Updates

'Tis the season, so it's churn, churn, churn, with apologies to the Bard of Duluth. I've come to appreciate the churn, actually, as baseball is a war of attrition and you have to have the most guys still standing at the end of the season.

Rule V pick RH reliever Dedniel Nuñez, who had a good shot at making the team, needs Tommy John surgery. Ah, that pesky ulnar collateral ligament! Perhaps we should replace them earlier, say in utero, and then these fellows will be better prepared for their pitching careers. Alas, I don't mean to make fun. Here's wishing our FNG a successful procedure and a speedy recovery. I'm not sure what happens to him, with his Rule V status, as the final rosters get set. I'm assuming that decision will come up after the 60-day IL stint expires.

Southpaw starter Alex Wood, expected to be one of the Starting Five, may not be ready for the opening of the season. He's had a history of back injuries and has missed time the last two years. No one expected him to log 30 games, but his track record suggests he's still very effective and can give the team a number of quality outings, so let's hope he gets back soon. It creates an opening for young Logan Webb, and Webb has two options remaining, and that's something the brass likes. Something else the brass likes? How about 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 W, 10 K (22 TBF) this spring!

The Giants picked up another lefty reliever, this time Phil Pfeiffer, a Vanderbilt teammate of Mike Yastrzemski and Tyler Beede. (Walker Buehler was also on that team.) He's 28 and has no ML-time but has over 300 IP in the minors, mostly in the Atlanta Braves system. The Giants have a solid group of lefty bullpen guys, with Jake McGee, Jarlin García, Sam Selman, and the recently acquired José Álvarez. There are also three other NRI southpaws in camp: Scott Kazmir, Sam Long, and Anthony Banda. Hollister's own Conner Menez, LHP, is slated for AAA but he's on the 40-man roster.

It's a good thing they are putting names on the home jerseys this year!

--M.C.

Dee-fense!

These charts are from an article by Travis Sawchick on FanGraphs back in 2018. It's preliminary stuff and not definitive, and raises a lot of questions, but is interesting nonetheless. Is baseball better or worse for this trend of fewer chances by fielders? I don't know, but it points out that the game is certainly different than before and is constantly changing.

 

 

 

 

The whole article is worth a read. And there are some good points raised by readers in the comments section. I've been looking for more on this and would like to find some fresher references than a three-year old column, but I think this is fascinating stuff regardless.

--M.C.

Kevin Gausman

The Giants are hoping for a lot from Kevin Gausman. If he can perform close to his projections, there's a good chance they'll make him a multi-year offer. The team has learned a lesson or two about long-term contracts, so I suspect the 30-year old righty would get something like three years, not five. But in today's market three years is a long time. The only new Giants player with a three-year deal is Tommy La Stella, for example. Even Trevor Bauer signed a three-year deal, and he has a CYA on his shelf.

Gausman made his spring debut today and pitched two uneventful innings. The Giants have over 40 pitchers in camp and we've seen an inning, it seems, from every one of them! Now that they are getting closer to the opener the projected starters are getting scheduled for some game time. (Scott Kazmir also pitched today.)

It will be all about the results for Gausman. He's said publicly that he'd like to stay in San Francisco, and I think the Giants feel similarly. The former first-round draft pick (#4 in 2012) has some strong seasons behind him but injury and ineffectiveness pushed him into baseball limbo. Last year he changed his pitch mix and increased his velocity and saw the payoff with a career-high strikeout rate and a career-low FIP. Walk and homer rates edged below career averages, too. It's hard to know how that will translate to a 30-start season rather than a 10-start one, but the Giants like his attitude and work ethic. They'd like to see him be the ace they can match up with Kershaw and Buehler and Snell and Darvish and the rest.

He may not be quite at their level, but he has a good chance to be very close. Close enough to give the team a fair chance against them. Projections tend to give Gausman about 30 starts (~170 IP) with solid peripherals, around a 3.65 FIP and 3+ WAR. The Giants would be happy with that, as would I. What the 2021 team needs is some solid, consistent pitchers. They need a starter they can count on every turn through the rotation. (Johnny Cueto, can you be that guy, too?) And if Kevin Gausman turns into the second coming of Jason Schmidt that could make the year very interesting indeed.

--M.C.

Heliot hit two homers!

21-year old outfielder Heliot Ramos was the Giants 1st-round pick (#19 overall) in the 2017 June draft. He hit two homers today to help the Giants clobber the Reds 9-4. Let's hope he continues to rake. Three other Giants--Steven Duggar, LaMonte Wade, and Joey Bart--also hit homers, making it five overall. Better still, seven Giants pitchers allowed zero homers by the Reds. Giants errors led to two late runs but their 14-hit attack was enough. Youngsters Hunter Bishop and Marco Luciano each had a hit, as did roster dark horse Jason Vosler who also drove in a run. Vosler, who has been impressive this spring, may get a chance to stick on the big club if Evan Longoria goes to the IL. Word is Longo is dealing with plantar fasciitis. Vosler played left field yesterday and second base today although he is primarily a third baseman. He was excellent for the Padres AAA-El Paso club in 2019 and at age 27 should be hitting his peak. I hope he gets a chance to show his stuff. Speaking of stuff, southpaw Sam Long had three whiffs in his inning of relief, he's been a standout so far. Long is from Fair Oaks and starred at Sac State so he's everyone's favorite story this spring. He's mostly been a starter but has yet to pitch above A-level. Speaking of starters, new free agent righty Anthony DeSclafani made his debut and went two innings, allowing one hit and one run.

--M.C.