In two weeks’ time, Major League teams will have the opportunity to expand their rosters from 25 players to 40 players for the final month of the season.
September roster expansion allows teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers to rest their starters and give pitchers a break heading into the postseason, while it will give teams like the San Francisco Giants an opportunity to evaluate the depth in their farm system and plan ahead for the 2018 season.
The only problem? A growing number of the Giants’ top prospects are injured, which will prevent manager Bruce Bochy and the rest of the team’s coaching staff to audition them in Major League games.
At this point, it’s uncertain whether top hitting prospect Christian Arroyo returns in September, while top pitching prospect Tyler Beede is reportedly out for the season. Right-hander Joan Gregorio, who was the top starter during the first half of the season for the Sacramento River Cats, was popped for steroids and is suspended through 2017. Though the franchise is optimistic Austin Slater will return from a hip injury by the middle of September, San Francisco still wants Jarrett Parker to receive a significant amount of playing time down the stretch.
Without injuries to some of the organization’s top prospects limiting the Giants’ options come September 1, here’s a list of young players the Giants should carve out playing time for in the season’s final month.
Ryder Jones: An obvious choice because of his potential and positional flexibility, Jones shredded Pacific Coast League pitching this season and earned his way to the Major League level. Though he’s struggled through a 9-for-54 start to the season, San Francisco should attempt to play Jones every day from here on out so that it has a firm understanding of where he fits into the franchise’s 2018 plans. While the Giants are reluctant to expose him to left-handed pitching, San Francisco does need to find out if he’s going to be a liability against southpaws.
Chris Stratton: Still technically a prospect due to his low innings count at the Major League level, Stratton dazzled with a career-best outing over the weekend in Washington, D.C. The franchise’s first round draft choice in 2012, Stratton threw 6.2 innings while striking out 10 Nationals. His curveball is filthy, and even though he’s endured ups and downs in the Minor Leagues, there’s still time for Stratton to figure out his command.
Austin Slater: Slater is 30 at-bats shy of losing his “prospect” label, but if he comes back with his health intact, the Giants could give the 2014 eighth round selection a look at all three outfield positions. He’s not the right-handed hitter who’s going to solve the Giants’ power issues, but he has a gap-to-gap approach that plays to all fields.
Miguel Gomez: It’s unlikely the Giants will count on the player they’ve begun to call Baby Panda as an everyday option in 2018, but there’s no doubt Gomez has potential in his bat. If the Giants are willing to gamble with Gomez, they could use Joe Panik as trade bait this offseason to bring in another starting pitcher or outfielder, and give Gomez an opportunity to win a role in Spring Training. Arroyo’s ability to play second base and Jones’ feel for the hot corner also gives the franchise some flexibility with Panik this offseason.
Chris Shaw: After being hit by a pitch on the hand on Saturday night in Sacramento, it’s unclear how long Shaw will be out for. It’s also unclear whether the Giants would push Shaw to the Major Leagues in September, because San Francisco couldn’t carve out consistent at-bats for him and the team doesn’t need to add him to the 40-man roster this early. Shaw can hit, and the Giants are confident his power will transfer up from AAA, but where he fits in defensively remains a question mark.
Andrew Suarez: After taking in Suarez’s most recent start for AAA Sacramento, I’m convinced the Giants need to look at Suarez this September, even if it’s just in a relief role. He’s a left-handed starter prospect with an even-keeled demeanor and a nose for the strike zone, and on Saturday night, he hit 93 miles per hour with his fastball in the ninth inning. His inning count is high this season and the Giants would maintain contractual flexibility by waiting until 2018 to call him up, but I think Suarez is a dark horse to win the fifth starter job next season.
Tyler Rogers: A 26-year-old submariner, Rogers holds a 2.03 earned run average with Sacramento this season and is a clear candidate to be picked up by another team in the Rule 5 Draft if the Giants don’t add him to the 40-man roster. Rogers told me the key to his success this year has been throwing breaking pitches for strikes, and even though he doesn’t strike out a whole bunch of hitters, his WHIP is just 1.16 and his career WHIP in the minors is an impressive 1.14.
D.J. Snelten: A 6-foot-7 lefty who holds a 1.98 ERA with Sacramento and posted a 1.66 ERA with Richmond last season, it’s actually surprising the Giants haven’t given Snelten an opportunity yet. Snelten struggled as a Minor League starter, but transitioned to a relief role which he said has helped his mentality and preparation. Snelten understands the importance of being a groundball pitcher, and he’s a player the Giants would be wise to consider before the offseason begins.
Reyes Moronta: A 24-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, Moronta already has a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster which means it’ll be a much easier decision for San Francisco to call him up in September. Moronta began the season at AA Richmond, but missed more than a month with an injury. Now, he’s waiting in the wings with AAA Sacramento, where he’s endured a few rough outings.
Dusten Knight: Knight began the season with San Jose before earning an early-season call-up to Sacramento, and even though he doesn’t profile as a back-end of the bullpen arm, there’s some value with Knight because he’s struck out more than a batter per inning in his Minor League career. Unlike Rogers, who has a great chance of getting a look in September, Knight’s odds are far less certain because he’s not a sure-fire Rule 5 pickup for another club.
Final thoughts: There are far more pitching prospects than position players the Giants should take a look at come September, and that’s an indication of how the organization is structured at this point. Many of the franchise’s most promising hitters like Brian Reynolds, Ryan Howard, Heliot Ramos and Jacob Gonzalez are all near the bottom of the Minor Leagues, so it’ll be a few years before the Giants are able to reap rewards from their most recent drafts. In the meantime, San Francisco knows it has question marks in both the starting rotation and the bullpen heading into 2018, so looking at pitchers like Suarez, Rogers and Snelten could be a worthwhile endeavor in the near future.