[77smbg9177]

Excellent Prospects
1. Tim Lincecum, rhp

Very Good Prospects
2. Angel Villalona, 3b
3. Jonathan Sanchez, lhp

Good Prospects
4. Emmanuel Burriss, ss

Average Prospects
5. Eddy Martinez-Estevee, lf
6. Sharlon Schoop, ss
7. Fred Lewis, lf/cf
8. Nate Schierholtz, lf
9. Billy Sadler, rhp
10. Mike McBryde, cf

Tim Lincecum, rhp
DOB: 6/15/84
Height/Weight: 5-11/160
Bats/Throws: L/R
Drafted: 1st round, 2006, University of Washington. In the end, Lincecum fell to No. 10, apparently the victim of concerns about his size and unorthodox delivery and training methods. The Giants snapped him up, planning to make him a starter, and Lincecum became the first UW player in history to be picked in the first round. He got a $2.025 million signing bonus, the biggest San Francisco had ever given an amateur.
What he did in 2006: 0.00 ERA at Short Season (4-1-0-10), 1.95 ERA at High A (27.2-13-12-48)
The Good: Best pure stuff of any 2006 draftee. Despite looking like a 13-year-old on the mound, Lincecum's unorthodox mechanics and the fastest arm action you'll ever see allow him to unleash 92-96 mph fastballs while touching 98-99 and maintaining that velocity throughout the game. Lincecum has hit 100 mph on the radar. But he has more than a fastball, also featuring a slider, changeup and two different curveballs. The curveball is an even better offering, grading out by many scouts as a pure 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. Slider and changeup are there and usable. Despite size and delivery, arm was remarkably resilient in college, as he often closed 1-2 days after racking up a high pitch count without ever having problems with arm soreness. Lincecum has a freakishly resilient arm. There were reports he was throwing long toss the day after a 190-pitch outing. But despite his heavy workload and the fact he doesn't even ice his arm (which is unheard of), he's never had an arm injury.
The Bad: Control can be a problem at times. Lincecum walked 216 in 342 college innings, and while he made significant improvements this year, his rate was still a relatively high 4.52 per nine innings.
The Irrelevant: The three highest single-season strikeout totals in Washington history are Lincecum's junior (199), freshman (161) and sophomore (131) seasons.
In a Perfect World, He Becomes: An all-star starter or an all-star closer.
Gap Between What He is Now, And What He Can Be: Low – Lincecum could have pitched out of the Giants bullpen at the end of 2006, but the team decided against it for a variety of reasons. He'll likely start 2007 at Double-A, and could be in the majors as early as the All-Star break.

Readyflow's take on Lincecum... Tim is easily the best pitching prospect in the minors. He throws an exceptional fastball that has been spotted at 101mph in his pre-draft days. He will likely start proving himself to be the "Chosen One" during spring training, where he could earn himself a spot on the Giants roster in 2007. If Tim doesn't secure that spot in STraining, we'll see him in brief relief occassions throughout the year when Bochy calls upon him for testing purposes. Tim has everything you want in a starter. Tim also has everything you'd like in a closer. He has pitches that are hard to track and each pitch never has the same look. After watching TIm in person, you'll see how disgusting his pitches are and it becomes completely intimidating to batters knowing that even if they guess a pitch, they still have no clue how to approach it. To go along with his abilities physically, Lincecum is a mature guy that almost is as confident as any MLB starter. His pitching style involves his entire body as he reaches back in a gorgeous wind-up that he learned from his father as a kid. In summary, "The Chosen On" will be our next big star and it's only a matter of time, so I'll keep everyone posted on his progress.

Angel Villalona, 3b
DOB: 8/13/90
Height/Weight: 6-3/210
Bats/Throws: R/R
Signed: 2006, Dominican Republic
What he did in 2006: Signed a contract three days after his 16th birthday that included a $2.1 million bonus.
The Good: Absolute man-child and the top international prospect of the year. Already has plus-plus power to all fields and advanced pitch recognition. Good fielder with soft hands and a plus arm. Even an above-average runner.
The Bad: Um, he's 16! There will obviously be some weaknesses in his game, but we won't know what they are until they are exposed. At his age and his size, he could easily outgrow third base, but he's athletic enough where the backup plan is right field instead of first base.
The Irrelevant: International scouts saw Villalona hit a 400-foot home run with a wooden bat . . . when he was 13.
In a Perfect World, He Becomes: The sky is the limit, though Villalona is still on the ground. Whispers of the next Miguel Cabrera are understandable at this point.
Gap Between What He is Now, And What He Can Be: Very High – Again, he's 16. The Giants won't reveal their plans for Villalona, but all signs point to either a slow introduction to professional baseball with a year in the Dominican Summer League, or a half season in the Arizona Rookie League.

Readyflow's take on Angel... This was a brilliant pick-up for our team. This guy is 16 yrs old, and he becomes 17 this next year and would have required an easy 1st pick to get him. Instead of him waiting for the draft he opted to take the faster course, and the Giants didn't outbid 4 or 5 other teams for his services. The Giants actually offerred less than the Mariners and the Yankees, but out scouts made him feel much more special. He signed with us for 2.1 mil instead of the 3 mil possibly offerred by Seattle. Because we got him before the draft, we essentially gave ourselves two 1st round picks. Angel is only 16, but the sky is the limit for this latin player. He is a big boy with a man's attitude toward the game. He is slick with the glove and he has a beautiful swing. He will take about 2 years to make it to the big leagues, so we'll be talking about him for a long time to come. He has been compared to Miguel Cabrera and he will be our future 3rd baseman.

Jonathan Sanchez, lhp
DOB: 11/19/82
Height/Weight: 6-2/165
Bats/Throws: L/L
Drafted: 27th round, 2004, Ohio Dominican University
What he did in 2006: 1.15 ERA at AA (31.1-14-9-46); 3.80 ERA at AAA (23.2-13-13-28); 4.95 ERA at MLB (40-39-23-33)
The Good: Strong-armed lefty was moved to the bullpen in order to accelerate his progression, but moved back to the rotation and ended up making big league debut as a starter. 91-93 mph fastball is a plus pitch for a lefty, and changeup features excellent arm action. Goes after hitters with aggressive style that serves him well.
The Bad: Has tendency to overthrow breaking ball which causes it to lose break and get elevated, leaving it highly hittable. Has problems throwing strikes at times.
The Irrelevant: Sanchez's dominating four-year career at tiny NAIA Ohio Dominican included four no-hitters.
In a Perfect World, He Becomes: A No. 3 starter.
Gap Between What He is Now, And What He Can Be: Low – The signing of Barry Zito makes things a little more difficult for Sanchez, but he'll likely beat Brad Hennessey out for the final slot in the Giants rotation.

Readyflow's take on Sanchez... Giants fans all love Jonathan Sanchez. At least those of us that watched him pitch for us last season. He is dominating and can either be astarter or a relief pitcher. He loves to compete with each batter and that has also been his downfall too. He has a brilliant fastball and change-up, but even in an obvious count, he will approach the hitter without fear of the outcome. Sometimes that's great, but he definitely has the mentality for life in the big leagues. He's fearless and confident. Let's just hope he can keep his change-ups down and he'll take the 5th spot in the rotation... (unless Lincecum becomes an option).





Please let me know if i missed anyone please