Giants Minor Leagues Low on Big Talent

After the the trades Sabean made this July, sending away Zach Wheeler, Thomas Neal and others, the Giants farm system was sure to take a hit. They're really banking on 2011's class to help re-invigorate a dying system.

There just weren't a whole lot of players who stuck out in the Giants system this season, and those who did, found their way up to the big league roster. Obviously, there are still a few elite guys like Gary Brown, Francisco Peguero and Joe Panik to help re-shape this farm system, but their pitching, which has been their strength for the better part of the last 1/2 decade, is no longer as deep as it normally is. It's like the team's philosophy has changed and all the sudden they have a plethora of power hitting prospects who have huge holes in their swings. Now Brown (.336/14/80/54) should start 2012 as the teams top ranked prospect, but 2011 top pick Joe Panik (.341/6/54, 69 games) will be right on his heels. Then I'd expect Francisco Peguero to round out the top 3, giving the Giants three positional players as their top-3 prospects for the first time that I can remember. Peguero quietly put up another very effective year, to the point where I was surprised the Giants didn't give him a look see in September. He figured out how to hit in the Eastern League, which a lot of Giants prospects can't seem to do, hitting over .300 with with a team-high .763 OPS. Another guy who had a standout year with the bat was 2009 supplemental pick, 20 year-old Tommy Joseph (.270/ 22/95) who really came alive in the 2nd half in the Cal League. Because of that power potential, Joseph will always have value, problem is finding him a position he can play comfortably.

On the pitching front, things are pretty thin at the moment, and if your wondering if the Giants may deal a starting pitcher for offense this winter, it may not be the case. 2011 Supplemental pick, Kyle Crick, who supposedly gave the Giants the confidence to deal their top prospect in Wheeler after they took him in Junes draft. However, even if he is the next MadBum or Cainer, he's just out of high school and even on an accelerated path, still 2 full years out. The only other guy close to the top-10 as far as Giants prospects coming into the year, besides Wheeler, was lefty Eric Surkamp, and he was less than spectacular at the big league level in his brief stint. He did go 10-4 with a sub-2.50 era in AA Richmond, and can pitch, but doesn't have overpowering stuff and needs to learn to throw with confidence and trust his location. He's probably destined for AAA Fresno to start 2012, but he could be in line for some starts again if he can improve in that area. Other than Surkamp though, as we saw in September, it's Barry Zito or Jonathan Sanchez. The Giants really don't have a bunch of options, and should they trade Sanchez, they better be willing to dip into free agency for some insurance. That's if Sanchez even has any value at this point. The best thing to do in his case would be to let him come to spring training and show baseball he's back, rather than try dealing him after the year he just had.

The Giants strength is still their pitching, don't get me wrong, but depth has become and issue, so much so that it likely will keep the Giants from dealing anyone away this winter. The relief front is a whole other story, as the Giants are stacked with them, and could package a guy like Romo with a solid prospect like Peguero and really get themselves a bat that way. I know there are plenty of teams looking for proven late-inning bullpen help, especially a closing-type 28 year-old.