SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants’ farm system ranks among the worst in baseball by every major publication that evaluates the minor leagues. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge wants more respect.
“We kind of get bashed for our players and our farm system,” Eldridge said before Saturday’s Spring Breakout game that he missed due to a wrist injury. “We see that they’re ranking us down low. A lot of us are going to catch some people off guard this year. The guys I’ve played with, we stack up with any minor league team we ever went against. I don’t know why we don’t get more credit than we get, but we’re going to surprise some people this year.”
To Eldridge’s point, San Francisco’s farm system is ranked 24th by Baseball America and 28th by MLB Pipeline. Eldridge is San Francisco’s lone representative on the Top 100 lists of Baseball America (No. 12), MLB Pipeline (No. 24) and FanGraphs (No. 26). Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS list includes both Eldridge (No. 6) and left-hander Carson Whisenhunt (No. 46).
When Eldridge was asked if there were any prospects in the Giants’ system who he believed were underrated, the first baseman highlighted infielder Sabin Ceballos. The 22-year-old was acquired when San Francisco traded Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson to the Atlanta Braves. Over 32 games with High-A Eugene, Ceballos hit .295 with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and a .913 OPS. Ceballos backed up Eldridge’s praise in Saturday’s prospect exhibition, making a slick play at third base and driving in two runs with a double.
“Sabin Ceballos has kind of impressed me the most,” Eldridge said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s such a great player. He’s got that swag and that confidence. You can tell he knows he belongs. He’s had some good hits at the big-league level (during spring training) when he gets the chance there. Just watching him play, I have no doubt he’s going to be a great player for a long time.”
The list of prospects who appeared in Saturday’s Spring Breakout game included Whisenhunt (MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 among Giants prospects), outfielder James Tibbs III (No. 4) and shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 5). Whisenhunt allowed one earned run across three innings with four strikeouts, inducing plenty of whiffs with his signature changeup, while Tibbs drove in a run with a single.
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(John Medina/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Outfielder Dakota Jordan, the Giants’ No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, didn’t appear in the game due to a left wrist contusion. Jordan, a three-star wide receiver in high school, is arguably the best athlete in the Giants’ system and boasts a tantalizing combination of power and speed, but his future will hinge on his ability to refine his swing and approach.
To that end, Jordan said he’s taller in his stance compared to college, a minor tweak that allows him to be more relaxed. Jordan said he wants to utilize a “50% swing” that will allow him to drive balls to the opposite-field gap.
“I’ve got the quick bat, the quick twitch. I don’t need to be all jumpy and everything,” Jordan said. “Whenever I’m hitting, I sit back and relax now. It’s something that I’ve learned even in my cage routines. You don’t have to hit, hit, hit. You can hit, take a breather, take a breath. That’s something that I learned: being able to breathe, relax and have fun.”
Lee out of lineup for second straight game
Center fielder Jung Hoo Lee wasn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the A’s after missing Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners due to a back injury.
Lee will likely miss tomorrow’s game against the Chicago White Sox, but the Giants consider the injury to be minor after Lee woke up Saturday with soreness.
“It’s bothering him enough not to play, but it’s not like it was a baseball injury,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Just kind of slept on it wrong. They did a lot of work on it yesterday and got him a little bit sore. He could probably play, but we certainly don’t want to do that right now.”
Worth noting
- Justin Verlander will start for the Giants on Monday against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch. For San Francisco’s split squad game on Tuesday, Robbie Ray will start at home against the San Diego Padres while Keaton Will will start on the road against the Colorado Rockies.
- Melvin said that right-hander Randy Rodríguez relief appearance on Saturday was “the best we’ve seen him.” Rodríguez, who enjoys incumbent status in the bullpen, tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout. He currently has nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings this spring and is a candidate to make the Opening Day roster.
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