SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Diehard Giants fans might not recognize all of the starters in Tuesday’s game against the White Sox, but they’ll surely know some of the substitutes.
The Giants are bringing three of their top seven prospects over from minor league camp and sending them to Camelback Ranch in Glendale for a midweek Cactus League game.
Outfielders Heliot Ramos, Alexander Canario and Hunter Bishop are all projected to sub in after starters exit as Ramos will play center field, Canario will play right and Bishop will enter the game as a designated hitter. MLB.com ranks Ramos as the organization’s No. 2 prospect, Bishop at No. 4 and Canario at No. 7.
Two of the players, Ramos and Bishop, are recent first round draft picks by the organization as San Francisco tabbed Ramos with the 19th overall pick in 2017 before drafting Bishop with the 10th overall pick in 2019. The Giants’ top prospect, 2018 first round pick Joey Bart, is in big league camp and has already homered and had a multi-hit in his two Cactus League appearances.
Some franchises have a policy that first round draft choices automatically receive invitations to big league camp during spring training, but Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said last week the organization wants invitations to be “merit-based.”
Appearances from Ramos, Canario and Bishop are a good sign for Giants fans as it means the trio is performing well over at minor league camp and earned the chance to play in the later innings of a major league spring training game.
Here’s a look at the Giants’ lineup plus projected subs for Tuesday’s game.
SP: Kevin Gausman
The Giants’ No. 16 prospect, Melvin Adon, is also scheduled to appear in relief of Gausman on Tuesday.
Felipe Alou arrives in camp
Each of Gabe Kapler’s most recent predecessors were spotted at the Giants’ complex in Scottsdale on Tuesday as former managers Bruce Bochy and Felipe Alou arrived together. Bochy said he picked Alou up on the drive in and the duo planned to watch Tuesday’s workout at Scottsdale Stadium before the Giants departed for Glendale.
Alou, 84, said he’s in good health and is thrilled to spend the next few weeks in Arizona watching the Giants. Alou managed the club from 2003-2006 before Bochy took over and spent the last 13 seasons leading the Giants.
The man who managed the team before Alou, Dusty Baker, visited camp last season, but he won’t have time to do so this year. Baker was hired by the Astros this offseason after the organization fired A.J. Hinch following a one-year suspension handed down by MLB for his role in the team’s sign-stealing scandal.
It’s a foregone conclusion that Bochy will enter the Hall of Fame, but Alou and Baker each have strong résumés and are deserving of consideration.
Alou hit 206 home runs and recorded more than 2,000 career hits in a 17-year playing career before racking up more than 1,000 victories in 14 seasons as a major league manager with the Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants. Alou isn’t a Hall of Fame player and he’s not a Hall of Fame manager, but he’s a tremendous ambassador for the sport and someone who deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown on the basis of his lifetime achievements in the sport.
What happened to Watson’s contract?
With top free-agents Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon signing three of the largest contracts in MLB history this offseason, agent Scott Boras received praise around the baseball industry for his negotiation skills.
Boras represents Cole, Strasburg, Rendon and many more of the game’s biggest stars, but he didn’t devote all of his energy to his highest-profile clients. The agent also carved out some time for Giants reliever Tony Watson, who initially exercised his 2020 player option and then restructured his contract with the club.
Watson signed a two-year deal with a player option before the 2018 season that included several incentives that could help him earn north of $20 million over the course of his contract.
Under the original contract, the player option for 2020 included a $2.5 million guarantee with the chance for Watson to earn $7 million this season based on performance bonuses. Early in the winter, the Giants removed the first incentive in the deal and guaranteed Watson an additional $500,000 while keeping the rest of the bonuses in place.
What does it mean? Not much. Watson will earn a base salary of $3 million instead of $2.5 million and can still make up to $7 million with a strong year out of the bullpen.
Rico Garcia lights up radar gun
When the Giants took the field for their first Cactus League game on Tuesday, minor league free-agent and non-roster invitee Matt Carasiti was the top standout on the mound as he struck out the side with an impressive fastball-splitter combination.
Carasiti’s outing overshadowed an eye-opening performance from non-roster invitee Rico Garcia, who was claimed by the Giants on waivers in November after being designated for assignment by the Rockies. The Giants also DFAd Garcia this winter, but he went unclaimed and was able to remain in the organization, giving him a chance to win a bullpen job this spring.
In a clean inning against the Dodgers on Saturday, Garcia struck out a pair of hitters and touched 96 on the radar gun with fastball velocity he said he didn’t have last season. Garcia said Tuesday he hit 97 miles per hour during the 2018 season, but he overworked himself in the offseason, dealt with tendinitis and entered spring camp with Colorado last year unprepared for the rigors of the season.
Garcia changed his training regimen this offseason to give himself a better opportunity to succeed this year and he said he’s excited with the way his arm felt after his first appearance.
The former 30th round draft pick out of Division II Hawaii Pacific shot through the Rockies’ farm system after being selected in the 2016 amateur draft, but was let go after only two major league outings. The Giants now have the opportunity to capitalize on his upside and help Garcia work his way back to the majors.
Garcia was a starter throughout his minor league career with Colorado as he racked up 400 strikeouts in 400 2/3 innings, but the Giants will take their time figuring out a role where he fits best.
