GOTC - San Francisco Giants 2014 Top 15 Prospects

#15

Gary Brown - OF
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
Height/Weight: 6’1″/190 lbs.
Acquired: 1st round of the 2010 draft

2013 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2013	24	Fresno	PCL	AAA	SFG	137	608	558	79	129	29	6	13	50	17	11	33	135	.231	.286	.375	.660

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2014.

Analysis: 2013 was a disastrous year for Brown, the former first-round pick and top prospect. Just about everything that could go wrong, did: a .660 OPS in a hitter’s league, a dreadful SB%, a K/BB ratio over 4. In addition to all that, reports out of Fresno indicated that Brown had some makeup problems and wasn’t making adjustments, especially against right handed pitchers. He’s struggled in his career against righties, culminating in a .221/.276/.356 line against them in 2013. He’s a plus defender in center field, but despite his natural speed he’s had steadily declining stolen-base percentages over the last three years. He’ll get opportunities at the highest level because of his defense, but he still has a long way to go to reaching the potential he showed in his excellent 2011 season in San Jose.

2014 Prognosis: Brown will be back in Triple-A, hopefully sporting a new swing. As is, he’s a candidate for the 5th OF spot in San Francisco, but the organization will undoubtedly want Brown to get everyday at-bats and instruction in the minors. He could be up in September, however.

#14

Derek Law - RP
Date of Birth: September 14, 1990
Height/Weight: 6’3″/218 lbs.
Acquired: 9th round of the 2011 draft

2013 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2013	22	3 Teams	3 Lgs	A-A+-Rk	SFG	5	3	.625	2.31	46	0	27	0	0	14	66.1	51	21	17	2	12	3	102	0.950	6.9	0.3	1.6	13.8	8.50
2013	22	Augusta	SALL	A	SFG	0	3	.000	2.31	19	0	5	0	0	3	35.0	27	12	9	1	10	3	48	1.057	6.9	0.3	2.6	12.3	4.80
2013	22	Giants	ARIZ	Rk	SFG	1	0	1.000	3.18	5	0	1	0	0	0	5.2	4	2	2	0	1	0	9	0.882	6.4	0.0	1.6	14.3	9.00
2013	22	San Jose	CALL	A+	SFG	4	0	1.000	2.10	22	0	21	0	0	11	25.2	20	7	6	1	1	0	45	0.818	7.0	0.4	0.4	15.8	45.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2014.

Analysis: Law had an impressive breakout season in 2013, with a K/BB ratio of 8.5 over 3 levels and an eye-popping 45:1 K/BB ratio in 25.2 innings in San Jose. Numbers like that are going to draw some attention, but Law isn’t just a stat sheet curiosity. He attacks hitters with a deceptive motion and a four-pitch arsenal which includes a mid-90s fastball, and a plus curveball. To back up his 2013 regular season performance he went to the Arizona Fall League, where he didn’t allow a run in 12.1 innings while striking out 16 and walking 6. His extreme over-the-top motion and dynamite 12-6 curveball generate a ton of ground balls.

2014 Prognosis: Rumors have Law starting next season in Triple-A but a more realistic guess would have him in Richmond. Either way, if he continues to pitch like he has, he could be in the majors by the All-Star Break.

#13

Joan Gregorio - SP
Date of Birth: January 12, 1992
Height/Weight: 6’7″/180 lbs
Acquired: International Free Agent, signed March 2010.

2013 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2013	21	Augusta	SALL	A	SFG	6	3	.667	4.00	14	13	0	0	0	0	69.2	65	34	31	3	17	0	84	1.177	8.4	0.4	2.2	10.9	4.94

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2014.

Analysis: Pay no attention to the ERA, Gregorio had an excellent season as part of an intriguing Augusta starting rotation. The 6’7″ stringbean showed unusual command for someone that tall, and he backed that up with an outstanding K/9 for a K/BB ratio approaching 5. His mechanics are inconsistent, like many tall pitchers, and he fought injuries in 2013 including an oblique injury and a blister problem. His fastball sits 90-93 and can touch 95, and he complements it with a slider and a changeup. Augusta beat writer David Lee describes his slider as “slurvy at times” but scouts think it could be an above-average offering in the future. His changeup lags behind his other two pitches, causing some to throw a future bullpen role on Gregorio.

2014 Prognosis: He’s headed to San Jose. The most important thing to Gregorio is to stay of the disabled list. If he can throw 120-140 innings and show some development with his off-speed stuff, he could end up in the top 5 on this list next year.

http://gradingonthecurve.com/2014/01/24/san-francisco-giants-2014-top-15-prospects/