Having reviewed the current 42-man system, and found little inspiration, task three for Stewart was a review of the Minor Leagues to see what the future was looking like down on the farm.
Looking at the top twenty prospects in the Giants system is a sobering moment for Stewart. At the Royals he would consistently have 20+ players ranked in the top 200 in all of baseball; in San Francisco, that number is 2 with only 9 ranked inside the top 500 (for the Royals that number is 38).
One pitcher makes that Top 500 list – 2046 Scouting Discovery Juan Montoya, a three pitch 21-year old who might end up with average stuff and movement to go with below average control. There are a few high stuff, potential relievers in the system in 2047 19th round pick Darron Dougherty, 2048 7th rounder Chris Gordon, 2050 Scouting Discovery Wilfredo Guerra, and 2049 International Amateur Arturo Valera but that is clutching at straws somewhat.
That does mean the Giants have two positional players in the top 100, with LF William Polo and 2051 1st round pick Beau Wartel. Beyond that there are only two players that catch the eye – SS T.J. Racey and CF Chris Connor. Racey (2049 10th Round) has plus-plus potential contact to go with potential above average gap power and plus speed. However, he has little chance at sticking at SS and has a below average eye potential and no power at all. Connor (2048 16th Round) has potential plus contact and eye although little power. He is another that won’t stick at a premium defensive position and has the negative behaviours in all of the personality categories, a potential clubhouse cancer.
Looking at the Giants draft history, Stewart reviewed the top five picks of the last 6 years to see the Giants hit rate. The biggest takeaway was the frequency with which the Giants have lost early draft picks, with the franchise not have a single year where they had 5 picks in the first five rounds. Coming from the Royals, where Stewart often had supplementary picks to have more than 5 picks in the first 150 this was a shock.
2046
C. Ulmer (1) SP MLB RETIRED 6.8 WAR
D. Alexander (2) RP IND RELEASED
D. Lebeaux (3) SP AAA
L. Mouland (4) RP MLB 0.2 WAR
2047
J. Peterman (1) RP MLB TRADED 0.8 WAR
A. Frederick (2) SP MLB 12.2 WAR
P. Bruder (5) SP MLB WAIVED
2048
J. Dillon (1) 1B A+ TRADED
M. Meadows (2) 2B A+ RELEASED
S. Boyd (3) SS A
C. Chovan (4) 1B IND RELEASED
2049
J. Hudson (1) SS MLB 2.6 WAR
G. Pineda (2) 3B R RELEASED
S. Feister (5) SP A+
2050
G. Heaton (1) LF R
M. Marez (2) 1B R
G. Brough (4) RP A
E. Ritz (5) SP R
2051
B. Wartel (1) 2B R
J. McCarron (2) 3B R
R. Petric (4) SP R
L. Crespo (5) 1B R
Overall, 2048 excepted, the Giants have hit on a quality MLB player every year which is a good return rate from the picks they have had. The problem has been that lack of picks, with only 22 picks in the first five rounds in six years. This past draft saw several college draftees so Stewart is somewhat disappointed that none made their professional debut, all left in Rookie ball to see out the season.
