1)
| Player: Joey Bart | |||||
| Position(s): C | Opening Day Age: 22 | 2018 Highest Level: Low A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’3” | Weight: 220 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: While there were questions whether or not Bart could stick as a catcher coming out of high school, he proved at Georgia Tech he could not only play there but be very good behind the plate. He is a good receiver of the ball and has a plus arm at the position. When at the plate he has a leg kick that varies in size and stride, leading to some inconsistency in his hand placement when the hips fire. He also can drift out onto his front foot too far making him susceptible to swinging over breaking balls quite often. When he does make contact it is hard contact, as he has plus plus raw power and could be a catcher who hits 30+ home runs a season, mitigating the below average grade you could put on his hit tool. | |||||
2)
| Player: Heliot Ramos | |||||
| Position(s): OF | Opening Day Age: 19 | 2018 Highest Level: Low A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’2” | Weight: 185 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: I have little doubt Ramos can stick in center where good reads and above average speed combine with a determined approach to make the plays you expect to fall, although I could see him running into some future injury issues by running into a wall too hard chasing down a fly ball or two. If he eventually fills out too much to stay in center, his arm is more than enough to play in right where he would be a plus defender. He has plus power at the plate, but he is very aggressive his center of gravity is inconsistent through his swing. He can get out front on off-speed stuff, then be caught with his weight too far back to catch up to velocity at times. Ultimately, I do think he becomes a middle of the order bat who plays center, but there will need to be adjustments to his approach at the plate to reach that ceiling. | |||||
3)
| Player: Shaun Anderson | |||||
| Position(s): RHP | Opening Day Age: 24 | 2018 Highest Level: AAA | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’4” | Weight: 225 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Lost in the bullpen of the Florida Gators watching first rounder after first rounder get the starting nods, Anderson finally moved into a rotation in pro ball and hasn’t looked back. He has a sinking fastball that regularly touches 95 with some arm-side run and an above average slider that would make him a quality reliever option. His change has developed into a pitch that is already average at times but shown signs of being above average, although there are still some inconsistencies still. He breaks off a curve now and then but it hangs too often and I expect him to scratch the pitch before too long. His mechanics are solid and lower effort suggesting he will be able to eat plenty of innings as a starter, where he could become a number three starter, although a number four is more realistic. | |||||
4)
| Player: Marco Luciano | |||||
| Position(s): SS | Opening Day Age: 17 | 2018 Highest Level: DNP | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’2” | Weight: 180 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Thought by many to be the top IFA of the 2018 crop, there is some belief he may skip over the Dominican Summer League and start his pro career in the AZL this summer at just 17 years of age. There is already real pop in the bat with plenty more to come as he fills out. He has a swing that allows him to barrel up the ball well and will spray line drives all over the field. He currently has plus speed, but that could regress closer to above average as he fills out. He has all the tools to stick at short, but there is always some concern about how a teenage will fill out but, if he does have to move off short, he has plus arm strength that will make him a very good defensive third baseman with the power at the plate to fit the profile. | |||||
5)
| Player: Logan Webb | |||||
| Position(s): RHP | Opening Day Age: 22 | 2018 Highest Level: AA | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’2” | Weight: 220 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Webb bounced back well from Tommy John surgery a season ago earning a late season promotion to AA and could threaten the big leagues in September. His fastball is a heavy 96 thanks to sinking run and he has a power slider. The change may improve to average, but I have my doubts it will ever be a truly viable offering. The effort in the delivery is no insignificant, although it is not enough to write him off as a potential starter. If the change does improve beyond where I see it getting to, then he could be a number three or four starter, but I think he is more likely destined to be a high leverage reliever. | |||||
6)
| Player: Sean Hjelle | |||||
| Position(s): RHP | Opening Day Age: 21 | 2018 Highest Level: Short A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’11” | Weight: 225 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: There is no mistaking Hjelle for another pitcher as he literally stands head and shoulders above his teammates. While he is a very long 6’11”, his delivery is quite controlled and balanced allowing him to have an almost unheard of for his size above average command. The fastball can touch 96 but the extension he gets with his landing leg often finishing less than a foot from the grass in front of the mound allows that to play up even more. His knuckle-curve is easily his best pitch and borders between above average and plus. The change is still inconsistent but has the makings of turning into an average pitch giving him three viable pitches he can spot and a body that can withstand the riggers of an innings eater work load. He does not have much of a ceiling, maybe a number three if absolutely everything breaks right, but he might have a floor of a number five starter, which is incredibly valuable. | |||||
7)
| Player: Jake Wong | |||||
| Position(s): RHP | Opening Day Age: 22 | 2018 Highest Level: Short A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’2” | Weight: 215 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Grand Canyon has only recently become a full-fledged Division 1 program, but Wong was selected in the third round a year ago and they could see Quinn Cotton go even higher this year. He has a fastball-curve-change arsenal whose ceiling relies heavy on how the secondary offerings come along. His fastball is an easy above average offering, regularly sitting 94-96 with a good downhill plane, it is the curve that is intriguing. The pitch is inconsistent and can be quite flat at times, but when he really snaps it off it simply falls off the table and will have even the best hitters swinging right over the top. The change has shows signs of being decent, but is well behind the other two offerings, although his good body control allows him to spot it rather well. He may have the upside of a quality number three starter, but there is quite a bit of risk he ever sees anything close to that ceiling. | |||||
8)
| Player: Alexander Canario | |||||
| Position(s): OF | Opening Day Age: 18 | 2018 Highest Level: Rookie | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’1” | Weight: 165 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Canario has the tools to be a special player and plenty of time to put them together, but he is still quite raw. The bat speed is truly plus, problem is the bat plane is about as long as you are going to find as he looks to show off his plus raw power, leading to a lot of swings and misses. If he shortens up the swing and allows his natural bat speed and the strength to come, he will be able to turn that raw power into game power, but he doesn’t make enough contact to do so yet. In the field, he has average to better tools when it comes to glove, speed, and arm, so he has the makings of a future center fielder. This is a guy who has the ceiling of an All Star, but the floor of washing out before seeing AA. I lean more towards him making the adjustments to become a quality big leaguer, but there is a lot of work to do before that becomes something Giants fans can count on. | |||||
9)
| Player: Heath Quinn | |||||
| Position(s): OF | Opening Day Age: 23 | 2018 Highest Level: High A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’3” | Weight: 220 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: Quinn is an odd evaluation as I like him more than I probably should as you could argue he will never even have an average tool, but I think he could put it all together and be a positive WAR left fielder. His best tool by far is the raw power, although he does not make enough hard contact in games to really tap into that power as much as the Giants would like to see. On the bases and in the field he is, well, slow, although his instincts in both spots prevents him from being a liability in either location. He has plenty of arm, but he takes quite a long time to release the ball, leading to it playing average or lower despite the ball coming out with well above average velocity. There is a good chance he ends up as a bench piece with pop, but I still feel he has a reasonable chance to meet his ceiling of an everyday left fielder. | |||||
10)
| Player: Gregory Santos | |||||
| Position(s): RHP | Opening Day Age: 19 | 2018 Highest Level: Short A | |||
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6’2” | Weight: 190 lbs. | ||
| Quick Report: The second arm, along with Shaun Alexander, the Giants acquired from the Red Sox in the Eduardo Nunez deal, Santos has plenty of upside. His fastball sits 94-96 with plenty of downhill action that makes it hard to barrel up. His slider is a potential plus offering although it currently lacks consistency and can sit and spin too often. The change will be the pitch that determines his future as it currently is an offering that gets hit hard, but there is some late action to it that suggest it could become an average offering. He has a stiff front leg that his body fights against too much and would need to be cleaned up for him to make it as a starter long term. His ceiling is a number two starter, although I am not sold on the delivery or change so I think there is a higher likelihood he becomes an impact reliever. | |||||
Others of Note:
Aramis Garcia – C – 26 – MLB
Chris Shaw – OF – 25 – MLB
Luis Toribio – 3B – 18 – Rookie
Ray Black – RHP – 28 – MLB
Tyler Beede – RHP – 25 – MLB
Jairo Pomares – OF – 18 – DNP
Jacob Gonzalez – 3B – 20 – Low A
THREE QUARTER SLOT 
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