Looks like the 2008 Augusta Greenjackets will be the team to watch. They are going to be stocked with practically every high upside prospect in the entire
system. Add in still young prospects, Wilber Bucardo and Waldis Joaquin to
the rotation makes it even more interesting. 
The only thing offsetting the joy is the early move of Angel Villalona to 1st base, along with reports of his increasing weight, which is now well above 200 pounds.
The only thing offsetting the joy is the early move of Angel Villalona to 1st base, along with reports of his increasing weight, which is now well above 200 pounds.
Infield of dreams
By Andrew Baggarly
MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Created: 03/06/2008 03:00:32 AM PST
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Motorists on Hayden Road should look alive when they drive past the Giants' minor league complex.
Angel Villalona can reach them.
The stocky infielder is the star of the Giants' minor league minicamp this spring, hitting deep drives beyond the left-field fence, over a protective netting, clearing the trees and bouncing off the pavement about 450 feet away.
Not bad for a 17-year-old.
"He is still immature," Giants special assistant Felipe Alou said. "We have not seen the kind of man he will become."
Villalona will be the most watched player on what could be the Giants' most talented minor league team in decades. He is bound for the Augusta GreenJackets in the low-A South Atlantic League, where his teammates are expected to include most of the high-ceiling high school talent the Giants picked up last June with their stockpile of first-round and supplemental draft picks.
Villalona, second baseman Nick Noonan (32nd overall) and shortstop Charlie Culberson (51st) form a teenage infield with extreme upside. Outfielder Wendell Fairley (29th) might be the best overall athlete in the system. And top pick Madison Bumgarner (10th) should get his first taste of pro ball in the Augusta rotation.
Tim Alderson (22nd) might form a powerful tandem with Bumgarner, though the right-hander has such advanced command that the Giants could boost him up a level to Single-A San Jose.
Either way, there will be more blooming than the azaleas in Augusta this spring.
"Given that premise of, on one hand, the potential, and the other factor being the young age, on that basis you'd have to say it's one of the most talented teams we've had," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.
The GreenJackets posted the best record in minor league baseball in each of the past two seasons, but they didn't place many players on the Sally League top-prospect lists. Many scouts and officials from rival clubs explained away the GreenJackets' success by saying the Giants featured older teams.
That won't be the case this year. New Augusta manager Andy Skeels, who takes over for the promoted Roberto Kelly, knows he will have to be part coach, part chaperon and part psychologist to his teen dream team.
"The first full season provides a lot of challenges," said Skeels, who was Augusta's hitting coach last year. "As early as possible, you want them to have a clear understanding of what's in front of them and the work habits it requires. And not just stuff on the field, but also how to get an apartment, feed yourself and take care of yourself."
Culberson is from northern Georgia, so he won't be far from home. He'll show some Southern hospitality to his double-play partner, Noonan, who is from San Diego and endeared himself by driving his car to Arizona this spring.
"I'm relying on him to get around," Culberson said.
Noonan and Culberson met during instructional league in October, when the two 19-year-old infielders made an immediate impression. Culberson is pretty far along with the glove, and Noonan hit close to .500 in the developmental league. Some coaches feel Noonan has the best strike-zone judgment of any hitter in the system.
Although the Giants would love to move their infield trio through the system together, that's not always practical. Players develop at different rates, and Noonan, who counts Derek Jeter as his role model, could move more quickly.
Noonan's baseball acumen is so off the charts that the Giants even put him on the travel roster for a Cactus League game last week. They might do the same with Villalona later this spring.
"You want the kid to have a good experience and make sure he's ready," Sabean said.
Villalona, who received a franchise-record $2.1 million signing bonus, is the most important undertaking for a farm system that hasn't produced an impact hitter since Matt Williams nearly two decades ago.
Though he signed as a third baseman, Villalona is working at first base and is expected to play there at Augusta.
"I think I am better at first base," Villalona said with the help of an interpreter. "I feel more comfortable at first base, and they put me there for a reason."
There are some concerns about Villalona's expanding waistline, though Alou calls it "baby fat" and said it's typical for young players to replace it with muscle when they hit their late teens.
For now, Villalona is getting past the initial culture shock and beginning to settle in. He was soft-spoken but comfortable when speaking with a reporter, as Merengue music drifted from the iPhone in his locker.
"I'm learning many things," he said. "I want to get my hands dirty and see what I can do."
While some call him "Baby V" or "Big V," his teammates just call him Villa.
"Villa is just a big kid," Culberson said. "He'll be in the outfield doing cartwheels and the next minute he's hitting bombs."
Said Alou: "When he first got here, the other players were more advanced, in baseball and in life. He wanted to compete with them, and it was difficult. But I tell you, he is competing with them now. A year later, he is competing."
And creating a potential traffic hazard on Hayden Road.
Contact Andrew Baggarly at abaggarly@mercurynews.com
