With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally called up, you may be looking at your fantasy roster and asking yourself why you didn’t draft any impact prospects to help out in the early going. Four weeks into the fantasy baseball season and you start to check the waiver wire for help, nothing but low impact players appear in larger leagues. Odds are you are not a fantasy guru. Odds are you’re scouring google in hopes to find “The Next Prospect” for your fantasy team. That’s where I come into play. My job is to find a way to help you grab an impact guy to help your fantasy team dig out of a hole or maybe its to help you get a leg up on your competition. Either way, the great thing about fantasy baseball is you can’t win the season in April and you also can’t lose it either. Its a long year and you need to prepare your roster to be stronger in the long run rather than the short.
The MLB season is young, but the Giants are playing close to what many expected they would do. They are tied for the 3rd worst win total with the Miami Marlins being the only team in the NL with less than 10 wins. Important point here is the Giants will soon start to give some of their younger talent a chance to prove their worth at the MLB level. While the 4o man roster is not a set in stone list, it’s mainly a guide that fantasy owners can use with regards to who they could potentially expect to play at some point this year with the big league club. Injuries happen, trades take place and this list can change throughout the season.
The best advice I can give one fantasy owner is to start looking at 40 man rosters for each team when looking for prospect help in 2019. While this may be time consuming, it would allow you to familiarize yourself with several players that haven’t been with the big league club this season. Hopefully you’ll run across a few players you’ve heard of in the past that could be on the brink of contributing at the MLB level, or hopefully you’ll find an article like mine and you can find the work already done for you! My job isn’t to highlight all 30 MLB clubs, just your favorite San Francisco Giants. Most of these players below, you should be able to find on the waiver wire or you could trade for them without costing much.
(Keep in mind that the Giants farm system is weaker than most. High Impact does not mean star power, just more impact than the other players in the farm.)
High Impact:
Tyler Beede, P (Preseason 40)
Age: 25
Current Level: AAA
Beede was off to a hot start in AAA Sacramento before he got the call up to San Francisco (and proceeded to get hit hard on May 3rd – 2.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K, and was then optioned back to Sacramento the next day). Reports were all positive through his 5 MiLB starts, and the improved control is something the Giants are beginning to feel warm and fuzzy about. Through 22.2 Triple-A IP, Beede has a 34:10 K:BB and a WHIP of 1.059. While some have been burned by this fire before, I think he’s a guy that could still be worth watching in anticipation if he gets another shot at a roster spot soon in San Francisco.
Melvin Adon, P (Preseason 15)
Age: 24
Current Level: AA
Adon is still blazing his FB past hitters in 2019, he’s also struggling to command the strike zone on a consistent basis. Through 15 IP, Adon is sitting with an uneven 19:9 K:BB. While its not the start the Giants wanted, many remain upbeat about Adon but it may take a little longer until we see him contributing on the Bay. Adon is a hold and wait until he shows better command, when that happens, expect him to take over a high leverage role with the Giants later in the season. Holds/Saves leagues be on the lookout!
Medium Impact:
Chris Shaw, OF (Preseason 8)
Age: 25
Current Level: AA
When I was writing about Shaw in my Top 50 I discussed my concern about his strike zone awareness as he’s progressed in the Giants system. Each stop for Shaw has shown negative regression and while he has shown a better recognition in 2019, I am still hesitant he can keep up this pace. In 24 games, Shaw has a 8:13 BB:K ratio through 82 AB’s. This may look like a breakout stat, but keep in mind that the Giants sent Shaw back to AA after he spent 101 games in 2018 in AAA Sacramento. I would want to see another month of improvement before picking up Shaw in fantasy leagues. I anticipate, if healthy, Shaw would appear in 20-30 MLB games this season in 2019.
Low Impact:
Aramis Garcia, C (Preseason 20)
Age: 26
Current Level: AAA
Garcia hasn’t gotten off to the offensive start he would like, or I expected. With a current slash line of .211/.315/.447/.762 through 21 games leaves a lot to be desired. Garcia has shown some of the power he’s flashed in the minors and the AFL with 4 HR’s during that time span however. With the Giants acquiring Erik Kratz as the backup to Buster Posey, coupled with the slow start to 2019, I wouldn’t expect much impact from Garcia this season. Barring an injury to one of the aforementioned, expect Garcia to play minimal games this year in San Francisco.
Sam Coonrod, P (Preseason 33)
Age: 26
Current Level: AAA
Pitching out of the bullpen exclusively, Coonrod has been hit around a little to start 2019. While he continues to come back from TJ, the command has been starting to turn the corner. Through 12 IP, Coonrod has a solid 18:8 K:BB ratio in 12 games. I expect the Giants to continue slow playing his workload with the potential call-up later in the year. Mid-relief outings in 2019 in low leverage situations, don’t expect much this season.
Abiatal Avelino, UTL (Preseason 13)
Age: 24
Current Level: AAA
Avelino is off to a slow start in 2019 offensively, slashing a low .247/.284/.412/.697 while playing exclusively at SS in Sacramento. Avelino played 6 games last season in San Francisco and barring an injury to the main contributors for the Giants, expect a similar game output for Abiatal in 2019. When he makes another appearance in the MLB, Avelino should play multiple positions in the IF.
Ray Black, P (Preseason 18)
Age: 28
Current Level: AAA
Black was shut down with a pronator strain in his right arm after appearing in 7 games with AAA Sacramento. Black wasn’t off to a hot start before the injury, possibly something that was causing him issues before the injury surfaced. Hoping for the best for Black but from a fantasy perspective, I would steer clear of this situation until he’s back on the hill blazing his 100+ MPH FB.
No Impact:
Logan Webb, P (Preseason 7)
Age: 22
Current Level: Suspended (Started 2019 in AA)
Webb has been impressive again to start 2019 and exactly what the Giants need from their young pitching core as he’s posting solid numbers again this year. In a system that lacks true starting pitching, Webb appears to be a guy who could stick as a SP. I wouldn’t expect impact numbers in San Francisco from Webb in 2019 as he was recently suspended 80 games due to PED use and I’m hesitant to buy in 2020. I would need to see Webb produce similar numbers once he returns before considering him a guy I would want to own on my fantasy roster.
Not On 40 Man Roster:
Shaun Anderson, P (Preseason 6)
Age: 24
Current Level: AAA
Anderson is off to a hot start in AAA providing the club with potential SP option as the season wears on. Through 29.2 IP, Anderson has a solid 32:8 K:BB. Anderson showed in 2018 he was ready to take the next step and in 2019 he’s giving the Giants another option. Keep an eye on him as the season goes on for a potential call-up.
My name is Paul Aiton and I’ll be covering the San Francisco Giants prospects. I grew up in Yorktown, Virginia until 2014, where I’ve since been traveling the country the last few years in attempt to chase a dream, working in professional baseball. I played 3 years in college, one season at New River CC and another two at Averett University after a shoulder injury derailed my dreams of playing professionally. Since then, I’ve gone on to coach high school and collegiate baseball. I also worked with Inside Edge Baseball for 5 years while working in their advanced scouting department. Outside of baseball I like to spend my mornings either on a golf course or taking my puppy Ace on hikes through Arizona. You can follow me @Paul_8en on Twitter. I’m always available to talk about Giants prospects, anything fantasy related or baseball!
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Paul Aitonhttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/giants003/
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Paul Aitonhttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/giants003/
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Paul Aitonhttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/giants003/
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Paul Aitonhttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/giants003/
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