San Francisco Giants: MLB-ready trade deadline targets, Part 2

The San Francisco Giants could make a point to target MLB-ready prospects at the deadline. Marc Delucchi will highlight a few players who fit the bill from each potential trade partner.

In a recent discussion with the media, San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi suggested the team would be targeting prospects close to the major league level in their deadline deals.

If that is indeed the path they choose to take it limits the pool of prospects they will be willing to consider. In order for a contender to be willing to part with talent close to the big-league level, they have to believe that player is not capable of making an impact in the short-term. That could be true for a couple of reasons.

1. The prospect is blocked by a current big leaguer.

2. There’s a specific part of their game that is lacking. For pitchers, that’s usually a lack of control. For hitters, it’s often an inability to make consistent contact.

With that in mind, we’ll generally be looking at either post-hype prospects or guys who aren’t considered top prospects but are playing in the upper levels of the organization.

In the first edition of this series, we looked at the players who fit the bill from the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees.

In part two, we’ll look at blocked players on the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins for the San Francisco Giants to target this July.

Philadelphia Phillies

For a better idea of which San Francisco Giants players might interest the Phillies, check out the Sell-off Series.

Current MLB Players
Maikel Franco
Vince Velasquez
Edgar Garcia
Nick Pivetta

Blocked Triple-A Players
Deivy Grullon

Pitchers
Cole Irvin
Kyle Dohy
Luke Leftwich
Tyler Viza

Franco really only fits for the Giants in a world where they also trade Evan Longoria at the deadline, which given his contract and current status on the injured list is very unlikely. Still, with a few years of team control left, good contact skills and plus power, Franco is an appealing player.

Pivetta and Velasquez have always racked up strikeouts and have shown middle-of-the-rotation flashes, though both lack consistency. The stuff is there, and they would be interesting projects for the Giants who have the MLB experience to immediately occupy a rotation spot.

Garcia is a standard middle relief prospect who has really struggled in 25 MLB innings this year. He pairs a mid-90s fastball with an above-average slider and is still only 22 years old, so there’s some upside. He’ll need to develop better command to take the next step.

Grullon is considered a defense-first backup catcher with raw power, but his lack of bat speed could be an issue at the next level. That said, he’s 23 and he’s slugged over .500 at Triple-A the past two seasons.

Irvin is a pitchability lefty in the mold of Ty Blach or Andrew Suarez. His changeup is his only potentially above-average pitch, but he’s comfortable using his entire four-pitch mix. Dohy is a wild southpaw who has the potential to develop three above-average pitches, but his violent delivery limits him to the bullpen.

Leftwich seemed like a close-to-ready middle reliever to enter the year, but he’s been unable to adjust to Triple-A thus far. Viza is a 24-year old starter striking out nearly a batter an inning at Triple-A, but he also has an ERA in the mid-6s.

Minnesota Twins

For a better idea of which San Francisco Giants players might interest the Twins, check out the Sell-off Series.

Current MLB Players
Miguel Sano
Willians Astudillo
LaMonte Wade Jr.

Blocked Triple-A Players
Jaylin Davis
Brent Rooker
Nick Gordon
Luke Raley

Pitchers
Kohl Stewart
Andrew Vasquez
Lewis Thorpe
Jake Reed
Gabriel Moya

The Twins have enough depth to entertain the idea of moving Sano, perhaps in a deal similar to the Yoenis Cespedes-for-Jon Lester swap a few years back. Him being moved is admittedly a long-shot, though.

Astudillo burst onto the scene last year and looked like a modern super-utility player, but this year he’s regressed substantially. He still offers great positional flexibility and years of team control that could appeal to the Giants.

Wade Jr. is only filling in for Eddie Rosario while he recovers from an ankle injury. He is an approach-first corner outfielder who walks more than he strikes out and plays good defense, but he doesn’t have much power.

Rooker has split time between left field and first base, but he’s not particularly good in either spot. His plus power is his calling card and while he works walks, strikeouts remain a concern with 95 in 65 games at the Triple-A level this year.

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Gordon was a top-five pick in 2014 and was considered a lock to stick at shortstop. While he remains a prospect, he doesn’t show the upside that made him such a highly regarded prep. The Twins could see him as the replacement for impending free agent Jonathan Schoop at second base. He’s still young at 23, and with further refinement, he could still become a solid starter at second base.

Raley is a burly power hitter, but unlike Rooker, he projects to be a solid defender at first base and in both corner outfield spots. He doesn’t quite have Rooker’s power, which limits his offensive upside.

Stewart is another top-pick who has never quite put it all together as a pro. He throws in the mid-90s, but command remains a problem. Vasquez is a lefty who has racked up strikeouts in the minors working off a good curveball, but his ceiling is limited.

Thorpe is a fringe top-10 prospect in the Minnesota system and he has mid-rotation stuff, but he has dealt with a slew of injuries throughout his career. The 23-year old has been healthy this season and he has 99 strikeouts in 79.1  innings at Triple-A.

Reed and Moya are middle relievers that rely more on their ability to mix pitches than overpowering stuff. Moya was just designated for assignment, despite limited MLB success in the past.

That concludes part two of our blocked player breakdown. We’ll have more teams and plenty more MLB-ready targets for the San Francisco Giants in part three, so stay tuned.