Giants Q & A with SF Farm Director Fred Stanley
Joe Ritzo: Last year's San Jose team had very high expectations going into the season. Were you impressed with how consistent the team was able to perform throughout the entire season?
Fred Stanley: There was a lot of pressure on Andy Skeels and that staff. You had such a big group of potential major league prospects. You could have 15 players on that ballclub that you look at in two or three years from now that could be knocking on the door to play in the big leagues. With Madison (Bumagarner) and (Tim) Alderson leaving and then Buster Posey and Crawford ... I think what impressed us within the organization was that they just kept on going. Whoever we brought back in there to replace them stepped up and all had good years. We were impressed with the intensity and the work ethic they showed.
JR: Who were some of the players on that team that really caught your eye with their development over the course of the season?
FS: I think Thomas Neal had an outstanding year. He's a kid who, originally, we fooled around a bit with at first base and then he went to the outfield. He showed so much improvement in the outfield. His throwing arm, he increased his accuracy, his ability to get to the ball. And then he carried it over offensively where he was able to drive the ball out of the ballpark. He's an excellent baserunner. He did a lot of things offensively that we were hoping we would see, but hadn't shown in the past that he'd able to maintain it over the course of the year.
(Roger) Kieschnick. He was a guy who had very little professional experience. To come into the Cal League and put up those numbers was phenomenal. He stayed focused and injury-free pretty much the entire year and that paid off huge dividends for him. (Brandon) Crawford. He came out of UCLA and gosh, he was having a monster year until we moved him to Double-A. There's no telling what numbers he would have put up had we left him there. Posey. Everyone figures with the signing bonus that he received and as one of the top few picks in the nation that he'd have a good year, but man, we moved him fast and he ended up in the big leagues. I would say that's a pretty strong draft right there. Madison Bumgarner pitched like we knew he would. Alderson did a nice job. I think one of the things that everybody looked it and we weren't sure exactly what was going to happen was with Daniel Runzler. Here's a guy who didn't throw a lot of strikes early in his career and then all of a sudden, he finds a rhythm. Steve Kline did a nice job with him in Augusta and the rest is history as he ends up in the big leagues. In my 10 years here, I've never seen a club have so many potential major leaguers on the same field.
JR: Guys like Neal and Kieschnick ended the season in the California League despite putting up huge numbers while someone like Brandon Crawford was promoted up to Double-A almost immediately. Generally speaking, what determines whether you move a guy up quickly or let him stay with his original team all season?
FS: A lot of it depends on who is in front of him. Last year we had Eddy Martinez-Esteve and we wanted to see if he could have a big year playing right field up in Double-A and that's where Kieschnick was. There wasn't any thought to switching those players. We also had Bobby Felmy in left field in Connecticut, who was coming off a decent year. We felt we wanted to leave those guys in one place and see what they can do. The reason we moved Crawford was that Brian Bocock had never had much success (offensively). He had really only one half of a year in which he hit over .260. We were hoping that Bocock would go up to Double-A and hit close to .250. As you know he's an excellent defensive player, but he got off to such a poor start that it was to the point where we didn't think he could dig himself out. He was hitting in the .170's and Crawford was hitting .360 and doing just about everything in the world in San Jose. We felt we'd be able to push Crawford and get Bocock jumpstarted in San Jose and that's exactly what happened.
It's a hard call because, yeah, you'd like to see a lot of guys move up and get going. For example, you have Nick Noonan. We could have said, lets see what we've got with Noonan even though he was hitting in the .250 range. But you had Brock Bond (Double-A second baseman) leading the league in hitting. Even though when we broke camp everyone thought Noonan was a better major league prospect than Bond, but then Brock leads the league in hitting and now it's time for us to see if he can play Triple-A baseball. So Noonan will get an opportunity now in Double-A and see what kind of year he can have in Richmond.
My philosophy is that I'd rather see a guy put together a monster year and get some confidence in himself and battle through certain areas then to get a guy who is in over his head and then you get to the end and I think I may have pushed him too far. Then you have to send him back, so that he can regain some of that confidence. There's a fine-line between how hard you push a guy and having someone who is capable to stepping up and playing at the next level.
JR: Last year at this time you could project that San Jose was going to have a team filled with power hitters. When you look at a potential Giants club for this upcoming season, what could you see as an identity for the team offensively?
FS: Well, if we start off with catching, Johnny Monell. He's a left-handed hitter with an excellent throwing arm and some power. You had a chance to see him a little bit when he came up from Augusta for the playoff run last year. He's probably earmarked for that position. At first base, you've got two opportunities. You have Josh Mazzola, who had a pretty solid year for us in Augusta. And then there's a chance we could push Brandon Belt. He's one of our draft picks from last year and went to the University of Texas. He went to instructional league and really impressed everybody. He changed his swing around. He's an excellent first baseman. He throws left-handed and has an excellent arm for a first baseman, which is a plus. He's going to be 22 years old, so that's someone we may push a little bit. Second base, there will be a couple of candidates. Charlie Culberson, 21 years old. He played third base for us last year (in Augusta) and now we're going to give him a shot at second base. He has the best shot to get to the big leagues as a second baseman. He's also played shortstop. You've seen a little bit of Vladimir Frias. He's another guy who could get some playing time at second base, along with Culberson. Shortstop, we have Ehire Adrianza, 20 years old. He's a Venezuelan kid. Excellent hands and a switch-hitter. He's got a little power from both sides. He's very fluid. You look at him playing shortstop and he looks like a young Vizquel type player. He's a very polished 20-year old middle infielder. At third base, there's the possibility of Andrew Biery. He came out of last year's draft. Kind of a low pick, he wasn't in the top 10. He played some shortstop before, but we moved him to third and he ends up being the MVP of our team in Salem-Keizer and he was also MVP of the league. He's an excellent third baseman. A right-handed hitter who stays inside the ball. He's got a chance to be an excellent player for us.
Left field, there's the possibility of Wendell Fairley, a #1 pick. Left-handed hitter. Coming off a pretty solid year in Augusta. Center field will be Francisco Peguero. His chances are probably really solid to go there and get an opportunity to play. You saw a little bit of him in the playoffs. He's a very solid player and we have high hopes for him. He's a 5-tool guy and we think we have a really good major league prospect right there. In right field, it could be James Simmons. It could be Ben Woodbury. It could be Juan Perez. They're all in the mix to get a chance to play there. We'll have to see what the competition brings forth and what happens in spring training. Right field is kind of wide open for us.
Pitching is another thing. Probably Kyle Nicholson, you saw him a little bit at the end. Aaron King, Ari Ronick, Andy Reichard, Craig Westcott. Guys that have pitched in Augusta and guys from Salem that we may push a little bit. Westcott is 23 years old, so we may push him (to San Jose).
We will not have as much power, but we may have as much, or more speed as we had. It's an interesting group. It's one of those groups that at the end of the year when you put the numbers down, they're going to exceed some of the numbers that you project. You're going to see a good, energetic ballclub.
JR: Following up on Peguero. He's obviously someone who the front office thinks has a great future. What attributes of his stand out for you?
FS: I had the pleasure of watching guys like Robin Yount and George Brett play. And the reason I'm bringing those guys up is that here are Hall of Fame guys who when they hit a groundball, either right back to the pitcher, to the shortstop or a bullet right at somebody, they ran down the base line hard every single time. They gave you an honest effort every time. Francisco Peguero plays with the same kind of intensity. No matter where he hits it, no matter what happens, he is 100 percent out there going. I think fans appreciate that effort. And he does the same thing in the outfield. He's running, he's diving. He's got an excellent arm and is a very accurate thrower. Hopefully that rubs off on some of our other players. He's got a love for the game and that's what it comes down to. He loves to get out there and compete.
JR: Last year's first round draft pick, high school pitcher Zach Wheeler, reportedly impressed quite a bit during Instructional League. What have you seen so far from Wheeler and where do you expect he'll play this season?
FS: I think he'll open up in Augusta. He's young. He's got a really nice fastball. A loose arm. When you watch him throw, it looks like he's playing catch. He keeps the ball down and has excellent command of his fastball to both sides of the plate. I think we'll start him off in Augusta. We may move him up after the All-Star break, but I don't anticipate him making the San Jose club (out of spring training) unless something really, really strange happens. Because what happens is you take a young kid, 18 years old, and put him in the Cal League and sometimes these guys overthrow. It could be like with what we did with Madison Bumgarner. We'll get him down there, we'll get him started and let him have a really good solid year to build on. He'll build up some arm strength. He's got huge potential. He's got a nice, tight breaking ball. I think he's going to have a nice year, whether it's splitting between Augusta and San Jose or whether we leave him in Augusta.
JR: Last year's fourth round pick, Jason Stoffel out of the University of Arizona, dominated in Salem-Keizer at the end of last season as a late-inning reliever. Could he end up in San Jose this year?
FS: Stoffel is a little bit older and has a way different role. Stoffel will probably end up in the bullpen and you can protect a guy like that a little bit more depending on how you use him. I think Stoffel is a guy who could make that transition up to San Jose. Right now, I have penciled in 17 potential pitchers to go to San Jose and Stoffel is one of them. It's just a matter of what happens in spring training and who gets hurt. If they have a really solid spring, you move them up to the front of the list.
JR: Both Steve Decker and Andy Skeels received promotions this offseason to Fresno and Richmond respectively. What did you see out of both of those managers that resulted in quick promotions through the organization?
FS: I think it's their handling of the players. They're both disciplinarians and both highly motivated type individuals who will challenge players offensively and defensively. So if you make an out, you don't take that into the field. They stress the importance of fundamentals. They're both huge in doing everything right. I don't care how many times you do it, but you do it right. They each have a great work ethic. The players see them out there and they know that they're out there for them to get better. At the end of the year, everyone that has come through these two managers are better than when they arrived. I think that's one thing that has pushed them ahead of the pack, whether it's this organization or any other organization. I really think the Giants have the best managing core and guys that have a chance to manage in the big leagues than almost any other organization.