All stats are from the period between December 9 and 16. 

The Giants signed a few minor league free agents in the last month or so and a few of them have turned up in the winter leagues. Also, I found Gregor Blanco playing in the Venezuelan league so he’s been added to the updates.

Let’s get started with the Dominican league.

Name	Position	League	Team	2012 club	Acquired
Joaquin Arias	SS	DWL	Aguilas	Fresno (AAA)/San Francisco	FA 11
Edward Concepcion	RHP	DWL	Cibao	San Jose (A+)	FA 06
Adalberto Mejia	LHP	DWL	Cibao	Augusta (A-)	FA 11
Luis Rojas	RHP	DWL	Cibao	San Jose/AZL (rookie)	Rule V 11
Francisco Peguero	OF	DWL	Cibao	Fresno (AAA)/San Francisco	FA 06
Rafael Rodriguez	OF	DWL	Cibao	Salem-Keizer (short-season)	FA 09
Wilson Valdez	SS	DWL	Cibao	Cincinnati	FA 12
Jackson Williams	C	DWL	Escogido	Fresno	07 (supp.)
Justin Fitzgerald	RHP	DWL	Escogido	Richmond (AA)	08 (11th round)
Kelvin Marte	LHP	DWL	Escogido	San Jose/AZL	FA 07
Roger Kieschnick	OF	DWL	Escogido	Fresno/AZL	FA 08
Omar Javier	RHP	DWL	Estrellas	York (Atlantic)/Newark (Can-Am)	FA 12
Fabio Castillo	RHP	DWL	Este	Houston org (AA/AAA)	FA 12
Angel Villalona	1B	DWL	Este	Dominican Summer League (rookie)	FA 06
Willy Lebron	RHP	DWL	Licey	Kansas City org (AAA) in 2011	FA 12
Juan Ciriaco	2B	DWL	Licey	Fresno	Rule V 07

Aguilas: Joaquin Arias played in three games last week and had one RBI. He has hits in all seven games he’s played so far and has split time between second base and shortstop.

Cibao: Francisco Peguero sat for about a week before he made it back into a game on December 15. He logged one at-bat, a strikeout…Wilson Valdez signed a minor league deal with the Giants last week. He had 194 at-bats with Cincinnati and didn’t fit into their middle infielder plans, with Zack Cozart and Brandon Phillips already there. So far Valdez has 64 at-bats in the Dominican league and he’s hitting .219. Last week he had four hits and a run scored. Three of those hits came against Este on December 9. Valdez started out the winter playing third base (and a little shortstop) before he switched to first base at the end of November…Edward Concepcion, Adalberto Mejia, Luis Rojas, and Rafael Rodriguez did not play.

Escogido: Jackson Williams went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a strikeout in three games…Justin Fitzgerald, Kelvin Marte, and Roger Kieschnick did not play.

Estrellas: Omar Javier made a relief appearance December 13 where he pitched one inning without allowing a run. He got the start December 16 against Cibao and pitched his longest outing of the winter: six innings with three runs allowed. It was also Javier’s first win in the Dominican League this season.

Este: Fabio Castillo gave up three runs in 3 2/3 innings over three appearances last week. He wrapped up his week with a scoreless inning…Angel Villalona did not play.

Licey: Willy Lebron made two appearances last week and pitched two shutout innings on December 14. It was an improvement over his December 9 outing where he allowed a run and two hits in 1 1/3 innings…Juan Ciriaco did not play.

The Venezuelan league has a few of the recent free agent signings, like Javier Herrera, and of course Blanco is here.

Name	Position	League	Team	2012 club	Acquired
Jon Meloan	RHP	VWL	Anzoategui	Yankees org (AA/AAA)	FA 12
Boof Bonser	RHP	VWL	Margarita	Fresno/AZL	FA 11
Mitch Lively	RHP	VWL	Margarita	Fresno	FA 08
Yusmeiro Petit	RHP	VWL	Margarita	Fresno/San Francisco	FA 11
Edwin Escobar	LHP	VWL	Lara	Augusta	Trade 10
Guillermo Quiroz	C	VWL	Lara	Tacoma (Seattle org)	FA 12
Daniel Mayora	C	VWL	Caracas	Richmond	FA 12
Jesus Galindo	OF	VWL	Caracas	Augusta	FA 09
Pablo Sandoval	3B	VWL	Magallanes	San Francisco	FA 02
Jean Machi	RHP	VWL	Magallanes	Fresno/San Francisco	FA 11
Gregor Blanco	OF	VWL	La Guaira	San Francisco	FA 11
Javier Herrera	OF	VWL	La Guaira	Oakland org (AA) in 2009	FA 12
Hector Sanchez	C	VWL	La Guaira	Fresno/San Francisco	FA 06
Ehire Adrianza	SS	VWL	La Guaira	Richmond	FA 06

Anzoategui: Jon Meloan is a 28-year-old right-hander who pitched in the Yankees system this season. He’s throwing really well over 20 2/3 innings in Venezuela. Meloan has allowed four runs (three earned) and 23 strikeouts over 19 relief appearances. He’s serving as the closer for los Caribes and has earned seven saves since the first week of November. Meloan gave up a run on December 1, the first run he’d allowed since October 21. The Giants took a flier on him this past week.

Margarita: Yusmeiro Petit earned his second straight win December 12 and also posted his best strikeout total for any game this winter with six punchouts. Petit allowed three runs over six innings. He’s completely switched his fortune by going 2-0 since starting the winter season 0-3…Boof Bonser and Mitch Lively did not play.

Lara: Guillermo Quiroz went 0-for-8 with one strikeout. He’s hitting .111 over his last 36 at-bats…Edwin Escobar did not play.

Caracas: Nothing to report here as Daniel Mayora and Jesus Galindo did not play.

Magallanes: Pablo Sandoval blasted his first home run in the Venezuelan league on December 9. Sandoval is hitting .316 with 4 RBIs…Jean Machi settled into a good week by pitching 2 1/3 innings over two shutout relief appearances. Machi allowed zero hits and struck out five.

La Guaira: Gregor Blanco has been on the Tiburones roster since December 4 but I missed him because for some reason the winter leagues page on MLB.com doesn’t list him as with the Giants. I know he’s still on the club. Pretty sneaky, MLB. At any rate, Blanco’s hitting well at .316 with two RBIs this month. I like his walk rate, at seven walks to 8 strikeouts in nine games. He’s on an eight game hitting streak. He’s also playing exclusively center field, a look I like going into 2013. It gives the Giants options for the outfield shuffle with three guys who can play center in Blanco, Andres Torres, and Angel Pagan… Hector Sanchez had a hit and two RBIs December 15 against Anzoategui and is hitting .306 with eight RBIs since November 25… Javier Herrera hasn’t played in the States since 2009, when his last MLB-affiliated season was in Double-A Midland in the Oakland system. The Giants picked up him after his revival season with La Guaira, where he’s hitting .407 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in 59 at-bats. He’s seen the bulk of his playing time in right field. Herrera is 27 years old and a former Northwest League MVP (2004). Who knows what will come from this signing. A few years back the Giants picked up Jesus Guzman after he went nuts in the Venezuelan league and ended up losing him to the Padres. Guzman is still hanging in there…Ehire Adrianza did not play.

Now onto the Puerto Rican league.

Name	Position	League	Team	2012 club	Acquired
Cristian Otero	SS	PR	Manati	AZL	11 (18th round)
Gaspar Santiago	LHP	PR	Santurce	Salem-Keizer	10 (28th round)
Johnny Monell	C	PR	Caguas	Richmond	07 (30th round)

Gaspar Santiago pitched in two games last week and allowed one run. The run came in a 3 2/3 inning outing where Santiago struck out two batters…Johnny Monell’s power streak ended last week with no home runs but he can still hit, with three knocks over four games. He’s also striking out a lot lately with nine strikeouts in his last 21 at-bats…Cristian Otero did not play.

And now, the Colombian league.

Name	Position	League	Team	2012 club	Acquired
Carlos Willoughby	2B	LCPB	Monteria	Augusta	FA 07
Leonardo Fuentes	OF	LCPB	Cartagena	AZL	FA 09

Leonardo Fuentes appeared in one game and had a hit, two strikeouts, and a walk. He played left field in that game…Carlos Willoughby did not play.

Finally, the Nicaraguan League.

Name	Position	League	Team	2012 club	Acquired
Mark Minicozzi	1B/3B	LBPN	Boer	Richmond/Augusta	FA 12
Carlos Teller	LHP	LBPN	Boer	Pittsburgh org (2008)	FA 12
Wilber Bucardo	RHP	LBPN	Leon	DNP	FA 04

Wilber Bucardo won again for Leon, pitching five innings and allowing six hits with two strikeouts and a home run. He’s now 4-1. Bucardo opposed Carlos Teller on December 14, who’s 0-4. Teller pitched 4 1/ innings with six strikeouts and a walk. The Giants signed Teller to a free agent deal this month. He’s 26 and hasn’t played in the US since 2008 when he was in the Gulf Coast League. But hey, left handed pitching is always good…Mark Minicozzi had a hit December 16 for Boer. Minicozzi is probably the last name I expected to see anywhere in baseball this year. It’s a definite blast from the past, from when I began covering the Giants system. Minicozzi had been absent from the Giants organization since 2007 and returned this year in a super utility role. He’s 29 and not a prospect at all but I can’t let go of the memories from the beginnings of my career.

The Dominican league regular season ends on Friday. Stay tuned for the final regular season report from that league next week.