SB Nation User Blog: caincecum

FUTURES GAME

caincecum — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:50:48 -0000

Hello all, I wanted to make a futures game thread so we could talk about Bumgarner, Villalona among Giants reps' I'm very excited to see a hand full of other prospects though mainly Heyward(whom I wanted the Giants to pick), Stanton (power/hype) The U.S squad also has a very number of interesting arms I'm probably most curious to see Kyle Drabek since I wanted the Giants to pick him in 06 before Lincecum fell. In my opinion the world teams talent is underwhelming compared to the U.S team I'm only curious to see hand full of players mainly the backstops Carlos Santana and Jesus Montero and yes Villalona. Other than that the roster seems pretty pedestrian. heres the rosters.....

U.S. ROSTER
Player	Pos.	Team	Affiliation
Jason Castro	C	Double-A Corpus Christi	Astros
Tyler Flowers	C	Double-A Birmingham	White Sox
Chris Carter	1B	Double-A Midland	Athletics
Scott Sizemore	2B	Triple-A Toledo	Tigers
Jemile Weeks	2B	High Class A Stockton	Athletics
Eric Young	2B	Triple-A Colorado Springs	Rockies
Danny Espinosa	SS	High Class A Potomac	Nationals
Pedro Alvarez	3B	Double-A Altoona	Pirates
Josh Vitters	3B	Low Class A Peoria	Cubs
Brett Wallace	3B	Triple-A Memphis	Cardinals
Jason Heyward	OF	High Class A Myrtle Beach	Braves
Chris Heisey	OF	Double-A Carolina	Reds
Desmond Jennings	OF	Double-A Montgomery	Rays
Daryl Jones	OF	Double-A Springfield	Cardinals
Mike Stanton	OF	Double-A Jacksonville	Marlins
Madison Bumgarner	LHP	Double-A Connecticut	Giants
Kyle Drabek	RHP	Double-A Reading	Phillies
Danny Duffy	LHP	High Class A Wilmington	Royals
Casey Kelly	RHP	High Class A Salem	Red Sox
Mat Latos	RHP	Double-A San Antonio	Padres
Brad Lincoln	RHP	Triple-A Indianapolis	Pirates
Brian Matusz	LHP	Double-A Bowie	Orioles
Jarrod Parker	RHP	Double-A Mobile	Diamondbacks
Trevor Reckling	RHP	Double-A Arkansas	Angels
Chris Tillman	RHP	Triple-A Norfolk	Orioles

WORLD ROSTER
Player	Pos.	Team	Affiliation
Jesus Montero	C	Double-A Trenton	Yankees
Carlos Santana	C	Double-A Akron	Indians
Angel Villalona	1B	High Class A San Jose	Giants
Brett Lawrie	2B	Low Class A Wisconsin	Brewers
Starlin Castro	SS	High Class A Daytona	Cubs
Alcides Escobar	SS	Triple-A Nashville	Brewers
Wilmer Flores	SS	Low Class A Savannah	Mets
Pedro Baez	3B	High Class A Inland Empire	Dodgers
Alex Liddi	3B	High Class A High Desert	Mariners
Dayan Viciedo	3B	Double-A Birmingham	White Sox
Luis Durango	OF	Double-A San Antonio	Padres
Tyson Gillies	OF	High Class A High Desert	Mariners
Kyeong Kang	OF	Low Class A Bowling Green	Rays
Rene Tosoni	OF	Double-A New Britain	Twins
Nick Weglarz	OF	Double-A Akron	Indians
Manny Banuelos	LHP	Low Class A Charleston	Yankees
Jhoulys Chacin	RHP	Double-A Tulsa	Rockies
Neftali Feliz	RHP	Triple-A Frisco	Rangers
Yohan Flande	LHP	High Class A Clearwater	Phillies
Chia-Jen Lo	RHP	Double-A Corpus Christi	Astros
Jenrry Mejia	RHP	Double-A Binghamton	Mets
Luis Perez	LHP	Double-A New Hampshire	Blue Jays
Leyson Septimo	LHP	High Class A Visalia	Diamondbacks
Juan Carlos Sulbaran	RHP	Low Class A Dayton	Reds
Junichi Tazawa	RHP	Double-A Portland	Red Sox

In Season Giants Top 15

caincecum — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:44:12 -0000

Hello everyone this is essentially a post for fun just to reflect on which minor leaguers are having the best sesons in our system. It seems to me our consensus to four prospects.(Bumgarner,Posey, Alderson, Villalona) have done nothing to warrant anyone leap frogging them. It seems to me the middle of our list. Nonnan, Gillaspie haven't done enough to warrant keeping their spots whereas the back end of the top 10 or early teens. (Crawford,Roger K, Neal) have done more than enough to warrant a higher ranking. Where would you rank Zack Wheeler? Or Rafeal Rodriguez? Without further ado here is my list. Which players do you believe are overrated/underrated?

1.Bumgarner

2.Posey

3.Alderson

4.Villalona

5.Neal

6.Kieschenick

7.Wheeler

8.Pucetas

9..Sosa

10.Crawford

11. Guzman

12.Adrianza

13.English

14.Gillaspie

15 Rodriguez .

Poll

What has been the biggest surprise thus far?

Neal's dominance?

161 votes

Noonan's struggles?

36 votes

Gillaspie's utter lack of power?

24 votes

Kieschnick's much improved contact?

14 votes

235 votes | Poll has closed

MOD A's Draft (1st round)

caincecum — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:12:00 -0000

Hello everyone! I'm caincecum also the Director of the A's draft for this year. No worries I have conducted a draft many times on the site. Anyway as I'm sure you know we only have two picks in this draft though, I am very interested to see how our community draft goes. We have pick #13 overall in the first round and we also have pick number #92 overall as well. There is an interesting mix of players that should be avaiable when it's our thirteenth overall pick. The latest mock draft on baseballamerica had us taking Tyler Matzek. I personally don't see him falling that far/into our lap but what a coup it would be. For those who don't know Matzek is a big high school lefty with lots of projection still remaning. He sits 90-94 right now and he is 6'3 184 pounds so it's realistic to think he can add some to his fastball. He already has two average pitches to go with his fastball in his curve and slider and has little feel for a change. Many call him the best prep lefty in CA since the great Cole Hamels

Another interesting selection or possibility would be Jacob Turner, Turner is a high school righty from St. Louis who has a good mix of polish and projection. Since his last start he has shot up draft boards due to his peaking fastball. He was primariliy sitting 90-92 but has touched 94-95 in his last start. he throws a decent slider and has little feel for a change according to reports. In a sense he seems like someone who would spend more time in the minors than Matzek but he posesses a significant ceiling.

There is also a chance Grant Green could fall to us due to his poor performance along with the fact that he wants to be paid like an elite talent. In the real draft I don't expect him to make it pass San Francisco. Green is an interesting case, last August his draft stock was hotter than a Lil Wayne single. After a mediocre season in this fall at USC scouts are starting to question how "elite" of a talent he really is. Coming off his Cape Cod league MVP campaign he was compared to scouts as a Tulowitzki/Longoria hybrid which sounds like an all star shortstop. Since then he's faltered a bit and scouts are starting to over disect his game. He is far big (around 6'2 215) but similar to Tulowitzki he has average range but an above average arm. He profiles anywhere from the 2-5 hole in a lineup. The most glaring alarm about him is his heap of strikeouts and inability to make consistent contact this season. In that sense he's similar to 08 Giants draft pick Brandon Crawford.

Another possible intruiging selection would be Kentucky's James Paxton. (from milb.com i don't want to right another report.) Paxton is a college lefty who was on the rise late in the Draft season. The Kentucky product has two potential plus pitches in his fastball, which has been up to 98 mph, and a short power slider. The third pitch, a changeup, hasn't always been on display, but he hasn't needed it much at the college level. He repeats his delivery well and can carry the velocity throughout starts, though there are some who think his command and arm action may mean he'll be a reliever in the future. At least some feel he can start and it's likely to be one of those teams that takes him off the board early.

Max Stassi (from milb.com i don't want to right another report.)

It's a good year for prep catchers in Northern California and Stassi is one of the best in that crop. Scouts like his overall package of hitting ability, defensive ability, makeup and baseball instincts. There once was talk of moving him to an infield spot, but he profiles as natural leader behind the plate who could be one of the first catchers taken on Draft day.

I'll be more hands on with the next post I just wanted to get it out there for disscussion I'm in class so I can't type much more anyway debate away! Who shoulkd be our first round pick?

Poll

Would you pick assuming all were avaiable?

Paxton

11 votes

Matzek

38 votes

Stassi

5 votes

Green

30 votes

Turner

8 votes

92 votes | Poll has closed

Q and A With Henry Schulman

caincecum — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:18:55 -0000

Hey all my blog did a Q and A with giants beat writer Henry Schulman.....anyway here are the results of the session.

"Jeremy from Kentfield, CA asks: Out of the four highest touted prospects in the Giants system (Bumgarner, Alderson, Posey, Villalona) who do you think is the most likely to "bust" and why and if you could pick one whom would it be?"

This is a great question. I don't think any will be a bust, but I'd have to answer Villalona. It is very difficult to look at a 16-year-old and say this is a "can't-miss guy." He has had weight issues, and there was some fear he'd eat his way out of the game, but I think he's controlled that. Still, the others you mentioned are further advanced with more easily predictable career paths.

"Henry from Tiburon CA asks: "Don't you think it's in the Organization's best interest to trade Winn and the rest of his 8.5 million contract to give substantial playing time to Nate Schierholtz? I'm under the belief that Nate, can put up better power production than Winn which we surely need and will be about eight million dollars less. He can also come close to matching Winn in all other phases of the game and figures to play a prominent roll in our future?"

It might be in the best interest of the future to let Nate play, but the Giants think they can win in '09. The only problem with your scenario is, it's hard to imagine anyone taking Winn's entire salary, so the Giants would have to eat some. I also don't think you can say Nate can match Winn in all other phases of the game. That is an unknown. Nate will get his opportunities.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks: "Do you think it's in the Giants best interest to put Henry Sosa in the bullpen for good due to the fact that he has lingering injuries and lacks the stamina and efficency to be as successful as he could be as a starter at the major league level?"

I really haven't spent enough time talking to Giants people about Sosa to answer this knowledgeably.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks "Who do you think has the inside track to win the starting second base job this spring and whom would you award it to?"

I would say Frandsen has the inside track because of his offensive potential and the Giants' possible desire to send Burriss to the minors to get more seasoning. I'd give it to Frandsen, but only if he earns it in spring training.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks " Don't you think Emmanuel Burris would be better suited playing second base full time where his range would be a plus, his arm wouldn't be exposed and the offensive expectations at second base is substantially lower. The way I see it he would be a plus defender there as opposed to being a defensively at ss?"

I think Burriss surprised the brass with his range and arm at short, but yes, I think second base is a better fit.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks " Were there any members of the oganization or the club as a whole that were split on the selection of Buster Posey as opposed to Justin Smoak. I personally prefer Smoak because at his absolute ceiling he would be reminiscent of Mark Teixeira whereas Buster Posey seems to have an offensive upside of Jason Kendall in his prime and though he may posses great physical tools is still very new to catching?"

Nobody told me, privately or otherwise, about any rift on the pick. But I do know the Giants view Villalona as their first baseman of the future while being very thin at catcher. It is easier to find a good first baseman on the market than a catcher. I think Posey's power potential -- and that includes gap power -- exceeds Kendall's.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks "Right now do you think this team as currently built can/will win the West?"

I think it can, but only if the pitching performs as well as it should on paper, Aaron Rowand has a consistent season and Pablo Sandoval becomes a middle-order threat at the plate. I don't like making predictions on who "will" win because there are so many unknown variables.

Henry from Tiburon CA asks "Being someone whom is interested in working in baseball when I get older, what does your job entail? How did you get to where you were today? Do you travel with the team occassionaly? Any interesting stories?

I need to correct you on one point. I don't work "in baseball." I work "in newspapers." There is a vast difference. I believe you mentioned you would like to be a GM someday. That is a very different career track. I am a reporter, not a talent evaluator. My background is in writing and reporting. I got a poli sci degree from Cal and worked my way up through the news ranks as a reporter and business writer before starting my baseball career in 1988 with the Oakland Tribune, eventually landing with the Chronicle 10 years later. I do not travel with the team, although I (we) used to. Nor do I stay in their hotel. I have many interesting stories, but they will be in my book someday. :-)

Michael from Greenbrae CA asks "Supposing Noah Lowry is fully recovered by Spring Training and he outperforms Sanchez for the 5th spot in the rotation what do you do with Sanchez? Many people have said that Sanchez would be better served coming out of the bullpen permanently, do you agree with that? Would you trade Sanchez mid-way through the spring if it is apparent Lowry is back to his old form from his 15 win season? With Bumgarner or Alderson dominating the minors maybe it would be a good time to trade Sanchez, as the spot that the Big Unit fills this year could very well be filled by Bumgarner or Alderson next year."

I agree Sanchez should not be whipsawed back and forth anymore, and I do believe the Giants will try to trade him in spring training if Lowry is heatlhy. But that is a big if. I'm a big believer in having six quality starters available, even if one is in the 'pen. Wouldn't shock me if the Giants decided to start Lowry in the 'pen as he builds up stamina and innings.

BP SF Top 11 (free stuff)

caincecum — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:45:39 -0000

anyway I didn't see this posted yet and thought it would be interesting to disect. I think it's a pretty solid list but my only issues are that he has Villalona rated a notch to high in my opinion and putting Romo ahead of Kiesch and Wendell

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Team Audit | DT Cards | PECOTA Cards | Depth Chart

Five-Star Prospects
1. Madison Bumgarner, LHP
2. Buster Posey, C
3. Angel Villalona, 1B
Four-Star Prospects
4. Tim Alderson, RHP
Three-Star Prospects
5. Rafael Rodriguez, RF
6. Conor Gillaspie, 3B
7. Nick Noonan, 2B
8. Travis Ishikawa, 1B
9. Henry Sosa, RHP
10. Sergio Romo, RHP
Two-Star Prospects
11. Roger Kieschnick, OF

Just Missed: Ehire Adrianza, SS; Wendell Fairley, OF; Joseph Martinez, RHP

Ranking Challenges: Bumgarner is an obvious number one, but Posey isn't all that far behind him. Some might flip-flop Villalona and Alderson at three and four, but I can't see either player ranked lower that those two slots. Where Rodriguez slots in is really a matter of your evaluation philosophy, but after that, it's anything goes for the remaining six—Adrianza was the only player close enough to almost make the list.

Dispute........

caincecum — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:57:54 -0000

over at mccoveychronicles there's a great dispute between whom has the better top 4 prospects in the system the A's or Giants. A's fan obviously believes they do whereas we believe we do question is would who would you rather have?

Bumgarner,Posey,Alderson,Angel V

Cahill,Anderson,Inoa,Cunningham

heres the link for reference feel free to comment:http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2008/12/16/695168/top-4-prospects-per-system?login=1229482193

Poll

Would you rather have the Giants 4 or the A's 4?

Giants

136 votes

A's

62 votes

198 votes | Poll has closed

Top 7 Systems

caincecum — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:25:36 -0000

In my opinion the top 7 systems (in no order) are the Giants, Braves,A's,Rangers,Baltimore,Tampa,Marlins

I wanted to take each systems top 4 prospects and compare them. As a way of measuring which system had the best elite talent

OAKLAND: Cahill, Anderson, Inoa Cunningham

ATLANTA: Heyward, Hanson, Schafer, Freeman

Florida: Maybin, Stanton, Morrison, Coughlan GIANTS: Bumgarner, Posey, Alderson, Angel V

Rangers: Feliz,Holland, Smoak, Andrus

TAMPA Baltimore: Wieters, Tillman, Matusz, Arrieta

Price

Davis

Beckham

Brignac

Also rank the systems 1-7. My personal ranking: 1.Rangers 2. Baltimore 3.Tampa 4.Giants 5. Atlanta 6.Florida 7. Oakland
Florida and Atlanta could have gone either way a but Stanton and Maybin have scary strikeouts to go with their huge ceilings.
Rangers great upside from each position as a variety of positions sealed the deal
Baltimore-love Weiters can put up .310/.380/520 as a catcher potentially with good D remaining three can be front of the rotation starters
Price to good to ignore, Davis another high upside arm not that full away. Beckham toolsy as they come but very far away not a big fan of Brignac but Price/Davis to good to pass up.
Giants mix huge upside from their arms with high ceiling first baseman and premium talent behind the plate.
Oakland-Cunningham could be weakest number four. Inoa offers ridiculous upside but hasn't even thrown a pitch in the U.S Anderson and Cahill don't have upside of other pitchers on the list.

Top 4 Prospects per system

caincecum — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:54:20 -0000

Hey everyone the Braves system vs our system gave me an idea......how do are top 4 prospects stack among the top seven systems in baseball?

OAKLAND: Cahill, Anderson, Inoa Cunningham

ATLANTA: Heyward, Hanson, Schafer, Freeman

Florida: Maybin, Stanton, Morrison, Coughlan GIANTS: Bumgarner, Posey, Alderson, Angel V

Rangers: Feliz,Holland, Smoak, Andrus

TAMPA Baltimore: Wieters, Tillman, Matusz, Arrieta

Price

Davis

Beckham

Brignac

Also rank the systems 1-7. My personal ranking: 1.Rangers 2. Baltimore 3.Tampa 4.Giants 5. Atlanta 6.Florida 7. Oakland
Florida and Atlanta could have gone either way a but Stanton and Maybin have scary strikeouts to go with their huge ceilings.
Rangers great upside from each position as a variety of positions sealed the deal
Baltimore-love Weiters can put up .310/.380/520 as a catcher potentially with good D remaining three can be front of the rotation starters
Price to good to ignore, Davis another high upside arm not that full away. Beckham toolsy as they come but very far away not a big fan of Brignac but Price/Davis to good to pass up.
Giants mix huge upside from their arms with high ceiling first baseman and premium talent behind the plate.
Oakland-Cunningham could be weakest number four. Inoa offers ridiculous upside but hasn't even thrown a pitch in the U.S Anderson and Cahill don't have upside of other pitchers on the list.

Braves system/Giants System

caincecum — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:29:13 -0000

Henry T from Tiburon, CA asks:
Hello and thank you for the chat. Without giving much thought the two best farm systems in the national league may very well be those of the Giants and Braves if you were a GM and you could pick 1 to start your team with, whose farm system would you choose?

Bill Ballew: I would take the Braves' farm system due to the depth at a variety of positions. The Giants have excellent pitching depth, particularly with Madison Bumgarner, Tim Alderson and a handful of others. But the Giants' inability to develop any significant talent among everyday players at the major league level and Brian Sabean's poor decision-making on the free agent market (Edgardo Alfonzo, Michael Tucker, Dave Roberts, Edgar Renteria) makes me wonder if the Giants will ever develop a young team with long-term potential."

Doesn't this seem like a lame answer to anyone else? He based his decision off of Brian Sabean's decision making. But the real question is.......which system would you rather have?

NL WEST DREAM TEAM (to win now and in the future think about contracts to)

caincecum — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:51:22 -0000

C-Russel Martin LA, Chris Ianetta CO 1b. Adrian Gonzalez SD 2b. Blake Dewitt, Emmanuel Burris Sf SS.Troy Tulowitzki CO, Stephen Drew AZ 3b.Kevin Kouzmanoff SD, Ian Stewart CO 1f.Connor Jackson AZ, Fred Lewis SF Cf. Matt Kemp LA, Chris Young AZ rf.Justin Upton AZ, Andre Eithier LA
SP.Tim Lincecum SF SP.Brandon Webb AZ SP.Clayton Kershaw LA SP.Matt Cain SF SP.Chad Billingsley LA
RP.Manny Corpas CO RP.Huston Street CO RP.John Broxton LA RP.Hong-Chi Kuo LA RP.Sergio Romo SF CP.Brian Wilson SF
I'll make a minor league team soon as well to make us feel better