Article:SF Giants Draft Interview

For the final chapter of our 2009 MLB amateur draft coverage, I had a chance to catch up with Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog for our annual draft recap interview. Brian's been extremely busy over at the College Blog, but made some time to answer a few quick questions on some of the college kids the Giants drafted:

Q: There were some other polished college arms (Aaron Crow, Alex White and Mike Leake etc..) and a 5-tool shortstop in Grant Green available to them. Who would have been your pick at 6 if you ran the Giants?

BF: I would have picked Alex White as I think he was the best college pitcher available after Strasburg. I saw Leake's performance against Texas in the College World Series and was less than impressed as he is undersized and really doesn't have the front of the rotation stuff to be worth the eighth pick like he was.

Q: I know you've seen a lot of the Giants third round pick, third basemen Chris Dominguez from Louisville. What type of player do you see him developing into? Will he provide the same kind of power as a pro that he did in College?

BF: Dominguez will be a Rob Deer type that will be able to hit about 30 homers a year and have a batting average of about .250. He tends to strikeout a ton and has some major defensive weakness. He had a fielding percentage at .878 with 23 errors at third base. His future is either in the outfield as he has an outstanding arm or at DH which the Giants don't need as you know.

Q: Two selections that I really liked for the Giants were Jason Stoffel (Arizona) in the fourth round and Brandon Belt (Texas) in the fifth. What do you expect those guys to do at the next level?

BF: Stoffel was an excellent selection as bullpen guys tend to fly through the system. He finished the year with 11 saves but a slightly high ERA of 4.67 in his 39 relief appearances. This is an extremely high number for a collegiate pitcher as the team only played 55 games. Belt has been underused at Texas as Auggie Garrido plays a very different offense which didn't show you what Belt could do. He had to lay down bunts (11on the year) while only hitting eight homers and hitting at a .335 clip.

Q: Outside of the first few guys taken, give us an arm and a bat that you really like?

BF: One of the guys that the Giants picked up that is interesting is Chris Gloor out of Quinnipiac. He is 6'6 and 220 pound lefty. He can develop into a power left handed pitcher if he gets some good coaching in the minor leagues. He has problems with control right now and is a little raw but he could be outstanding. Kyle Vazquez out of Franklin Pierce is another interesting pick. He had an outstanding career with the Ravens and played in a wood bat conference so his numbers are more "true". The bat that I really like is Diego Seastrunk as the kid is a perfect line-drive hitter and could move into the field from his college catching position since it is blocked by Buster.

Trevor Cole The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website