Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — It is unlikely Conner Menez can build a case to break camp with the team, but his argument for being an early call-up has gotten stronger each outing.
Speaking of getting stronger, so has his fastball.
Menez, whose heat averaged 91.8 mph last year, touched 94 mph flat and averaged 92.8 mph in a solid, 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the Giants’ 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Sunday.
Menez tinkered with his mechanics for much of the offseason, ditching a windup and now throwing just from the stretch, and worked on lower-body and arm strength to try to juice up a consistent, powerful delivery. He hasn’t looked better in the Cactus League than he did against Arizona, but he suggested his side sessions have seen velocity spikes, too.
“I’ve hit 94, 5 and 6 already in the spring training, which has been good,” said Menez, who had allowed two runs in two innings entering the outing. “So it’s encouraging to see that especially [because] it jumps on the hitters when I’m doing more offspeed and then kind of sneak a fastball in there, too.
“Definitely a lot of hard work is paying off.”
The work was mostly physical, but it’s an approach that he and the club are now relying upon that is as important. He said he’s trying to throw fewer fastballs this year, and he’s always been heater dominant. He wants to depend more upon his offspeed — a common refrain around the Giants — and Sunday just 10 of his 37 pitches were fastballs, the rest sliders (mostly) and curveballs.
By throwing the fastball less frequently and with better velocity, he created much better results: of the six swings he got off the fastball, four were whiffs. Among his eight outs, three were off strikeouts.
“His big adjustment was using his slider, a secondary weapon, to land as a strike,” Gabe Kapler said over Zoom. “I think he has really good command of that pitch, and sometimes I think pitchers default to using their fastball to get strikes, and we saw him use his slider to get strikes. It’s a really good sign for him.”
With a projected (health dependent) front five of Johnny Cueto, Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Aaron Sanchez, Menez is battling for a sixth starter/long man role. If there is a sixth, though, Logan Webb has impressed, and long men competitors include Shun Yamaguchi, Scott Kazmir and Nick Tropeano.
Jaylin Davis has had a quiet camp after a quiet season, which arrived after a loud offseason in which the Giants talked up his tools.
The focus has been trying to get the young outfielder to make more consistent contact, but Davis showed the upside when he does connect Sunday.
The two hardest-hit balls by the Giants were both off Davis’ bat — a 110.9-mph bullet to left that became a sacrifice fly and a 106.6-mph smash to left that went for a single.
Davis also showed off a strong arm in right, chasing down an Asdrubal Cabrera double in the sixth and throwing a dart to Arismendy Alcantara, who relayed home to Curt Casali to nab David Peralta.
“Good day for Jaylin all around,” said Kapler, who referred to Davis’ at-bats as a “work in progress.”
Kapler said the next step for Aaron Sanchez will be to pitch in a game in about five days, after the righty came through three sim innings Sunday well. Kapler said his fastball ranged from 92-94 mph.
With a fairly big-league lineup, the Giants’ offense looked impressive. The bats exploded for four runs in the fifth that displayed what the top of the order can do when it’s humming: Consecutively, a Tommy La Stella single, Mike Yastrzemski home run (his first of the spring), Donovan Solano single, Wilmer Flores single, Evan Longoria single and Brandon Crawford double. There wasn’t an accident in the bunch: All were hit hard against Arizona lefty Alex Young.
Flores, whose defense was a sore point last year, made a great diving play at second to rob Cabrera of a hit.
Super-prospect Marco Luciano ranged deep into the shortstop hole, cleanly backhanded the ball and calmly threw out Bryan Holaday on the run. He’s beloved by scouts and the Giants for his bat, but his range and arm looked impressive.
Longoria (plantar fasciitis) has yet to play the field. Kapler said next Sunday is targeted for his defensive debut.
