3 Surprise Candidates To Crack Giants Opening Day Roster
by Russell Preston, Sports 1140 KHTK
The San Francisco Giants are a well-established baseball club. With a home-grown core of Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik just to name a few, the 25-man roster is nearly set.
Despite the overflow of playoff-tested veterans (Johnny Cueto, Denard Span, Hunter Pence, Jeff Samardzija and, sigh, Matt Cain) and young players yearning for a starting spot (Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker), there are still a few open positions yet to be filled.
With Spring Training looming, here are three surprising candidates with a real chance to crack the Opening Day roster:
1. Jae-gyun Hwang, 3B/SS/1B
Let's start off with what is perhaps the most intriguing prospect headed to Scottsdale next month: Korean signee Jae-gyun Hwang. This will be his first test of American baseball after spending his 10-year career playing in the Korean Baseball Organization.
Turning 30 in July, Hwang has been a star player across the Pacific. Last season for the Lotte Giants, he led the team in home runs (26) and RBIs (104), but also tallied 24 steals and a .330 batting average.
The only question is if those numbers will translate to the MLB. In the meantime, check out Hwang's bat flip from last season:
2. Ty Blach, SP
Blach is in an important position in his young career. He's proven to the Giants that he's ready for the big leagues, despite the limited playing time in September and October last season (20.1 innings combined). He's competing for the fifth starter position in the rotation against veteran Matt Cain and other fellow rookie Chris Stratton.
Blach has a 0.89 ERA in those 20+ innings of the big leagues, including two solid starts after his call-up, but his minor league numbers are just as impressive.
With Matt Cain banged up near the end of the season, Blach delivered this gem on Oct. 1, 2016 to help the Giants creep closer to clinching a playoff spot:
His foot is in the door - it'll be up to his spring training performance and how well Matt Cain can bounce back to determine who takes the fifth starter job.
3. Orlando Calixte, 2B/SS/3B/OF
Calixte may not have the numbers to blow Bruce Bochy and the front office out of the water, but his skillset may be right for that last bench spot previously held by Ehire Adrianza. He can play shortstop, second base, third base and the two corner outfield positions - on top of that, he can be a pinch runner for almost anyone.
The 24-year-old (soon to be 25 next month) was signed by the Giants this offseason, so this Spring will be the club's first close look at the Dominican utility player.
Last season for Kansas City's triple-A team, the Omaha Storm Chasers, Calixte finished with nine home runs, 29 RBIs and just five stolen bases in 88 games. He had a mediocre slash line of .274/.324/.420 all of last season (he also spent 38 games playing in double-A), but his defense is where he can earn a spot on the roster.
Just check out this double-play grab from last season: