NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 20: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Steven Duggar #6 of the San Francisco Giants in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 20, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Giants defeated the Mets 2-1 after 13 innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Derreck Rodriguez #57 of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the top of the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on September 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
The San Francisco Giants made a big push for the 2018 season, but it fell very short. What is on the farm that could provide light for the future?
As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the San Francisco Giants.
We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.
After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!
San Francisco Giants minor leagues
Significantly ripped for years about the lack of depth and lack of star power in the farm system, the San Francisco Giants made the odd move to strip that system even worse in a failed attempt to compete in 2018. With key players hitting free agency after 2018 and more after 2019, the farm system will need to produce very soon.
Recent drafts have focused on upside alongside a heavy return to the Latin American market, but that has provided a small top end to the system for the Giants. Depth is still lacking, but that doesn’t mean there were not some impressive performances on the season.
Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:
San Francisco Giants Minor League Hitter of the Year: Heath Quinn
Level(s): high-A San Jose Stats: .300/.376/.485, 96 G, 407 PA, 24 2B, 14 HR, 42/98 BB/K
Heath Quinn came to the San Francisco Giants in the 3rd round of the 2016 draft, and he immediately made a big impression, hitting .344 with 9 home runs over 60 games in his draft year. Then Quinn was jumped all the way to high-A in his first full season, and between injuries and performance breakdown, it was a lost season.
Returning to San Jose in 2018, Quinn showed his impressive ability with the bat. He’s got a right field profile, with a power bat and a powerful arm. His instincts in the outfield need work, but he’s still working to get healthy and stay healthy for a full season and he could move quickly up the system once that happens.
Runners-up
The #2 overall selection this summer, Joey Bart showed exactly why he was so highly regarded once he got on the field, hitting .294/.364/.588 between the Arizona Rookie League and the Northwest League with 15 doubles and 13 home runs over 51 games.
Originally drafted in 2013 out of Puerto Rico, Johneshwy Fargas has slowly made his way up the system. He finally broke through in 2018, hitting .288/.354/.421 with 8 home runs and 47 stolen bases. Fargas needs to keep up the progress he made in 2018 to have a chance to be a bench outfielder in the mold of current Giant Gregor Blanco.
South Florida third baseman David Villar was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 11th round this June. He played in the Arizona Rookie League and Northwest League, combining for a .282/.342/.535 slash line with 23 doubles and 13 home runs over 62 games. He’ll play full-season ball in 2019.
Repeating San Jose was the best thing for Jalen Miller. He put together a .276/.321/.434 slash line with 35 doubles, 14 home runs, and 11 stolen bases and showed an excellent glove at second base.
San Francisco Giants Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Logan Webb
Originally taken out of high school in the 4th round in the 2014 draft, Logan Webb has filled in and developed into a very impressive starter, though the San Francisco Giants managed his innings in 2018 in his first season back from arm issues.
Webb was brilliant with high-A San Jose and continued his progress with AA, though not to the same level. Webb relies on a heavy, late-breaking repertoire that will never likely have him striking out tons of hitters, but with a solid defense behind him, he could do very well.
Viewed as a typical college lefty coming out of Cal State Fullerton last summer, John Gavin had a load of success in his first full season in the organization. He posted a 2.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 47/139 BB/K ratio. He’ll likely open with San Jose, but he should be up in the upper minors by the end of 2019.
Acquired as part of the Eduardo Nunez deal, Shaun Anderson made a huge stride forward in 2018. He pitched in both AA and AAA, totaling 141 1/3 innings with a 3.69 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 33/127 BB/K ratio. He should get a shot to make the Giants 2019 rotation.
In a season so up and down in performance, Conner Menez exhibited some of the most impressive raw stuff in the San Francisco Giants system, that it’s hard not to at least consider him for the year-end award. He ended up his season spent between high-A and AA primarily finishes with 135 1/3 innings, a 4.46 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 60/171 BB/K ratio.
Next. Rangers minor league awards. dark
So while the San Francisco Giants have a long way to go in building their system, they certainly have some guys for fans to track in 2019 and going forward!
