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found this 7/24/2008
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obsessivegiantscompulsive Thanks for the run down!
About Gillaspie, the Giants pick in the list, you note his lack of HR power. That's not as big a thing in AT&T, as the park punishes lefty hitters' HR power, but if he can get moving, he can get triples galore. So does he have gap power? What would you guess to be his HR potential?
Is he really like Bill Mueller, a former Giants 3B? How long do you think he will take coming up, 2-3 years?
2B is currently open with Noonan our best option for the future. He was also selected around the same pick last season. How would you compare him with Noonan? He was once described as Utley without the power.
Still 3B is still the best spot we could use him at. Hopefully he can stick there, once/if he signs, apparently one team said that his contract demands were "delusional".
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b-intellect Man, I always forget about the BallHype comments....sorry for the late response.
1. Yes, he definitely has gap power. He's got a major league quality swing, but he doesn't really have the raw strength, nor the type of swing that would lead to big power. I would probably see his power potential between 12 - 15 homers per year.
2. I've seen the Bill Mueller comparison made by other people and it seems to make sense. I think he'll hit for a better average than Mueller, who was usually in the .290 range except for a couple outlier seasons. The power should be similar as should the plate discipline since Mueller had excellent K:BB ratios. I think 2 - 3 years seems like a proper time table for Gillaspie's advancements.
3. Compared to Noonan, Gillaspie has faster hands, quicker wrists and probably a little shorter swing. Noonan has a bit more loft and looks like a better athlete. I think Noonan's power potential is a little better.
My feeling on player comparisons (especially when the person being compared to is in Utley's class) is they're mostly based on physical appearances rather than baseball talent.
Noonan is young for his level, but the biggest difference right now between him and Gillaspie is the plate discipline. Noonan's K% is about 17.6% now, and he is walking just 3% of the time.
4. As for what positions these guys will ultimately end up at, it will likely sort itself out over time. If Noonan ends up a bust and Gillaspie can't handle third, he'll have a spot at second base open. If Gillaspie can't handle third, and Noonan has second locked down, Gillaspie would be able to move into a sort of utility role and play all over the field if needed.
5. I haven't heard anything about whether he'll sign or not. I suspect he will...no way he goes back for his senior year, not unless he's crazy.
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obsessivegiantscompulsive Thanks for the reply.
Since you brought him up, what is the HR potential you see for Noonan, 15-20 HR, then, since Gillaspie is 12-15? If so, that is still pretty good for a 2B, I would think.
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b-intellect I think both are a little difficult to project right now. I think both come out to around 15 homeruns, but we need to see how Noonan fills out his body and perhaps adjusts his swing as he gets older. Same thing for Gillaspie except it's less about his body filling out and more about how well his swing translates to using a wood bat.
12-15 homeruns would be solid for a second baseman, yes, but I think the more important aspect for Gillaspie will be how well he gets on base (whether through batting average or by walk) because that's going to be the biggest asset he brings with him.
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