Is this spike in performance for real? What the heck happened in 2006? I have no idea whether he’ll become an All-Star, a solid regular, or a career AAAA player.

So much power its ridiculous, but he swings at way too much which means he doesn’t walk. Will his power lead to pitchers pitching around him or will his willingness to swing at anything close lead to pitchers exploiting his aggressiveness?

Its gotta be Brent Clevlen. Talk about erratic performance.

A left-hander with mid-90’s fastball with a good change who has just been getting lit up this year. There are some rumours of personal issues (family issues) which may have affected his play but he looks pretty terrible at the moment. He’s still really young and he’s looked a bit better during a stint in the bullpen but his command at this point is just troubling.

If consistency were steak, he’d be a vegan.

His drop in production was frightening at AAA.

Scouts really seem to be divided on this guy. Hits a whack load of doubles but will the average come back around?

Can he stay healthy long enough to give us a better read?

He gets hurt so much, goes through streaks where he can’t hit anything, and then has streaks where he absolutely smashes the ball like the last week of the season and you wonder which is the real F-Mart and can he stay healthy.

when he was still with the Cubs, of course.

I just didn’t know what was wrong, I don’t know if it was a confidence problem, or if it was some sort of injury that no one knew about. But he’s been ripping it up with the A’s, so… well, that just makes me even more confused.

Current Cubs farmhand that makes you wonder the most would probably be Tony Thomas. He might be more of an anomaly than Donaldson.

I wrote a little about him today on our site, no idea. Drafted in the 4th round by Washington. Doesn’t appear injured, but he’s bad as a reliever his 3rd time through the NYPL. First year ‘06, fine in light duty. Second year, made himself a top prospect. Traded for Elijah Dukes. Promoted to A and failed, demoted to SSA Hudson Valley and still isn’t good. We didn’t care what we got for Dukes at the time because his value was so low, but this looked like a steal. Now, not so much. My full article, which I would have just copied, but I don’t know if SBN handles tables, is here.

Highly-regarded HS player, drafted in 2002 in the 21st round (and given a bonus more in line with his potential than his round – surprising in and of itself for the Giants). Supposedly good defensively – just waiting to see if the young kid could hit as he advanced.

He made steady, if unspectacular, progress in ‘02 and ’03. His power showed up in ’04 and ’05 in HighA ball (16 and 22 HR’s respectively), though the BA was pedestrian. He struggled in 2006 at AA at Norwich (a notorious pitchers’ park), although strangely he did quite well during a brief (and unexpected) callup to San Francisco. He had some injuries that year, and 2007 saw him bounce between A+ San Jose and AA Norwich (now renamed Connecticut). He floundered again in AA, and did only slightly better back in A+ that year, at which point most Giants prospect-watchers conceded that he was another high-upside guy who never would pan out.

He was assigned to AA once again this year, and despite the hitter-unfriendly circumstances he blossomed there, hitting .291 with 8 HR and 48 RBI in 234 AB’s. That got him a midseason promotion to AAA, where in the hitter-friendly PCL he hit .264 in 121 AB’s with 8 more HR and 26 RBI – although he trended significantly upward as his time there went on, including having a torrid week. At this point, he’s a September callup, and Giants fans are now scratching their heads wondering if this year’s resurgance is just temporary or if perhaps he’s finally realizing his potential.

And since the Giants have a gaping hole at 1B (and have had since Will Clark left), his development would drastically alter the team’s plans this offseason. We just don’t know what to expect for next year.

Shot out of the gate, then started K’ing something ridiculous like 40-50% after maybe 5, 6 weeks.

He’s still young and highly touted, and plays in a pitcher-friendly league (MWL), but it might already be kind to call him a head-scratcher. Got a soft spot for him, though.

For this Cubs fan, it’s got to be Jeff Samardjzia. He still only has 22 IP with the big league club.