CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Open Regular Season Thursday at Visalia

Published on April 3, 2013 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (0-0) at Visalia Rawhide (0-0)

At Recreation Park

- Thursday, April 4, 7:00 PM

- Friday, April 5, 7:00 PM

- Saturday, April 6, 6:00 PM

- Sunday, April 7, 2:00 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

Thursday

San Jose - Clayton Blackburn (0-0, ---)

Visalia - Andrew Chafin (0-0, ---)

Friday

San Jose - Edwin Escobar (0-0, ---)

Visalia - Archie Bradley (0-0, ---)

Saturday

San Jose - Kyle Crick (0-0, ---)

Visalia - Keith Hessler (0-0, ---)

Sunday

San Jose - Ty Blach (0-0, ---)

Visalia - Kyle Winkler (0-0, ---)

Broadcast Information

The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action. Broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to first pitch with The Giants Pregame Show. All 140 games this season will be aired on the club's official website. Every broadcast is also streamed live on your mobile phone through the San Jose Giants App.

Giants Begin Regular Season At Visalia On Thursday

The San Jose Giants begin the 2013 regular season Thursday evening with the opener of a four-game series against the Visalia Rawhide at Recreation Park. After the four games in Visalia, the Giants will travel to Stockton for a three-game series. San Jose's home opener is scheduled for Thursday, April 11 against the Rawhide.

San Francisco Affiliation

This year marks San Jose's 26th season as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants - the longest partnership of any team in the California League. Since their inception in 1988, the San Jose Giants have won six league championships (1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010). 155 former San Jose Giants have reached the major leagues, including 110 with San Francisco.

2012 Review

The Giants posted the top overall record in the North Division last season at 75-65 to reach the playoffs for a league-record tying ninth consecutive year. San Jose failed to win the first half North Division title for the first time since 2004, but secured a berth in the postseason as the wild card team. The Giants were then defeated by the Modesto Nuts, two-games-to-one, in the North Mini-Series. Individually, third baseman Adam Duvall was named to the postseason California League All-Star team after a record-setting year. Duvall's 30 home runs shattered the San Jose Giants single-season record (26) while he also became the fifth player in club history to reach 100 RBI's. Duvall and shortstop Joe Panik shared the team Most Valuable Player award. Panik led the Giants in hits (159), was tied for second in doubles (27), third in RBI's (76) and finished with a .297 batting average. Starting pitcher Jack Snodgrass was the lone San Jose player selected to the midseason California League All-Star team last year. Taylor Rogers (12), Snodgrass (10) and Ryan Bradley (10) gave the Giants three pitchers with double-digit win totals. San Jose finished third in the league in ERA, fourth in runs scored and third in fielding.

Top Prospects

Nine players on San Jose's 2013 opening day roster are among the top 30 prospects in the organization according to Baseball America, including five out of the six pitchers in the Giants starting rotation. San Jose players among the top 30 prospects include: pitcher Kyle Crick (#1), pitcher Clayton Blackburn (#6), pitcher Adalberto Mejia (#10), pitcher Edwin Escobar (#14), outfielder Mac Williamson (#16), pitcher Chris Marlowe (#19), pitcher Josh Osich (#20), pitcher Cody Hall (#26) and outfielder Shawn Payne (#29).

Cavan, Villalona Highlight Returnees

Third baseman Ryan Cavan and first baseman Angel Villalona highlight 14 returning players on the opening day roster. Cavan spent the 2011 season in San Jose serving as the club's primary second baseman. The Bay Area native hit .270 with 12 home runs and 90 RBI's while he also collected a team-best 38 doubles. Last year, Cavan played for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels. Villalona, a member of San Francisco's 40-man roster, played for San Jose during the 2009 campaign when he hit .267 with nine home runs and 42 RBI's in 74 games. Villalona, who was rated the #1 prospect in the Giants organization by Baseball America in 2008, played in the Dominican Summer League last year.

Projected Starting Lineup (2012 statistics in parenthesis)

C - Jeff Arnold (Augusta: .238, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 1 SB)

1B - Angel Villalona (DSL-Giants: .303, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 0 SB)

2B - Bobby Haney (San Jose: .310, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 3 SB)

3B - Ryan Cavan (Richmond: .228, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 3 SB)

SS - Kelby Tomlinson (Augusta: .224, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 36 SB)

LF - Shawn Payne (Augusta: .309, 6 HR, 57 RBI, 53 SB)

CF - Chris Lofton (San Jose: .245, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 22 SB)

RF - Mac Williamson (Salem-Keizer: .342, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 0 SB)

DH - Devin Harris (Augusta: .245, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 2 SB)

Clayton Blackburn To Make Opening Night Start

Clayton Blackburn is slated to make the opening night start on the mound for the Giants on Thursday. A former 16th round draft pick, Blackburn enjoyed a terrific 2012 regular season with the Augusta GreenJackets (A). In 22 starts, the right-hander compiled an 8-4 record, a 2.52 ERA and an outstanding 143-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Blackburn finished the year ranked first in the South Atlantic League in strikeouts and second in ERA. He made one postseason start with the Giants and picked-up the win in Game One of the North Division Mini-Series against Modesto after tossing seven innings with just one run allowed and nine strikeouts.

Andy Skeels Returns To Manage Giants

Andy Skeels returns for his fourth season as manager of the San Jose after leading the club in 2009, 2011 and 2012. He is set to begin his eighth year in the San Francisco Giants organization and sixth overall as a manager. Skeels has won two championships directing the 2008 Augusta GreenJackets to the South Atlantic League title and the 2009 Giants to the California League crown. San Jose has qualified for the playoffs in all three seasons with Skeels at the helm. He boasts an outstanding .614 winning percentage as Giants manager while his 258 career wins are second-most in team history.

Opponent Notes: Visalia Rawhide

The Visalia Rawhide, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, finished the 2012 regular season with a 64-76 record. Visalia has missed the playoffs in five consecutive years. Bill Plummer is set to begin his first season as Rawhide manager. Former supplemental first round draft pick Andrew Chafin is scheduled to make the opening night start on the mound. Chafin was 6-6 with a 4.93 ERA in 30 games (22 starts) with Visalia last year. He ranked third in the California League with 150 strikeouts.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from April 3, 2013


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