Panda back for pivotal L.A. series - Wil Myers debuts in NY - Batman and Robin return to Gotham city

I feel better already.

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

3B Pablo Sandoval is feeling good physically. Mentally, he's even better. Sandoval's sprained right foot passed a two-day test in the minor leagues Friday and Saturday on a rehab assignment. He will be activated off the disabled list Monday and is expected to start in the Giants' road-trip opener at Los Angeles. The Giants will be getting a hot bat back in the lineup. Albeit it against Single-A pitching, Sandoval went 4-for-6 in his two appearances for the San Jose Giants, belting a home run in each game he played. He also looked smooth in 12 innings at third base.

'via Blog this'

....from my second favorite 38-37 team. Rays also getting solid efforts from young RHP's Chris Archer and Alex Colome. They are just loaded with young pitching. Now if only David Price can pick it up.

How does that song go "if I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...." Looks like a good future is in store for Wil Myers.

Wil Myers hits first career home run — a grand slam off C.C. Sabathia at Yankee Stadium

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/wil-myers-hits-first-career-home-run-grand-092359187.html

When the Tampa Bay Rays announced the promotion of top prospect Wil Myers last Sunday, they did so hoping the 22-year-old outfielder could provide a little power while helping to lengthen a lineup that had been struggling to produce consistently.

video of the Myers blast off C.C. Sabathia: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/myers-grand-slam-235400287.html


And in Gotham city, Batman (Matt Harvey) appears to have found his Robin (Zack Wheeler). 

from the NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/harper-mets-peak-future-wheeler-harvey-article-1.1376500


Wheeler from his days as a Giants prospect. (heavy sigh) It's OK,

we had to make the Beltran deal at the time
we had to make the Beltran deal at the time
we had to make the Beltran deal at the time

There, I feel much better.

Brian Sabean on Beltran: “Hopefully this shows we mean business” | Extra Baggs

JUST SO YOU KNOW - THIS IS WHAT GIANTS FANS MAY BE MISSING DOWN THE ROAD - Zach Wheeler

Yes, Wheeler could end up being a top of the line starter like Tim Lincecum. He could also end up like Tim Alderson, who the Pirates are still waiting on. Remember one time, not so long ago, Alderson was as highly regarded as one Madison Bumgarner. Just think of where the Giants would be if the Pirates had demanded MadBum instead of Alderson in the Freddie Sanchez deal.

Some interesting comments from Brian Sabean on the Giants internal mindset leading up to the deal.

Brian Sabean on Beltran: “Hopefully this shows we mean business” | Extra Baggs:

"Giants GM Brian Sabean just held a conference call to discuss the acquisition of Carlos Beltran, which is official. The Mets are getting top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler and kicking in roughly two-thirds of the $6 million still owed to Beltran this season.

The major news points, then on to the Sabean transcript, with the best stuff bolded for easy reading…

–Sabean said the organization has to be serious about defending its title. The city, fans and the players deserved an acquisition like this.

–The Giants decided to give up Wheeler only after vice president Dick Tidrow, Sabean’s most trusted advisor and the Henry Ford of pitching development, assured him that the farm system has enough power arms to absorb the loss."

–Sabean hopes to use the $4 million in savings to help the club in other areas, but the market for a catcher or shortstop has not gotten any riper. If the Giants can address those positions, it’s more likely to happen with waiver deals or claims in August. Sabean is still looking for offense, though.

-Bill Hall was activated from the 15-day DL and designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster space for Beltran. The Giants still must option a player to create a 25-man roster space today, but it won’t be Brandon Belt who goes down. Sabean deferred to Manager Bruce Bochy, but said Belt is likely to play a role similar to what Travis Ishikawa did for last year’s club.

Not so long ago these were the guys on the Untouchables List. Posey and Bumgarner have hit, still waiting on Gillaspie and Noonan and Alderson = Sanchez, Freddie.

Q: When and how did you make up your mind to sacrifice a prospect like Wheeler for a rental player?

“Carlos is the player we coveted all along. As we knew what the price of doing business was, we tried to create other options. It became apparent no matter which way we turned, we’d take a hit on our prospect list. In this case, as we were getting close to make the deal, we crossed the bridge with trading a pitcher over a position player with almost equal potential.”

“You look at the (Dan) Runzlers and (Heath) Hembrees of the world, folks we consider with power arms, plus what we did in this year’s draft. Dick Tidrow does such a good job with pitching talent. We didn’t think Wheeler would impact our situation in the immediate future. So frankly, it’s our job to find or develop another Wheeler.”

Q: Another question about Wheeler…

“Wheeler’s got a lot of potential. There’s some missed development time. Quite frankly, we go with Dick Tidrow’s advice and guidance. While he felt we were giving up a quality arm, he felt we did have inventory. Our sandwich pick, (Kyle) Crick, was very much like a first-round pick. We chose the pitcher because we’ve been pretty good at developing pitching on our end and we think we’ll continue to do that.”

I like the comments about inventory / spare parts and agree for the most part. Even after parting with Wheeler and potential future closer Jason Stoffel, the Giants have LHP Eric Surkamp and RHP Heath Hembree looking pretty good.

After those guys, RHP's Jose Casilla and Jorge Burcardo look like they will be solid if not spectacular contributors. Further down the line RHP's Seth Rosin, Stehpen Harrold and converted IF Jake Dunning are showing well at the A-levels.

What bothers me right now is the flat-lining of the LHP's in waiting. Clayton Tanner is scuffling 3-8, 4.60 in AA. Ryan Verdugo at 6-4, 3.83 in AA is showing well and may be the best of the bunch right now. Aaron King has back-tracked his way to AAA Fresno and Mike Kickham is struggling at 2-6. 4.54 in Lo-A ball. So on the southpaw front -- after Surkamp -- the cupboard is starting to look pretty bare.

Actually looking at the list, I would not want to see the Giants give up any more pitching prospects in future deals.

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Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -- Isaiah 40:30-31

Giants To Acquire Carlos Beltran: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Zack Wheeler, P, San Francisco Giants


Zack Wheeler 2008 UA All-American - Baseball Factory


This is the most recent rumor out there, but if true, if it ONLY costs the Giants Zach Wheeler and no other prospects -- I make this deal. The Giants will be challenged to either make another deep run this year with Beltran and / or re-sign him long-term to make the sacrifice of Wheeler worth it.

Wheeler is a premium prospect, but his stats have been a bot uneven in the early going in Low-A. He is still a long way from The Show and the path is littered with the corpses of young pitching phenoms who never made the climb. Met fans have to be disappointed if this is all they haul in for Beltran.

The deal may be delayed 24 hours until Beltran, as a 10 / 5 guy, approves. That is reportedly a mere formality.


Giants To Acquire Carlos Beltran: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

"The Giants have the worst offense of any National League contender, so today GM Brian Sabean pounced on the best hitter available.  The Giants and Mets reached a tentative agreement that will send right fielder Carlos Beltran and $4MM to San Francisco for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports."

The Price for Beltran may be declining - Giants among favorites

Yankees unwilling to give up top prospects for Jimenez - NYPOST.com:

The Mets were described by multiple sources as having moved off A-level prospect requests for Carlos Beltran. They shot high for a few weeks, seeing if someone would break for the best hitter available in this market. But a variety of obstacles such as the inability to offer Beltran arbitration and his $6 million-ish price tag the rest of the year meant the Mets were never going to get elite youngsters such as Philadelphia's Domonic Brown or San Francisco's Zach Wheeler.

"An official from a team involved on Beltran said, 'It doesn't matter how good [general manager] Sandy Alderson does [his job], there is only so much he can get for Carlos Beltran for two months. They will get a good return, but not a headline good return.'

As of yesterday, the Mets were talking two- or three-prospect deals with the Giants, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox and Rangers; and the Brewers continued to call, though their prospect base is viewed as weak. The way the Mets were trying to arrange the deal was if they could get a prospect they really like then they only would need one other prospect from lower down in the system. But if the main cog was not as alluring then they wanted three prospects as a way to deepen their system.


Mets officials insisted they had not defined a front-runner, but the Rangers remained very aggressive. Meanwhile, many outside officials believe the Giants ultimately will end up with Beltran with one saying, 'It is hard to see how it won't be San Francisco. They can take on the most money and I think that is what it is going to come down to.'"

The List of Untouchables expanded

Let's not include either of these guys in any trade discussions either. They are now officially added to The Slav's List of Untouchables, since Brian Sabean seems to have a top secret list.

So for now the list includes: Brandon Belt, Zach Wheeler, Gary Brown, Eric Surkamp and Heath Hembree.

Keith Law identified Heath Hembree as a sleeper prospect and I can see why. Looks like straight cheddar, so he will have to develop a secondary pitch. But Hembree has future closer written all over him.

Hembree is a 6-4, 210 RHP Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 5th round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft from Coastal Carolina. Hembree was recently elevated to AA so we shall see soon enough if he has what it takes to make an impact, if not late this year, certainly by 2012.

Heath Hembree K's the side against the Ports on May 21, 2011


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Surkamp is a 6-4,190 LHP Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 6th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft from North Carolina State. Surkamp is 8-3 with a 2.00 ERA with AA Richmond. He is described as a finesse lefty who rarely cracks 90MPH on the fastball, but just gets guys out. His K-Rate is very high for someone who doesn't crack 90.

Giants LHP Eric Surkamp warming up on the mound

Giants Trade Rumors continue

Still torn on who I would most like to see. All depends on who has to go to make it all happen. It looks like the Cards are serious about dealing Colby Rasmus with the White Sox stepping up. The Rays call-up of their next phenom in waiting, Desmond Jennings, makes B.J. Upton all the more expendable. Soriano and Beltran are still on the hook as well. For those two veterans, the amount of salary dollars paid and by whom further complicates the equation.

Add one of these guys, sprinkle some Brandon Belt into the lineup more frequently and the return of Tejada / DeRosa from the DL and the lineup could make a late playoff push similar to last year.

Getting to the nitty-gritty at the trade deadline - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

"As one general manager put it this week: “[B.J.] Upton and Rasmus are better long term, but if I want to win this year, I’m getting Beltran.”"

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POSTGAME NOTES: Brian Wilson’s five-pitch save ends a playoff-charged night, SF fans toy with Plush, Runzler drawing attention | Extra Baggs:

"Why all the ink on Runzler all of the sudden? Well, I keep hearing that other clubs are bringing up his name in almost every trade proposal. I’m pretty sure the Giants would not sacrifice Zack Wheeler, Gary Brown or Brandon Belt to get Carlos Beltran. But would they cross the bridge with Runzler and maybe Francisco Peguero? Would that be enough for the Mets?

Wherever Beltran goes, you can bet the Giants will be active on him until the end."

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Extra Baggs:

"GM Brian Sabean stopped by the dugout and said there is nothing imminent on the trade front, but that the Giants continue talk to multiple teams, not just the Mets about Carlos Beltran. He said with a thin talent pool, he would actually like to see a couple more teams fall out of their respective races — he didn’t name them, but the Chicago White Sox, Tampa, Minnesota and Cincinnati fit the mold — to improve the selection. He said flatly that at present, he doesn’t think the Giants can improve their situations at catcher or at shortstop because of the slim pickings.

Relating to shortstop, I asked Bruce Bochy if it’s possible Jeff Keppinger might see some time at short and he said possibly, even though he hasn’t played there this year.

As for Beltran, Sabean intimated that with several teams in the hunt, it likely will go down to the trading deadline as the Mets look for the best possible deal."

----

San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors):

"With the trading deadline drawing near, Sabean say the Giants do have the flexibility to take on payroll, and said it’s tough to give up a premium prospect.
“We certainly won’t give up an untouchable (prospect),” says Sabean."

MLB Trade Deadline News 2011: Buster Olney Thinks B.J. Upton Makes Sense for Giants - SB Nation Bay Area

Upton is the guy I would most like to see the Giants go out and get to invigorate the offense.

Maybe Colby Rasmus or Michael Cuddyer after that. Alphonso Soriano may still be available and worth the risk.

Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Aramis Ramirez are lesser fits due to money, years under contract or the bugaboo "He's a heck of a player when he decides to play". Who wants a guy who doesn't want to play for extended periods of time? Of course, that comment may have been made about Upton and Soriano a time or two as well. There are reasons these guys are available.

I would list Brandon Belt, Gary Brown and Zach Wheeler as off limits in any deal, but almost any package of other available parts would be worth it. IMO.


MLB Trade Deadline News 2011: Buster Olney Thinks B.J. Upton Makes Sense for Giants - SB Nation Bay Area:

"We're still about two weeks out from the MLB trade deadline, but the rumor mill continues to churn out new stories. ESPN's Buster Olney stated on his blog Sunday that the San Francisco Giants would be a terrific fit for Tampa Bay Rays Outfielder B.J. Upton as Tampa continues to weigh it's options with the 26 year old outfielder. "

Here's Buster's breakdown of the situation, which I remind you is purely speculation:

San Francisco doesn't typically make deals with the Padres, who have Ludwick, or with the Athletics, who have Willingham, and they might not want to pay the necessary price for Beltran. Upton would fit the Giants' park with his defense, and he would be under control for San Francisco through next year.

The stumbling blocks for such a deal are plentiful, especially with the Giants unwilling to trade top prospects for big name players right now. That would likely mean an outfielder on the Giants roster would have to go, and I don't see the Rays taking Pat Burrell back, picking up Aaron Rowand's gigantic contract, nor do I see the Giants letting go of Nate Schierholtz, Cody Ross or Andres Torres right now. The Giants need a bigger bat than Josh Willingham or Ryan Ludwick can bring (especially now with Ludwick slumping) and if they don't want to pay the price for Beltran, they might be digging through the wavier claim pile once more looking for gold.

MEET THE NEWEST GIANTS

1ST ROUND PICK - RHP ZACH WHEELER

Not a bad first day for the Giants. All three picks were taken around where the consensus opinion seemed to have them placed. A bit of a surprise they passed on Matzek, who was there for them, but his bonus demands may have seemed unreasonable.

The two bats are high risk/high reward. Both have large power potential, but both seem to have a propensity to swing and miss a lot. Dominguez has been compared to Dave Kingman, YIKES!!!!

FROM MLB.COM:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/reports.jsp?content=wheeler

Biographical Data
Player Name: Zack Wheeler
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: East Paulding (Ga.)
School Type: High school
Academic Class: Senior
Birthdate: 5/30/90
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 3/6/09
Game(s): LaGrange Invitational, Ga.


Focus Area

Comments
Fastball: Wheeler has great arm strength and can get the fastball up to 95 mph. He sits at around 90-93 mph.

Fastball movement: It has plenty of life, with a close to low three-quarter arm slot that creates a good angle, especially against right-handed hitters. He throws it down in the zone with sink.

Curve: He flashes a plus curve, but it's not consistent in the strike zone. He throws it 78-80 mph.

Changeup: He doesn't really throw it, but he has shown some feel for it and could develop into an average pitch.

Control: His command is in and out. His fastball command was better than with his curve. Inconsistency with delivery causes the disruption in command.

Poise: He threw well in a good, competitive atmosphere. When his command leaves him, he manages to collect himself and get out of trouble.

Physical Description: Wheeler is tall with long arms and broad shoulders -- the kind of body you want from a high school pitcher, with projectability and wiry strength.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: He has big-time arm strength and flashes a plus curve. He's a baseball rat with excellent makeup.

Weaknesses: His command is inconsistent, especially with the breaking ball. His delivery is inconsistent. He doesn't really show a third pitch as of yet.

Summary: If you like projectable high school pitchers with a lot of arm strength -- and a lot of teams do -- then Wheeler might be the guy for you. The Georgia prepster has plenty of fastball and does show a plus breaking ball at times. Because of some delivery issues, his command can be spotty, but he's an excellent athlete with terrific poise and makeup. He might be a little bit of a project, but the upside is considerable.

FROM THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS:

The addition of Wheeler adds another polished arm to the Giants' minor league system.

Wheeler, whose fastball sits in the low 90s and who reportedly throws an advanced power breaking pitch, projects favorably to the Giants' heralded 2007 picks, Bumgarner and Alderson, who both are at Double-A Connecticut after breezing through the Class A California League with the San Jose Giants.

"We compared him to Cain, we compared him to Bumgarner, we compared him to Alderson," Sabean said. "It all came back that this kid was very reminiscent of those types of picks.

"With his size, strength and ability, he should be on the fast track."

Wheeler, who signed a national letter-of-intent to play at Kennesaw State College, said he's eager to begin his pro career, so signability isn't expected to be an issue.

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2ND ROUND PICK - C TOMMY JOSEPH
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/reports.jsp?content=joseph

Biographical Data
Player Name: Tommy Joseph
Position: Catcher
School: Horizon HS (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
School Type: High School
Academic Class: Senior
Birthdate: 7/16/91
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 4/16/09
Game(s): Desert Ridge HS


Focus Area

Comments
Hitting ability: Joseph destroys below-average pitching and really turns it up a notch against better competition. He can use the entire field.

Power: Has light-tower power to the pull side and shows it off in workouts. He should have plenty of power to all fields.

Running speed: Has below-average speed.

Base running: Not a runner; more of a station-to-station type on the basepaths.

Arm strength: He has an above-average arm.

Fielding: This year is the first he's caught full-time after DH-ing and playing first base for most of his high school career. He does have some work to do defensively.

Range: Lacks overall quickness, which limits his agility behind the plate.

Physical Description: Joseph is a big, strong-bodied guy with a big frame, kind of a Chris Snyder type.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: Excellent bat with plenty of power, both now and in the future. Above-average arm could play behind the plate.

Weaknesses: Hasn't spent much time behind the plate, leaving some to wonder if he can stay back there, especially considering his size and lack of quickness.

Summary: In a deep class of prep catchers, Joseph hasn't gotten a ton of love, though his bat has been making more than enough noise. He's got serious offensive ability with light-tower raw power. He's more of a question mark behind the plate. He's got an above-average arm, but this was the first season he's caught and he lacks overall quickness. His bat likely will play anywhere, but if a team feels he can catch, he could sneak into the first couple of rounds.

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3RD ROUND PICK - 3B CHRIS DOMINGUEZ

FROM SABERSCOUTING.COM:
http://www.saberscouting.com/2008/04/02/chrisdominguezreport/

Scouting Report: Chris Dominguez
April 2nd, 2008

Chris Dominguez
By Frankie Piliere

We’ve been talking about a lot of sure fire (if such a prospect exists) players as of late. But, in my opinion, scouting gets even more interesting when you are evaluating wildcard type players. Chris Dominguez, a physically massive slugger from the University of Louisville, is one of those players. Chris has always been a player of great intrigue to me tools wise and I thought I’d share my evaluation of him with you. Check it out after the jump…

Chris Dominguez, 3B - Harwich Mariners (Louisville)

Tool - Present/Future Grades

Hitting - 40/40

Power - 70/70

Speed - 50/50

Fielding - 45/45

Arm - 70/70

Physical Description - Massive frame, every bit of what he’s listed as. Looks very athletic despite his size. Wide shoulders, highly muscled up and down, thin waist. Tapered frame. True physical specimen. Built similar to Troy Glaus.

Hitting - On anything without a wrinkle in it or that isn’t on the outer half. Hits the ball exceptionally hard, has a special sound in his bat. Crushes the ball. Has a gaping hole on the outer half of the plate and struggles badly with off-speed pitches, breaking balls in particular. Pulls of badly, tries to yank everything. Has yet to learn how to hit the opposite way. Very quick and can turn on any fastball. Extremely prone to the strikeout. BP hitter right now, all or nothing in live action. Does not recognize the breaking ball.

Power - Special power, light tower power. Hits the ball a long way with minimal effort. Needs to put bat on ball more. Power is game-usable but he needs to make more contact. Puts on a spectacle in BP. Plus, plus power guy. Can hit one out in any part of the park in any dimensions. Most power is to center field.

Speed - Just about an average runner. Size limits his agility and mobility. Speed is more than adequate considering his position. Superb athletic skills but just not exceptionally fleet of foot. Speed may decrease over time considering his large frame.

Fielding - Not the quickest feet, decent hands but not a lot of range. Makes the routine plays, not going to be spectacular. Lacks quickness, and as he gets older and thicker he may move to first base, right field or DH. He doesn’t figure to be a real mobile player down the road.

Arm - Plus, plus arm. Threw mid-90’s from the mound in high school. Good throwing mechanics, throws right over the top and makes the throws from the third base with easy. Accurate arm. Likes to show off his arm, can be a bit reckless. If he can maintain some of his mobility, his arm would play perfectly in right field.

Notes - Very raw product but the potential is very visible. Needs a lot of work. Potential to be an impact big league slugger with some refinement. Two plus-plus tools. An interesting project but a big risk, his bat is far from a sure thing.

Adjusted Overall Future Potential: 53

Present Group: P, Future Group: C

Projected Role: 6th to 7th hitter in the order, starting player with low average, big power.

Draft Projection: 3rd-4th round

Overall Comparison: Wily Mo Pena