McCovey
07-06-2010, 01:42 PM
I saw this today over at Baseball America as part of their weekly Q & A.
Now that Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner are presumably in San Francisco to stay, where would you rank the Giants farm system and who is now their top prospect?
Kent Iverson
Sonoma, Calif.
Posey and Bumgarner were clearly the Giants' two best prospects entering the season, and quite frankly, none of the minor leaguers we ranked behind them have jumped up to seize the No. 1 spot. Youngsters such as righthander Zack Wheeler and catcher Tommy Joseph have been slow to adjust to low Class A, and Wheeler hasn't pitched since mid-May with a cracked nail on his right middle finger. Outfielders Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick and shortstop Brandon Crawford have found Double-A much less hospitable than the hitter-friendly high Class A California League was a year ago.
First baseman Brandon Belt (.386/.493/.635) and righthander Jorge Bucardo (8-3, 2.23, 82-26 K-BB in 93 IP) are having the best seasons among San Francisco minor leaguers, but neither cracked our Giants Top 30 Prospects list in the 2010 Prospect Handbook (http://www.baseballamerica.com/store/store.cgi?browse=cat_books#125). I'd still take Wheeler, who ranked No. 3 on that list, over anyone in the Giants system, even after the eventual signing of Cal State Fullerton outfielder Gary Brown, the club's first-round pick in the 2010 draft. Wheeler is just 20 and has a chance to have three plus pitches down the road.
We ranked the Giants system fourth overall in our preseason organization talent rankings (http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/organization-talent-rankings/2010/269739.html), but the graduations of Posey and Bumgarner and the leveling off of several other prospects will drop San Francisco several spots when we update that list in the offseason. The Giants should rank around 20th or so.
Now that Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner are presumably in San Francisco to stay, where would you rank the Giants farm system and who is now their top prospect?
Kent Iverson
Sonoma, Calif.
Posey and Bumgarner were clearly the Giants' two best prospects entering the season, and quite frankly, none of the minor leaguers we ranked behind them have jumped up to seize the No. 1 spot. Youngsters such as righthander Zack Wheeler and catcher Tommy Joseph have been slow to adjust to low Class A, and Wheeler hasn't pitched since mid-May with a cracked nail on his right middle finger. Outfielders Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick and shortstop Brandon Crawford have found Double-A much less hospitable than the hitter-friendly high Class A California League was a year ago.
First baseman Brandon Belt (.386/.493/.635) and righthander Jorge Bucardo (8-3, 2.23, 82-26 K-BB in 93 IP) are having the best seasons among San Francisco minor leaguers, but neither cracked our Giants Top 30 Prospects list in the 2010 Prospect Handbook (http://www.baseballamerica.com/store/store.cgi?browse=cat_books#125). I'd still take Wheeler, who ranked No. 3 on that list, over anyone in the Giants system, even after the eventual signing of Cal State Fullerton outfielder Gary Brown, the club's first-round pick in the 2010 draft. Wheeler is just 20 and has a chance to have three plus pitches down the road.
We ranked the Giants system fourth overall in our preseason organization talent rankings (http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/organization-talent-rankings/2010/269739.html), but the graduations of Posey and Bumgarner and the leveling off of several other prospects will drop San Francisco several spots when we update that list in the offseason. The Giants should rank around 20th or so.