1. Angel Villalona, 3b- The 17 year-old is still at least 3 years away, but is the Giants' equivalent to what Miguel Cabrera was for the Marlins when he was coming up. He's playing 3rd now, but could move to first by the time he reaches the bigs. Easily the best Giants' positional prospect in the last 15 years and he's still just 17. Only Giants' prospect to make baseball's top 50 list.
2. Tim Alderson, rhp- Scouts feel the Giants' 2nd overall pick from '07 could be the first of the class to reach the majors. Has been starting, but could be a future closer because of wacky delivery and overpowering stuff.3. Madison Bumgarner, lhp- #10 overall pick signed late and didn't pitch any professional ball this summer. Expectations will be big in '08 for the hard throwing lefty. The Giants expect him to be on a similar time frame to Matt Cain as far as reaching the bigs, which means we probably won't see him until 2010.
4. Nate Schierholtz, of- Always has hit .300, but power and patience haven't showed up at the big league level yet. He will get more ab's in 2008, but has to show improvement in those areas to be a starter at this level.
5. Henry Sosa, rhp- One of the most intriguing arms in this system. I really like the potential this kid has. The 22 year-old rightie has Francisco Liriano stuff, (2.44 era, 11 wins, 139 k's in 126 ip in A), and made the futures game in '07. He has the best fastball in the system and should be kept in the rotation.
6. Nick Noonan, 2b/ss- Another first rounder from the '07 draft had a solid season in the rookie league. Not much power, but a good contact hitter with a solid glove. Baseball America believes he's the Giants' most disciplined hitter in their system.7. Eugenio Velez, of/2b- I'm surprised he made this list. He's a solid player and still has upside, but he's almost 26 and has moved past the prospect phase. Should bring value to the Giants as a super utility guy with premier speed in 2008.
8. Wendell Fairley, of- I really liked this pick when the Giants made it in June, I think this guy was one of the best athletes in the draft and should be a future star. He has Carl Crawford and Grady Sizemore type athleticism and potential, hopefully he can reach it.
9. John Bowker, of- 24 yr. old hit 22 home runs in AA last season and was the Giants top power hitter in the minors. Will probably start the year in Fresno and could get a shot at some point in '08 but he's got about 6-7 guys ahead of him on the depth chart right now.
10. Emmanuel Burriss, ss- The potential heir apparent to Omar Vizquel has a lot of glove and speed but has yet to show the bat to get him out of Low A ball. Had a good Fall League showing though and could be destined for a big 2008 season in AA.
Guys who didn't make it to keep an eye on:
Travis Denker, 2B- Obtained in the Mark Sweeney trade in August. He has always shown a good bat with some power and a good glove. He's been compared to Marcus Giles because of his height and power potential. Excelled with San Jose after the trade (.400, 1hr 9 rbi in 7 games). Hasn't done much yet beyond single A, but is only 22 and still has some time.
Sergio Romo, rhp- The 24 year-old rightie had about as good of season as one could have in 2007. He dominated the California League for San Jose this summer to the tune of a 6-2 record, a 1.36 era, and a k/bb ratio of 106/15 in 66 innings pitched. Then he went on to the AFL and pitched even better against tougher competition. Could see the bigs as soon as the second half of the '08 season.
Kelvin Pichardo, rhp- Another hard throwing righty who struck out over 1.5 batters per inning in the low minors last season. The 22 year-old moved up to AA late in the year and continued throwing well. Still has some control issues, but has a very live arm with huge potential.
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