Garko to Giants

The Giants have acquired 1B Ryan Garko from the Cleveland Indians for LHP Scott Barnes.

Giants Side: A team in desperate need of a bat picked up a player who is limited to where he can play. Presumably assuming the lefty side of a 1B platoon with Travis Ishikawa, Garko cost a lot. Garko this season against lefties is hitting .333-.395-.565 while hitting just .265-.349-.424 against righties, which isn't much of an upgrade over Ishikawa, who is hitting .265-.319-.423 against righties this season. Garko is a useful player, but for a team in need of a bat, they still need one.

Indians Side: Scott Barnes is a 21 year old playing (and dominating) High-A hitters in the Cal League. He is 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 98 innings, walking 29 while striking out 99. I was able to watch the lefty pitch in Low-A last year with the stacked Augusta team and below is my scouting report on him

• A bizarre delivery, he keeps his elbow bent on his glove hand during the motion at an angle and has a very violent head jerk when he releases the ball. He works extremely quickly, getting the ball and immediately getting back on the rubber. He tries to quick pitch you. He comes from a 3/4 release and has a very projectable frame with the room for more muscle.
• 7/30: FB (89-92), SL (77-79), CU (78-79)
• Graded his pitches the following on the 3-7 scale (with 5 being major league average, 1st # is current, 2nd # is future): FB (4.5, 5), SL (5, 5.5), CU (4, 5). I also graded him as having above average MLB deception due to his mechanics, but gave him a 3 for his delivery.
• Overall: 4.5. Left handed reliever whose mechanics will never allow him to go a full season as a starter injury free.

I still believe that report, but it is true that he is trying to show me up. His fastball should sit consistently around 91-93 as he continues to add more muscle and was a 2008 draftee. He was 6-3, 175 when I saw him and is now listed on BaseballAmerica.com at 6-4, 185.

Overall: If the Indians are able to keep Barnes as a starter and injury free, they win this deal going away. Even as a reliever, I believe Barnes will serve to be more valuable then Garko. A big win for the Indians in my opinion, especially if Andy Marte can finally convert his AAA production to MLB production.

Score: OAK @ BOS

1) Trevor Cahill: 110 pitches. 11 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th), 6 Changeups (1st, 3 in 2nd, 2 in 5th) and a Curveball (5th)

• Cahill came from a 3/4 release and showed a 2-seam fastball with above average run in on righties and great late sink, a straight 4-seam, a change that looks like a fastball out of his hand with good late fade from lefties and good late sink, a fairly flat 2-7 slider with okay bite and a 1-7 curve with average depth. Cahill really struggles to command his fastball at times and that causes him to have throw pitches to the middle of the plate. He also needs to develop one of the curve or slider to at least major league average.

1st: FB (89-93), CU (81-82)

2nd: FB (89-93), CU (80-85)

3rd: FB (89-94), CU (79-82), SL (84-86), CB (80)

4th: FB (86-92), CU (80-82), SL (82-86), CB (79)

5th: FB (87-91), CU (79-81), SL (84), CB (79-80)

2) Josh Beckett: 103 pitches. 9 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs (1st, 5th, 6th), 5 Curveballs (1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th), Changeup (4th)

• Beckett came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties with good sink, a 1-7 curve with above average depth and is sharp enough to be a strikeout pitch that he can throw for strikes or bounce at will, a change with good dive that he will throw to righties and a cutter with solid cut.

1st: FB (95-97), CB (77-80)

2nd: FB (95-97), CB (79-80)

3rd: FB (93-96), CB (79), CU (90-92)

4th: FB (94-96), CB (78-80), CU (90)

5th: FB (94-96), CB (78-79), Cut (94)

6th: FB (93-96), CB (76-80), CU (89), Cut (93)

7th: FB (93-94), CB (76)

3) Santiago Casilla: 25 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Casilla came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties, a change with some fade form lefties and a little sink and a 2-7 slider with above average bite.

6th: FB (94-97), SL (84-89), CU (88)

4) Edgar Gonzalez: 35 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball (7th)

• Gonzalez is a 6-2, 210 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from a high 3/4 release and has a little bit of a gut. His fastball has some run in on righties. His curve is a slow 1-7 with average depth. His change has some fade from lefties that he will throw 2-0 to righties. His cutter has some cut. His slider is a 2-7 with some bite. He will also drop down and throw frisbee sliders at random times. He throws a lot of pitches and not one is better then league average. 4-A guy.

7th: FB (90-93), CB (73-75), CU (78-79), SL (77-79), Cut (84-85)

8th: FB (90-92), CB (74), SL (79), F-SL (73)

5) Daniel Bard: 21 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 2 Sliders.

• Bard came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and a 2-7 slider with above average bite. Please watch video of this guy. His mechanics are so quiet and looks to be throwing low 90's and then the gun says 100. It is incredible.

8th: FB (97-100), SL (83-87)

6) Manny Delcarmen: 11 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Delcarmen came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties, a change with good late fade from lefties with solid sink and a 1-7 curve with average depth that is sharp enough to be a strikeout pitch.

9th: FB (92-95), CB (76), CU (84)

Chart Observations: CLE @ SEA

1) Cliff Lee: 99 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. Fastball (5th), 4 Changeups (2 in 4th, 6th, 7th), Curveball (2nd), 2 Cutters (both in 6th)

• Lee came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink, a change with above average sink and some fade from righties, a big breaking 11-5 curve with excellent depth and a cutter with good cut and some sink.

1st: FB (88-92), CU (83-84), CB (75)

2nd: FB (91-92), CB (76-77), Cut (85)

3rd: FB (90-92), CB (74), Cut (85)

4th: FB (91-92), CU (84-85), CB (76), Cut (86)

5th: FB (90-92), CU (85), CB (75-76), Cut (84-86)

6th: FB (90-93), CU (83-85), Cut (86-88)

7th: FB (91-93), CU (84-85), CB (76-77), Cut (85-88)

2) Jason Vargas: 86 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (3rd, 4th), 6 Changeups (2 in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th)

• Vargas is a 6-0, 215 pound lefty. The 26 (seems like he has been around longer) year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from a high 3/4 release and works very fast on the mound and has good tempo, reminiscent of Mark Buerhle minus the stuff. His fastball has some tailing action in on righties and solid sink. His change has good fade from righties with good sink that serves as his out pitch to both lefties and righties. His curve is a big breaking 11-5 with above average depth and his slider is a 10-4 with solid bite. You could do worse as a # 5 starter, though he is likely pitching at his ceiling right now.

1st: FB (87-90), CU (79-81), SL (80), CB (74)

2nd: FB (86-89), CU (79), SL (81)

3rd: FB (86-87), CU (79-80), SL (80)

4th: FB (86-89), CU (79-81), SL (81-83)

5th: FB (86-88), CU (80), SL (79), CB (73)

3) Mike Gosling: 39 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (both in 9th), 2 Changeups (both in 9th), Curveball (9th) and Slider (8th)

• Gosling is a 6-2, 210 pound lefty. The 28 year old has a medium frame that is close to maxed out, maybe to 215. He came from an over the top release. His fastball has good run in on lefties with some sink. His slider is a 11-5 offering with good bite. His curve is a big breaking 11-5 with above average depth. His change has good fade from righties with good sink that he will throw to lefties. Not a bad 2nd lefty to have in a pen and should be fairly solid as long as his command stays with him.

8th: FB (91-93), SL (80), CB (74)

9th: FB (90-92), SL (81), CB (73-76), CU (82-85)

4) Shawn Kelley: 29 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders.

• Kelley came from an over the top release and showed a 2-7 slider with above average bite, a fastball with some run in on righties and marginal sink and a straight change with marginal sink.

5th: FB (92-95), SL (80-86), CU (83)

5) Miguel Batista: 42 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Cutters (6th, 2 in 7th)

• Batista came from a release point anywhere from over the top to 3/4 and showed a 2-seam fastball with some sink and run in on righties, a split with good dive, a cutter with solid cut and a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth that can be a strikeout pitch.

6th: FB (89-91), Cut (82-85), CB (74-79), Split (80)

7th: FB (89-95), Cut (84-87), Split (80-83)

6) Sean White: 16 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball.

• White is a 6-4, 210 pound righty. The 28 year old has a big frame that can get up to at least 220. He has a high effort delivery that lands hard on his front leg and comes from an over the top release. He generates a very good downhill plane for his pitches, giving his fastball some good natural sink and some run in on righties. His curve is a big breaking 12-6 with above average depth that can be a strikeout pitch and a change with good fade from lefties with good sink that he will throw to righties. Solid set-up guy.

8th: FB (92-95), CU (83), CB (83)

7) Mark Lowe: 21 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Slider.

• Lowe came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties with good sink, a hard change with good fade from lefties with sink and a 2-7 slider with above average bite.

9th: FB (96-98), SL (86), CU (90-91)

Chart Observations: BAL @ BOS

1) David Hernandez: 110 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. Fastball (2nd), 2 Sliders (2nd, 5th)

• Hernandez is a 6-3, 215 pound righty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that may be able to add a little more muscle to his legs, but not much. He comes from a high 3/4 release with very quiet mechanics that remind me of Bartolo Colon minus the fat. His fastball has a little run in on righties, but is a fairly straight 4-seam. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with above average bite that he struggles to command (I think it resembles more of a power curve then a slider) and his change has marginal sink and only threw it once. His upside is that of a # 3, but he would need to develop his command and a change. I think he slots much better as a reliever, though he will still need to improve his command.

1st: FB (93-95)

2nd: FB (93-96), SL (78-80)

3rd: FB (93-95), CU (87)

4th: FB (92-96), SL (75-80)

5th: FB (92-95), SL (77-79)

6th: FB (91-94), SL (76-79)

7th: FB (92-96), SL (78-80)

2) John Smoltz: 83 pitches. 10 strikes swinging. 9 Sliders (2 in 1st, 3 in 2nd, 2 in 3rd, 4th, 5th), Fastball (5th)

• Smoltz came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and a little sink, a 2-7 slider with solid bite that he started on the outside corner and let the Orioles hitters flail, a splitter with solid dive and a 1-7 curve with average depth. He needs to make some more strides with his command, but is getting close.

1st: FB (91-93), SL (82-86), Split (87), CB (78)

2nd: FB (91-93), SL (83-87), Split (85)

3rd: FB (92-93), SL (84-89), Split (87), CB (77)

4th: FB (90-93), SL (86-87), Split (86)

5th: FB (92), SL (84-87), Split (83)

3) Justin Masterson: 23 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Masterson came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties with good sink that has good late action and a sweeping 3-8 slider with above average bite. This was the best I have seen his slider all year and he was locating it well with a much better break.

6th: FB (90-96), SL (84-87)

7th: FB (92-96), SL (84-87)

4) Takashi Saito: 27 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Saito is a 6-2, 215 pound righty. The 39 year old has a medium frame that won't be adding any more muscle. He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some late run in on righties, a 2-7 curve that is loopy and a 2-7 slider that has slightly above average bite. Solid middle reliever, but wouldn't trust him as an 8th or 9th inning guy anymore.

8th: FB (90-93), SL (81-84), CB (76-79)

9th: FB (88-93), SL (80-84)

5) Ramon Ramirez: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Ramirez came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink and a hard change with some fade from lefties with some sink.

9th: FB (93), CU (88)

6) Jim Johnson: 15 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Changeup.

• Johnson came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a change with good fade from lefties with good sink and a big breaking 12-6 with above average depth that can be a strikeout pitch.

8th: FB (91-95), CB (80), CU (87-88)

7) George Sherrill: 14 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Sherrill came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on lefties and a 11-5 slider that can be loopy and look like a curveball, but has good late bite.

9th: FB (90-92), SL (75-78)