Archive for madison bumgarner

Every Thursday throughout the season, Minor Impacts takes a look at some of the hottest minor league players that could have impacts at the Major League Level in the near future. Some of the players we’ve educated you on before their promotions include: Vince Mazzaro, Andrew McCutchen, Gordon Beckham, Robert Manuel, Marc Rzepczynski, Aaron Poreda, Jake Fox, Nolan Reimold, Daniel Bard, and Mat Latos.

Drew Stubbs: The Reds’ outfield is not instilling much fear in opponents as of late. Willy Taveras and Laynce Nix each have OBPs below .300. With Jay Bruce’s 18 homers on the DL, Nix leads the outfielders with eight dingers on the year. Thankfully, the organization keeps churning out outfield prospects. Stubbs is absolutely dripping with potential, athleticism and tools. Although he’ll likely always struggle to hit for a high average due to his contact issues (25.4 K%), the left-handed hitter could still manage to bat .250-.270. He has just two homers on the year, but Stubbs has the potential to hit 10-15 with his fair share of walks in the Majors when he matures as a hitter. Currently, he has 36 steals in 42 attempts and plays a plus centerfield.

Matt LaPorta: Chris Gimenez‘ versatility (He can catch) gives him a defensive edge over LaPorta, who is the much better offensive player and is currently wasting his time at triple-A. With 1B/DH Ryan Garko entering his expensive years in arbitration, he’ll likely be gone sooner rather than later, so Cleveland should just ship him out now to make room for LaPorta, who is a better hitter and comes much cheaper. LaPorta struggled in an early call-up to the club, but he received just 42 at-bats. For a club that’s going nowhere, it makes sense to give a 24-year-old – with the potential to hit 30 homers – a chance to play. He’s currently hitting .314/.390/537 with 11 homers in 255 triple-A at-bats.

Brandon Allen: Speaking of teams going nowhere, Arizona is in a similar situation, which is one of the reasons why the club jettisoned veteran pinch hitter and first baseman Tony Clark at the All-Star break. The club currently has Chad Tracy playing first base, but his offense is below-average for his position and he cannot stay healthy. Back-up first baseman Josh Whitesell is a career minor-leaguer who has constantly been overlooked, despite solid numbers. Whitesell will have to take advantage of his narrow window of opportunity, because Allen is waiting in the wings. Acquired earlier this season from the White Sox for reliever Tony Pena, Allen is a big-bodied slugger who has developed quickly over the past two seasons after originally being drafted out of high school in 2004. Last season, he hit 29 homers between high-A and double-A. This season, he’s got just 13 between double-A and triple-A, but he’s showing signs of becoming a better hitter due to a higher average (that’s not dependent on a high BABIP) and lower strikeout rates compared to his career norm. Since the trade to Arizona, he’s been on fire with a .364 average and five homers in 10 games.

Danny Valencia: To say Minnesota could use some stability at third base would be an understatement and Valencia just keeps getting better and better. With Joe Crede struggling with the bat as well as his health, and the likes of Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert offering little in the way of offense, the club needs to consider promoting Valencia as the team fights for a playoff spot. The 24-year-old third base prospect began the year in double-A before a promotion to triple-A where he’s currently hitting .362/.371/.616 with five homers in 24 games. Although his patience at the plate comes and goes (and when has Minnesota ever cared about OBP?), he won’t hurt the club in the strikeout category, he has average power, and he has the ability to hit .280-.290. Defensively, he’s solid with a plus arm.

Madison Bumgarner: Like quite a few other teams around Major League Baseball, the Giants club is fighting for a playoff spot and it appears that its best hope is the wild card. So the big question must be posed: Does it make sense to promote a 19-year-old pitching prospect if he’s dominating the competition in the minors and looks like a better option than one or two of the pitchers on your big-league rotation? It’s probably better to air on the side of caution, but this is the playoffs that we’re talking about… and Bumgarner currently has a career ERA of 1.50 in two minor league seasons. He’s also collectively allowed 176 hits in 228.1 innings with just 45 walks and 235 punch-outs. The left-handed pitcher is a rare find.

Bud Norris: The Astros club is also (surprisingly) in the playoff hunt but you have to be worried about how long the trio of Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler, and Russ Ortiz can hold it together. If at least one of the veteran arms falters, the organization needs to think about turning to top pitching prospect Norris. The 24-year-old right-hander has allowed just 98 hits in 114 innings of work this season with a walk rate of 3.95 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 8.53 K/9. Even if they don’t need him now, the club might be better off by getting him some MLB experience – even if it’s in the bullpen – just in case the club needs an emergency starter late in the year or in the playoffs.

The San Francisco Giants organization recently promoted its two top pitching prospects from high-A ball to double-A. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner and right-hander Tim Alderson – 2007 first-round picks out of high schools – have both taken slightly different paths through the minors but they should spend the bulk of the 2009 season together in double-A.

Bumgarner was the Giants’ first pick (10th overall) in 2007 out of a North Carolina high school. He signed late that year and did not make his debut until 2008. He skipped over both short-season and rookie ball by going straight to low-A ball. The league was not a problem for the lanky lefty, who went 15-3 and lead the league with a 1.46 ERA (1.71 FIP). Bumgarner dominated by allowing just 111 hits and posting rates of 1.33 BB/9 and 10.42 K/9.

In order to avoid the cold weather of the double-A Eastern League, the Giants assigned the now 19-year-old pitcher to high-A San Jose. He posted a 1.48 ERA (2.05 FIP) with 20 hits and just four walks allowed in five starts. With the weather warming in Connecticut, Bumgarner was promoted to double-A last week. In his first start for the Defenders on May 11, Bumgarner faced the last-place New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota’s affiliate) and allowed just one run in six innings of work. He allowed seven hits and no walks, while striking out two batters.

Alderson, 20, was the club’s second pick (20th overall) of the six selections it had before the second round in 2007 (The club lost a lot of players to free agency the previous winter). He showed excellent stuff and above-average control, but teams were scared away by his mechanics and delivery. Obviously, though, with Tim Lincecum in the big league rotation, the Giants organization is not scared off by unique pitchers.

Alderson, now 20, also took his sweet time signing his first pro contract, although he did make three appearances late in 2007. He did not allow a run or a walk in five rookie-ball innings. Alderson allowed just four hits and struck out 12 batters. The right-hander was so impressive that the Giants challenged him with a 2008 assignment to high-A ball, a move almost unheard of amongst prep draftees in their first full season. He rose to the challenge and went 13-4 with a 2.79 ERA (2.64 FIP) with 125 hits allowed in 145.1 innings of work. Alderson posted a walk rate of 2.11 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 7.68 K/9 during the course of the season.

Again, because of the weather in Connecticut, Alderson began 2009 by repeating high-A ball for five starts. Perhaps cruising a bit, the Arizona native allowed 31 hits and three walks in 26 innings. He also struck out 20. Along with Bumgarner, Alderson was promoted to double-A and he made his first start against the first-place New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto’s affiliate) on May 10. He did not allow a hit over 6.2 innings of work and was removed due to his pitch count. Alderson walked one and struck out 10 batters.

Bumgarner, 6’4” and 215 lbs, has the makings of a No. 1 or 2 starter. His repertoire includes a moving fastball that can touch the upper 90s. He has above-average command of the pitch. Because his fastball has been so dominating, his secondary pitches, a curveball and change-up, have suffered. He’ll definitely need to work on them to succeed in Double-A – and eventually the Majors.

Alderson, 6’7” and 220 lbs, has an average fastball at 88-92 mph but his command of the pitch makes it play up. His curveball is amongst the best in the minors and his change-up is improving. Alderson is also working to induce more ground balls, which he did effectively in his double-A debut. He could see the Majors by the end of the season – likely from the bullpen. He has the ceiling, though, of a No. 2 or 3 starter.

Both pitchers have bright futures in the Majors and should be extremely valuable to not only the San Francisco Giants organization, but also fantasy baseball owners in keeper leagues.