I think Norel Gonzalez’s bonus was in the $200k-$700k range. So not nothing, but not big, especially given his age.
Maybe a DJ LeMahieu comp on the defensive side? LeMahieu is a really tall guy who manages 2B/3B well and has speed on the basepaths. Hensley doesn’t have LeMahieu’s contact ability but he might have more power. A guy who can legit play 2B/1B/3B/OF and hit 20 HR/yr without striking out a ton is a really valuable player.
That first start by France for Corpus is really impressive. Appears to be a former 2018 14th round pick who struggled in A+ in 2019. Maybe he's had an uptick in stuff since 2019.
Houston signed former Giants farmhand RHP Nolan Riggs to a minor league deal; he is on the AA Hooks roster. Also, RHP Fabricio Reina was added to the A ball Fayetteville roster. He spent 2019 in the DSL.
Do we have any guys in the minors who could be called up and be serviceable this season? Probably too early to tell, but I'm ready to be done with the Raley experiment (at least in innings that matter)
Tons. Pretty much any of the pitchers in AAA could potentially come up and be successful. Of course, if Raley is the guy you don't like then they should just be going with Emanuel in his place and he is already in Houston. Enoli Paredes will be back in a week or so. Peter Solomon, Tyler Ivey, and Nivaldo Rodriguez are already on the 40 man so they'd likely be next in line for a call-up. Ivey and Solomon have pretty good upside especially if deployed in relief. As for other guys, It wouldn't surprise me if Conine or Dubin were brought up at some point this year, either as relief help or in a spot start. And I think Ralph Garza will get a callup as a single inning reliever.
Jose Siri (1) has a three-run homer for Sugar Land. Grae Kessinger (2) and Ross Adolph (1) have homered for Corpus Christi. Freudis Nova and Alex McKenna both hit their first homers for Asheville. After driving in five last night, Luis Santana has three more RBI for the Tourists. Jaime Melendez, a 2019 international signee from Mexico, allowed one hit and struck out six in four scoreless innings for Fayetteville.
Very encouraging early power from Kessinger. Essentially the primary question standing between him projecting as a bench guy vs an everyday player.
Justin Dirden ripped two doubles and drove in three in his first pro game for Fayetteville. Dirden signed as an undrafted free agent last year out of Southeast Missouri State. Four-hit night for Shay Whitcomb.
They also signed another former Giants minor leaguer, RHP Brandon Lawson. Lawson was a 12th-round pick of the Rays in 2016 out of South Florida. Went 5-9 with a 3.70 ERA in 24 starts at AA Richmond in his one season in the Giants system in 2019.
That’s an odd one. 29, had plenty of ab in the majors and has never hit, and they seem to have enough IF in AAA. Weird.
Shoot, for 2 large, I could give you 0-16 with 16 Ks. My defense at SS/CF would be a little rugged though.
A round of roster updates: Jeremy Pena, Forrest Whitley, Jairo Solis, and Carson Larue added to AAA roster but are on the Injured List. Pena, Whitley, and Solis are on the 60 day, Larue is on the 7 day. Cesar Rosado is suspended. Not sure why. He is on the AA roster. Jose Alberto Rivera is suspended as well, he is on the High A Asheville roster. Cody Deason is on the 60 day Injured List on the High A Asheville roster. Ryan Gusto and Garrett Gayle are on the 60 Day Injured LIst on the Low A Fayetteville roster. Down to 16 players "missing" from rosters (excluding recent international signees). I saw notes online that indicate that Derek West is injured. Jordan Brewer is also injured. Only other prospect of note is Nathan Perry; no news on where he is or why he isn't on a roster.
So the first 5 games are atarted for the lower levels, and here were the starters: AA: Donato, France, Bermudez, Daniels, Brown High A: Henley, McDonald, Ruppenthal, Brown, Lopez Low A: Gomez, Moclair, Mejias, Melendez, Macuare Janos Meszaros, Freylin Garcia, and Manny Ramirez have yet to appear for Fayetteville. The 2 lower levels may be using tandems as they have had quite a few guys throw 3 innings in relief.
Asheville is getting smacked 11-2 by Brooklyn, but Colin Barber hit his second homer of the year for the Tourists... a two-run blast that is their one scoring play.
Is there any source for minor league pitch and exit velocity data? Was thinking about what kinds of stats can be predictive in the very early going like this. Normally HRs are the only thing I pay attention to prior to about 50 pa, since K, BB, avg, SLG, BABIP, fielding, etc. are pretty meaningless in small samples, but HR at least give a pretty concrete data point for how far/hard a kid can hit a baseball. For pitchers there’s really no meaningful data to me prior to ~40 ip. But if we could get exit velocity data for hitters and pitch velocity for pitchers I think that would be a meaningful stat even in small samples; if a guy can throw 100 mph once, he can pretty surely be tagged as having elite velocity. And if a guy can hit a line drive 100+, then he likely has at least average power.