Good things come in threes

The Giants Holy Trinity were all on display yesterday. Giants Jottings had the scoop and the photos, as always. Buster, MadBum & Tim2 are the Father, Son & Holy Ghost of the club's future.

Buster is the old man of the group, turning 22 on the 27th of March. Marc Hulet on FanGraphs had this to say about him earlier this month:

. . . the athletic catcher could reach the Majors within two years despite playing in only 10 regular season games after signing.

I think Buster's timetable is shorter than that. He'll be on the team in September when the rosters expand and will be in line to start in 2010. That's assuming we don't do anything idiotic like this (see OBM for the heads-up and discussion). Too much has been written about our golden boy, but take a look at the list of Golden Spikes winners--that award usually means you are going to make it in The Show.

MadBum turns 20 in August. I'll say that another way--he's nineteen freakin' years old. Here's Hulet's take on him:

Bumgarner posted a 1.46 ERA (1.71 FIP) with 111 hits allowed in 141.2 innings. He also posted rates of 1.33 BB/9 and 10.42 K/9. Bumgarner was especially good in the final month of the season when he allowed a batting average against of .186 and posted a strikeout rate of 13.36 K/9.

This kid--supposedly--hits 97 on the radar gun. Yow-za!!! He'll pitch in AA this year most likely, and it wouldn't hurt to see him spend a year at AAA. I expect to see him competing for a starting spot in the spring of 2011. He'll be 21, going on 22. Matt Cain got a call-up at the end of 2005 and made 7 starts--he was the youngest player in the NL that season, turning 20 that August. He had fewer than 400 IP in the minors, so we might see something similar with MadBum.

Tim2 made this impression on Giantfan9:

Although he is 9 months older than Bumgarner (still a pup) he doesn't seem to be as well developed, physically, and did not seem to throw the ball quite as hard.

Hulet describes MadBum as "the crown jewel" of the system and "one of the best pitching prospects in baseball" but also rates Tim2 highly:

Tim Alderson is another impressive pitching prospect, who was also drafted out of high school in 2007. Alderson was so advanced for a prep player, in fact, that the Giants jumped him all the way to High-A ball for his first full pro season (which is almost unheard of these days). Despite the challenge, the right-hander did not skip a beat and he allowed 125 hits in 145.1 innings, with a 2.79 ERA (2.64 FIP).

Even if we push Tim2 back a year we'll see him seeking a rotation spot in 2012. So--Buster in 2010, MadBum in 2011, Tim2 in 2012? What say, mates? Does the Holy Trinity give you faith and hope? Nos. 33 and 75 will still be getting paychecks, so that damps my enthusiasm a wee bit, and the bats seem to be well behind the arms in this outfit. But the three youngsters on display yesterday was very exciting no matter how you slice it. And as far as 2009 goes, it wouldn't hurt to get a little religion. Now y'all bow your heads and repeat after me:

In nomine Patris
et filii
et Spiritus Sancti

And pray for some fookin' hits!!!


(FanGraphs link: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/2009-prospect-mine-san-francisco-giants)