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| 2009 San Jose Giants Preview: Starting Pitchers |
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By Joe Ritzo 2/9/2009
Starting Rotation Expected To Reload With Top Prospects
Top prospect Madison Bumgarner could begin
the 2009 season pitching in San Jose
(photo by Tom Priddy) |
Last year’s San Jose Giants club featured one of the most dominant starting pitching rotations in all of minor league baseball. Four hurlers made the All-Star team and Kevin Pucetas claimed league Pitcher of the Year honors. While a duplication of that group’s success this season cannot be expected, several top prospects may be headed to San Jose, including a trio of pitchers that played starring roles on Augusta’s championship squad.
Most, if not all, of San Jose’s 2008 starting staff will be headed to the upper levels of the Giants farm system this season. Pucetas has been invited to major league spring training camp and should eventually play a leading role in Connecticut or perhaps even Fresno. Former first round pick Tim Alderson, who led the California League in ERA, is in line for a promotion a Double-A while fellow All-Star Jesse English has been placed on San Francisco’s 40-man roster. Even Clayton Tanner, who is just 21 years old, came on strong during the second half of last season and that should be enough to earn his first opportunity at the Eastern League.
One of the biggest questions among San Jose Giants fans entering the 2009 campaign involves phenom pitcher Madison Bumgarner. The 19-year old left-hander dominated the South Atlantic League last year when he compiled a 15-3 record and a minor league-best 1.46 ERA. Bumgarner amassed 164 strikeouts compared to just 21 walks over 141 2/3 innings before winning both of his post-season starts without allowing an earned run.
“He’s got a fastball that has some movement to it and he was able to throw breaking balls for strikes,” said San Francisco Giants Director of Player Development Fred Stanley. “When you’ve got that kind of a combination: being left-handed, throwing strikes and an above-average fastball that you can locate … It’s one of those things that you dream about in player development.”
Bumgarner consistently features a fastball in the 93-94 M.P.H. range and will occasional hit 97. Baseball America recently described the southpaw as having the best fastball and best control of any pitcher in the Giants minor league system. His secondary pitches are still a work-in-progress, but his slider showed great improvement a season ago while the change-up should be a major point of emphasis going forward. Assuming Bumgarner can continue to develop his off-speed pitches, his ceiling as a major league pitcher is that of a dominant #1 starter.
MiLB.com named Bumgarner the #6 prospect in all of baseball after the 2008 season, so there is no question that the young star will be saddled with high expectations. Whether Bumgarner moves up just one level and begins the year in San Jose or is pushed all the way to Double-A Connecticut is a question that has yet to be answered.
“We’ll have to put him in a position to be challenged,” said San Francisco Giants Vice President of Baseball Operations Bobby Evans. “The only concern we have with any of our starters going to the Double-A level is the fact that it is often a bit cold to start the year. That ultimately can’t be our final determining factor, however it does play a role in the decision of where guys start. It also depends on the other arms that are out there. How many of them are ready to pitch at the Double-A level as well and how conservative do we want to be with Madison.”
If Bumgarner is promoted aggressively to Connecticut, Scott Barnes and/or Daryl Maday could play leading roles in the San Jose starting rotation. Barnes, an eighth round draft pick out of St. John’s University last year, has quickly become a top pitching prospect in the organization after a standout summer in Augusta. The 21-year old left-hander joined the GreenJackets during the final week of July and went on to post a spectacular 1.38 ERA during six regular season starts. Barnes struck out 41 batters and walked just seven in 32 2/3 innings. He then, like Bumgarner, won both of his post-season starts in dominant fashion to lead Augusta to the South Atlantic League title.
“Scott was certainly one of the pleasures of last year’s draft class,” said Evans. “He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he’s a strike-thrower. You need to be able to command your stuff and Scott has done that. It’s impressive.”
Daryl Maday won 13 games last
season between three teams
(photo by Chris Talley) |
Reportedly, Barnes possesses a fastball primarily in the upper 80’s and according to Baseball America, “changes speeds like a major league veteran.” His change-up is probably his best pitch and his curveball was also very effective in Augusta.
San Jose fans are familiar with Maday after he joined the Giants starting rotation in mid-August of last year. The 23-year old right-hander was drafted late in 2006 (30th round), but has delivered two very impressive professional seasons. After an outstanding year in Salem-Keizer’s bullpen during their ’07 championship run, Maday made the transition full-time to starting last year. In fact, the University of Arkansas product had an even lower ERA than Bumgarner at the time of his promotion to Double-A.
Overall, Maday finished his stint in Augusta with a 9-4 record and a spectacular 1.55 ERA over 104 2/3 innings. After a brief, unsuccessful stint in Connecticut (8.35 ERA in 18 1/3 innings), Maday became a key member of San Jose’s rotation down the stretch where he compiled a 2.05 ERA and a 3-0 mark in four regular season starts.
Maday, like Barnes, is a polished pitcher who isn’t particularly overpowering with his fastball. He features several quality off-speed pitchers and above-average control, as evident by walking just 36 hitters over 145 innings last season.
“He’s a very competitive, mature kid and knows what to do to get hitters out,” said 2008 San Jose pitching coach Pat Rice. “Besides the fact he really wants to compete, he’s got pretty good stuff, including as good a curveball as anyone from that team.”
Potentially two very hard throwers who could fill important roles in San Jose’s starting rotation this season are right-handers Henry Sosa and Waldis Joaquin. Sosa has spent parts of the last two years in San Jose combining for an 8-9 record and a 4.35 ERA over 26 starts. The 23-year old features an electric fastball that can sit in the low-to-mid 90’s and led to a whopping 136 strikeouts over 120 innings in the California League the past two seasons.
“He’s a got a good arm, but he just needs to throw strikes,” said Stanley about Sosa. “He’s the kind of kid where sometimes it just takes a little bit more time to mature. When he throws his fastball, he’s got to be able to locate it to both sides of the plate.”
Despite two long stints on the disabled list last season, Sosa is still considered one of the top pitching prospects in the organization. Sosa struggled to maintain consistently strong velocity last year, but with the hope that his injury issues are behind him, a big 2009 season could be in his future.
Joaquin spent most of last year working out of the Augusta bullpen before earning a late-season promotion to the California League. As a member of the Giants, the 22-year old made four starts in addition to appearing in five games out of the bullpen. He finished with a 4.66 ERA while collecting 23 strikeouts over just 19 1/3 innings. Joaquin regularly features a mid 90’s fastball to go with a power slider. As with Sosa, improved control of his electric stuff will be a major key going forward for Joaquin.
Waldis Joaquin possesses one of the best
fastballs in the Giants minor league system
(photo by Barry Colla) |
“He’s a guy with an exceptional arm and you want him to start because you want him to get a lot of innings and become more consistent with his stuff,” said Rice. “When he’s throwing strikes and he’s down in the zone, he’s very difficult to hit.”
Both Sosa and Joaquin were protected on San Francisco’s 40-man roster this offseason which speaks volumes to how highly the Giants front office regards these two right-handers. Ultimately, they may become full-time relievers in the organization, but as of now, starting appears to be their role and spots in San Jose’s rotation this season could be their next destination.
It seems unlikely that all of the group of Bumgarner, Barnes, Maday, Sosa and Joaquin will fill the five slots in San Jose’s starting rotation come Opening Day. Whether it’s because of promotions to Double-A, a potential shift to the bullpen or injuries, there will almost certainly be other pitchers in the mix for the Giants starting rotation. Those pitchers will likely come from a group that posted solid numbers in Augusta’s starting rotation last year.
Right-handers Chance Corgan, T.J. Brewer and Oliver Odle along with lefty Craig Clark were all key starters on the GreenJackets’ championship squad. Corgan, a high draft pick in 2007 (5th round), recorded a 2.93 ERA in 12 starts with Augusta. Brewer, like Maday, was a late-round selection (35th round in 2007), but has done nothing but produce as a professional. After a posting a 9-1 record in Salem-Keizer two years ago, Brewer notched a 10-4 mark and an impressive 2.95 ERA with Augusta. The 24-year old is not a strikeout pitcher, but has managed to keep the ball on the ground and based on his prior success, could be a key member of San Jose’s rotation in 2009.
Odle’s ERA was slightly higher (3.77), but he won 10 games and only walked a remarkable nine batters in 136 innings. Like Brewer, Odle is primarily a ground-ball pitcher who relies on pinpoint control. Finally, Clark is also coming off a solid campaign in Augusta in which he won eight games and finished with a 3.51 ERA. Clark walked just 23 hitters over 115 1/3 innings and won a key post-season game for the GreenJackets after a dominant six-inning start.
This quartet of 2008 Augusta starters may not be considered top prospects, but each were key contributors on a championship club and could fill roles as either starters or relievers in San Jose this season.
Right-handers Mike Loree (4-3, 2.44) and Kyle Nicholson (6-1, 1.15) won ERA titles in the Northwest League and Arizona Rookie League respectively last season, but are probably more likely to start the season in Augusta.
2009 San Jose Giants Starting Pitcher Prospects
* Scott Barnes, LHP
Augusta: 3-2, 1.38 ERA
* T.J. Brewer, RHP
Augusta: 10-4, 2.95 ERA
* Madison Bumgarner, LHP
Augusta: 15-3, 1.46 ERA
* Craig Clark, LHP
Augusta: 8-4, 3.51 ERA
* Chance Corgan, RHP
Augusta: 4-5, 2.93 ERA
* Waldis Joaquin, RHP
Augusta: 1-2, 4.33 ERA
San Jose: 0-1, 4.66 ERA
* Daryl Maday, RHP
Augusta: 9-4, 1.55 ERA
San Jose: 3-0, 2.05 ERA
Connecticut: 1-1, 8.35 ERA
* Oliver Odle, RHP
Augusta: 10-7, 3.77 ERA
* Henry Sosa, RHP
San Jose: 3-4, 4.31 ERA
2009 San Jose Giants Previews will continue next week on sjgiants.com with a look at the middle infield.
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