Cow Tipping with Erin: My top 3 prospects …. who to watch in 2015

Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants players

(left) and

(right) in the outfield before game five of the 2014 World Series against the Kansas City Royals at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

With the smell of baseball blowing in the wind, I am starting the Season Premier of “Cow Tipping” by featuring my top 3 prospects of who to watch in 2015.

Andrew Susac – Catcher Susac was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2^nd Round of the 2011 Amateur Draft. He was called up by the Giants to play in the Majors on July 25, 2014, to make his Big League debut after catcher Hector Sanchez was injured and later diagnosed with a concussion. His first Big League at-bat was against Clayton Kershaw where he grounded out to third. His Big League debut behind the plate was 3 days later.

The Good: Susac is a strong fit for the Giants. He can certainly fill the void as Second-String for when Buster Posey has a day off or Bruce Bochy decides to move Posey to play 1B. He played 29 games in the Majors, with 160 put-outs. Out of 88 AB, Susac has had 13 runs, and 3 HRs. In the Minors, Susac played 56 games, with 424 putouts. Out of 213 AB, Susac had 34 runs and 10 HR.

The Bad: While Susac has proven time and time again he is a strong player, he may only find himself in the squat when Posey needs a day off or is moved to play 1B.

Ty Blach – Left Handed Pitcher Blach was drafted by the Giants in the 5^th Round of the 2012 June Amateur Draft. He ended last season with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. However, he is a non-roster invitee to the Giants Spring Training camp this year. This will definitely give him an edge with getting some practice playing in the Bigs.

The Good: Blach has a mean fastball, changeup, and slider, which is definitely something the Giants need in a pitcher. He is a Southpaw, which is a rarity among Giants starters. Last season he played 25 games, with 8 wins and 8 losses. He had an ERA of 3.13. He had 16 AB with 2 runs and 2 hits.

The Bad: Right now the Giants don’t need a starting pitcher in their rotation.   However, he could be called up in 2016 if and when Tim Hudson hangs up his baseball cleats. Only time will tell.

Tyler Beede – Right Handed Pitcher Beede was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1^st Round of the 2011 June Amateur Draft and by the Giants in the 1^st Round of the 2014 June Amateur Draft. He did what most of our Giants have done and chose college. Beede chose college over signing a $2.3 million contract with the Blue Jays in 2011. He ended last season with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, after finishing his tenure playing for Vanderbilt.

The Good: Beede has a mean fastball, which has been clocked at speeds up to 97 miles per hour. His overall record at Vanderbilt was 23-12. During his debut in the Minors, he played 6 games, with 0 wins and 1 loss. He had an ERA of 3.0.

The Bad: During the 2014 College World Series, we saw Beede struggle with command. This is definitely something he needs to work at. Hopefully at the Minor League level, he will be given the opportunity to work on this. Maybe even enough so to get a non-roster invite in 2016.