Minor League Notes, April 19, 2012

by John Sickels on Apr 19, 2025 3:35 PM EDT

Mar. 6, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Justin Sellers (left) tags out San Francisco Giants baserunner Gary Brown (10) during the eighth inning during a spring training game against San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Hilderbrand-US PRESSWIRE

Minor League Notes, April 19, 2025

**A slow start from San Francisco Giants outfield prospect Gary Brown: .208/.316/.229 in 48 at-bats for Double-A Richmond, with four walks and 10 strikeouts. He's hit just one double and has failed in two of his three steal attempts. Brown was all the rage in the California League last year, where he hit .336/.407/.519 while stealing 53 bases. However, he didn't hit well in the Arizona Fall League, and he's not hitting now, with a disturbing lack of power. The sample is too small to generate serious concern as yet, but the situation bears close watching.

**New York Yankees outfield prospect Mason Williams made a lot of noise last summer by hitting .349/.395/.468 for the Staten Island Yankees in the New York-Penn League, hitting excellently while also showing a superior center field glove. He entered 2012 with lofty expectations, and so far he is off to another fine start, hitting .315/.339/.463 through 12 games for Low-A Charleston in the South Atlantic League. He's stolen six bases in seven attempts, and he's only struck out twice in 54 at-bats. On the other hand, he's only drawn one walk, but at this point of his career the extremely low strikeout ratio stands out as a huge positive. Williams has made good progress learning to use his speed on the bases, and it looks like he has a shot at living up to the pre-season hype.

**Another fast starter: outfielder Jiwan James in the Philadelphia Phillies system, currently hitting .310/.326/.595 in 13 games for Double-A Reading. One of the best athletes in baseball, James posted mediocre numbers in both 2010 (.270/.321/.365 in Low-A) and 2011 (.268/.327/.363 in High-A), failing to live up to expectations generated by his tools. In the early going this year he has been driving the ball more effectively and showing more power, but his strike zone judgment remains weak (two walks, 14 strikeouts in 42 at-bats) and he has to prove that this is more than just a hot streak.

**Another member of the tools brigade is Texas Rangers outfield prospect Jordan Akins. He has star-level athleticism with 20/20 potential, but he isn't a very good baseball player yet, hitting .243/.282/.432 with three steals, one walk, and 12 strikeouts so far in 37 at-bats for Low-A Hickory. He hit .283/.312/.428 with six walks and 42 strikeouts in 180 at-bats last year in the Arizona Rookie League, so shaky strike zone judgment is an obvious thread in his tapestry. He turns 20 today and has lots of time to develop the skills to make his tools meaningful, but it may take some time. Upside: Matt Kemp. Downside: some guy who fizzles in Double-A.

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Read More: Matt Kemp (CF - LOS), Gary Brown (CF - SFG), Jiwan James (OF - PHI), Mason Williams (CF - NYY), Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants

Comments

Gary Brown

still think this guy got overrated too much last year

people still don’t appreciate ARL’s well enough in my opinion

by blue bulldog on Apr 19, 2025 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

You should understand the difference between ARL and professional experience.

A college hitter doing well at A+ in his first full season deserves no age adjustment.

by PissedMick on Apr 19, 2025 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions

fine

either way, Brown was likely overrated last year

by blue bulldog on Apr 19, 2025 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Brown Will Be Fine

Going to Fall League was probably a bit much in his first professional season. He had a month-long slump last year and came out OK, so I think that’s what he’s going through now.

by HeavyHitter on Apr 19, 2025 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

Gary Brown

Welcome to AA ball - where the rubber hits the road.

Certainly GB is off to a slow start and is not running. Now would be a good time for Brown to hone his bunting skills as they would serve him well in the future.

Check back after 150/200 PAs and if still struggling I will become very concerned.

by wilriv21 on Apr 19, 2025 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

Brown is hitting the ball reasonably well in the games that I’ve listened to. So far he’s been unlucky and the balls haven’t been falling in (BABIP=.263). He’s very likley going to have a BABIP > .320 when the season ends.

Looking closer at his stats, we see that he’s hitting more line drives (22%) and more balls on the ground (56%) than he did even when he put up his fantastic offensive stats last season. His BB-rate is basically the same as last year (7.0% vs. 7.2%), but his K-rate is noticeably higher (17.5% vs. 121.1%). That would be alarming if you didn’t look closer and see that 60% of his Ks have come in his last 5 games. My guess is that he’s getting a bit frustrated that his balls aren’t falling in and has startred to press recently - hence the jump in K’s.

My son, Adalberto Mejia. He's got the goods - he just needs a cool nickname.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Apr 19, 2025 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Brown hit well to strat the AFL last year, but then caught a virus and had his strength sapped, saw his avg plummet and was sent home early to rest.

One thing that does trouble me about his play so far this season is his baserunning. He doesn’t seem to have progressed at all in his quest to become a smarter and better basestealer. That’s seems to be par for the course in the Giants farm system. Very few of their best basestealing prospects of the past 10 years seem to have learned a lot about the art of basestealing while in the farm system.

My son, Adalberto Mejia. He's got the goods - he just needs a cool nickname.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Apr 19, 2025 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions

That doesn't sound right

That 3rd sentence should read:

but his K-rate is noticeably higher (17.5% vs. ~~121.1~~ 12.1%).

My son, Adalberto Mejia. He's got the goods - he just needs a cool nickname.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Apr 20, 2025 2:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Jiwan James

seems similar to Starling Marte (if he maintains this type of production). Am I crazy?

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by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Apr 19, 2025 3:51 PM EDT reply actions

That's pretty generous

He’s put up .690 OPS the last two years. If the power surge is for real I would be intrigued, because the scouts have believed he has the ability to hit for power but he’s never shown it consistently in games.

by Governator on Apr 19, 2025 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Right

I’m saying if he can maintain a .300/.330/.480 type line he seems to profile very similar to Marte. Hasn’t happened yet, but he may be on his way. I knocked down his ISO ~.100 points compared to what he’s put up this year, so that was part of my question. Does he have that type of power potential, or is this SSS? If it’s SSS but he does have a “breakout” type year, he seems like Starling Marte? Yay or nay.

That’s my question better and more articulated.

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by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Apr 19, 2025 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Nay

I could see him improving this year but not enough to ever be considered along the lines of Marte or even being a big league regular. I would say a success and realistic outcome for him would be Dewayne Wise (who has made a very good living as a 5th OFer)

by ScottAZ on Apr 19, 2025 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Gary Brown

I have seen Brown a few times at AA Richmond and, although he has struggled with the bat, he has played outstanding CF defense, displaying tremendous range, routes to the ball, arm strength, and daring (a couple diving catches).

by jaroche6 on Apr 19, 2025 7:34 PM EDT reply actions