Trade Deadline Preview: San Francisco Giants
By Andrew Padyk
Three Pieces on the Trading Block
1. Kyle Crick
Crick is currently the top pitching and overall prospect in the Giants farm system. Currently he is at Class AA Richmond where through 14 starts has a 5-3 record with an ERA of 3.22 and has struck out 65 over the span of 58.2 innings. In a recent report however, Crick’s ceiling has been consider to be that of a late reliever rather than a starter due to his command issues that he has been showing in some of his starts.
The Giants seem to be open to moving Crick as well, especially following the drafting of Vanderbilt’s Tyler Beede earlier this month, who presents a possibly more polished pitching prospect than Crick. There is some worry though about moving him, especially after trading away Zach Wheeler for Carlos Beltran in the failed playoff push in 2011. It should be interesting to see where Crick lands or if he is moved, as there is a bit of a drop in pitching prospects.
Among players currently playing at the Major League level for the Giants, the 24 year old Hector Sanchez presents a viable trade option for the club as he is talented enough to be a starting catcher for a number of clubs. He did get off to a rocky start this season, but then again he is the back up to Buster Posey so his at bats are typically limited. At the moment Sanchez has a stat line of .201/.233/.317 with 37 hits and 14 RBI’s. A trade could work wonders for Sanchez as he would possibly get the at bats needed to develop consistency and plus it would also mean that the Giants could bring up touted catching prospect Andrew Susac to being the back up.
3. Andrew Susac
At the other end of moving Hector Sanchez, is the possibility of moving the Giants’ catching prospect Andrew Susac, who is currently in Class AAA Fresno. Susac is the eleventh best prospect in the Giants system and at this point in the season is becoming one of the best hitting prospects as well. Currently with Fresno, Susac has a stat line of .269/.381/.450 with 7 home runs and 24 RBI’s. He has battled with some injuries and concussion issues, but is still top prospect who is on the cusp on being called up soon. Given that he is having a stellar season compared to other hitting prospect for the Giants, Susac could be draw some attention for the Giants on the market.