Tagged: Roger Kieschnick
Did the Grizzlies’ roster just take shape?
Several moves were made today at the San Francisco Giants big league spring training: 21 players were reassigned to minor league spring training.
Several players were optioned to Fresno’s preliminary roster: Ehire Adrianza, Nick Noonan, Juan Perez, Roger Kieschnick, Jake Dunning, Chris Heston, Dan Otero, and Sandy Rosario. Each of these players is on the Giants 40-man roster.
Meanwhile, Boof Bonser, Steve Edlefsen, Heath Hembree, Michael Kickham, Tyler LaTorre, Mitch Lively, Shane Loux, Ricky Oropesa, Adam Duvall, Brock Bond, and Gary Brown were each “reassigned.”
Looking at the list of cuts today, most stand out as potential Grizzlies on Opening Day (April 4th). Adrianza and Noonan appear to be future Grizzlies up the middle of the infield. While Noonan has experience at second base, third base, and shortstop, Adrianza has played in 582 career games at shortstop and 1 at second base. Bond has played both second and third base in his career. The switch-hitting, on-base machine could fill wherever Noonan is not playing (or vice versa).
Perez and Kieschnick are going to be a part of a potentially loaded Grizzlies outfield to start the season. Perez has spent the last two seasons at Double-A Richmond, including a 2012 season in which he batted .302 with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases (33 attempts). Kieschnick, despite missing three months with a shoulder injury, led the Grizzlies with 15 home runs in 2012.
Other possibilities in the Grizzlies outfield include Brown, the Giants’ 2nd-best prospect according to MLB.com, and Francisco Peguero. Peguero has stood out this spring, batting .424 in 13 games with the big club. He is competing with Cole Gillespie, Andres Torres, among others, for a spot in the Giants outfield.
LaTorre was assigned to minor league camp after returning from his time with Team Italy at the World Baseball Classic. LaTorre appeared in 2 games with Italy, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
Bonser, Heston, and Kickham are the frontrunners for the Grizzlies starting pitching staff. Bonser used the 2012 season to recover from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander started out of the bullpen with Fresno last July, but slowly worked his way back to a starting role. In 307 career games, Bonser has started 245 of them. Heston and Kickham are the rising prospects, who recently gained the attention of the Giants brass. Heston was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year last year while Kickham is a hard-throwing left-hander. Those can be hard to find.
Dunning, Edlefsen, Hembree, Lively, Loux, Otero, and Rosario are candidates for the Grizzlies’ relief corps. Loux has plenty of starting experience in his career, but he pitched solely out of the bullpen in 2012. Rosario is the latest addition to the Giants organization. The right-hander posted a 1.04 ERA in 25 appearances with the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2012 while leading the team with 16 saves. The Grizzlies’ co-leader in saves from yesteryear, Hembree, will be looking to improve himself in the early part of this season to make sure he can crack the Giants’ roster soon.
39 Days Till Opening Day
Opening Day on April 4th is 39 days away, and we help count it down by featuring Roger Kieschnick, who wore jersey number 39 in 2012.
Kieschnick was one of the key pieces in the Grizzlies lineup last season that helped the team jump out to its best start in team history.
The Texas Tech product, though, had his 2012 season halted when he injured his left shoulder on May 29th at Sacramento. The injury occurred on the final play of the night — a walk-off home run to give the River Cats the win.
Despite missing three months, Kieschnick led Fresno with 15 home runs. The left-handed slugger also added a batting line of .306/.376/.604 with 13 doubles, 4 triples, and 40 RBIs over 55 games.
Kieschnick returned for the final series of last season against Tacoma at Chukchansi Park, playing in all 4 games as the DH. He hit a solo homer on September 2nd.
The Grizzlies will take on the Tacoma Rainiers during their Opening Weekend series at Chukchansi Park from April 4-7.
Who’s Next – Top Prospects Ranked
MLB.com and Baseball America released their respective 2013 Top Prospect lists for the San Francisco Giants organizations.
The MLB.com version is for the Top 100 prospects in all of baseball. Two Giants cracked the list: RHP Kyle Crick at #86 and OF Gary Brown at #100. This is the first time Crick made the MLB.com list while Brown was #48 for the 2012 version.
Baseball America, meanwhile, has been rolling out their organizational top prospects for each farm system over the last few weeks. January 30th was the Giants’ turn. Beat writer Andy Baggarly filed this year’s list as he has done in years past.
Crick was the top choice for the Baseball America list. Brown was fourth. While Crick is not considered to appear in Triple-A this season, many project Brown to possibly start the season with Fresno or at least make a stop with the Grizzlies some time in 2013.
Brown played all of 2012 with Double-A Richmond. He struggled early on with the Flying Squirrels, hitting .227 through his first 23 games, but he rebounded with a strong May and June to finish with a .279 batting average. He also played in the Arizona Fall League this offseason.
Three Fresno Grizzlies from 2012 were in the Top 10 Prospect List: Heath Hembree (#7), Francisco Peguero (#8), and Roger Kieschnick (#9).
Hembree is coming off his first pro season at Triple-A. He tied for the team lead with the Grizzlies in saves with 15 despite missing a month-and-a-half with an arm injury. Before he went on the disabled list, Hembree was elected to the PCL mid-season All-Star team.
Peguero parlayed his first Triple-A season into his Major League debut last August. Peguero had a team-best 10 triples for Fresno last season, which are tied for the second-most ever by a Grizzlies hitter in a single season. The outfielder made his big league debut on August 25th and played in a total of 17 games for the Giants.
Peguero was rated as having the best outfield arm in the Giants system by Baseball America once again. Here’s proof of that distinction. Yeah, we think he deserves it.
Kieschnick also made his Triple-A debut in 2012. He missed three months due to a left shoulder injury, but still managed to pace the Grizzlies in home runs with 15. Here is video evidence of power.
Kieschnick went down with the injury on May 31st, when he was batting .319. He appeared in four games as a designated hitter in the final series of the season from August 31-September 3, hitting a home run in the penultimate game.
Another name to watch for on the possible 2013 Grizzlies roster is Michael Kickham. The left-handed pitcher was placed fifth on Baseball America’s Top 10 list. The Missouri State product made 27 starts over 28 games for Double-A Richmond in 2012, going 11-10 with a 3.05 ERA. He had 137 strikeouts and 75 walks in 150.2 innings pitched.
He has quickly risen through the Giants system – he skipped High-A San Jose – and he may earn a shot at Triple-A in 2013 based on his career projection thus far. Kickham is rated as having the best slider in the Giants system according to Baseball America, a lethal pitch for a southpaw. The 24-year-old was selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.
Winter League Update – Nov. 27, 2012
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
The Arizona Fall League season ended on November 17th when the Peoria Javelinas beat Salt River for the 2012 AFL Championship. Hembree and the Scottsdale Scorpions finished second in the Eastern Division as the team posted a 15-16 record. Hembree, though, did not pitch in the final week of the AFL season. His last appearance came on November 10th when he threw one inning and allowed no runs or hits against the four batters he faced. The right-hander finished the fall season with 12 strikeouts and three walks over nine innings. He also held opponents to a .229 batting average against.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
Runzler’s 2012 season ended like Hembree’s: he did not appear in any games for Scottsdale entering the final week of the AFL season. The left-hander ended his fall season with 11 strikeouts and seven walks over eight innings. All seven of his walks occurred in his final four outings when he posted a 4:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio across three innings.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.317/.364/.585 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 10 games
Dominguez went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter in his last game with Scottsdale in 2012, keeping alive his nine-game hitting streak. He ended the season in a tie for the most home runs on the team with three. In six of his 10 games, he played left field while he served as the designated hitter in three games and played third base in one contest. Dominguez, who entered 2012 having played in 303 of his 334 career games as a third baseman, switched primarily to outfield during the 2012 regular season. He played outfield in 84 of his 92 games between Richmond and Fresno.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 3.65 ERA (10 er, 24.2 ip) in 6 starts
In his only start of the week, Bonser suffered his second loss of the season after he lasted 1 2/3 innings in a November 17th start. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out one. The outing was Bonser’s shortest of the VWL season.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 7.71 ERA in 12 games
Lively was roughed up on November 13th against Cardenales de Lara. In what eventually became a 9-1 loss for the Bravos, Lively surrendered four runs without recording an out in the top of the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed back-to-back singles (including a bunt single) to start the inning before issuing a walk to load the bases. Lively then surrendered a two-run single to Jairo Perez, which forced Lively from the game. Silfredo Garcia spelled Lively, but Garcia proved just as effective when he allowed a two-run double to the first batter he faced (the runs were charged to Lively). Lively came back in his next outing on November 18th and did not allow a run over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two in the November 18th outing, his first multi-strikeout performance in the Venezuela League this season.
Yusmeiro Petit – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in 2 starts
One of the Grizzlies’ most effective starters from 2012 made his VWL debut on November 16th, allowing one run and scattering eight hits over five innings. Petit would go on to suffer the hard-luck loss after the Bravos fell to Navegantes 1-0. In his second start, Petit threw five innings and suffered the loss once again. Only this time, Petit allowed six runs on six hits while striking out five and walking one on November 22nd.
Jean Machi – Navegantes de Magallanes (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 7 games
Machi made his VWL debut on November 13th, surrendering one run on two hits in a blown save. This set off a string of three straight outings – over three consecutive days – for Machi in which he blew a save opportunity. The right-hander took a couple days off, though, and returned to the mound on November 18th. He promptly struck out two of the three batters he faced in one inning of shutout baseball. In four appearances from November 18-23, Machi allowed one run over four innings to lower his ERA from 15.43 to 7.11.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.256/.393/..522 with 7 HR and 13 RBI in 29 games
Since starting the season batting .419 through his first nine games, Linden has seen his batting average fall to .256 through November 26th. In his last 29 at-bats, the switch hitter has five hits (or a .172 average). However, Linden has proven his worth with an on-base percentage of .385 over that same 29 at-bat stretch, helped by eight walks and two hit-by-pitches. His 18 walks in 29 games are tied for third most in the DWL. Linden also added two home runs between November 20th and 26th, keeping him in second place in the league for most home runs with seven.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.228/.308/.391 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 24 games
Kieschnick has not appeared in a game since November 17th when entered the game originally as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. After striking out, he stayed in the game as a defensive replacement in right field, but he did not bat again. Over his last 20 at-bats, Kieschnick is hitless with two walks.
Francisco Peguero – Gigantes del Cibao (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.235/.257/.353 with 4 RBI in 8 games
Peguero, who along with Jean Machi were with the Giants but not active during the World Series run, played in his first game with Cibao on November 16th. He went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a walk. In his second game, Peguero went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base. With the bar set high, he has cooled off a bit, going 4-for-27 from November 19th-25th – including a 0-for-8 performance during a 16-inning game on November 20th. Defensively, Peguero has played center field in all eight of his games with the Gigantes.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw has not pitched since November 4th.
Winter League Update – Nov. 12th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
Over two appearances last week, the right-hander did not allow a hit or a run in two total innings. The one base runner he allowed was via a leadoff walk on November 10th, but he successfully nullified the leadoff runner with three consecutive outs to pick up his second save of the AFL campaign. Each of Hembree’s nine appearances this season have been to end the game, which places him in a tie with three others for most games finished entering November 12th.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
The southpaw’s week got off to a rough start. He allowed two runs on one hit and three walks without recording an out against Mesa on November 5th. He also allowed another two runners he inherited to score in the game as a 3-1 Scottsdale advantage evaporated into a 5-4 loss after the four-run seventh inning. Runzler redeemed himself three days later when he did not allow Peoria to score in the ninth inning. The only issue: Scottsdale was already trailing 12-4 entering the ninth after Peoria erupted for 10 runs in the top of the eighth. Runzler did walk two batters on November 8th, giving him five over the week. He had two combined walks in his first eight appearances of the season.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.324/.375/..622 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 9 games
Dominguez only appeared in one game last week, going 1-for-5 against Mesa on November 7th. Dominguez’s hit occurred in his third at-bat and was a two-out single to load the bases. The threat ended one batter later, though, when Austin Romine struck out. Strikeouts were a theme for Dominguez during the game as he struck out four times, adding to the 12 total strikeouts by Scottsdale batters in the 4-3 loss.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 3.13 ERA (8 er, 23.0 ip) in 5 starts
Bonser made one start last week, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings against Tigres de Aragua on November 7th. He did not walk a batter in the start – a first for him in an outing with Margarita this season – while he struck out four. The start was Bonser’s second straight outing of six innings pitched. Bonser is 10th in the league with a 3.13 ERA.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 4.70 ERA in 10 games
Lively’s first outing of the week was on November 7th in relief of Bonser. If you noticed, Bonser did not factor into the decision. That is because Bonser left the game with a 2-2 tie. Lively, however, did factor into the decision: a loss. Lively entered the seventh inning and struck out the first batter he faced. Lively walked the next batter, Rossmel Perez, and then surrendered a double to Carlos Colmenares that plated Perez. Lively was subsequently removed and was eventually tagged with the losing decision in the 3-2 game. It was his only appearance of the week.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.286/.408/..571 with 5 HR and 10 RBI in 20 games
Linden went 3-for-16 at the plate in five games last week. He did walk five times, though, giving him 12 on the season and helping him maintain a .400+ OBP. On November 6th, Linden hit his fifth homer of the season, which places him second in the league in that category. His 12 walks are also second most in the league, trailing teammate Felix Pie.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.250/.326/.429 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 21 games
After going hitless in his first game of the week on November 5th, Kieschnick enjoyed a three-game stretch between November 6th-9th in which he went 7-for-11 with one home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored. His week tailed off after he went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in the final three games. Kieschnick reached base one time in his last three games of the week, an intentional walk on November 11th. His team-leading 18 RBIs are second most in the league.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw did not appear in any games last week.
Offseason League Update – November 5th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 0-0 with a 3.96 ERA in 7 games
The right-hander threw his fifth scoreless outing of the season in his first appearance of last week, but in his second game, he surrendered two runs on three hits in one inning on November 1st. Before his November 1st outing, Hembree had a 1.50 ERA and .217 batting average against in his first six games of the AFL season. Overall, Hembree has 11 strikeouts against two walks with Scottsdale.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 8 games
The left-hander made only one appearance last week, and he allowed a run for the first time in the AFL season. He surrendered one run on two hits, one walk and one hit batsman in one inning against Phoenix on October 31st. Against left-handers, Runzler has a .400 batting average against (4-for-10) while he is limiting right-handers to a .077 average against (1-for-13).
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: .344/.400/..688 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 8 games
After his regular season was cut short due to injury, Dominguez has been playing every few days for Scottsdale, including two games last week. He went 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBIs over the two games. After going 0-for-5 in his AFL season debut on October 10th, Dominguez has a hit in each of his last seven games, batting .407 (11-for-27) over the stretch.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 4 starts
The right-hander made one start last week, holding Cardenales de Lara scoreless over six innings. Bonser struck out five and walked one while also hitting a batter in the start. The five strikeouts were more than he had recorded in his previous three starts combined.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1, 1 save with a 3.68 ERA in 9 games
The Grizzlies’ bullpen innings leader from 2012 made three appearances last week, allowing one run over 1 2/3 innings. In his last appearance of the week, he allowed two runs (one of which was an inherited runner) in his first loss of the season.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .319/.418/..638 with 4 HR and 7 RBI in 15 games
After posting a .407 batting average in his first eight games of the Dominican League’s season, Linden went 4-for-19 in seven games last week. Two of the week’s four hits came in the October 29th game when he hit two solo home runs. Entering November 5th, Linden is seventh in the league in batting average, fourth in OBP, third in slugging percentage and second in home runs.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .246/.313/.439 with 3 HR and 14 RBI in 14 games
Kieschnick is pacing Escogido in hits, home runs, RBIs and runs scored so far this season. His 12-game hitting streak to start the Dominican season was snapped last week after he went hitless for the first time on November 2nd. He drove in five runs (despite going 1-for-3) on October 31st and followed that performance up on November 1st by hitting his third home run of the campaign.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw appeared in one game last week, suffering the loss after not recording an out against the three batters he faced on November 4th. Rodriguez allowed one unearned run on two hits in the appearance. Rodriguez, who threw one inning or more in 29 of his 37 games with Fresno in 2012, has only lasted a full inning in a single appearance once with Escogido.
May 23, 2012 – 3 Things To Watch For
Fresno Grizzlies (30-15) at Albuquerque Isotopes (27-19)
5:35 PM PDT at Isotopes Park
Radio: 105.5 FM “The Truth”
Roger Kieschnick has reached base in each of the 21 road games this season. His 21-game on-base streak on the road is the longest in the PCL in 2012. He walked twice last night to extend the streak, and he has posted a .412 on-base percentage in the 21 games.
The Grizzlies have lost five consecutive games to the Isotopes dating back to last season. Fresno has also lost back-to-back road games for the first time since August 3-4, 2011 at Iowa. The last time Fresno lost three straight road games was from July 17-20, 2011 at Sacramento and Reno.
After recording the winning decision in his last outing, Fresno starting pitcher Brian Burres is looking for his first back-to-back winning decisions since April 29th and May 6th in 2010 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The left-hander has a 80-75 record over 353 games in his professional career (Major and Minor Leagues).
Walk Up Songs – 2012 Edition
A walk-up/warm-up song for a baseball player can be a very picky process. Players want a song that pumps them up and could help them focus for the task at hand. Some players care a lot more than others when it comes to narrowing down a song. A select few don’t even bother choosing one.
The songs can range from the obscure to more well known, the newer to the older, the serious to jokester. Below are a few of the songs chosen by the 2012 Grizzlies for this season.
Travis Blackley
Artist: Pendulum
Song: Set Me On Fire
Hector Correa
Artist: Don Omar
Song: Danza Koduro
George Kontos
Artist: Eminem
Song: Till I Collapse
Shane Loux
Artist: LInkin Park
Song: No More Sorrow
Jean Machi
Artist: Don Omar
Song: Los Banddiros
Wilmin Rodriguez
Artist: Omega
Song: Me Veo Con La Paca
Craig Whitaker
Artist: Branlley Gilbert
Song: My Kinda Party
Matt Yourkin
Artist: Metallica
Song: Creeping Death
Eli Whiteside
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: The Ocean
Jackson Williams
Artist: Korn
Song: Coming Undone
Brock Bond
Artist: Matisyahu
Song: One Day
Skyler Stromsmoe
Artist: Newsboys
Song: Born Again
Artist: POD
Song: Alive
Roger Kieschnick
Artist: Van Halen
Song: Jump
Todd Linden
Artist: Jay-Z and Kanye West
Song: In Paris (acoustic)
Francisco Peguero
Artist: Daddy Yankee
Song: Samos de Calle
Tyler LaTorre
Artist: Backstreet Boys
Song: Larger Than Life (the beginning, of course)
Prospect Watch: Roger Kieschnick
Roger Kieschnick made his first professional season a memorable one. In 2009, the Rockwall, Texas native ranked third in all of Minor League Baseball with 110 RBI. He mashed a team-leading 37 doubles and 23 home runs, earning himself the California League Rookie of the Year Award. He was named a mid-season and post-season California League All-Star. And, to top it all off, he helped the San Jose Giants win the California League Championship.
Kieschnick didn’t come out of college with a typical resume, though. In his freshman year at Texas Tech, Kieschnick was named Freshman of the Year and a member of the First Team All-Big 12 by the conference’s coaches. Kieschnick followed up his freshman campaign by being named to the Second Team All-Big 12 in his sophomore and junior seasons.
College baseball players tend to flock to wood-bat leagues in the summer, getting more playing time and using the equipment utilized at the next level. Kieschnick, however, participated in international tournaments with the United States National Team. He won a gold medal at the World University Championships in 2006 and a silver medal in the Pan American Games in 2007.
The international experience provided Kieschnick not only with the familiarity of facing some of the best baseball players that are his peers, but also performing in front of the professional baseball gatekeepers: scouts.
The outfielder entered MLB’s First-Year Player Draft as a junior in 2008, feeling he had done plenty to impress the scouts with his bat, arm and range. The Giants selected him in the third round, but he did not appear in a pro game that summer.
He did not go into hibernation during his first professional offseason, however. Kieschnick played in the defunct Hawaii Winter Baseball league in 2008. He was a teammate of Buster Posey and Steve Edlefsen with the Waikiki BeachBoys. The trio helped the BeachBoys win their first (and the last) Hawaii Winter League baseball championship. Winning seemed to be following Kieschnick wherever he went.
The international experience, the winter league stint and his stellar season as a first-time professional provided Kieschnick with plenty of momentum entering 2010 – his first at the Double-A level.
By July of that season, Kieschnick was forced to the disabled list with back inflammation. His second pro season was cut short to 60 games, and he hit just four home runs in 223 at-bats – a distant number relative to his 23 in 517 at-bats in 2009.
The 2011 season became even more important for Kieschnick than it already was, and he did not disappoint. Kieschnick returned to Richmond, where he was named an Eastern League mid-Season All-Star and hit 22 doubles, five triples and 16 home runs in 126 games. He did not quite match his 2009 offensive output, but the Eastern League is known to be more of a pitcher’s league, especially compared to the high altitudes and windy locations of the California League.
The Giants rewarded Kieschnick with a 40-man roster spot in November of 2011, providing him with a secure mindset going into 2012. With the 40-man spot comes an invitation to Major League Spring Training, which is his second time taking part in big league camp.
Kieschnick seems to be an organizational favorite. All signs point to him appearing at the Triple-A level in 2012, possibly as soon as Opening Day. With the types of numbers put on display in the Pacific Coast League, Kieschnick may provide plenty of power for the Grizzlies.
Yard Work 