So, for those who may not be aware, I got an invite from Wally Fish of the Fansided network to write for Seedlings 2 Stars, Fansided's Minor League blog. Being that I am one of those people who always loves new challenges and opportunities, I have decided that I would contribute to their blog as a staff writer. I already posted my first article for their site, which is a look at the Top-5 Latin American position prospects in the National League West (Peguero comes in at four, and Adrianza and Sanchez are honorable mentions). I hope to write one on pitching prospects at some point this week. They want me to write a couple of times a week, which I think I can do while still keeping up consistent posts on this blog.
Also, side note, I know some of the grades might be a little off from what you see here. To give some context, I am an optimist at heart with the Giants. Yes, I'm anti-Eli Whiteside and anti-Chris Dominguez, but for the most part I tend to cut the Giants a lot of slack on things, especially when it comes to player evaluation. I mean, I was a guy who supported Fred Lewis and John Bowker as everyday Major League players, and Lewis has just been cut by the Indians this Spring and Bowker is playing for the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB. So, that just goes to show you how green I am when I come to evaluating talent. In terms of where I'm at in the Minor League analyst circles, I would say I'm just starting High-A, and I'm trying to take advantage of the hitter-friendly environments of the Cal League.
But, the point is, I tend to be more optimistic when I look at Giants prospects. Adrianza would be a C+ prospect to most analysts, but I think of him as a B on this site because I think his bat will come around and I think his glove is Gold Glove worthy. Same goes with Joe Panik, who I rate as a B+ prospect while most analysts would think of him as a B to B- guy based on his tools. Hence, the way I think of Giants prospects on this site is not really a clear cut standard...or at least not yet. With S2S, while I will be covering prospects from my perspective, I will also be covering and evaluating them based on what the general consensus is from scouts, publications and other web sites. So, while Francisco Peguero may be a B prospect on this site, I rate him as a B- prospect on S2S because the general consensus on him from most people is that he's a B- guy. I think when trying to cover prospects on a National scale, one has to take into consideration all the sources. I do that here, but as Shankbone said in a comment, I do try to give a lot of consideration to guys in the Giants system, because to be frank, I am a Giants fan and as much as I hate to admit it, I am biased in favor of the Giants.
I don't know if this clears anything up, but hopefully it'll give some context and explain the differences as I rotate my posts between here and S2S. God knows where I'm going to get the time to do all this posting, but when you live where I live and have the job I have, you do manage to find time.
I am shooting to get No. 21-25 in the prospect list done by tomorrow. I have already started, just didn't have the time today to really get finished. For all those who read this blog, thanks for reading and check out S2S. They're going through some writer turnover, but they got some really good stuff and a great staff. Definitely glad to be aboard.
Just a couple of more days to Opening Day. Hoka Hey!
Kevin - Congrats. I really like Wally Fish's writing and you will contribute very nicely to Seedlings. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs for your grades, its good to be tough and fair. The odds these guys face are long. I have a hard time criticizing guys as well. Don't hold back, what you say is nothing compared to all the MLB guys when they're carving up draft order, thinning the herd on promotions and what not.
Thanks for the congrats. They are definitely experiencing some big turnover as of late, so it's a nice opportunity. I plan on posting a couple of things there this week. I was hoping to get the 21-25 post up tonight, but the short week at school bogged me down. Should be up sometime tomorrow though.
ReplyDeleteAs for grades, yeah I know what you mean. I'm not trying to say I'm all rosy-colored glasses with these guys, but it's important to recognize the guys who are worth recognizing. You're absolutely right. The odds these guys face are long, and expectations should always be tempered. But that being said, prospects and minor league players are something to be valued, and each one has a different amount of value to the Giants organization. I guess as a Giants fan what I'm trying to do is figure out who's valuable and who's maybe not so as much.
Thanks for the comment, hopefully I can get that post out by tomorrow.