San Francisco Giants: Impact of Adon, Webb, and Coonrod on 40-man Roster

The San Francisco Giants have protected three prospects from the Rule 5 Draft in Melvin Adon, Logan Webb, and Sam Coonrod.

The San Francisco Giants also outrighted Chase Johnson off of the 40-man roster.

Adon, Webb, and Coonrod offer varying levels of intrigue. Adon and Webb seem to have future roles with the San Francisco Giants. However, Coonrod’s upside was enough to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Adon has been a starter for much of his professional career. However, he worked exclusively out of the bullpen in the Arizona Fall League, and he did not disappoint.

Adon possesses a power fastball with a developing slider. The slider was used effectively during the AFL. In 12.1 innings, Adon posted a 2.92 ERA with 21 strikeouts. That is good for a 15.3 K/9 ratio. This is not at Ray Blackian levels yet, but it is an improvement. He could very well make his Major League debut in 2019.

Logan Webb is one of the Giants top pitching prospects. Webb was drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. He has battled ineffectiveness, command issues, and injuries for much of his career. However, he was healthy this season, and put his name back on the map.

While working on an innings limit all season, Webb posted a 2.41 ERA with San Jose and Richmond. In addition to this, he recorded a 8.9 K/9 with a 4.0 BB/9. The command is a work in progress. However, he showed considerable promise while facing advanced competition during his age-21 season.

Lastly, and perhaps surprisingly, Sam Coonrod was added to the 40-man roster. Coonrod had been a top pitching prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization for several years before requiring Tommy John surgery. Coonrod posted a 5.40 ERA in only 11.2 innings of work since returning from elbow injury. Clearly, he impressed in that small sample.

Coonrod throws hard, and he clearly offers enough intrigue that the Giants felt the need to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. It remains to be seen if the Giants decide to make him a reliever, or give him another shot at being a starter.

For much of his career, Coonrod has worked as a starter. He struggled in his first go around in Richmond, so there could be questions as to what his future role might be.

Interestingly, the Giants outrighted Chase Johnson off of the 40-man roster. Johnson was a third-round pick from the 2013 draft. Similar to Coonrod, Johnson was working on a restricted workload as he returned from injury.

Johnson has always posted solid strikeout numbers. However, his development has taken longer than expected. He did, however, post a 3.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 9 innings of AFL work this fall. Regardless, that was not enough to keep him on the 40-man roster.

On a final note, the San Francisco Giants only have 36 players on their 40-man roster at the moment. They had the opportunity to add other players such as Sam Wolff. Now, they are making a gamble that none of their prospects will be snatched up in the Rule 5 draft next month.