Jesus Guzman - First Base, San Francisco Giants
The Giants purchased the contract of Jesus Guzman from AAA Fresno on May 21st. As they begin their tour of AL parks in this year's interleague play they will likely want to plug Jesus into the DH slot and perhaps check out his defense at first base on a first hand basis. First base is the last stand of a talented hitter who has washed out defensively at second base and third base.
Signed out of the A's organization as a minor league free agent, Guzman was dominant in Venezuela this winter breaking the 35-year-old league RBI record. As you can see he was pretty good in AA for the A's last season as well, with a .364/.419/.560 slash line and 14 HRs in 341 ABs.
Despite .500+ SLG% over the last three seasons Jesus kept his K% below 20%, even with a level jump this season. That's more than acceptable, and while he's not anxious to take a walk, he will.
The 6-1, 160 switch hitter is just about to turn 25 and he probably shows more pop than his physicality implies. This look at MLB pitching will be a nice peek at the level of his skills for al of us. I suspect he's ready for MLB pitching. The question is whether he can play a position well enough to play in the NL.
One thing going for him is that Travis Ishikawa's hitting (.226/.298/.280) is making Guzman's defense look a lot better. I think Guzman can be a productive big league hitter, even if he may end up a little behind the curve for a first baseman ... even if ... he can earn a full time MLB gig. We are still a long way from there, though.
If you need a little short-term offense and have roster spot to play with you may get a reward here, from time to time. PT may be spotty but he has played three straight games for the Giants (1- for -9, 1 K), two at 1B. And keep in mind there's possibility he doesn't stick with the Giants this time around. Jesus is probably still a long-shot to take over for Ishikawa which means whenever the Giants don't need a DH, he's not gone to play enough to be a viable lineup option.
Still this is worth monitoring. With regular PT, Guzman is probably a C+ option at 1B, but ...
Long Term Fantasy Grade - C-Seas Lvl AB XBH HR SB AVG BB% K% OBP SLG 2006 AA 408 30 9 7 .257 10.1 18.1 .335 .382 2007 A+ 518 68 25 3 .301 8.8 16.4 .370 .539 2008 AA 341 37 14 5 .364 8.8 16.4 .419 .560 2008 AAA 59 4 2 0 .237 6.3 22.0 .281 .373 2009 AAA 157 21 6 0 .363 4.8 19.7 .391 .592
Derek Holland - Starting Pitcher, Texas Rangers
Derek Holland made his first major league start for the Rangers on Friday after seven relief appearances with the big club this season. He was filling in for Vincente Padilla who was previously placed on the DL with a strained deltoid. The 6-2, 185lb, 22 year old pitched well against the Astros even if his three runs allowed in 5.2 IP doesn't show it.
The left-hander wasn't an overpowering pitcher when he was drafted in the 25th round of the 2006 draft, but he made a velocity jump the the minors last year. There were a few 93s and 94s on Friday and he hit 96-97 a couple of times, but he can mix it up a bit and give or take a foot here and there. Holland also has a fairly deceptive delivery and the ball seems to get there a little quicker than his motion would suggest. What will make him effective though is that his fastball has a natural sink and he can throw ground balls (but hasn't to any great degree so far in the majors)
Holland doesn't offer a lot of different looks ... a tight slider and decent change that he could use more than he does. The overall affect is that of an efficient pitcher who can beat you up in the zone with velocity, or get you to give up a ground ball.
He looked very in place on Friday and made major league hitters miss. With sharper secondary stuff and some seasoning Derek looks like a very nice starter in the making. Pitching in Arlington doesn't help his value of course but there's #2 level potential here on the high end. Holland is a worthy claim especially in AL-only leagues. Keep in mind that this particular posting to the rotation may not stick. A return to the bullpen will suppress his immediate value but his long term potential is solid.
Long Term Fantasy Grade - B+Seas Lvl W L ERA IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 AVG WHIP 2007 A- 4 5 3.22 67.0 11.2 2.8 0.9 .232 1.16 2008 A- 7 0 2.40 93.2 8.7 2.8 0.2 .226 1.13 2008 A+ 3 1 3.19 31.0 10.7 1.5 0.3 .186 0.81 2008 AA 3 0 0.69 26.0 10.0 2.1 0.0 .160 0.77 2009 AAA 0 1 9.00 4.0 11.3 6.8 2.3 .307 2.00 2009 MLB 1 1 4.82 18.2 4.8 2.9 1.5 .255 1.29
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