San Francisco Giants: Stock Up, Stock Down for Top 10 Prospects for Week 9

The struggling San Francisco Giants eked out a win over the St. Louis Cardinals to avoid the sweep on Sunday. They lost five of seven to the Oakland A's and Cardinals last week.

The schedule won't get any easier for the Giants in the near future. After two home games against the Toronto Blue Jays, they'll hit the road to face the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (32-24), the Pittsburgh Pirates (35-22) and the Atlanta Braves (34-22).

For the first time this season, the Giants turned to a top prospect from the farm system. The club called up Michael Kickham from Triple-A Fresno to replace the injured Ryan Vogelsong in the rotation. Kickham was defeated by the A's and promptly replaced in the rotation by Chad Gaudin.

Let's take a look at Kickham's debut and the performances of the rest of the top prospects during the ninth week of the season.

All statistics in this article are courtesy of MiLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com.

1. Clayton Blackburn

2013 Stats at High-A San Jose

10 GS, 2-3, 4.61 ERA, 17 BB, 62 K, 52.2 IP

Overview

I watched Clayton Blackburn in live action for the first time this season on Friday night. He reminded me a lot of former Giants starter Livan Hernandez. Like Hernandez, Blackburn is a big guy with a clean delivery and an advanced understanding of how to pitch, but without top-end velocity.

On Friday night, he featured a fastball, changeup, curveball and slider. His curveball and changeup were both above-average pitches. However, his lack of fastball velocity will likely prevent him from being an ace down the line. According to Baseball America, he typically throws in the 87-89 range.

He has smooth mechanics and an impressive feel for pitching at the age of 20. His smooth delivery allows him to have excellent command of all of his offerings. He throws his fastball to both sides of the plate, and he's not afraid to pitch inside. He consistently drives the ball down in the zone to induce ground balls.

While Blackburn doesn't profile as an ace, he should eventually slot into the middle of a big league rotation.

Last Week's Stats

1 GS, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K

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2. Kyle Crick

2013 Stats at High-A San Jose 

3 GS, 0-1 W-L, 0.93 ERA, 9 BB, 12 K, 9.2 IP

Overview

Kyle Crick is still out of game action due to an oblique injury suffered last month. He remains on a rehab assignment in Arizona, according to Joe Ritzo, the broadcaster for the San Jose Giants.

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3. Chris Stratton

2013 Stats at Low-A Augusta

10 GS, 6-3, 3.77 ERA, 21 BB, 63 K, 59.2 IP

Overview

It was another week of inconsistency for Chris Stratton. In his first start of the week, he threw seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts. In his next start, he allowed 11 hits and six runs over five innings of work.

Stratton has pitched outstanding at times this year. He's had four starts in which he's allowed one run or less. He's also had six starts in which he's allowed at least three runs.

The promise that made him a first-round pick last year is still there. However, the consistency has not shown up for Stratton to this point in the season.

Last Week's Stats

2 GS, 12 IP, 12 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 14 K

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4. Joe Panik

2013 Stats at Double-A Richmond

.290/.378/.388, 12 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR

Overview

The Giants used their first-round pick on Joe Panik two years ago. He's rewarded them by showing tremendous plate discipline and bat control throughout his minor league career. He's walked 116 times against 98 strikeouts in 1,154 career plate appearances.

So far this season, he's walked 31 times while striking out in only 19 of his at-bats. His ability to get on base makes him an ideal candidate to hit at the top of the lineup when he gets to the big leagues.

He's also starting to show a little more power. He tripled and hit his first home run of the season last week.

Last Week's Stats

10-for-34, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 BB

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5. Andrew Susac

2013 Stats at Double-A Richmond

.273/.392/.481, 14 2B, 6 HR

Overview

Andrew Susac has emerged as a power-hitting catcher this season. He's blasted 20 extra-base hits in 154 at-bats while also walking 28 times. He's hitting .353/.500/.500 with eight walks over his last 10 games.

Susac—the Giants' second-round pick in 2011—could overtake Hector Sanchez on the organizational depth chart at catcher by season's end.

Last Week's Stats

8-for-25, 4 BB

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6. Martin Agosta

2013 Stats at Low-A Augusta

10 GS, 5-2, 2.47 ERA, 23 BB, 71 K, 54.2 IP

Overview

Martin Agosta was the Giants' second-round pick out of St. Mary's last season. Chris Stratton was picked in the first round last year, but Agosta has outshined him at Augusta, thus far, in 2013.

Over his last two starts, Agosta has allowed seven hits, three walks and two runs while striking out 14 in 14 innings of work. He's now third in the South Atlantic League in strikeouts and ninth in ERA.

Last Week's Stats

1 GS, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

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7. Michael Kickham

2013 Stats at Triple-A Fresno

10 GS, 3-4, 4.33 ERA, 22 BB, 54 K, 54 IP

2013 Stats with San Francisco

1 GS, 0-1, 15.43 ERA, 4 BB, 3 K, 2.1 IP

Overview

Michael Kickham was the first of the Giants' top prospects to see big league action this year. His debut didn't go very well, and he's back in Fresno now.

He showed excellent stuff in his first start, including a fastball that topped out at 95, according to BrooksBaseball.net. He also flashed a slider, changeup and curveball. The slider was his best secondary pitch. The A's swung and missed on three of the 12 sliders that Kickham threw.

Kickham clearly has the stuff to succeed for the Giants. He just needs to work on his control. He walked four in his debut after walking 22 in 54 innings to open the season at Triple-A Fresno. His 3.7 walks per nine innings pitched (BB/9) at Fresno this season is close to his career rate of 3.8 BB/9, which is simply too high.

Kickham didn't look ready for the show in his first professional start. He needs more time in the minors to improve his control. If he does that, he could be an option for the Giants again later this year.

Last Week's Stats

1 GS, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

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8. Heath Hembree

2013 Stats at Triple-A Fresno (through Saturday)

23 GP, 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 5 BB, 27 K, 23.1 IP, 13 Saves

Overview

Heath Hembree could help the Giants in the bullpen at some point in 2013. With setup man Santiago Casilla out with a leg injury and Chad Gaudin needed in the rotation, Hembree could be an option to fortify the back of the pen.

Hembree has a solid 27-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23.1 innings this season. According to Baseball America, Hembree features a 93-96 mph fastball and an 82-85 mph slider. The Giants could use that type of stuff in the late innings this year.

Last Week's Stats

2 GP, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

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9. Adam Duvall

2013 Stats at Double-A Richmond

.318/.400/.580, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR

Overview

Adam Duvall has joined Susac as a power-hitting threat in the middle of the Richmond lineup. Duvall was drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 draft by the Giants out of the University of Louisville.

Given where he was drafted, he's never been considered an elite prospect. Yet, all he's done throughout his career is hit for power.

He hit .285/.385/.527 with 22 home runs at Low-A Augusta two years ago. Last season, he hit .258/.327/.487 with 30 home runs at High-A San Jose.

He's off to an excellent start against the tougher competition at Double-A this season. Duvall is hitting .318/.400/.580 and 13 of his 28 hits have gone for extra bases.

Pablo Sandoval is under contract through next season at third base for the Giants. If Duvall keeps hitting like he has throughout his career, the Giants are going to have an interesting decision to make at the hot corner in the near future.

Last Week's Stats

11-for-33, 1 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB

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10. Gary Brown

2013 Stats at Triple-A Fresno (through Saturday)

.213/.278/.330, 13 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 6/11 SB

Overview

Gary Brown emerged as a top prospect for the Giants two years ago. He hit .336/.407/.519 with 53 steals at High-A San Jose in 2011 after the Giants snagged him the first round of the 2010 draft.

Brown dropped off some last year at Double-A Richmond. His slash line fell to .279/.347/.385, and he stole 33 bases while being caught 18 times.

Entering this season, the expectation was that Brown would hit more like he did at San Jose in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Unfortunately, Brown's performance has continued to decline this season.

He's played better of late. Over his last 10 games, he's put up an OPS of .700. However, he still looks nothing like the top prospect he was two years ago.

Last Week's Stats

6-for-27, 2 2B

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