By Andy Baggarly
January 30, 2013


Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

    

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Kyle Crick, rhp 2. Joe Panik, ss 3. Chris Stratton, rhp 4. Gary Brown, of 5. Mike Kickham, lhp 6. Clayton Blackburn, rhp 7. Heath Hembree, rhp 8. Francisco Peguero, of 9. Roger Kieschnick, of 10. Adalberto Mejia, lhp

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Joe Panik Best Power Hitter Adam Duvall Best Strike Zone Discipline Joe Panik Fastest Baserunner Gary Brown Best Athlete Gary Brown Best Fastball Kyle Crick Best Curveball Chris Marlowe Best Slider Mike Kickham Best Changeup Chris Heston Best Control Clayton Blackburn Best Defensive Catcher Jeff Arnold Best Defensive Infielder Ehire Adrianza Best Infield Arm Chris Dominguez Best Defensive OF Gary Brown Best Outfield Arm Francisco Peguero

PROJECTED 2016 LINEUP

Catcher Buster Posey First Base Brandon Belt Second Base Joe Panik Third Base Pablo Sandoval Shortstop Brandon Crawford Left Field Angel Pagan Center Field Gary Brown Right Field Hunter Pence No. 1 Starter Matt Cain No. 2 Starter Madison Bumgarner No. 3 Starter Kyle Crick No. 4 Starter Tim Lincecum No. 5 Starter Chris Stratton Closer Heath Hembree

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Pos 2012 Org 2003 Jesse Foppert, rhp Out of baseball 2004 Merkin Valdez, rhp Athletics 2005 Matt Cain, rhp Giants 2006 Matt Cain, rhp Giants 2007 Tim Lincecum, rhp Giants 2008 Angel Villalona, 3b/1b Giants 2009 Madison Bumgarner, lhp Giants 2010 Buster Posey, c Giants 2011 Brandon Belt, 1b/of Giants 2012 Gary Brown, of Giants

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Pos 2012 Org 2003 David Aardsma, RHP Yankees 2004 Eddy Martinez-Esteve, OF S. Maryland (Atlantic) 2005 Ben Copeland, OF Indians 2006 Tim Lincecum, RHP Giants 2007 Madison Bumgarner, LHP Giants 2008 Buster Posey, C Giants 2009 Zack Wheeler, RHP Mets 2010 Gary Brown, OF Giants 2011 Joe Panik, SS Giants 2012 Chris Stratton, RHP Giants

LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY

Buster Posey, 2008 $6,200,000 Zack Wheeler, 2009 $3,300,000 Rafael Rodriguez, 2008 $2,550,000 Angel Villalona, 2006 $2,100,000 Tim Lincecum, 2006 $2,025,000

GIANTS LINKS

Giants Team Page Giants Top 10 Scouting Reports  Last Year's Giants Top 10 Prospects 2012 Draft: Giants 2012 Draft Report Cards: San Francisco Giants  Complete Index of Top 10 Prospects Pre-Order the 2013 Prospect Handbook

The Giants strived for more than a half-century to win their first World Series title in San Francisco. They didn't make their faithful wait nearly as long for the next parade down Market Street.

The road was far more treacherous than in 2010. This time, it included six elimination games in the first two rounds against the Reds and Cardinals, and those fiery hoops only forged stronger steel. Upon reaching the Fall Classic, the Giants overwhelmed the Tigers to claim a four-game sweep and win their second championship in three seasons—the closest the National League has come to a dynasty since the Big Red Machine repeated in 1975-76.

Those Reds had Johnny Bench. These Giants have Buster Posey, who won the Bench Award as college baseball's top catcher at Florida State in 2008, along with the Golden Spikes and Baseball America's College Player of the Year awards. Four years later, he racked up a whole new set of hardware: a batting crown after leading the majors with a .336 average, a Silver Slugger award, NL comeback player of the year honors and a landslide choice as the NL MVP.

Before Posey, the Giants hadn't drafted and developed an all-star position player since Matt Williams. Instead, they churned out pitchers.

Though Tim Lincecum took a severe step backward from his two Cy Young seasons, a rotation of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito was firm enough when it mattered most. Cain, who received a five-year, $112.5 million extension in April, further etched his legacy on June 13 when he threw the 22nd perfect game in major league history and the first by a Giant in the franchise's 128-year existence.

Though the pitching staff was largely the same on both World Series winners, Posey was the only everyday position player held over from the team that took down the Rangers in 2010. But if San Francisco's first World Series title since 1954 was something of a happy accident won by a band of misfits and castoffs, its second championship featured the kind of lineup that longtime general manager Brian Sabean long had long coveted.

Sabean put together a younger, more athletic and defensively skilled team that sought to use AT&T Park's ample dimensions as an advantage instead of an excuse. The Giants became the first team since the 1985 Cardinals to reach the playoffs despite hitting the fewest homers in the majors, including just 31 longballs in 81 home games.

Sabean utilized prospects like Charlie Culberson, Tommy Joseph, Charlie Culberson and Seth Rosin in July deals for Marco Scutaro (the NLCS MVP) and Hunter Pence (who became San Francisco's inspirational leader). The farm system lacks depth as a result of trades and late draft positions in recent years, but the Giants still have their share of quality pitchers, starting with Kyle Crick, Chris Stratton and Mike Kickham. Pitching guru Dick Tidrow must matriculate some of those arms to the big leagues soon, because Lincecum and Zito could be spending their last season in a San Francisco uniform.

It's going to get tougher for the Giants now that the Dodgers have deep-pocketed ownership and are threatening to become the Yankees of the West. Though the Giants aren't run on a shoestring budget, they probably won't turn themselves into the Red Sox in order to compete.

Expect Sabean and his staff to adhere to their blend of scouting, pragmatic assessment and turning over rocks to find athletic, two-way players. That strategy couldn't be working any better.

Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects  (How to subscribe)

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