My brother-in-law and I made plans back in April to get to a San Jose Giants game just as soon as we could to see Bumgarner, Alderson, and Posey before they got shipped off to the Giants’ double-A affilicate, the Connecticut Defenders. Well, everyone who follows such stuff knows we missed the boat on Bumgarner and Alderson. But another player who was also promoted to the Defenders, one whom I hadn’t even thought of as being in my own personal top-10 of Giants prospects (although I thought he had some “sleeper” quality) is Brandon Crawford, who tore up the California League, and is doing the same to the Eastern League.
A fourth-round pick last June, Crawford has all the tools in the world, but things never quite came together for him at UCLA, and what was expected by many to be a breakout junior year never materialized. His selection and $375,000 bonus is a pure upside wager. (The scouts always say, “if you don’t know what you want, always draft the tools.” Those tools have started the year with a combined .994 OPS (he went four-for-four last night), and while it’s too early to come to any conclusions, keep an eye on this one.
