Prospect of the Day: Brett Pill, INF, San Francisco Giants

by John Sickels on Sep 21, 2011 8:01 AM EDT

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: Brett Pill #6 of the San Francisco Giants hits a two RBI triple off of Huston Street #16 of the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning at Coors Field on September 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Prospect of the Day: Brett Pill, INF, San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants prospect Brett Pill had a strong year in Triple-A and a fast start in the majors. Will he get to play in 2012? Let's take a look.

Brett Pill was drafted by the Giants in the seventh round in 2006, from Cal State Fullerton. He hit well in college, hitting .328 while leading the Big West with 23 doubles, but scouts weren't sure he would show enough home run power for a first baseman at higher levels, hurting his stock accordingly. He slammed 47 doubles in the Sally League in 2007, although his overall line for Augusta was mediocre at .269/.321/.416. In '08 he hit just .266/.321/.395 in the California League, quite unimpressive. However, in '09 he made some adjustment to his swing while adding strength to his frame, and the result was a .298/.348/.480 mark with 19 homers and 37 doubles for Double-A Connecticut.

Pill moved up to Triple-A Fresno in 2010, hitting .275/.319/.433 with 16 homers. He entered 2011 buried behind Brandon Belt on the prospect depth chart, but a return engagement in Triple-A resulted in a .312/.341/.530 line with a career-best 25 homers. He's in the majors now and hitting quite well in his initial look at major league pitching.

A 6-4, 210 pound right-handed hitter and thrower, Pill turned 27 this month and that limits his prospect status: he's at his peak now and unlikely to improve a great deal. Some scouts have complained that his swing is too long, but his strikeout rates are quite low for a player with power, with just 54 whiffs in 536 Triple-A at-bats this year. The negative side is a low walk rate: he's an aggressive hitter and doesn't draw many free passes. He's added some loft to his swing over the last three years without sacrificing contact, although he doesn't have as much pure power potential as Belt does.

On defense, he is a very good defensive first baseman, and also has a few games of experience at third base and left field. The presence of Belt on the Fresno roster for much of 2011 forced the Giants to be creative, and Pill ended up playing 57 games at second base this year. As you would expect, his range at the position is quite limited, but he didn't make a lot of errors, posting a .977 fielding percentage, which is pretty good considering the circumstances. No, you don't want to start him regularly at second base, but the extra versatility certainly increases Pill's chances of earning a roster spot next year.

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Belt not at Fresno that much, nor 1B

He was there all of 49 games, less than half the season. Most of that was from mid-April to end of May, after his first send down to AAA, some in August, and probably some after his broken bone had healed and they wanted him to go down and rehab.

Plus, he spent most of those games in AAA playing the OF because they wanted him to play LF in the majors this season. He only put in 12 starts at 1B in AAA all season.

It seemed like all those games at 2B was to see if he can be some sort of utility player for the team in 2012, or even this season, given all the injuries.

Adoptive parental unit of Ehire Adrianza.
Godfather of Travis Ishikawa.

"We deserve this" Sabean
"Not here to make friends, I'm here to win games" - Bruce Bochy
Q: "This doesn't happen every year." Posey: "Why not?"
"Do it again Baby!" Huff
"Let's get back to work and make another run at it" Posey

2010's will be known as "Decade of the Giants"

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Sep 21, 2011 12:12 PM EDT reply actions

Er

That is, all those games at 2B FOR PILL was to see if he can be some sort of utility player…

Adoptive parental unit of Ehire Adrianza.
Godfather of Travis Ishikawa.

2010's will be known as "Decade of the Giants"

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Sep 21, 2011 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions

OT: Belt

Off topic, but it was linked to in the More section underneath.

What are your thoughts about Belt’s handling by the Giants? Should he not been sent down the first time, although by the stats and radio description, he appeared to be just flailing at pitches and striking out a lot without a lot of contact? What are your thoughts about yo-yoing generally? Or is it that it depends on the player? Many Giant’s fans think he was hurt by that, but given how he was struggling up here, seems like it was better to go down and recalibrate himself than stay up and frustrate him further (and kill his confidence).

Thanks either way, love your website here, keep up the great work!

Adoptive parental unit of Ehire Adrianza.
Godfather of Travis Ishikawa.

2010's will be known as "Decade of the Giants"

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Sep 21, 2011 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

at least Belt wasn't Jenrry Mejiaed

he’ll get his chances in SF, or elsewhere

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Sep 21, 2011 12:53 PM EDT reply actions

Continual improvement

Do you think there’s anything that can be measured in the minor leagues that can predict continual improvement? Such as in this case, a good college hitter struggles in the minors, adjusts, hits well for that level, moves up a level, improves in his second year in that level.

I’m asking because of the comment that at his age, 27, he’s not likely to improve a great deal. Age dictates that, but his history also shows continual improvements.

And thanks for this post. I asked a Brett Pill question earlier – this is an unexpected followup!

by unspider on Sep 21, 2011 3:28 PM EDT reply actions