Thomas Neal

[McCovey]

Thomas Neal is fast becoming one of the Giants most important prospects. He is a power hitting outfielder. He currently plays left field for the San Jose Giants in the California League. So just like I did for Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey I want to start a "bandwagon" for Thomas Neal.

[McCovey]

Here is some video of Neal tasking batting practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCynW2zAPaQ&feature=channel_page

[SF Kid]

Thanks for the information Mc.

[McCovey]

Thanks for the information Mc.
You're welcome, Kid. I feel strongly that Neal is the power hitting outfielder that the Giants sorely need. The kid can rake.

[Swede]

And Buster was doing awesome at San Jose also. Jump up a few A's and then trouble begins. Don't rush these young players until they are ready. Benji is looking good for a couple of more years.

[McCovey]

And Buster was doing awesome at San Jose also. Jump up a few A's and then trouble begins. Don't rush these young players until they are ready. Benji is looking good for a couple of more years.
The Giants had their reasons for having Posey skip AA ball. Posey is getting accustomed to the Pacific Coast League. He's played 18 games now at Fresno. He struggled in his first 8-9 games but over the past 10 games he's hitting .297 with a .541 slugging percentage.

[Bear]

The Giants had their reasons for having Posey skip AA ball. Posey is getting accustomed to the Pacific Coast League. He's played 18 games now at Fresno. He struggled in his first 8-9 games but over the past 10 games he's hitting .297 with a .541 slugging percentage.

It is my hope that they give him at least half a year in Fresno and then move him up in mid-July. Have him back-up for the remainder of 2010 and then give him a shot to compete for the starting spot in 2011.:)

[WillTheThrill]

Hey, McCovey... any updates or scouting reports on Neal?

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[McCovey]

Hey, McCovey... any updates or scouting reports on Neal?

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The San Jose Giants' regular season has ended. Neal's '09 stats.

129 G (475 AB)

.337/.431/.579, 22 HR, 90 RBI, 102 R, 160 H, 41 doubles, 65 BB, 98 K, 3 SB, 0 CS

A great season for Neal. I wonder where he'll play in 2010?

[Bear]

The San Jose Giants' regular season has ended. Neal's '09 stats.

129 G (475 AB)

.337/.431/.579, 22 HR, 90 RBI, 102 R, 160 H, 41 doubles, 65 BB, 98 K, 3 SB, 0 CS

A great season for Neal. I wonder where he'll play in 2010?

With those numbers I would guess AAA Fresno. How old is he?

[WillTheThrill]

A great season for Neal. I wonder where he'll play in 2010?

All I can say is, it better be AA or AAA !!! :)

Thanks for the update, McCovey! :beerbang:

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[McCovey]

With those numbers I would guess AAA Fresno. How old is he?
Neal just turned 22 on August 17. We were born on the same day 19 years apart! It would be interesting to see if the Giants have Neal jump two levels in 2010. If he does and he does well at Fresno we could possibly see him in San Francisco by August 2010

[Bear]

Neal just turned 22 on August 17. We were born on the same day 19 years apart! It would be interesting to see if the Giants have Neal jump two levels in 2010. If he does and he does well at Fresno we could possibly see him in San Francisco by August 2010

I think this is very possible!:cool:

[McCovey]

Here are Keith Law's impressions of Thomas Neal from the Arizona Fall League. :o


I've been asked quite a bit if San Francisco Giants (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sfo) outfielder Thomas Neal's tremendous season in A-ball made him a serious prospect, but having seen him multiple times now, I'd still like to at least see him perform like that in AA against higher-quality pitching. Neal's tool set is limited to his bat -- he's a below-average runner and nothing special in an outfield corner -- and at the plate he has that same propensity to swing through, over, and around even fringy sliders. He also has a timing issue in his swing, as he rocks back and forth slightly when he should be set and can mistime if the pitch catches him off balance.

[Bear]

Here are Keith Law's impressions of Thomas Neal from the Arizona Fall League. :o

So far I see nothing here that makes me think he will help the Giants anytime soon.:(:nono:

[McCovey]

So far I see nothing here that makes me think he will help the Giants anytime soon.:(:nono:
I know, huh? Although I will say most scouts didn't like Albert Pujols as a prospect either (Not saying Neal will be another Pujols).

[Bear]

I know, huh? Although I will say most scouts didn't like Albert Pujols as a prospect either (Not saying Neal will be another Pujols).

But it would be very nice if he was!:D

[McCovey]

But it would be very nice if he was!:D
For sure! :beerbang:

[McCovey]

I cam across this over at ESPN. There was an update on the top prospects in the AFL.


Thomas Neal, San Francisco Giants (javascript:newWin('http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sfo')): Was Neal's breakout season (.337, 22 homers, 1.010 OPS) in the hitting-friendly Cal League legit? I think it's possible, especially when I heard that his swing wasn't necessarily all the way back in 2008 after major shoulder surgery. I saw him during the year as well, and I've seen an improved approach at the plate. He's willing to go the other way, and his raw power allows him to hit the ball out to any field. Let's see how he does at Double-A. It's worth noting that Neal is playing some first base here as well.

[McCovey]

Keith Law chimes in on Thomas Neal and Roger Keischnick from his ESPN Chat.


Doc (Minneapolis)
Enough about the Cy, I thought you were right on to vote the way you did. Anyway, Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick, what's your opinion of each and could they be the corner OFs in SF by 2011?

Klaw (1:53)
I'm not sold on either guy as an everyday player yet. Both have potential, but I'd project both as below-average regulars right now.

[McCovey]

Here is some video of Neal batting in the AFL last fall. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwGY4xO4Nx8&feature=PlayList&p=862B151F426008A4&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=38

[EIM86]

he's been consistent with a BA of .284 plus or minus. However, he's not hitting homeruns which everybody thought he was going to do. He's still really young but I hope he finds that swing to hit bombs sooner or later. I do like that he's a very patient hitter, something our team seriously lacks.

[thebayareabeast]

Here is some video of Neal tasking batting practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCynW2zAPaQ&feature=channel_page

I just don't see it for some reason. I can see this guy being a .260 ML hitter.

[McCovey]

A 2011 bump for Thomas Neal! He went 3 for five last night.

[BeALotOfHappy]

Call Neal and Brown up now. Get rid of Burrell and Rowand :)

[SF Kid]

I'm not going to be upset if Burrell is shown the door. Yes he's hit a few dingers but his strike outs are awful. Way too much of that.

[WillTheThrill]

I'm not going to be upset if Burrell is shown the door. Yes he's hit a few dingers but his strike outs are awful. Way too much of that.

The latest on that... 60 plate appearances, 21 strikeouts. :mad:

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[BeALotOfHappy]

Ouch. And I believe Rowand is batting over .300 but still, instead of paying him $10mil a year we could have Thomas Neal learning the ropes in the big leagues.

[SF Kid]

Ouch. And I believe Rowand is batting over .300 but still, instead of paying him $10mil a year we could have Thomas Neal learning the ropes in the big leagues.

I think we're paying him like $14 million. :eek:


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[WillTheThrill]

I think we're paying him like $14 million. :eek:

You're both wrong. :D Rowand signed a five-year, $60 million contract. He's getting $12 M a year through 2012. After the 2012 season (assuming he lasts THAT long :rolleyes: ), he's finally off the books and a free agent.

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[McCovey]

Ouch. And I believe Rowand is batting over .300 but still, instead of paying him $10mil a year we could have Thomas Neal learning the ropes in the big leagues.

There's a lot of disagreement among the scouting community about Thomas Neal. Some believe he could be a solid hitter in th majors. Others think he'll be no better than a 4th outfielder type.

[Bear]

There's a lot of disagreement among the scouting community about Thomas Neal. Some believe he could be a solid hitter in th majors. Others think he'll be no better than a 4th outfielder type.


Then he will fit right in as a starter with the Giants.:pound:

[McCovey]

Then he will fit right in as a starter with the Giants.:pound:

:pound:

[BeALotOfHappy]

Then he will fit right in as a starter with the Giants.:pound:

Lol. If he was over age 40 he'd already be in our outfield :)

[BeALotOfHappy]

Since studying our farm system the last few days I understand more about why we keep zito and rowand but still, id much rather trade them for an A ball prospect each, pay 90% of their salary to get the team to take them, and then use a committee of players to fill in til one wins the job.

Best of course would be if our owner would say ok, zito and rowand are wasting $35mil of our roster money, so i'll just give Brian an extra $35mil to spend :)

Then we could have signed Carl Crawford and Adam Dunn. Which would have pretty much guaranteed that we'd repeat :)

[McCovey]

There is no one to replace Zito. Regardless of his large salary he is a solid #5 starter. No one in the Giants farm system right now is good enough to replace Zito. The top two Giants pitching prospect, Zach Wheeler, in A-ball. He's probably almost two years away from being ready for the majors.

[SF Kid]

Oh hell, only $12 Million/year. I dunno about you guys but aI would have laughed in the Giants' face if they offered me a contract like that. PFFFFT

Let's hope he keeps hitting .330. Then I won't care.

[SF Kid]

Mc, once again your avatar sucks. WTF? Too damn dark. Do you need help creating a good one of Willie M?

[McCovey]

Mc, once again your avatar sucks. WTF? Too damn dark. Do you need help creating a good one of Willie M?

That's the Panda! :beerbang: How the new one?

[McCovey]

Oh hell, only $12 Million/year. I dunno about you guys but aI would have laughed in the Giants' face if they offered me a contract like that. PFFFFT

Let's hope he keeps hitting .330. Then I won't care.

You know it would be too funny if Rowand actually had a good year and hit like .320 with 25 HR, 95 RBI, and 100 R. :pound:

[SF Kid]

Oh the new avatar is AWESOME.

Go Panda Go

[SF Kid]

You know it would be too funny if Rowand actually had a good year and hit like .320 with 25 HR, 95 RBI, and 100 R. :pound::koolaid:

We can hope though...

[BeALotOfHappy]

There is no one to replace Zito. Regardless of his large salary he is a solid #5 starter. No one in the Giants farm system right now is good enough to replace Zito. The top two Giants pitching prospect, Zach Wheeler, in A-ball. He's probably almost two years away from being ready for the majors.

Which is why I said that I understand it more after studying our farm system. Lol. Zito is reliable if all you expect from your 5th starter is to win 40% of his decisions. Which, with how good our other 4 are, is all we need.

[BeALotOfHappy]

That's the Panda! :beerbang: How the new one?

:beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang: :beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang: :beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang::beerbang: :beerbang:

[BeALotOfHappy]

You know it would be too funny if Rowand actually had a good year and hit like .320 with 25 HR, 95 RBI, and 100 R. :pound:

Lol. I'd be the first one laughing cuz id think it was a dream. Id settle for .280 17HR 80RBI.

[jandajuice]

I be happy with 290 avg 20 homers , 85 rbi and 10 sb :)!!

[SF Kid]

I be happy with 290 avg 20 homers , 85 rbi and 10 sb :)!!

:eek:


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[McCovey]

After being out an for an entire month Neal is back. He's played three games since his return and has gone 4 for 10, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI. He could be an interesting player to keep an eye. He could be a solid hitter for the Giants most likely in 2012, though.