The San Francisco Giants officially kicked 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 year presents the perfect opportunity to take a look at the future of the organization – those who have generated buzz for their minor league performances since this time last year.
This series will profile 10 Giants prospects who should make an impact in San Francisco in the foreseeable future.
So far, four prospects have been previewed. You can check them out here:
Heath Hembree & Chris Stratton
The next duo includes two talented players who made the jump from high school to the pros. Pitcher Clayton Blackburn and Shortstop Christian Arroyo.
Clayton Blackburn
Projected long-term position: Starter (right-handed)
2013 level: Class-A San Jose
Age: 21
Blackburn may be one of the most underrated pitching prospects in all of baseball, though that may change soon. Taken directly out of high school in the 16th round of the 2011 draft, Blackburn just looks the part of a workhorse starter.
At 6'3, 220, he already has a build very similar to Matt Cain, and he should put on even more muscle as he develops. The most exciting thing about Blackburn is how quickly he has risen in the ranks of prospects, making the Giants' selection of the right-hander in the 16th round look like an absolute steal.
Blackburn debuted in 2011 with a stellar showing in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 3-1, 1.08 ERA across 33.1 innings at just 18 years of age. He has followed that up with seasons of 8-4, 2.54 and 7-5, 3.65 in Low-A Augusta and High-A San Jose, respectively.
Though some scouts don't believe he has the high ceiling of a guy like Crick, Blackburn is already projectable and should be a consistently strong #3 starter, who will pitch 200+ innings every year at the low-end of projections and can be a dependable #2 if he surpasses those expectations.
We may see him for the first time in September of 2015.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjtINKJMUyM[/embed]
Christian Arroyo
Projected long-term position: 2B/3B
2013 level: Rookie, Arizona Fall League
Age: 18
Arroyo was selected as the #25 overall pick last year, directly out of high school in Florida.
Without any major league track-record to go by, Arroyo is the most difficult to pinpoint among players on this list, so how much he rises or falls in the coming years will depend on the adjustments he makes as part of the jump from high school to the pros.
He did play for Team USA in 2012, and posted a .326 average across 184 at bats in the Arizona Fall League last year, so he has some success beyond the high school level to date.
Arroyo has average fielding skills for shortstop, the position he played throughout high school, and will probably shift to either second base or third base, as he certainly has the arm for it (some even project his best fit to be at catcher).
He has the offensive skills to stick as a starter, and should develop good power as he progresses through the minors.
This combination of offensive and defensive talent has led some scouts to compare his MLB potential to that of now Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
Arroyo's debut probably won't come before 2018, but he should be a starter once he finds a suitable long-term position.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DNYMufGJ_g[/embed]
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