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I read the whole thing, and after I've had the chance to digest it for a while, I'm going to come back and read it again, and try and ask some intelligent questions.


Bruce:

Sheesh. I didn't expect anyone to read the whole thing! I tend to ramble on and on when it comes to discussing one of my favorite topics and I know that's a turnoff for some...

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The best part is....it appears that the Giants minor league system may not be in the lower half of the baseball for very long!


Well...I wouldn't go that far. I wasn't pleased to see some old guys like Valderrama (drafted in 1995!!), Ransom and Ellison on the list. I'd venture to say none of these three would've made the Dodgers' top 50, which is a sad thought. BA finally threw in the towel on Tony Torcato, though they've yet to wake up to Lance Niekro.

As for patterns, the Giants' philosophy of sniffing out inexpensive talent at the major league level (well, talent might be a strong word) seems to be continuing in their scouting habits. Lots of junior college players, Division II and NAIA talent, and college seniors from strong baseball programs -- all players who are either easy to sign or creep under the wire of other team's scouts. Or both. This could be perceived as clever or cheap. Again, I say both. And as I've observed in the past, they like position players AND pitchers who have experience and success in wood leagues. Todd Linden, Jon Armitage, Jeremy Accardo, Pat Misch, Josh Habel are current top 30 examples. It's not a bad philosophy as that, along with the criteria of maturity, tends to help the players develop a little quicker, hence the organization's fairly aggressive moves when it comes to promoting their prospects. Sadly, this still hasn't resulted in any impact positional players reaching the majors in a Giants' uniform. As the handbook points out, the Giants haven't developed an everyday position player since the 1993 draft (Chris Singleton and Bill Mueller). Sorry, but that's beyond pathetic. Going further back, you have Royce Clayton, Matt Williams and Will Clark, though the latter two were top five picks who made their debuts after barely a cup of coffee in the minors. It could be asserted that their success had more to do with the development they received in top college programs, rather than what the minor league coaches taught 'em.

Having said all that, I'll be more impressed once they add a bit of the A's philosophy to their own. High OBP guys in particular. I'm tired of the Niekro/Torcato types. And for gawd sakes, I want to see some international signings! I'm sick of reading about who the other teams in our division are signing (especially the Dodgers and Rockies, and lately -- the Padres) on the international front. I'd be happy if Magowan took some of that magic Maddux money and stuck it to scouting. Not only for signings, but beefed-up personnel internationally. Feret out the Japanese talent. Find the hidden guys in Taiwan and South Korea. Build a greater presence in South America. Find the talent, dammit! Out of the top 30, only Kelyn Acosta had been signed outside the States. And I'm not counting Angel Chavez (Panama, 1998) or Valderrama (Venezuela, 1995) because that was too long ago.

Whoops, rambling again.

-Dave ;)