San Francisco Giants: “Catch” Me if You Can

So far this spring training, the San Francisco Giants have used six catchers. Two of them, Johnny Monell and Jackson Williams did not have a shot at making the major leagues. Bengie Molina will be the number one catcher, but the question is who will be his backup? Buster Posey, Eli Whiteside, and Steve Holm have all been given a look so far, and each has had a taste in the major leagues at some point, with the Giants, over the last few seasons.

Below, we will examine each one of these four catchers and at the end, hopefully reach a decision on who the two should be.

Bengie Molina

For the last three seasons, Molina has proven to be one of the main catalysts in the Giants offense. In his first season with the team, he set a career high in RBI’s with 81. In his second season, he topped that with 95. And in his third season, he set a career high for homeruns with 20.

He has done everything asked of him, which includes playing stellar defense and working the Giants ultra-young pitching staff. It was for that reason, that I wanted him to re-sign in San Francisco this off-season, amidst talks he was looking to go elsewhere.

So in my opinion, Molina should get the majority of playing time this season and towards the end of the season, they could call up Buster Posey, who can learn from Molina. Being a free agent at the end of this season, he could then go on to another team, while passing the torch to the Giants top prospect catcher.

Buster Posey

Late last season, the Giants gave their phenom top prospect a look at the major league level. He would only go 2 for 17, but in the 40 innings he caught, he had a perfect fielding percentage. For a rookie catcher, this is almost just as important, as his offensive skill can be tapped into, but defense, sometimes, is never learned.

This spring, Posey is making a strong case that he should remain in the majors at the start of the season. He is batting .389 along with 1 homerun and 8 RBI’s, and if performance so far was an indication on whether or not he deserves to make it, then he would. But unfortunately, the situation is more complex.

The Giants, recognizing that Posey may be ready, have begun to experiment with him at first base. To me, this is the worst thing they can do. Remember when John Bowker first got called up two seasons ago? He was playing right field and hitting homeruns left and right. Then the Giants tried to get versatility out of him and make him a first baseman as well. It may be just complete coincidence, but his average and power production went down significantly from there, and has playing for Fresno within two months.

Giants fans want to see him in the majors now, but they must remain patient. You can never be too careful in being patient with young players, and putting him at first base just to get him at-bats is the wrong thing to do. Posey is a catcher, and should remain one, even if it means having to wait until next season to see him.

Eli Whiteside and Steve Holm

Whiteside was the epitome of being a backup catcher, when he played for the Giants last season. Nothing fancy, nothing glaring; just a simple role as the backup catcher. He played solid defense when he came in late in games in relief of Molina, and bat .228 while hitting 2 homeruns and driving in 13, in what was in first season in the majors in four years.

That job belonged to Steve Holm the season before last, and although he hit for a better average that Whiteside, he has not gotten much of a look this spring, leading me to believe he is out of the realm of possibility for getting that backup catching job.

Final Thoughts

Bengie Molina will start the season as the Giants’ number one catcher. He should get the majority of the playing time, and should catch the games where Lincecum, Cain, and possibly, Pucetas pitch. His experience will continue to further their development.

My choice for the backup will go to Eli Whiteside. He worked very well with Jonathon Sanchez last season, including his no-hit performance, and could also relieve Molina on days that Zito pitches, because the veteran does not need a mentor like the other three.

As I said earlier, Posey should remain in the minors where he can continue to develop his skills, so that next season, he can replace Molina as the starting catcher for the Giants. Should Molina get injured, though, I would not be surprised to see him called up right then and thrust into the role immediately.

Wellemeyer and Pucetas Battle for 5th Spot in Giants Rotation

Brian Sabean’s drafting and construction of pitching depth in the organization has set manager Bruce Bochy up to be a very lucky man. His biggest decision at the culmination of spring training? To decide on who gets the fifth spot in the rotation.

The two most likely contestants to win that spot have been narrowed down to free-agent acquisition Todd Wellemeyer and the homegrown pitching prospect Kevin Pucetas. Both candidates have been the best two Giants pitchers this spring, and have combined for 19 innings pitched and a minuscule 3 earned runs allowed, for an ERA of 0.92. Their performance has been unreal, but the decision will be a tough one.

As I said in this debate, on who will win the fifth spot in the rotation, I believe that Todd Wellemeyer will get it, mainly because of his experience; the Giants do have one of the youngest pitching staffs in the league, so he would be the balance at the back-end of it. He’s 2-0 with an ERA of 1.20 and is having the best spring of his career. He also has experience in long relief, and should he falter, he can easily be moved there.

Pucetas, meanwhile, has an identical record as Wellemeyer with a mind-boggling 0.64 ERA. He has also shown great control of his pitches, walking only 2 batters in 14 innings. For a player who has never pitched in the majors before, control always seems to be an issue, but not for him.

Neither of these pitchers are strikeout pitchers, they rely on getting ground balls and utilizing the defense to make plays. With the Giants already having three strikeout pitchers in the rotation, this could be a welcome relief, because pitchers like Wellemeyer and Pucetas rely on contact, and they throw less pitches this way.

No matter what happens, the Giants cannot go wrong with giving the job to either of these two. Madison Bumgarner has struggled of late and being that he is still very young, he could use a season in Triple-A.

But there is a question of, if Wellemeyer gets the job, what will happen to Pucetas? Well all know that if Pucetas were to get it, Wellemeyer would just move to the bullpen, but not necessarily the other way around. Should he get it, do the Giants put Pucetas in the bullpen, to get him major league experience, or do they send him down to the minors so he can start on a regular basis?

Personally, I would have to send him down because there would be no sense in hindering his development by giving him irregular innings in relief. Let him throw for a few months down there and by June, if the status-quo is alright, then he would have to wait until September.

As I said previously, this is a problem that major league teams love to have.

Who Will Get the Giants Fifth Spot in the Rotation?

The San Francisco Giants have built up a formidable starting rotation over the last two seasons. One could make the argument that it is top three in the majors, if not the best one completely. Tim Lincecum has won the Cy Young award in back to back seasons, Matt Cain is coming off a 14 win year in which his ERA dropped to 2.89, Barry Zito made a strong recovery late last season in which he upped his strikeout totals and lowered his walks and ERA from the previous two seasons.

Meanwhile, Jonathon Sanchez has a ton of potential, with a fastball in the mid-90′s and a deadly slider, and he even found himself throwing a no-hitter last season. But with all that, who will nail down that last spot in the rotation? Do the Giants go with another kid, or do they give it to a veteran?

If this year’s spring training stats were to be the deciding factor, then the job would clearly go to Kevin Pucetas, who is awaiting his major league debut. He is currently 1-0 and has not allowed a run in the seven innings he’s tossed so far. At 26 years old, and a 42-13 minor league record, he may be mature to handle the jump to the big leagues.

Top pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner is also being looked at for the job. At only 21 years old, he was given a brief look last season when he was called up in September. He threw one start, which he went 5.1 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs, but not factoring in the decision. He would go on to pitch 10 innings, striking out 10 and having an ERA of 1.80. He is probably the best of the available pitchers, but the Giants should, and will most likely hold him a couple of months to see how he does in the minors. If the number five pitcher is struggling and Bumgarner is doing well, he could get called up.

The final option for the spot goes to veteran Todd Wellemeyer, who was signed to a contract by the Giants this winter. The former relief pitcher turned starter has a major league record of 29-29, with an ERA 4.74 in 195 games pitched. He has also fared well this spring, having a 1-0 record and an ERA of 2.00. Because he is a veteran, he would be my choice to get the job. As I said earlier, if he falters, he can be moved to long relief where he had success in Kansas City and St. Louis.

It will be a tough decision, but the problem the Giants have is something that teams dream about; too many good, young pitchers, and not enough spots to put them.

Giants Need Veteran Bats to Step Up to Achieve Success

Since the departure of Barry Bonds two seasons ago, the San Francisco Giants have undergone a youth movement. From the completely revamped and most feared starting rotation in the major leagues, to the likes of Pablo Sandoval and  Eugenio Velez in the infield. The Giants will be expecting big numbers from Sandoval, dubbed the “Kung-Fu Panda” by teammate Barry Zito, a nickname that has since stuck. They will also need contributions from Velez, who has been up and down for the last three seasons as well as outfielder Fred Lewis.

Players like John Bowker and Buster Posey are no shoe-ins to make the team right out of spring training, but they too will need to be relied on to bring offense to a team who was the worst ranked run support in the entire National League last season, and not much better the year before. But with all the fresh, promising new faces in the lineup, the veterans will still have to lead the way if the team wants to make a run at the division title, and go anywhere in the playoffs.

Aaron Rowand, who saw time at lead off during the middle of last season will begin there on opening day. He does not have the blazing speed that one would like at the top of the order, but his contact ability and power may be more appealing than anyone else in the Giants’ lineup at that spot. Aubrey Huff was acquired in the off-season and they will desperately need power out of him. Huff has 15 HRs and drove in 85 RBIs but has hit 20 or more homeruns six times in his career.

Utility man Mark DeRosa will also be needed. He is likely to reach 20 homeruns because he is a right-handed batter and in order to be a successful power hitter in AT & T Park, you need to bad from the right side (save for a certain #25). He can play 1B, 2B, 3B and outfield, but he will most likely be starting in left field come opening day, with Rowand at center and Schierholtz in right.

Bengie Molina, who I feared would not sign with the Giants, ended up inking a one year deal with the team and he will bring leadership as well as offense. He has had career numbers since coming to San Francisco and has driven in no less than 80 RBIs in each of his three seasons here. But what will be more important is his ability to work the young pitching staff, which may be even younger if Kevin Pucetas and Madison Bumgarner make the team.

There really is not much to expect from Edgar Renteria, the Giants veteran shortstop. He hit well at the end of the year but that was not enough to erase a disastrous campaign in 2009. I would expect he gets the chance to start at short, but with how Juan Uribe ended last season, do not be surprised if he is even given a chance at all. The Giants need power this season and if Uribe can match what he did last year, then the team will be in for a treat.

Over the next few weeks I will be giving my stat predictions for hitters and pitchers on the Giants. The rebuild is slowly but surely getting there, and I think we are in for an exciting season in 2010.