It's been a while since I took a look at what's been going on in the San Francisco Giants' farm system, so here goes...
-- Salem-Keizer's season (A-) began on the 17th of June, and so far, Chuckie Jones, Joe Panik, and friend of the blog Mike Murray have all gotten off to hot starts. Jones is hitting .278/.500/.389 with six walks and ten strikeouts, albeit in only 26 PAs; it seems like he hasn't been playing lately...don't know why. Meanwhile, Panik has gotten off to an even better start, hitting .333/.424/.529 over 59 PA with eight walks and just six strikeouts. The more I think about it, the more I love the Panik pick -- high-contact guy with plate discipline, decent power for a middle infielder, and he should definitely move fast through the system (he was one of the first first-round picks to sign, too). Lastly, Murray is currently leading the team in OBP (.462) and SLG (.630), and is tied for the team lead in home runs with three.
-- Gary Brown has cooled off considerably. Over his last 74 PAs since June 10, he's walked just four times (roughly 5% rate), and is hitting .162 with only three extra-base hits.
-- The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes' website has an interview with Joe Panik posted, certainly worth checking out.
-- Eric Surkamp has continued his fantastic 2011 campaign; over his last three starts in Double-A, he's tossed 18 innings, allowing three runs with 17 strikeouts and just three walks. In 14 starts overall, he's posted a 2.49 FIP on the season.
-- Thomas Neal is hitting .360 over his last six games with three doubles and a couple walks. He's now hitting .312/.374/.434 on the year, good for a 97 wRC+ (do note, that's not a park-adjusted figure).
-- On May 29, Zack Wheeler went seven scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and just one walk. In his three starts since then, though, he's struggled a bit, allowing eight runs over 17 innings, with a K/BB of 12/10. He's now got a 3.67 FIP in 12 starts on the season.
-- Of the Dominican Summer League Giants, a couple names stick out: Adalberto Mejia has gone 39.1 innings, posting a 9.00 K/BB in seven starts (1.14 ERA), and has yet to allow a home run. Infielder Alberto Robles is also intriguing -- he's played mostly 2B and 3B this year (though he played a lot of shortstop in 2010). From the looks of it, the 20 year-old doesn't seem to possess much power at all, but the plate discipline numbers are astounding: 21 walks and nine strikeouts in 116 PAs, and a .478 OBP. Going back to 2010, he's now got 52 walks and 32 strikeouts in 410 PA...not bad.
