Thoughts Go Out to Orlando Victims

As I was going to sleep last night, I received a news notice on my iPhone about a shooting in Orlando, Fla., but with no other details. I didn’t think much of it, other than maybe it was newsworthy because of the shooting the prior night in Orlando that resulted in the death of singer and former contestant of the “The Voice” Christina Grimmie.

Then I woke up this morning to a flurry of other news notices on the phone, spelling out the worst mass shooting in United State history. My heart sank.

More from SF Giants Prospects

• SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (8/28-9/10)
• SF Giants farm system: Updated top 31 prospect rankings
• SF Giants pitching prospects week in review (8/22-8/28)
• SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (8/21-8/27)
• SF Giants top catching prospect Joey Bart activated off IL

Politically and socially, this incident is loaded: Terrorism, LGBTQ rights, gun control, presidential campaign rhetoric. FanSided.com isn’t the format to explore these issues, but at the very least, I feel it necessary to acknowledge the victims and the devastation everyone must be feeling at the moment.

There are some Giants matters to cover, which I will get to later today and am teasing below. But it’s difficult to enthusiastically jump into baseball at the moment while absorbing the real-life news.

So, with that said, here are some of the things going on in the world of Giants that we’ll get to this afternoon:

Buster Posey hit a thrilling walk-off home run Saturday night, to take down the Dodgers in extra innings. It came in front of another Bay Area sports star, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, who attended the game wearing a blue hat with“LA” on the front, in support of his brother, Trayce, who plays outfield for the Dodgers.

On the injury front, Kelby Tomlinson went on the disabled list, while Angel Pagan is on a rehab assignment and is due back this coming week. Sergio Romo has begun a rehab assignment as well, which puts him on track to return soon.

Rookie outfielders Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson are both getting the chance to play regularly in the absence of the injured Hunter Pence and Pagan. We should take a look at how that’s going and what it means for the Giants outfield, at least until Pence returns in a couple months.

Next: Should Bumgarner be in the HR Derby?

We’re due for an update on the Giants top minor leaguers, such as Christian Arroyo, Chris Shaw, Tyler Beede, Phil Bickford, and others. That will come soon, as well.