SAN FRANCISCO–The San Francisco Giants have struggled in all facets of the game during a miserable 2017 season, and it’s clear that come 2018, the franchise will need reinforcements.
For a club with a 57-92 record, there are no shortage of question marks, and for a franchise that’s been built on the foundation of pitching, a potential rebound in 2018 could include a few new faces in the starting rotation, and of course, a revamped bullpen.
This week, Giants’ catcher Tim Federowicz sat down with KNBR.com Giants’ beat writer Kerry Crowley to provide perspective on some of the young faces who will be on San Francisco’s radar come Spring Training, and some of the pitchers who have already appeared in the Major Leagues this season.
Federowicz has spent parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues, and his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs certainly qualifies him to judge pitching talent. After spending the first five months of the year with the Giants’ AAA-affiliate, Federowicz received a September call-up, and has been able to continue working with relievers like Derek Law, Steven Okert, and Reyes Moronta, who all spent significant portions of the year pitching to Federowicz.
Of all the pitchers Federowicz caught this year, he said one singular pitch thrown by a AAA starter stands out above the rest.
“(Andrew) Suarez’s slider,” Federowicz said. “I think he’s very Kershaw-esque when he throws it and if he continues to throw it the way he is, and continues to use it in the right times, I think it could be that good.”
Below are Federowicz’s thoughts on a selection of Giants’ prospects.
Tyler Beede: “He actually evolved throughout the season which was good to see. He’s got a really good fastball, really good life on his fastball. He has run on it, sink on it sometimes. He learned earlier in the season when to use that, when not to, so he kind of evolved when to use his fastball. Really good curveball, it’s kind of his finish pitch. Worked on his changeup a lot this year to the point where he can throw it to both right-handers and left-handers and he made some good strides this year, I was impressed.”
Andrew Suarez: “I think him and Stratton both were the two guys that every time they went out, you were getting seven, eight innings out of them. It’s special because those are the guys with the good out pitches. You get strike one, strike two, you’re able to put them away in one or two pitches so you can carry yourself deeper in the game because those guys weren’t going past 100 pitches very much.”
Chris Stratton: “I think he realized what kind of stuff he had. I had a talk with him earlier in the year, kind of mentioned, he doesn’t realize how much life his fastball has. It has a little bit of cut that sometimes he didn’t like, but it makes it effective and that’s part of that life, being able to finish that fastball and carry it through the zone and he didn’t realize how special his fastball was and he was trying to nibble a little bit more and not go right after guys and then he started going right after guys. I mean, we had some starts where we went through the whole lineup with just fastballs and guys that we did get to two strikes with, we would finish them with the curveball. He started embracing it and started realizing how to go right after guys and how to work deep into games and I think that’s a big stride for him.”
Joan Gregorio: “He pitched really well for us. Who knows when he comes back what he’s going to be like, but I mean, he threw really well real early in the season. He’s another guy with an impressive fastball and he can just go right after guys with it. It’s tough to square up. Obviously the big leagues is a little different, you’ve got to locate but it’ll be interesting to see. It’s going to be an interesting Spring Training for him.”
Reyes Moronta: “He actually is very easy to catch, he’s fun to catch, but not when you first start. He’s all over the place, he doesn’t look like he’s going to throw strikes, but honestly, he’s spot on. He paints and he’s fun to catch because he throws so hard and you know where the ball is going to be. That’s the beauty of him so he’s definitely got big league, late-inning stuff so he’s just got to keep growing and keep working and working with his two different sliders, so just knowing when to throw those and when not to. But he’s got an overpowering fastball right now and he’s going to be able to get away with that for now.”