When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

06.24.2008
Make Way for Ducklings

The trickle of mid-season minor league promotions has picked up pace. Remember Ryan Rohlinger, the kid in spring training who got everyone abuzz with a couple excellent games? He’s just been bumped up to AA Connecticut from High-A San Jose, where he had a decent first half but nothing spectacular. He’s also not a kid. He turns 25 in October, which means he’ll probably continue to move quickly if he handles high-minor pitching.

A more surprising promotee is Matt Downs, San Jose’s second baseman who has jumped all the way to Fresno. Just turned 24, he’s also on the fringes of prospecthood, too old to be taken seriously in the Cal League. To keep perspective, remember that Eugenio Velez was the Low-A Sally League MVP in 2006 at the age of 24. He’s now 26 and just figuring out AAA.

But with a strong showing at Fresno, Downs’s age and level would suddenly make more sense. An offensive-minded 24–year-old second baseman in AAA isn’t a bad thing. There are lots of ifs, of course, and that two-level promotion is a tough assignment, but he got off to a good start with a single and double last night.

Add these guys to the promotions of Ishikawa, Mooney and Sandoval that we noted yesterday, and what does it all mean? Do the Giants suddenly have a bunch of good-looking surprises on their hands? Hardly. Sandoval is the only one well ahead of the curve. The rest are on the Rawhide track: head ‘em up, (have a look), move ‘em out.  

I haven’t heard this from any Giant brassmember, but I’ll bet it’s part of a grand plan to sweep out the shed, see what’s good for kindling, keep a couple pieces, and call the rest deadwood. (Sorry, I’ve got smoke in my eyes and fire on the brain as we get ready to pack up the Malomobile and head into northern forests.) The Giants need to find out now, and by “now” I mean within a year or so, how these guys might help the big squad. Twenty-five–year olds in A-ball just gum up the works, so put ‘em in AAA instead of minor-league lifers like Scott McClain and Justin Leone, from whom the Giants apparently don’t expect any big-league contribution. (Otherwise you would have seen one of them get a shot at first or third this year.)

It would be lots of fun to sneak into the player development office and see the org charts. Will the Giants move up their younger guys, too? If so, perhaps Downs’s promotion clears a San Jose spot for Nick Noonan, last year’s first-round pick who is putting together a nice season in low-A Augusta. I don’t think Angel Villalona, who despite struggles in low-A remains a top-50 prospect (#29 on this mid-season list), is moving anytime soon.

Should the Giants aggressively promote Noonan, Bumgarner, and other recent draft picks who are doing well? Who among the older “prospects” looks promising? Discuss.

(Photo from law_keven used through a Creative Commons license.)



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[June 24, 2008 7:49 PM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

I would give the guys who got promoted a break, and not bust their chops. They played well in their run in San Jose, the ones who really did well and were older got pushed to AAA, the others got to AA, except for D'Alessio, who is one of the few who are at the average age for the league.

I don't see the promotions as any much different than what the Giants did before in previous years, the only unusual thing is that we have so many position players doing well in the minors and deserving of promotion.

Ishikawa is the only one I could possibly say is being pushed, and that is because he should be out of options this season, unless he is one of those with 4 options (Linden was one of those). Still, he hit well enough to get his promotion.

And now Romo gets to the majors, but that's more on TINSTAAPP, if they think he's a good enough pitcher now, no use keeping him in the minors when there is a need, and with Chulk choking like he was, there is.

And I guess Chulk didn't like life with the Giants, he's looking to get out if he makes it through waivers, which he probably will, as I don't think anybody touches his contract, small as it is, and take their chances afterward, particularly since Chulk announced his availability early.

I think the Giants would want the major players on Augusta to feel a connection with each other that will last, hopefully, to the majors. Half a year probably won't do it. And, particularly since they are battling for a championship, being in the trenches together battling for a league championship should be a good bonding experience.

Still, just realized that is like over half the starting lineup gone from San Jose, so they will need some good replacements at some point.

Since they won the first half and the Giants have not been shy in the past in moving players to San Jose to win in the playoffs (Frandsen and Lewis were ones I recall some hackles being raised), I could see them coasting in the second half, then restock with players from other teams to try to win it again.

Plus, Noonan is doing nicely, particularly for his age relative to the league, but he's still only 35th in OPS, and walking a lot.

If anyone is deserving of a promotion on that team, it is Bumgarner, and a long time ago, so if he hasn't been promoted yet, I assume the other major prospects, particularly if they are about one year removed from high school, aren't going anywhere either.

Oh, and about McClain and Leone, they are much older than Bowker and Castillo at the majors, so that would be a good reason not to bring them up, as both Bowker and Castillo could be starters when the Giants are competitive again, whereas McClain and Leone would be close to if not already in retirement.