The San Francisco Giants have one of the worst farm systems in major League Baseball. Scouts overwhelmingly rate Kyle Crick as the organization’s top prospect, but he’s received more mixed reviews than American Sniper. Yoan Moncada is a 19-year-old Cuban tool shed with more promise than the upcoming season five of Game of Thrones (It is known). Not to mention he shares the same surname as the loco twins who almost killed Walter White.
Alright. Count me in.
The Giants need Yoan Moncada. The last time they had a 19-year-old with this much talent he transformed into a snot hurling, Royal killing “Sportsman of the Year.” And penning Moncada would have the added benefit of alleviating fan restlessness during what’s been considered a lackluster off-eason.
The Giants brass watched the Cuban phenomenon work out over the weekend, and are said to be very interested. Although they’ve had a tendency to outwardly express interest in players without ever making viable contract offers. One can only hope their pursuit of Moncada is genuine.
The Cuban is listed as an infielder but his athleticism would allow San Francisco to be versatile with his development. At this point he’s spent most of his time bouncing around second base, short stop, and center field. For the Giants he could eventually fill the vapid hole in left field or be groomed as the next Panda at the hot corner. He’d also give the Giants a prospect with more RAW power than HHH, a trait they must develop from within as AT&T’s strenous reputation on hitters doesn’t make San Francisco a preferred destination for free agent bats.
Scouts have favorably compared Moncada’s wood to future Dodger Corey Seager. Seager slashed .352/.411/.632 over 80 games in the California League at Rancho Cucamonga (A+), before continuing to rake .345/.381/.534 during his final 38 games with the Tulsa Drillers (AA). One scout said the main difference between the two was Moncada’s excellent speed, hinting that he might even be better than Kyle’s mercurial younger brother. Seager is ranked among the top fifteen prospects in baseball, and evaluators have said that Moncada would range in that same ballpark. Such an assessment would easily grade him out as the Giants’ top farm hand.
Moncada holds even more value for San Francisco’s farm due to their surplus of pitching. Their top eight prospects (not including Susac who’s already in the show) are mid-graded arms. This is a minor system desperately in need of a star at the plate, and Moncada would provide that type of upside. He could feasably be the future protection in the lineup for Pence and/or Posey. A legit 3, 4, 5 type of hitter whose baserunning far exceeds that of the Cuban he’s most compared to, Yasiel Puig.
Moncada slashed .273/.365/.406 in limited action on the island last year, but has shown he can put up ridiculous numbers against boys his own age. His earliest expected date to crack the big leagues is 2016, when he’ll still be just 20 or 21 years old.
The Giants aren’t the only team in the hunt for his services though, and they’re probably considered a long shot at attaining him. The Rangers, Padres, and Brewers have all had private work outs with Yoan as well, and there are at least three other teams interested, including the you guessed it Yankees and Red Sox. Moncada is expected to receive the richest contract ever offered to a Cuban. One of these teams is going to have to pony up more than the $8.5 million per year that Arizona just gave Moncada’s fellow country man and namesake, pitcher Yoan Lopez.
After losing Pablo Sandoval to the N.B.O. (New Boston Order), and failing to sign a replacement, Moncada would give Giants fans a reason to salivate for the future, and in all likelihood, he’d statrt right down the road in San Jose (A) where not too many years ago Giants fans got very well acquainted with two future World series heroes, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.
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