How does the TJ surgery effect his roster standing?

IMO, you are being generous with the C+'s.  Thank you.

I would rank Frandsen higher, not lower.

I would probably rank Burris higher.

I would probably put Schoop in the top 20, more by default than anything.

Craig Whitaker and Dan Griffin are two injuries that could come back strong, but very iffy.

I know Angel Villalona has not played yet, but just reading the tea leaves, a top Dominican prospect, high signing bonus, Scott Boras throwing dust in the air..........I would rank him #2 just because everyone else below Lincecum is just so bad.

I love Lincecum and he's got as much potential as anyone, but honestly, isn't his best-case scenario for him next year what Matt Garza did this year?  And wouldn't that be fairly extraordinarily rare outside of Garza?

I can't see Lincecum at a straight A and Garza at an A-.  If you ask me, it should be the other way around.

The only pitching prospects who are clearly superior to him in my mind are Hughes and (if eligible) Garza. Bailey may be better but it's a very competitive comparison. It wouldn't be surprising at all if Lincecum proves to be the best of them all.

Go to www.calleaguers.com and click on Tim Lincecum to see a 41-second clip of Timmy pitching against Cal this spring.  Look at the incredible pushoff he gets from the rubber.  It is said to be the best since Nolan Ryan.  Look at how he uses his whole body when he pitches, reducing the strain on his arm.

Go to dectovision.com and click on POTD pitchers at the bottom right of the home page.  Then click on Tim Lincecum and then Tim Lincecum mechanics to see how exceptional Timmy's mechanics truly are.

Timmy has never missed a start or even had a sore arm.  In his two-hit, 18-strikeout shutout over UCLA this spring, he threw 146 pitches.  Pitch #146 was delivered at 95 mph.  The following day Timmy was viewed easily playing long toss from foul pole to foul pole.

Timmy has never thrown an inning above High A, but in his regular-season professional career, he has struck out 58 batters while allowing only 14 hits.  That's a ratio of 4.14.  We're talking only Class A here, but the best career major-league record for K/H is 1.51 by Randy Johnson.  The single-season record is 2.22 by Pedro Martinez in 2000.  The Giants single-season record is 1.52 by Jason Schmidt in 2004.  Beginning to get the idea that Timmy strikes out a lot of batters and is pretty hard to hit?

Timmy isn't perfect by any means.  His control needs work.  It doesn't appear his fastball has the hop that Matt Cain's does, which means he may give up more homers than Matt.  But his fastball has touched 101 and he consistently throws it in the 94-97 range.  His waterfall curve ball comes in 15-20 mph slower and has a tremendous 11-5 break.  While both pitches are rated plus-plus, the curve is Timmy's best pitch.  Timmy is also said to throw a changeup, slider and knuckleball, but he's been pretty much a two-pitch pitcher as a professional.

Timmy's pitching at San Jose in the California League has been compared to Danny Almonte's pitching in the Little League World Series, so two pitches may be all he needs.

The most pitches Timmy has thrown in a professional game was 94, when he opened the California League Northern Championship series.  The pitch was a high, outside fastball at 96 mph that was swung on and missed.  Timmy went seven innings, also his longest professional stint in innings.  

If not for a dropped third strike, he would have been out of the seventh inning after only 84 pitches, although he more typically averages about 16 pitches per inning.  In that particular game Timmy was more efficient than dominant. He yielded five hits, walked one and struck out "only" 10.

One observer has nicknamed Timmy "The Future."  For Giants fans frustrated with the team's lack of position players at present, that's a pretty apt nickname.  Timmy also has been called the "Freak of Nature" and "Seabiscuit."  To relieve tension he does back flips or walks on his hands.

Timmy's dad, who taught Timmy his motion and whose own motion is said to have been indistinguishable from Timmy's was once clocked at 88 mph -- when he was 55 years old.  Likely beginning sometime next season Timmy should be relieving (as a starter) the growing tension of Giants fans.  With his solid mechanics, he should be doing so for a long, long time.

If he still throws 88 mph at age 55 as his dad Chris did, he could be Livan Hernandez 33 years from now.

Those of you who are worried about Tim Lincecum's future durability shouldn't be.  It seems to run in his family.

Love the story about Timmy's dad.  Sounds like Tim is already collecting a few nicknames.  Over at MacChron they're calling him Tim the Enchanter.  Wonder which one is going to stick?

First off, Garza started 2006 in High-A which is the same level that Lincecum dominated in 2006. He was in the pitcher friendly FSL and posted a 1.42 ERA with a 5.48 H/9, 2.23 BB/9, and 10.76 K/9 in 44.1 innings.

Let's examine Lincecum last year in High-A in a hitter's league (it's the park factors just as much as the talent, so don't give me the BS that some guys were promoted to AA). Including the postseason, Lincecum posted a 1.81 ERA with a 4.67 H/9, 3.37 BB/9, and 15.05 K/9 in 34.2 innings.

Besides the walk rate, which was respectable, Lincecum dominated High-A and put up a far superior K/9 while allowing a hit less per 9 than Garza.

Based on that information and my opinion after watching both guys pitch that Lincecum's FB/CB combo is better than anything Garza brings to the table.... it's safe to assume that Lincecum is already just as good of a pitcher as Garza.

If the Giants wanted Lincecum in the majors to start 2007, I'm pretty sure he would put up respectable numbers.

Also note how major leaguers ripped Garza's stuff apart. His H/9 ballooned to 11 while his K/9 dropped below 7 and his BB/9 raised over 4... that means you're hittable and not dominant.

Lincecum's upside seems higher than Garza's and I'd be the first to bet that his 2007 season will be better than Garza's 2006 season.

He wasn't just good this year. He was dominant and absolutely over matched hitters at A+. That was just the start.