Pitching depth is in the San Francisco Giants’ future as seven of Baseball America‘s Top 10 prospects are pitchers. The Giants have won three World Series in five years, and these rankings add credence to the belief that this is one of the best-run franchises in all of baseball. Pitchers are dominating the game, as strikeouts have risen to stratospheric levels and runs are as hard to come by as a news outlet bereft of Deflate-gate coverage.
Stockpiling young, talented pitchers gives a franchise depth at a key position and gives them the leverage to make trades for other pieces if they need them (for example, the Giants will need a bat to replace the departures of third baseman Pablo Sandoval and outfielder Michael Morse).
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With that in mind, the 2015 updated Top 10 prospects according to BA:
Andrew Susac—2014 stats: .268 average/.379 OBP/.451 SLG in 63 games at Triple-A; .273/.326/.466 in 35 games at MLB
The talented catcher almost shouldn’t be on this list based on the fact that he’ll most likely stay in the majors for the majority of the season. Susac is a highly developed catcher and will get plenty of time behind the plate because the Giants want to minimize the beating Buster Posey takes over the course of the season. He has proved he can call a big league game, and being under the tutelage of Posey and manager Bruce Bochy is even more reason to believe he’s here to stay.
Tyler Beede—0-1, 3.00 ERA, 1.53 WHIP in 15 innings; 8-8, 4.05 ERA, 1.28 WHIP at Vanderbilt
Beede pitched an abbreviated 2014 after a successful junior season at Vanderbilt that ended in a College World Series championship. Beede, drafted 14th overall in 2014, has an electric fastball and a sharp curveball. He does have some control problems, walking 4.22 batters per nine innings as a Commodore, but a few seasons of professional coaching could go a long way to turning him into a big league starter.
Kyle Crick—2014 stats: 6-7, 3.80 ERA, 1.54 WHIP at Double-A
Crick regressed slightly in 2014 but still has more than enough potential to be a mid-level starter. Crick struggled to find the strike zone as his walks per nine innings went from 5.11 in 2013 to 6.08 in 2014. Success at the major league level will elude him if he continues to hand out so many free passes. Crick has the arsenal to get hitters out, and zeroing in on the strike zone is the last area that needs to be polished before he contributes to another World Series contending team.
Keury Mella—2014 stats: 4-4, 3.48 ERA, 1.219 WHIP between Low-A and Single-A
Mella has none of the control problems of the first two pitchers (2.0 BB/9 innings, 4.37 K/BB) and just finished his third quality season in a row. He did miss some time due to injury in 2014, and a healthy 2015 season could put him on the cusp of the big leagues for the 2016 Giants.
Clayton Blackburn—2014 stats: 5-7, 3.31 ERA, 1.20 WHIP at Rookie-level/Double-A
Blackburn may only need to pitch one more season in the minors. He has posted a 2.98 ERA through four seasons as a professional, and a sterling 1.8 BB/9 innings and 4.70 K/BB ratio show he won’t beat himself with walks. A September call up is a possibility in 2015.
Adalberto Mejia—2014 stats: 7-9, 4.67 ERA, 1.39 WHIP at Double-A
Mejia had a disappointing 2014 and 2015 will start off disappointing as well. Mejia was suspended in November for testing for a banned substance and will miss the first 50 games of the upcoming season. Mejia’s periphery numbers like WHIP (1.14 in 2013 to 1.39 in 2014) and strikeout rate (8.9 per nine innings in 2013 to 6.83 in 2014) went the wrong direction, so the second half of 2015 will be make-or-break time for Mejia.
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Ty Blach—2014 stats: 8-8, 3.13 ERA, 1.284 WHIP at Double-A
Blach uses two fastballs, a two-seamer with a good sinking action and a mid-90s four-seamer, and a solid slider and changeup to get hitters out. He joins Mejia, Blackburn and Crick on the doorstep to the majors, and at the very least grades out as a solid left-handed reliever in the Giants pen.
Hunter Strickland—2014 stats: 2.09 ERA, .80 WHIP, 13.75 K/BB between High-A and Double-A
Fiery personality and all, Strickland has the makings of a big league setup man/closer. The righty flamethrower contributed to the Giants’ World Series run as a September call up, and his ability to strike hitters out won’t keep him the minors much longer.
Matt Duffy—2014 stats: .332 average, .398 OBP, .444 SLG in 97 games at Double-A; .267/.302/.300 in 64 plate appearances at MLB.
There are those out there who believe, and rightly so, that Duffy lost his job to Joe Panik, but Duffy has the makings of a big-league utility man. Minor league pitching had little success getting him out, and he has the soft hands and adequate speed to fill in at second base, shortstop or third base.
Christian Arroyo—2014 stats: .291 average/ .330 OBP/ .404 SLG between Low-A and Single-A
The youngest among the bunch, the 19-year-old Arroyo is another middle infielder with utility-man potential. There were periods when he struggled in 2014 and he did miss some time to an injury. Most scouting reports don’t see him as an everyday major leaguer, but the Giants are adroit at developing players and he could surprise a lot of people as he develops. Like Duffy, a utility-type role is his most likely future.