Behind the Barn: Looking at the San Francisco Giants Farm System

After getting a boost from Mac Williamson, Austin Slater and Alen Hanson, the San Francisco Giants are clearly not shying away from using their farm system to patch holes. This Tuesday we get to see Andrew Suarez, after he dominated in his last appearance with the River Cats. Tyler Beede showed up for a few starts, but was sent back to AAA to get some consistency in his mechanics.

The San Francisco Giants have some promising players in the farm system, including guys who are more than deserving of a promotion to the next level. Lets to take a look at my Top 5 Rankings in April for guys in the minors.

Until otherwise noted, you’re going to hear and see Steven Duggar‘s name until we’re blue the face and sore in the fingers. He did struggle to start out the year, but now the struggles are behind him. His plate discipline picked up, as he walked four times in the Sunday game against the Aces. He’s hitting consistently, and boosted up his batting average and on base percentage. The Giants cannot continue to ignore what’s brewing in Sacramento, and given how bad the injury bug is, it could be sooner than later.

Before you get excited, thinking that THE Ryan Howard  joined the Giants organization, this is a completely different guy. With that being said, the 23 year old prospect Ryan Howard impresses with the bat and his base-running. He is just coming off a six game hitting streak, and has five steals this season. With that pace, he’ll beat his seven total steal from last season with the San Jose Giants. He can play the left side of the field on defense pretty well too. This might just be the Giants future utility infielder right here.

My first pitcher on this list goes to Shaun Anderson, a starter the Giants got in the Eduardo Nunez trade. The 6’4″ hard throwing righty is showing why he deserved a quick promotion from A to AA ball. While he is still a little rough around the edges out of the stretch, there is no reason why he doesn’t belong in the conversation for the future of the Giants’ rotation.

I was slightly hesitant about putting him on my Top 5, but I figured he was worthy enough of a spot. Sandro Cabrera has a good variety of pitches with varying movement, and he generates a lot of pop ups. He’s made five appearances for the San Jose Giants this season, with one of them being a start. He’s been much more solid as a long reliever, getting 21 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings of relief. His WHIP is of some concern, but he’s been good at limiting damage so far this season.

Withholding his first start, Dereck Rodriguez has been a serviceable starter for the River Cats. His biggest problem this season has been hits, but at least he is keeping the walk totals down. Not only that, his LOB% is just a hair above average, so he is getting out of his messes. I look forward to more from Rodridguez, since the Giants are going to likely be looking for help at the bottom of the rotation in the next few seasons.

Next: Can the Giants still win the West?

We’ll be bringing many more updates on the Giants’ farm system, so stay tuned! We’ll provide weekly updates on the farm system as we go as well.