Shaw among top prospects invited to SF camp
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The Giants extended non-roster invitations to 16 players for Major League Spring Training, the club announced Thursday. Among those invited was outfielder Chris Shaw, the club's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Six pitchers, three catchers, five infielders and an additional outfielder will join Shaw and the rest of the big league club in Scottsdale, Ariz., for a chance to earn a spot on the Opening Day 25-man roster.
Left-hander Andrew Suarez and right-handers Tyler Cyr, Jose A. Flores, Dereck Rodriguez, Jose A. Valdez and Madison Younginer have all received invitations.
The catchers include Trevor Brown, Justin O'Conner and Héctor Sánchez, while the outfielders include Steven Duggar and Shaw. Orlando Calixte, Chase d'Arnaud, Alen Hanson, Kyle Jensen and Josh Rutledge are the infielders.
Shaw, the Giants' first-round selection in 2015, batted .301/.390/.511 with six home runs and 29 RBIs in 37 games for Double-A Richmond before being promoted to Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .289/.328/.530 with 18 homers and 50 RBIs in 88 games. The 24-year-old is considered to be the organization's best power-hitting prospect.
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Duggar, the club's No. 5 prospect, batted .270/.361/.470 with four homers and 20 RBIs in 29 games for Class A Advanced San Jose last season before hitting .261/.370/.413 with two homers and six RBIs in 13 games at Triple-A. Despite the recent acquisition of veteran Austin Jackson, Duggar is going to get an extended look in center field during Spring Training as the club searches for a long-term answer at the position.
Suarez, the Giants' No. 9 prospect, went 10-10 with a 3.30 ERA in 26 games (24 starts) split between Richmond and Sacramento in 2017. The 25-year-old is expected to compete for a back-end spot in San Francisco's rotation.
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Brown and Sanchez have both served as the backup catcher for Buster Posey at times over the past few seasons. Brown, 26, is a career .236/.282/.354 hitter with five home runs in parts of two seasons with San Francisco. Sanchez, 28, previously played for the club in 2015, when he batted .179/.207/.304 with one home run and five RBIs in 28 games. He has batted .238/.273/.367 with 21 homers and 120 RBIs in 347 games over the course of his seven-year MLB career.