The Lunatic Fringe

7. Chris Shaw, 1B, Short-A

The Giants’ sandwich-round pick in the first round couldn’t have been more stereotypical for the Giants: A Cape Cod League standout.  But what he has is something hard to find even that late in the draft: raw power.

Shaw rates as one of the best raw power prospects in the lower minors.  As with many such hitters, however, his power is tempered by his ability to make contact.  He can swing and miss with the best of them, striking out about 20% of the time, but when he makes contact, the ball can fly.

While working on that side of things is obvious, but another question is his position.  Shaw is currently put at first base, sheltered in the usual NL hiding place for a slugger.  But recently, Giants’ farm director Shane Turner mentioned that Shaw is more athletic than we seem to think.  He even posited the theory that Shaw could find his way into left field.

That is a long way off, as Shaw just was in Salem-Keizer.  Where he’ll play won’t be as important if he doesn’t make good contact often enough.  But he’ll put on a show to watch in the meantime.

6. Lucius Fox, SS, Rookie Ball

Lucius Fox was a unique international prospect.  At 18, he was older than most international prospects.  He’s from Barbados, not exactly a baseball hotspot, but was raised in the U.S.  And the Dodgers were all ready to sign him, to the point they thought it would be a done deal.

Guess the Giants got them primed for Zack Greinke-sized disappointment.

Fox has a good switch-hitting bat, and a lot of speed.  He’s got good moves at shortstop, but he also has been mentioned as a possible future center fielder.  He could be the kind of player the Giants need as a leadoff hitter in the future.  Signing him cost the Giants two years of being able to make big offers on the international free agent market, so he’ll have some expectations to live up to.  But all signs are that he will, once he gets on the field.

5. Mac Williamson, OF, AAA

Mac Williamson finally made his major league debut in 2015, but there’s a lot more to wait for.  Williamson put together a solid campaign in Double-A Richmond, batting .293 though with just five home runs in 69 games in the tough hitter’s league.  He didn’t make as much contact in Sacramento, but put together more power and walks.

But even though Williamson made it to the majors late last year, there’s one more tweak.  He’s a good athlete, he’s gotten better at choosing pitches to swing at.  But the Giants want him to get a little more loft in his swing.

If he can do that, Williamson has a fighting chance out of Spring Training to make it to left field, but more likely he’ll be considered for the spot through the season.  He’s one of the more promising outfield prospects the Giants have had in years, and could be the first one to stick in left field since the departure of #25.

4. Clayton Blackburn, SP, AAA

Clayton Blackburn isn’t in the best shape.  He’s generally not a flame thrower.  But he got in good shape before 2015, and he did something rather incredible: He had a 2.85 ERA in the Pacific Coast League, and was one of only three in the extreme hitter’s league to have a sub-3.50 ERA.

Clayton Blackburn is not the prototypical pitching prospect.  He doesn’t have the best pitches, with no one pitch really standing out.  But for most of his career, he’s made te most of it.  Over five seasons, he has a 2.95 ERA, helped quite a bit by being able to keep the ball in the ballpark and get ground balls.  And he is on the precipice of the majors.

Blackburn will spend Spring Training competing as a long shot to make the rotation, but also laying down a case for being the first option to fill a spot if someone goes down.  He’ll be competing for that spot with Chris Heston, who had a great, surprising rookie season.  However, Blackburn is the more likely pitcher to get a good career in the rotation.  It may not be as a top of the rotation starter, but it very well could be as an effective one.