Skip to main content

Velez Optioned to Fresno

The Giants optioned Eugenio Velez to Fresno and called up Travis Denker Wednesday. Velez couldn't carry over the swing he had this spring into the regular season and had been struggling since the Giants left Arizona in March. He was hitting just .207 with 9 RBI and 11 runs scored. He did have 8 stolen bases which is tied for the team lead, but had only 1 hit in his last 18 at-bats and just wasn't becoming much of a factor offensively. Ray Durham has been getting the majority of the time at second base lately and playing well which has cut back on Velez's at-bats. Velez seemed to start wanting to pull the ball and try and hit it out of the ball park rather than going with pitches and putting his speed to work. The offensive struggles seemed to start affecting his defensive play as well at least one critical error that cost the Giants a game in early May, one that really contributed to the Giants most recent losing streak. I still think Velez can be a serviceable big leaguer and I think he'll be re-called as soon as he gets back on track.

Travis Denker should be an interesting player to watch as he seems destined to get a bulk of at-bats at second and third base over the next couple weeks. The Giants got Denker from the Dodgers for Mark Sweeney last August in a deal that could end up being a steal for the Giants. Denker was hitting well in Fresno (.315) and can play the infield better than Velez. He had a solid first half of spring training as well with the Giants but tailed off a bit in late. I'm expecting to see a some of offense out of Denker. Not expecting a Jon Bowker like debut, but I do think Denker will hold his own with the stick and even show a little pop. The 22 year-old had never played much above single-A until his recent promotion to Fresno so he's been fast-tracked. The Giants have been calling players up left and right and most of their call-ups have worked out so far. Jonathon Bowker, Manny Burris, Alex Hinshaw and Billy Sadler have all performed well and have earned roles on this team. It wouldn't surprise me to see Denker come in and do the same.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I thought Velez was going to do better than he did. All he really had going for him was his speed.
8:13 PM
Anonymous said…
Velez really can't play. The Giants tried him in the OF, didn't work. Doesn't have the arm or range for short. He worked his ass off in the AFL and made himself a much better second baseman, but at that he's average at best. Like Niteowl said, all he has is speed, and if he can't get on base, he's worthless.

And we're talking about the Giants here, not the Yankees. Give me a couple months to get in shape and I could make the Giants.
12:03 AM
You Mon Tsang said…
It was the right move. Initially, I was excited by Velez's play, but his fielding errors, ridiculous baserunning and weak bat was incredibly frustrating. I think his miscues have cost the Giants 2-3 games so far.
1:39 PM
Anonymous said…
velez is just fast, he doesnt have much baseball talent
10:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giants Still Need Infield Help

On Saturday, the Giants finalized a 2 year contract extension with Freddy Sanchez, who they acquired in July for Tim Alderson. The new deal for Sanchez will pay him 12 million over the next 2 seasons instead of 8.5 million for just 2010, which was his option for 2010. I've voiced my disappointment in Sanchez a few times here since the Giants dealt for him over the summer. He wasn't able to stay on the field full time to help this club with their run at the NL Wild Card, and even when he was in there, he didn't seem to make much of an impact in th e lineup. Now, I wasn't necessarily hoping the Giants would cut ties with Sanchez (they probably would have had to pay 4 million or so to buy him out), just didn't think he was worth upwards of 10 million dollars, and would have liked to see the Giants pursue someone like Orlando Hudson with that money. The Giants already have an infielder who's being paid about 3-4 times what his play over the last 2 seasons would indi...
201 comments
Read more

WORLD SERIES: Giants Move Up 2-0 on Texas

PreGame After taking game one in a surprising slug-fest , the Giants look to go up 2-0 on the Rangers in the World Series on Thursday night. The Giants are sending out Matt Cain, a guy who I'm sure every Giants' fan is pretty confident in. He'll be a opposed by C.J. Wilson, who's in his first year as a full-time starter, but has been brilliant in the role. He did struggle his last time out though, so hopefully the Giants can get to him early and get into his head a bit. I'm going to do something I've never done here on this unique occasion, and sort of do an in-game post. updating this post every time I feel I have something to add. So go Giants, and be sure to check back throughout the game, and after, to vent or whatever! As long as Matt Cain keeps rolling, and the Giants keep coming up with those clutch 2-out hits, we should be OK. Texas has that high-powered offense that can score in a hurry, as we saw last night, so the Giants cannot let down and have to t...
87 comments
Read more

Giants Notes: Lincecum Signs, Ross to Boston

Well, even though I touched on it a little bit in our last post, I haven't really had a chance to get my thoughts out on the new Lincecum deal since he and the Giants agreed earlier in the week. Also, on the other end of things, the Giants missed out on shoring up their outfield by letting Cody Ross sign in Boston for only $3 million in 2012. First off, obviously, wanted to talk a bit about Lincecum. I've already said here that I didn't expect him to sign a long-term deal that takes him through free agency, but it doesn't mean he wants to leave San Francisco like everyone is suspecting. I mean, if I were Lincecum, I'd probably do the same thing, even if I planned on eventually signing with the Giants long-term. Why take a chance at mitigating your value to just sign a deal? Granted, a 5 year, $100 million deal isn't anything to sneeze at, in this market, if he were a free agent, Lincecum could probably easily command a 8 year, $200 million deal. If he could get ...
119 comments
Read more