San Francisco Giants: A look at the 2018 Non Roster Invites

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Pitchers

The pitching invites, for the most part, start to bring a lot of internal excitement for the Giants org. A lot of their NRI pitchers are “in-house” prospects. Cyr is one of them. He’s mainly a reliever, and in 144.2 innings in the minors he has 173 strikeouts, an ERA under three, and a WHIP under 1.3. Cyr is a stud reliever and the Giants will be hoping he could help out their bullpen at some point in 2017. I think Cyr has a great shot at the team if he pitches well in spring training. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

RHP Jose Flores

Flores is another “meh” invite. The 28 year old has yet to pitch above the minors and didn’t pitch well in AAA last season. After a nice start to the year in Richmond, he struggled with the jump in Sacramento. He can go both as a starter and long relief. I feel like he’s an invite mainly because he’s 28, and not because they really believe he could help their big league squad in 2018. At least I certainly don’t think so.

RHP Dereck Rodriguez

“Pudge” Rodriguez’s son, is actually an intriguing “out of org” invite. The 25 year old didn’t make his minor league debut until 2014, despite being drafted by the Twins in 2011. He is an interesting starter project. He’ll likely land in Richmond to start in 2017, but he has put up some decent numbers in the past. I’m not sure where the Giants view him, but he could bring some intrigue down the road with a breakout season.

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LHP Andrew Suarez

Ahh. The man himself. One of the Giants’ most wanted pitching prospects this offseason, Suarez has been a lightning fast mover. If he were able to have a solid spring, start out hot in Sacramento, the Giants might be forced to call him up if there are injuries, or Blach/Stratton are struggling. Suarez has been very intriguing as a prospect for the last two years, and his lightning rise up the levels, alongside Chris Shaw, have many in the organization excited for what he could bring in a year or two.

RHP Jose Valdez

Valdez is an interesting pickup. Defenitely a bullpen guy, but I’m not sure how much he’ll factor into the picture in 2017. Should you keep an eye? Yeah. But don’t expect anything good enough to warrant a spot.

RHP Madison Younginer

The Giants have the opportunity to have two Madison’s on one big league team. Incredible. Younginer looked like he was about to break through to the big leagues in 2016 after a solid year in AA. But his move up to AAA was a wreck, and his short stint with Atlanta didn’t impress. He wasn’t great in Oklahoma City last year either. The Giants might be able to get something out of him, but he’s likely destined for Sacramento.

LHP Derek Holland

AHH. The best NRI of them all, Mr. Holland. Too bad it’s not Greg Holland. But, I digress. Most Giants fans have fond memories of Derek Holland’s World Series implosion in Game 2. Holland didn’t get a batter out and walked three, giving up three runs as the Giants took Game 2 and the 2010 World Series by the neck. But Holland had a decent career after. The Giants need some lefty influence somewhere, and Holland is a good “take a chance” guy on an NRI. The Giants expect him to compete for both bullpen and starting depth. It’s always good to have seasoned guys with big league experience in the fold, so Holland is a nice idea. Will it work? Who knows. But it’s worth a look.

Next: Time to make Bumgarner a Giant for life

The San Francisco Giants will have pitchers and catchers report on Valentines day, with the first full-team workout slated for February 19th. Their first Spring Training game of 2017 will be February 23rd against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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