Usually I am loath to cover the Fresno Grizzlies. I won’t lie, people. Fresno hasn’t had a good team since I’ve started covering the San Francisco Giants system. There have been prospects there (Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner) to write about, but they are fleeting.

This year, we have a pretty good group of guys in the central valley. The bullpen looks great and I’m looking forward to productive years out of Francisco Peguero and Roger Kieschnick. The infield has a few guys I’ve been watching for the durations of their careers and I hope against hope that they get it together as prospects.

You’ll also see a few returning members to the organization and a lot of veteran minor leaguers kicking around the roster. So it is for Triple-A ball.

I added another column to the table for this report because the Fresno roster has some additional notes, like guys who are there on rehab assignments or otherwise inactive, plus I felt it was good to add notes on guys who had previously played in the organization.

I have official word on the Grizzlies rotation from the team. It’s Brian Burres, Andrew Kown, Eric Hacker, Shane Loux, and Matt Yourkin. Burres returns to the Giants organization after a seven-year absence. I’m showing my age because I remember when he was on the Double-A team then referred to as the Norwich Navigators.

Anyway among this group, there’s not an arm that stands out, but there’s a lot of that veteran savvy they love so much up the coast in San Francisco. I’d expect Travis Blackley to get some starts and Ryan Vogelsong will pitch until he’s ready to take his spot in the San Francisco rotation.

The bullpen has three studs in Hector Correa, Steve Edlefsen, and Heath Hembree, the team’s closer. Edlefsen has always pitched well whenever I’ve seen him and I like Correa a lot. He’ll start the year on the disabled list.

The rest of the bullpen contains a lot of journeyman guys, including the recently acquired George Kontos from New York. Mitch Lively is a guy I’ve always wanted to succeed as the Giants picked him up from an indepdent league (which no longer exists). Jean Machi came over last year and pitched well in the Venezuelan Winter League. I expect it to be Correa and Edlefsen setting up Hembree.

Yawn. Sorry, Eli Whiteside. I like what he did as the backup catcher and then starter after Posey was hurt. But this should really be Hector Sanchez playing every day and some also-rans. Also, nobody will ever be able to convince me that Jackson Williams is good.

No word from the team on the positioning for these guys. I think Charlie Culberson is a better option at short and Nick Noonan can stay at third. Conor Gillapsie returns for his second year as the Grizzlies’ third baseman. Those three are the ones I want to do well among this group. Skyler Stromsmoe is the definition of utility man.

Also, notice the lack of options at first base. Where’s Brett Pill when you need him?

Look who came back. It’s Todd Linden! Maybe he can hit 30 homers again. Maybe we should pay attention to Peguero and Kieschnick instead. My hope for them is that Peguero continues to hit and walk well and that Kieschnick can get back to his form I saw in San Jose, where he hit really well and showed off a great arm.

I hope to get down to Fresno this summer at least a few times. If not, I will do phone interviews and get info from the team to share with all of you.