22 after the left-handed hitter, pinch-hitting for Jose Mijares, struck out to start the 10th inning.

'via Blog this'

San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Aaron Hern, 12, from Martinez, Calif., who was injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Oakland Athletics' baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. Hern was released from Boston Children's Hospital on April 24. Photo: Eric Risberg



His stuff was good, his command was not. Perhaps the adrenaline got to him, but I think he showed enough for another shot. He has to go more than 2 2/3 innings though or the bullpen is toast. He has a little funk in his delivery -- more Bumgarner-like funk than Zito cool-jazz, smooth delivery -- but Kickham showed he has the stuff to get it done. He just has to harness it better and pitch from ahead in the count more often than from behind. That's true at almost every level.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

"I thought he had tremendous stuff. Sometimes the adrenaline of your first major league start can get the best of you, but I thought he threw the ball pretty well. He didn't look like he was just slinging stuff up there. It looked like he had some good action on his stuff."

—A's C Derek Norris, on Giants LHP Michael Kickham, who lost his major league debut to Oakland on Tuesday.

'via Blog this'

SF Giants Pick Prospect Kickham to Start Tuesday

Kickham gets the call. It wouldn't have surprised me if it was Heston, but Kickham has earned it as well. If he gets a half-dozen starts in while Vogie is down, it's going to help his development enormously. I'm glad they were able to stay within the organization for the replacement.

from SFgate.com
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2013/05/26/danger-looms-for-sf-giants-after-win-against-rockies-4-2-homestand/

UPDATE, 5:40 p.m.: Michael Kickham, a 24-year-old left-hander who has thrown five excellent games in a row for Triple-A Fresno, will take Ryan Vogelsong’s spot in the rotation and start Tuesday night’s game in Oakland, manager Bruce Bochy just announced.

“He’s been throwing the ball as well as anybody down there, better, really,” Bochy said. “He’s really pitching well with all his pitches. He had another good outing his last start.”

Bochy said there was a lot of debate over this decision, but ultimately the brass wanted to keep the bullpen intact, ruling out Chad Gaudin.

Kickham is 3-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 10 starts for the Grizzlies, but those overall numbers are not as relevant as what he has done in his past five starts. He has allowed six earned runs in 31 1/3 innings with nine walks and 29 strikeouts. He is a big left-hander, at 6-4, 220, and becomes the first player from the Giants’ 2010 draft to reach the majors, beating the likes of Gary Brown and Heath Hembree. He was taken in the sixth round.

Buster Posey caught him in a bullpen session or two in spring training and said, “He’s got good stuff. That’s all I remember.”

“He’s a left-hander we think a lot of,” Bochy said. “He was in major-league camp. I look forward to watching him. He needs to go out and pitch the way he’s been pitching, and he’ll be fine.”

No corresponding moves have been announced.

'via Blog this'

Fresno Grizzlies' Mike Kickham continues strong audition for Giants call-up - - Fresnobee.com

MARK CROSSE/THE FRESNO BEE

Grizzlies starting pitcher Mike Kickham, after a strong last five starts, could be getting a big-league call-up soon in the wake of the injury to Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/05/23/3312052/fresno-grizzlies-kickham-continues.html#storylink=cpy

Kickham is in the middle of a turn-around at just the right time it seems. The Vogelsong injury creates am opening in the starting rotation and Kickham may be able to fill it. His K/BB ratio is about 2.5 ( 54K's and 22 BB's) which is not too shabby. Anything over 2.0 is a pretty good marker for success.


from the Fresno Bee:
Fresno Grizzlies' Mike Kickham continues strong audition for Giants call-up - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com:

But Kickham has come on strong and has won three straight for the first time in his career after Thursday's performance.

In his past five starts, Kickham owns a 1.72 ERA and is holding batters to a .214 average. He also has struck out 29 and allowed just nine walks in that stretch.

 In fact, Kickham's strikeout-to-walk ratio has been solid all year: 54-22 in 54 innings for the season.

'via Blog this'


In fact, Baseball Digest recently published a list of pitchers with the best K/BB ratios with a minimum of 2,000 K's. Granted this is going to give you a list of solid starters by definition. You have to be good to hang around long enough to log 2,000 K's in a career.

Pitcher               Ratio
Curt Schilling        4.38
Pedro Martinez     4.15
Roy Halliday         3.78
Mike Mussina       3.58
Greg Maddux       3.37
Javier Vasquez      3.32
Randy Johnson     3.26
Dennis Eckersley   3.25
Juan Marichal        3.25
Fergie Jenkins       3.20

That would be a pretty solid staff. That's why I like that ratio > 3.0 as a prospect identifier for the minor leaguers. San Jose starter Clayton Blackburn has pretty solid numbers here and Fresno RHP Chris Heston does as well.  It's just a basic, quick and dirty metric that shows a pitchers efficiency in controlling / dominating AB's whether it be via power pitching  (high K's) or control / finesse pitching (low BB's).

As the list above shows, a nice mix of power arms and crafty pitchers.

Kickham kicked -- again!?!....That's a catch-phrase we don't want to catch on

Fortunately for the Giants, the LHP's are carrying the load for the big club. Zito is at 3-1 and  Bummer is 3-0. Six and one combined versus a collective 3-5 for the RHP's ( Cain 0-2, Vogi 1-2, Timmy 2-1 ).

Eric Surkamp is not due back ( from TJ surgery ) until perhaps mid-season, so no relief is in sight for Fresno. Kickham is going to have to battle through it. There is no guarantee that Surkamp goes right to AAA after that surgery anyway.

Giants are rapidly approaching .500 and the middle of the division if they are not careful. It's still early but while the Giants and Dodgers were keeping an eye on each other, the Rockies and D-Backs are trying to run off and build an early lead on the "big boys".

from the Fresno Bee:
Grizzlies Report for 4/28: Reno Aces 11, Fresno 2 - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com:

Kickham kicked -- again: Kickham, regarded as one of the top left-handers in the San Francisco Giants' organization, was shelled for his fourth consecutive start. The 6-4, 220-pounder from Missouri State plunged to 0-3 with a 7.94 earned-run average after giving up 11 hits and eight runs, including six earned. He did strike out seven without a walk, arguably the most important numbers given the conditions. The four-game series produced an average of 15.3 total runs a game -- not unusual at the high, thin air, where balls carry.

'via Blog this'