Arizona Fall League Update

The Arizona Fall League has gotten underway and there are a few Giants' of note participating this year. Daniel Ortmeier, Nate Schierholtz and Eugenio Velez are all getting an extension to their 2007 season. Ortmeier and Schierholtz are getting the most attention as both have a shot at starting somewhere for the Giants in 2008. The Giants' longterm plan of moving Ortmeier to first base has carried over into the fall and it's looking more and more likely that the position will be his next season. He's gotten of to a hot start in the AFL, leading the league in hitting with .406 avg. through his first 6 games while playing a flawless first base. He's also been getting a lot of mentoring from J.T. Snow during the process. I am very curious to see how this experiment works out. I never had high hopes for Ortmeier, but He kept getting better and better with the more playing time he got towards the end of the season. 6 home runs, a .287 average and .819 OPS over 157 big league at-bats isn't too shabby. Still, it's tough to predict anything good for a Giant farm-hand, but I could envision Ortmeier putting up respectable numbers if given a shot to play full time next season. I don't think a .275 avg., 15 HR, 75 RBI, and .780 OPS would be too far fetched. Not standout numbers by any means, but certainly employable.

Nate Shierholtz and Eugenio Velez are also thriving in the Fall League so far. Both these guys figure to play into the outfield/utility rotation in someway next season. Schierholtz continues to hit the ball well at every stop he makes as he's hitting .333 with 5 doubles. The only thing that Schierholtz still hasn't shown is patience. He makes very good contact, but doesn't walk. If he's going to take a starting outfield spot next season, he has to get on base more and he is going to have to show a little more pop. Velez hasn't hit the ball as well as Schierholtz or Ortmeier, but he is leading the AFL in stolen bases with 7. Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy both praised Velez at the end of the season for his speed and versatility, and one of them even compared him to the Angels' all-star, Chone Figgins. I doubt the Giants have the next Chone Figgins in Velez, but he is exciting to watch and with his ability to play all over the diamond, there is a decent chance he'll get a shot.