San Francisco Giants: Predicting which reliever will be promoted next

The San Francisco Giants are expected to do some roster shuffling before their upcoming series with the Colorado Rockies.

Who will join the San Francisco Giants roster over the next 24 hours?

That’s the question after it was reported on Monday that the team would be calling up one, and possibly two new arms to bolster the pitching staff.

As Kerry Crowley notes, left-hander Williams Jerez is an obvious candidate. He’s already on the 40-man roster and he’s off to a good start at Triple-A Sacramento.

We actually wrote a piece on him here at Around the Foghorn this past Sunday identifying him as a prospect who is knocking on the door for a promotion.

The 26-year-old has a 2.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a .183 opponents’ batting average with 14 strikeouts in 15 innings of work on the year.

The remaining pitchers on the 40-man roster not currently playing in the majors are as follows:

Triple-A

• SP Tyler Beede
• SP Ty Blach
• SP Andrew Suarez
• RP Ray Black
• RP Sam Coonrod

From the Triple-A group, it’s unlikely the team will pull Beede or Suarez away from starting to work out of the big league bullpen, and Black is currently on the injured list, so they’re likely out.

Also, Blach was just optioned back to Triple-A on May 1, which means he won’t be eligible to be recalled until May 11, so he’s out as well.

Starter-turned-reliever Coonrod has tallied 18 strikeouts in 12 innings this season, but he’s also posted an unsightly 8.25 ERA and a .357 opponents’ batting average, so he’s a longshot at best.

Double-A

• SP Andrew Moore
• RP Melvin Adon

The Giants just claimed Moore off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, designating infielder Breyvic Valera to make a spot on the 40-man roster.

However, he’s more of a reclamation project than a plug-and-play guy after running up a 12.98 ERA with the same number of walks (10) and strikeouts (10) in 17.1 innings prior to being designated.

Adon is by far the most interesting name on this list.

The 24-year-old shined during the Arizona Fall League while moving from a starting role into the bullpen, posting a 2.92 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 12.1 innings against some of the game’s top prospects.

With a fastball that touches 102 mph and a solid slider, he’s posted a 1.80 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15 innings on the year, and he has the pure stuff to make the jump straight from Double-A.

Non-Roster Option

The Giants could also opt to designated switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, which would open up a spot for someone not currently on the 40-man roster.

Veteran lefty Fernando Abad is currently pitching in Triple-A after signing a minor league deal during the offseason, and he’s looked terrific. He currently sports a 0.51 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and a 20-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 17.2 innings.

The 33-year-old has a 3.65 ERA in 363 career MLB appearances, so he brings plenty of experience to the table.

Predictions

Our best guess is that the following roster moves will be made:

• Pat Venditte is designated for assignment
• Fernando Abad is added to the 40-man,  promoted to the MLB roster
• Melvin Adon is promoted to the Triple-A roster

That would mean perhaps the most obvious candidate in Jerez stays put in Triple-A, but it’s impossible to ignore the numbers that Abad has posted so far this year.

We shall see if these predictions come to fruition.