The San Francisco Giants officially kick off Spring Training 2014 on February 14th . While getting a look at some new and familiar faces at the major league level is a key part of spring, this time of the year presents the perfect opportunity to take a look at the future of the organization – those players who have generated buzz for their minor league performances since this time last year.
This series will profile ten Giants prospects who should make an impact in San Francisco in the foreseeable future.
Last week Ty Blach and Mac Williamson were profiled.
This next pair features a couple pitchers who could book-end games for the Giants in the next few years: starter Chris Stratton and potential closer Heath Hembree.
Heath Hembree
Projected long-term position: Reliever (right-handed)
2013 level: Triple-A, Fresno Grizzlies/MLB, San Francisco Giants
Age: 25
Hembree is the only player on this list to have made his major league debut, doing so on September 3rd of last year. The hard-throwing righty has been regarded as the future closer for a few years now, and looks the part with his 6'4" presence on the mound.
Though he posted a pedestrian 4.07 ERA at Triple-A Fresno last season, his 63/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 55.1 innings was very impressive. He added 12 more strikeouts across 7.2 scoreless innings at the major league level as well.
Hembree has the inside track to winning a bullpen spot out of spring training, and should slot in for middle relief initially. Should an injury befall a guy like Sergio Romo, Hembree may get a look for more late inning work and a chance for a handful of saves.
Here is one of his appearances from last year, and you can see he hits 94 MPH with good accuracy.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HJqeb5ONE4[/embed]
Chris Stratton
Projected long-term position: Starter (right-handed)
2013 level: Class-A, Augusta GreenJackets
Age: 23
Stratton was a 1st round pick out of Mississippi State in the 2012 draft. In his first full professional season, he posted an impressive 9-3 record, with a 3.27 ERA and 123 strikeouts across 132 innings.
Yet another college pitcher in the farm system, Stratton shouldn't be far from making his major league debut. There were some concerns with his velocity last spring, as well as a belief that he still needs to work on developing his off-speed pitches before he's ready to advance up the ladder.
Still, he should start this year in San Jose and like many 1st round picks, the organization will look less at the numbers and more at the progress and development he makes this season. If he can harness all four of his pitches and show that his velocity is fine, expect Stratton to have an outside shot at making his debut sometime in 2015.
Once that happens, Stratton should be a solid #3 starter down the line.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVJKhizIW1c[/embed]
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