San Francisco Giants: The Non-Roster Invitees You Might Not Know

The San Francisco Giants put out their list of non-roster invitees featuring 28 players, and some of those guys are still relatively unknown.

This past week, the San Francisco Giants released their list of non-roster invitees for Spring Training, and it’s full of familiar names. Past World Series stud Michael Morse is back hoping to rekindle some magic, and former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins will be in camp trying to get one more shot at the big leagues. Jae-gyun Hwang has been in the spotlight after signing with the Giants out of Korea recently.

Justin Ruggiano has made a career in recent years out of being a Giant killer. Players like Aramis, Garcia, Matt Winn, Kyle Blanks, and Ryder Jones have been in camp with the Giants in past years. Others like Tim Federowicz, Josmil Pinto, Bryan Morris, and Neil Ramirez have fairly extensive big league experience. And of course, there’s the top prospects like Tyler Beede, Sam Coonrod, Christian Arroyo, and Austin Slater. Beede and Arroyo are even listed among baseball’s top-100 prospects.

That leaves some of the lesser-known players in camp with the Giants. Now is as good a time as any to get to know some of these unknowns.

Alphabetically, right-handed pitcher Carlos Alvarado tops the list of non-roster players, and while he isn’t a familiar name to the more casual prospect followers, he has been in the system for a while. He joined the San Francisco organization ahead of the 2012 season and has been working his way through the ranks since.

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2016 was a very nice year for Alvarado. While pitching in Low-A, Single-A, and Double-A, Alvarado posted a 1.72 ERA and 0.638 WHIP, with a staggering 37-to-1 strikeout-to-walk rate in 31.1 innings. At 27 years old, Alvarado may finally be ready to make a jump to the highest level in the minor leagues, and maybe beyond.

Another pitcher coming to camp for the first time is lefty Andrew Suarez. The youngster has risen through the organizational ranks quickly since being drafted as the team’s second-round pick in 2015. He was hit around a bit after a promotion to Double-A last season (3.95 ERA, .292/.326/.434 slash-line), but has continued to show good command (1.7 walks per nine innings career, 1.9 in Double-A).

The University of Miami product is considered a very polished young pitcher, and he isn’t far off from helping the big league club. Being in big league camp for the first time might be the starting point to a big 2017.

Outfielder Wynton Bernard was brought in this offseason as a minor league free agent after five years in the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers’ organizations. A 35th-round pick in 2012, Bernard was quite impressive in Double-A last season (.308/381/.458 with four triples, six home runs, and 13 steals in 58 games), but wasn’t as successful after jumping up a level. He had one triple, one home run, and hit .235/.286/.302 in 46 games.

Bernard is a good defensive center fielder with a plus arm, and speed is one of his best attributes (125 stolen bases in 444 minor league games). He also owns a respectable strikeout rate (15.3 percent) and walk rate (8.5 percent), which makes him look like the type of hitter that San Francisco can mold into something the big league club can use.

Another 2015 Giants’ draft pick coming to camp for the first time is shortstop C.J. Hinojosa, the 11th-round pick that year out of Texas. He’s a natural hitter with a smooth hitting approach, and has good enough bat control to use the entire field (a familiar scouting report for young Giants’ infielders). He hit .296 in his debut season with Low-A Salem-Keizer and matched that .296 average early in 2016 with San Jose while adding 50 points to his OBP.

Hinojosa wasn’t as successful upon a call-up to Double-A (.248/.312/.336), but at just 22 years old, there’s plenty of time to develop. San Francisco could have another fine young utility player in the making with Hinojosa.

Outfielder Steven Duggar is yet another 2015 draft pick (sixth round) that has risen quickly through the minor league system. While Slater has gotten more attention as an outfielder in the Giants’ organization, Duggar has proven to be quite the prospect as well.

In 2016 between High-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond, Duggar hit .302/.388/.448 with 28 doubles, 10 home runs, and an extremely impressive 12.3 percent walk rate. He has mainly played right field, but also has played a fair amount in center field as well. Duggar is known for his speed, but curiously, is only 21 for 38 stealing bases in his two seasons. He has good tools, is becoming part of a group of exciting outfield prospects along with Slater and 2016 draft picks Heath Quinn and Bryan Reynolds.

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The final player profiled here is right-handed pitcher Roberto Gomez. There isn’t a whole lot of information available for Gomez, but he signed a minor league deal with the Giants early in December. He’s a lanky 6’5″, 180-pound pitcher that spent five season in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization from 2010 to 2014, never advancing past Double-A. He pitched in LIDOM (a Dominican baseball organization) this winter, and struck out 16 in 16 innings. However, he did give up 16 hits, seven walks, and eight runs (seven earned).

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