Heads Up, Giants Fans

I’ve written several posts about the prospects playing well in the Giants farm system this year.  However, I haven’t gone any lower than Class A Augusta.

So I’ve told you about the progress (or lack thereof) of 18 year old Dominican 1Bman Angel Villalona, who strained his left quadriceps and hasn’t played since July 7 (he’s expected to miss at least four weeks), and 19 year old Venezuelan SS Ehire Adrianze, who’s slumped a bit the last ten games and is now hitting .271 at Class A Augusta.

However, I haven’t told you about a couple of other young guys playing in the low minors who you might want to keep in mind for future reference.

The first is 19 year old Jorge Bucardo, a right-hander pitching for the Salem-Kaiser Volcanoes in the short-season Northwest League.  He’s from Leon, Nicaragua, and for what it’s worth, his older brother Wilber, age 21, is also a starter for the Volcanoes.  Jorge is the real talent, however.

After eight starts, Jorge’s 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA and 41 Ks and only nine walks in 43.1 IP.  He pitched well in the Rookie Arizona Summer League last year, recording 51 K’s and only 15 walks in 51.1 innings over eleven starts.

The best player on the Arizona Summer League Giants this year looks to be 19 year old Venezuelan catcher Hector Sanchez.  He’s currently leading his team with a .908 OPS.

Sanchez had a terrific year in the Dominican Summer League last year at age 18.  He led the league with a .348 batting average, and his .961 OPS was good for second best in the league, only one point behind the league leader.

While we’re on the subject of ballplayers named Sanchez, you have to figure it’s only a matter of time before we get a major league Sanchez whose teammates decide to nickname him “Dirty” and the nickname catches on.  He’ll sort of be the Rusty Kuntz of his day (BTW, there was a ballplayer originally from Sacramento who played in the 1920’s known as Earl “Pinches” Kunz — I kid you not).

I, for one, wait with bated breath for that day.