Post by Rog on Dec 29, 2016 8:59:56 GMT -5
We saw with the minor league signing of Conor Gillaspie that minor league contract signings can lead to measurable contributions. I saw two this week that caught my attention and have grown as I looked deeper.
The signings of Jimmy Rollins and Michael Morse have received the headlines, but the two that grabbed my attention were catcher Yosmil Pinto and outielder Justin Ruggiero (who has previously been discussed a bit here).
Mentioneed recently was that while the Giants' best position player catches, the position is quite thin. I believe only Buster Posey and Trevor Brown are on the roster. I think Pinto immediately becomes the #3 catcher, adding a bit of depth.
Pinto hit .308 with an .879 OPS with AAA Colorado Springs last season. His career OPS in 250 major league at bats is .772. As recently as three years ago Baseball Prospectus ranked him the #56 prospect in the minor leagues. Maybe he can't catch a cold, but it certainly appears he can hit a little.
As mentioned by Mark, Ruggiano was clearly a good minor league signing, but what just caught my attention is that against southpaws he has a career .865 OPS in 555 plate appearances. Against lefties, he's homered once every 18 at bats. Sounds like a nice pinch hitter against left-handed pitching. He has played more center field than any other outfield position, so he might be that platoon partner for Denard Span. Ruggiano had only 26 at bats last season, and he'll turn 35 right after the 2017 season starts, so his days as a center fielder are almost certainly waning, but it would be nice if he has another 35 of so games left out there as a platoon partner.
As of right now, I would look for Ruggiano to be the Giants' fifth outfielder. With him and Kelby Tomlinson coming off the bench against southpaws and Conor Gillaspie pinch hitting against righties, the bench is looking a bit better. All three players, and particularly Gillaspie, have big platoon splits though. In other words, there might be a lot of pinch hitters for pinch hitters when a reliever of the other hand is brought in.
Gillaspie likely bought some at bats against southpaws with the way he turned around Aroldis' Chapman's 101 mph fastball, but he has just a .523 OPS against southpaws. I might leave him in to hit against a southpaw fastballer (remember, he was the Giants' best hitter last season against 95+ mph fastballs), but I would mostly get him out of there before the lefty got him out. Ruggiano and Tomlinson aren't nearly as bad against right-handers.
The signings of Jimmy Rollins and Michael Morse have received the headlines, but the two that grabbed my attention were catcher Yosmil Pinto and outielder Justin Ruggiero (who has previously been discussed a bit here).
Mentioneed recently was that while the Giants' best position player catches, the position is quite thin. I believe only Buster Posey and Trevor Brown are on the roster. I think Pinto immediately becomes the #3 catcher, adding a bit of depth.
Pinto hit .308 with an .879 OPS with AAA Colorado Springs last season. His career OPS in 250 major league at bats is .772. As recently as three years ago Baseball Prospectus ranked him the #56 prospect in the minor leagues. Maybe he can't catch a cold, but it certainly appears he can hit a little.
As mentioned by Mark, Ruggiano was clearly a good minor league signing, but what just caught my attention is that against southpaws he has a career .865 OPS in 555 plate appearances. Against lefties, he's homered once every 18 at bats. Sounds like a nice pinch hitter against left-handed pitching. He has played more center field than any other outfield position, so he might be that platoon partner for Denard Span. Ruggiano had only 26 at bats last season, and he'll turn 35 right after the 2017 season starts, so his days as a center fielder are almost certainly waning, but it would be nice if he has another 35 of so games left out there as a platoon partner.
As of right now, I would look for Ruggiano to be the Giants' fifth outfielder. With him and Kelby Tomlinson coming off the bench against southpaws and Conor Gillaspie pinch hitting against righties, the bench is looking a bit better. All three players, and particularly Gillaspie, have big platoon splits though. In other words, there might be a lot of pinch hitters for pinch hitters when a reliever of the other hand is brought in.
Gillaspie likely bought some at bats against southpaws with the way he turned around Aroldis' Chapman's 101 mph fastball, but he has just a .523 OPS against southpaws. I might leave him in to hit against a southpaw fastballer (remember, he was the Giants' best hitter last season against 95+ mph fastballs), but I would mostly get him out of there before the lefty got him out. Ruggiano and Tomlinson aren't nearly as bad against right-handers.