Gustavo Cabrera
This is old news, the Giants signed him as a 16 year old last year. But the wild *buzz* about him at the Flap recently dictated that I write a thread about him (translation: there isn’t much going on in spring training yet).
Supposedly, he’s got a cannon from the outfield and in this video you’ll see that cannon fire off. He’s fast but can’t really hit yet. But he’s young (and wirey) and already being compared to Justin Upton. Here’s a promo vid of him from the Dominican Prospect League
I know the Giants haven’t had any of their international signings pan out yet but when you’re signing 16 year old’s, this is a process that’s going to take some time. And time is something that all Giants fans have these days. Time carries on slowly and fantastically when you are B-A-S-K-I-N-G in the glorious glow of two world series wins in 3 years.
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Dude looks fast. Hopefully he has a better soundtrack if and when he gets to the show.
yeah, might as well tack “questionable judgement” on to the scouting report.
What was the movie where one of the characters has his own them music and band following him around? The Last Dragon? Funny movie. That’s pretty much what I think when the walk up music is blaring before an at-bat. I would like to see someone have no music at all. Nothing but the name and number introduction. At this point that would be pretty original.
theme music
16 years old? Yikes
OK- Gustavo. How do we manage the nickname for this kid? A Cabrera has to be a Miggie, a Melky.. or he’s JAG.. “Gussie?” Uh, no. G-Cab? This is a major problem. Who was that other 16 YO OFer we signed a few years back. Oh, it was Rafael Rodriguez. He was supposed to be hot,too. Fact is, there is just no way to guess how a 16 YO will work out. He may be a fine athlete, a good kid- but, repeat after me- HE’S SIXTEEN.
Rafael is 20 now and he’s, if anything, worse than he was at 16. He was moved down in the system to short season SK last year.
As to the closer guys-Kieschnick has been slowed by injuries, it’s a big year for him- kick ass at Fresno in 2013, take over for Pence next year, or it’s Taps on his prospect status. Brown is increasingly being thought of as a 4th or 5th OFer upside, Peguero walks once every decade…I think the guy to watch is Mac Williamson.
Gusto. Mucho Gusto.
The kid is young and very raw but he was ranked No. 1 on MLB.com’s Top 20 international prospects list last summer and I think Baseball America had him at 5. The Giants signed him for 1.3 mil, if he makes it, it’ll probably be in four or five years. They also picked up another 16 year old, Natanael Javier for 475 thousand. Natanael is a big Third baseman and was ranked number 11 on MLB. Some say he might top our current 3B prospects Chris Dominiguez, Conor Gillaspie, and Adam Duvall. We’ll see if these kids can make it, but I am excited about them.
Good stuff clown.
He’s a fine 16 YO prospect, as was Rafael. At the time RR was signed for the largest bonus ever for a Latin American hitter, excluding Cuban defectors, 2.55 million.
I’m always excited by young prospects, as well… and follow their progress religiously- as everybody here knows. I’m just sounding a note of caution. And I’m terribly worried about the nickname issue, he has no chance without a good one.
I’m not excited about him really, I’m just happy the G’s are scouting and investing in these kids. It’s not any different that a college scout trying to find the best young talent to throw a scholarship at. We throw 1 mil at ’em instead. And it not being my money, as well as it being a fraction of what the dumb mega deals are these days, I’m celebrating each one of them. They’re baseball’s version of cheap lotto tickets
Nickname? I’m going with Gusto for now. If he was from Italy and I was a wine drinker, I might go for Vino Gusto Cabernet.
But you’re probably right about Mac Williamson, the kid has some pop. Not sure if they’ll move him up to San Jose next year or start him in Augusta.
“Gusto”? That’s good.
Important to know:
http://zekesplace.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/you-may-not-be-a-doctor-but-be-ready-to-play-one/
The kid is ranked highly, but he’s 16. I don’t get excited about guys that still have pimples from natural body changes instead of PEDs. Check back in 2 years, see how he develops his skills and as a human. Then, we can talk about possibilities. But, I like the selection. They need OFers. One thing I don’t like is how he loses his right hand early in a lot of swings. That has to be fixed, and will be. Kind of tall and rangy, looks like a good raw swing. I hope I can stow my comment on the Giants developing no OFers for most of two decades as this kid develops…
Well look at it this way. He’s probably 18 or 19 anyway so he’s closer than you think. 🙂
He sure doesn’t look 16 to me.
I wonder what % of International guys lie abou there age
You’ve got a point…
BTW, what’s the deal with that sprint in the sand pit? Is that something from beach culture, or is there some reason that running in sand tells you something more about kids’ speed?…
I noticed that too. Weird
Well, who wouldn’t lie about their age if they had no shot if they didn’t lie? I’m not saying anyone here does it, but it’s often put on the kid, as if he’s a sneaky fucker if he lies to get a chance for fullfilling a dream.
Why are we talking about a 16 year old, in two+ years he could be 6’4″ 220, this is like the end of that Tom Cruise movie Jerry Maguire, the little kid throws that baseball back to the little leaguers, and Jerry goes do you see that!! When this 16 year old turns 21 you all can remind me who he is.
Did you see the video? We’re talking about him because his theme music sucks balls.
6’4 220 works. Belt is 6’5, 220.
New post on my blog as I continue to search for one Aussie baseball prospect that doesn’t pull out his cricket bat when I say, “Show me your swing.” 🙂
Did y’all forget about Pablo Sandoval? He was signed at 16 as a UDFA . . . Yeah, 2002 was a while ago, but still . . .
In 2008 the Giants started pumping a bunch of money into their international scouting team. When I said they haven’t gotten a return on that yet I was talking about 2008+. And by *return* I’m talking about someone who even closely resembles a prospect right now.
In 2012, the Colorado Rockies made a significant investment in their Latin America scouting by establishing a state of the art Dominican Republic Baseball Academy. I’m uncertain about this, but I believe that the Pirates are the only other NL team with a fairly new academy in this country. I have no idea if the Giants have a comparable operation there (or somewhere else in S or C America).