This is what a .830 WPA hit looks like. Suck it, Joe Beimel.

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UPDATE: Also, I forgot to mention this, but the Giants have made another roster move. The Giants have sent down Osiris Matos and called up Pat Misch.

“Really, the way we are right now, we need a fresh arm,” Bochy said. “We have been using [Justin] Miller a lot, Matos a lot. We ended up having to get some guys up, having to go extra innings in L.A. Another guy to help provide relief and give us some innings at this point, especially a long guy.

As far as the bullpen goes, this makes some sense. Misch was already on the 40-man roster and he’ll give the Giants a long relief option if they need it. Something they haven’t had since Joe Martinez was injured. Furthermore, Misch has struggled some as a starter in the majors but he’s had good success in the minors (and briefly in the majors) as a reliever. In 2007 Misch was primarily a reliever for AAA Fresno and he put up a solid line in the PCL of: 66.2 IP, 54 H, 19 BB, and 74 SO. That’s a K/9 of 9.74, a BB/9 of 2.64, and a 2.98 FIP. At this point in his career, with the Giants pitching depth, Misch will need to succeed in a bullpen role if he wants to stick around with the team.

Note: Translations are NOT a guarantee of performance nor are they a prediction of what a player will do, but they are a translation of what a player has done. They do have predictive value and they let us sort out some things in the move from the minor leagues to the major leagues.

I’m using Dan Szymborski’s zMLE worksheets which you can download for free at BBTF. They are a handy tool to keep stashed away in your analytical toolbox.

The Giants’ September call-ups are as follows: 1B/3B Scott McClain, C Steve Holm, OF Nate Schierholtz, 1B/OF John Bowker, RHP Brad Hennessey, LHP Pat Misch, LHP Geno Espineli.

Name	        League	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Scott McClain	AAA PCL	0.300	0.388	0.553	0.941
Scott McClain	NL	0.289	0.358	0.484	0.842

McClain is your typical 36-year-old AAAA slugger that never got a shot in the majors. He has 5,878 career AB’s in the minors to go along with 287 career U.S. Minor League home runs. He hit an additional 71 in Japan during a few years with the Seibu Lions. His translation is pretty favorable, he lost about 100 points of OPS coming from Fresno but if he was on the current Giants team with an 842 OPS, he would be the best hitter by a fair margin. That’s among players with at least 250 PA’s or more, so Pablo Sandoval’s hot start doesn’t qualify him for the lead. Randy Winn is leading the team in OPS at the moment with a score of .796, meaning that no Giant has an OPS of .800 or greater. He’s probably an average, at best, defender at 1B/3B. Lefty Malo notes that he could see McClain taking on a Aurilia-type role on next year’s team. I like it, he could platoon against LHP, the same thing that Aurilia has been doing, and get time at 1B/3B. McClain probably has some value in a right-now sense, but the Giants haven’t used him much and I think it might be a stretch to see him on the team next year.

Name	        League	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Steve Holm	AAA PCL	0.273	0.367	0.333	0.700
Steve Holm	NL	0.273	0.347	0.333	0.680

Small sample size warning: Holm’s translation is based on only 70-some AB’s at Fresno. The translation is similar because Holm wasn’t doing much other than hitting singles and walking in his brief time in Fresno. Both his AAA line and his translation are pretty close to what he did in his first go-around in the MLB. He hit .256/.351/.390 in 80 AB’s earlier this year. Holm shouldn’t play a role in any future Giants team unless injuries strike.

Name	            League   BA     OBP   SLG   OPS
Nate Schierholtz    AAA PCL  0.320  0.363 0.594 0.957
Nate Schierholtz    NL       0.303  0.336 0.506 0.842

Nate seems to be having his usual year in Fresno and his translation is also favorable. The Giants would be thrilled to have a .842 OPS bat in their OF but will Nate get his chance? Randy Winn has played well this year and despite all he brings to the table, the Giants might do well to try and trade him this winter. LF and CF are locked down with Lewis and Rowand and until either Randy Winn or Dave Roberts is traded, Nate doesn’t really have a place on the current Giants roster. It is amazing that he’s been sitting in AAA for 2-years in a row now for a team that’s desperately needed hitting. Whether or not he’ll hit in the majors — his power never showed up last year in 112 AB’s — could still be a question, but the Giants should do their best to find playing time for Schierholtz. A trade of Roberts or Winn would be a step in that direction.

Name	        League	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
John Bowker	AAA PCL	0.237	0.304	0.355	0.659
John Bowker	NL	0.226	0.273	0.312	0.585

Another small sample alert, Bowker has only grabbed 93 AB’s this year in AAA. Bowker hit .246/.295/.395 in 301 AB’s this year in the majors. Bowker started April in AAA and only had 27 AB’s before the Giants called him up. He started off hot but cooled down considerably in July and August and was sent back to Fresno. I like his swing but his plate approach needs work. I keep flip-flopping on his ultimate upside, rotating between 4th OF and a fringe corner OF. As of today, I think he might be a guy that starts occasionally in the OF and 1B and PH’s against RHP now-and-then.

Name	        League	W/L	IP	K/BB	H/9	ERA
Brad Hennessey	AAA PCL	7/10	132.1	1.86	10.7	4.83
Brad Hennessey	NL	6/11	132	1.55	10.9	5.66

It’s been a tough year for the 28-year-old Hennessey. He lost his bullpen job very early in the season after 16+ innings of getting battered around. For his age and experience, you wold expect something better than a 4.83 ERA against AAA competition. He’s given up a lot of hits in AAA, nearly 11 per 9 innings of work. He’s got a low walk rate, which helps his K/BB some, but his strikeout rate is sub-par at 12.1% in AAA. I think Hennessey has a real chance of getting non-tendered after this year. As a bullpen candidate, there are better choices and as a starter, he’s really fringey. I think the Giants made a statement on how they view him this year after calling up younger bullpen arms before him. He’s also earning $1.6M this year and I just can’t see him coming back.

Name	        League	W/L	IP	K/BB	H/9	ERA
Pat Misch	AAA PCL	6/5	87	2.07	10.44	5.38
Pat Misch	NL	4/7	87	1.72	10.75	5.69

Misch made 7 starts this year for the Giants in the majors and was extremely unlucky with the longball. His HR/FB% of 23% is about 11% higher than league average, indicating that Misch was unlucky when the ball was hit into the air. His xFIP, which normalized fly balls, is a much more respectable 4.48 as compared to his actual ERA of 5.94. Misch was then sent down to AAA after his 7 starts and has, much like Hennessey, struggled. Like Brad, he’s giving up a lot of hits. He’s been reliever lately, indicating that the Giants might move him back to the role that he found success at in ’07 with Fresno. He’ll be relieving in the majors for now.

Name	        League	W/L	IP	K/BB	H/9	ERA
Geno Espineli	AAA PCL	1/1	61	4.36	8.26	2.66
Geno Espineli	NL	1/1	87	3.70	8.85	3.00

Geno, like some of our other call-ups, found his way onto the Giants roster earlier this year. He pitched a brief 11.2 innings with the Giants this year. In those 11.2 IP he gave up 4 HR’s. He’s had a fine year in AAA, posting very strong numbers, keeping the ball in the yard — only 2 HR’s in 61 IP — and striking out hitters while walking hardly anyone. His translation is the best out of all of our pitchers, the zMLEs see him as a 3.00 ERA reliever in the majors. I think Geno’s upside is probably a LOOGY. He works with a 82mph fastball that he throws from a low, sidearm motion. In a perfect world he would pitch much better during his September call-up and work his way into the bullpen next year. We’ll see.

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The September call-ups are a good mix of old and semi-old players (McClain, Hennessey, Misch, Holm) and some younger guys who might shake out to be something useful down the road (Bowker, Geno, Nate). Here’s how I would rank them, in terms of who I’d like to see play over these last few weeks of the season.

1. Nate – Still our best upper-level hitting prospect
2. McClain – I just want to see some DINGERS.
3. Bowker – Will he be able to improve his plate discipline?
4. Geno – Funky motion, stirrups, the potential to be a bullpen cog.
5. Misch – At the moment, I believe in him as a reliever. Maybe even still a 5th starter.
6. Steve Holm – He looks like Adam Savage from MythBusters.
7. Brad Hennessey – Not a fan.

Comment Starter: Which Sept. call-up has your eye? Out of the 7 listed, who has the best chance to be on the team next year?

So, don’t expect to find prospects that will anchor your team for the next decade but you might find some pieces that can fill gaps. Let’s check out what the Giants have going on in Fresno.

RF Nate Schierholtz – Nate is one of the most dividing Giants prospects. We can call him a prospect because despite playing in AAA, he’s only 24-years-old. Nate tends to divide people because of his plate approach. He gets good plate coverage and has the ability to make contact all over the zone but his lack of discipline could be a problem. In ’07 he walked just 17 times in 441 PA’s in Fresno. That’s a BB% of 4.5%, which is quite low. He grabbed 117 major league PA’s with the Giants in ’07 and he only walked twice. That’s a BB% of 1.7% which is really, really low. For example, Bengie Molina has a career BB% of 4.1% and he never walks. He’s physically strong but during game time, his power seems to border on a tick above average. He’s never hit more than 16 HR’s at any level. You usually want more firepower from your RF. During his time in the majors in ’07 he hit for high average (.304) but not much else. He was essentially a singles hitter with a double or triple occasionally sprinkled in.

On the other hand, Nate has raised his BB% to 6.3% — a career high — this year in AAA. He’ll never walk 50 times in a season but if he could be more selective at the plate his power might play better. Most scouting reports have Schierholtz as a solid defender in RF with a strong throwing arm. Schierholtz is also a good runner for his size and will surprise you with the occasional triple. He’s done a good job of reducing his strikeouts at each level that he’s played. I think the best case scenario for Nate is a Garret Anderson player type. A hitter that walks at most around 30 times a year but makes good contact, hits 30 doubles, and 15-20 HR’s all while playing a solid RF. Even though I’ve got some questions about Nate I’d love to see him play RF if Randy Winn is traded. The Giants need to find out what Nate can do at the MLB level and if they can move Randy Winn at the deadline, I think they’ll find out.

1B Scott McClain – Yeah, he’s old. But he hits laser-rocket-bombs! Even if you don’t like Scott McClain, you’ve got to admire him just a little bit. He’s a 13-year career (mostly) minorleaguer. Over those 13 years he’s hit (.270/.355/.478) with 270 home runs. He even played four seasons for the Seibu Lions in Japan. In ’07 he hit (.267/.349/.517) in Fresno with 31 home runs. This year he’s hit (.286/.362/.487) with 12 home runs. Because he’s 36-years-old he has no room left to grow, but man, was I on the McClain bandwagon last year. After watching Aurilia and Klesko struggle to produce from the 1B position, I was ready for some McClain. He did get called up but barely played and only got 11 AB’s. I’d love to see McClain get 500 AB’s in the majors to see what he could do. He might kill some German terrorists and that’s always awesome.

IF/OF Eugenio Velez – It’s everyone’s favorite speedster with bad defense and mental lapses, Eugenio Velez! The only thing more painful than watching the 2008 Giants was watching Eugenio get picked off, drop pop-ups, and perform a variety of other bonehead plays that would make Tom Emanski spin in his grave. He’s very fast but he looked overmatched at the major league level during his brief trail run earlier this year. The Giants mercifully sent him back to AAA and he’s done well. Since his demotion, Velez has hit (.312/.363/.488) in 125 AB’s. The first thing that jumps out at me about Velez’s slash-stats is that he’s slugging .488 in the PCL. If you ever needed proof that hitting in AAA isn’t the same as hitting in the majors, that might be it. He’s already 26-years-old and we might not ever see Velez in the majors for an extended period again. I think he’ll get a callup when rosters expand but barring an injury, I’m not expecting him to get major playing time with the Giants anytime soon. Godspeed Eugenio, godspeed. Those 121 AB’s you got with the Giants were thrilling.

SS Brian Bocock – Our sacrificial lamb. Bocock was called to the majors this year after barely hitting in the California League in ’07. He struggled to hit in the majors, which was expected, but it was really ugly. He hit just (.143/.258/.156) in 73 AB’s with the Giants. You rarely see a guys batting average almost as high as his slugging percentage. Instead of sending Bocock back to San Jose, or even Connecticut, the Giants sent him to AAA Fresno. He’s failed to hit in AAA as well, hitting just (.163/.254/.187) in a line that’s eerily similar to what he did in the majors. His glove is still top-notch but he’s hitting like a deadball shortstop and that’s not so good in the year twenty aught eight.

Maybe Bocock should dress like this?

LHP Eugene Espineli – Careful with that axe, Eugene. Espineli has the coolest name on the Fresno roster, hands down. I have no idea what Espineli throws but he’s been having a decent year in AAA and at 25-years-old, he’s not ancient. He’s also a lefty and these guys always seem to be able to get work somewhere. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 2004 draft out of the Texas Christian University. This year in AAA he’s posting a K% of 21.8%, a BB% of 3.5%, and a modest GB% of 56%. He’s been tough on LHB’s who are OPS’ing just .396 against him. He could profile as a LOOGY-type reliever but with Taschner and Hinshaw, both lefties, already with the Giants, Eugene might stay in AAA for awhile. Still, not a bad backup option for some left-handed relief.

LHP Patrick Misch – I still like Misch even if he hit some speed bumps in the majors. He was super unlucky, giving up 10 HR’s in just 47 innings pitched. That’s a HR/F percentage of 23%. League average tends to be between 10-12%. In fact, most of Misch’s underlying peripherals were OK. Struck out 6.5 per game and walked 2.88 per game. Those aren’t bad stats at all from your 5th rotation spot and still better than what Zito has been giving us. He’s thrown just 34.1 innings in AAA since he went back down to the minors and he’s gotten knocked around a little, but I still like his arm. Either in a 5th starter role or a reliever.

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Fresno isn’t stocked with talent but they do have some players that you might see on the Giants at some point in this year. Hopefully we’ll see Nate in the 2nd half of the season after Randy Winn is shipped off to the Braves from a prospect or two (oh-please-oh-please-oh-please). I doubt we’ll ever see McClain in a Giants uniform at the big league level. Possibly when rosters expand.

Velez and Bocock? Meh. I’m not really banking on either at this point. Velez is getting old and still really doesn’t have a position to play. Bocock has a position to play but he’s hitting terribly. If I had to choose between the two, I’ll take Bocock for now. He’s younger and might eventually figure out how to scrap by as a defensive specialist with a .250 batting average.

Our two lefties of Misch and Geno could get into the bullpen at some point in this season if we trade away any of the following: Taschner, Chulk, or Walker.

Comment Starter: Have a favorite Grizzly?

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I’m adding a new weekly section to this site that I’ll randomly add to posts called “The Worst Bochy Quote of the Week” in which I’ll post the most absurd Bruce Bochy Quote I can find. This weeks’ WBQOTW is:

“He’s got power. He’s an intriguing player,” Bochy said. “He runs fairly well. I think he has the tools to be an everyday player. Now, that’s up to him. I think he’s improved his work ethic since he’s been here. I think he sees this as a great opportunity.”

Could Castillo be a long-term solution at third base?

“He has shown how talented he could be if he plays every day,” Bochy said. “I’d like to see what he’s done at the end of the year.”

My god. Bruce Bochy thinks Jose Castillo is “intriguing”.