My favorite part of the All-Star Game festivities is the Futures Game. The game features some of the top minor league talent from across baseball. Due to the overlap of various All-Star games, and the need to include players from across the league, it’s not 100 percent best of the best, but it’s pretty close.
Today’s Futures Game (3 p.m. PDT, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com) features some talented players from both the A’s and the Giants. The A’s are represented by shortstop Grant Green, a 2009 first round draft choice currently playing in Stockton of the Single A California League. The Giants are represented by RHP Zack Wheeler and OF Francisco Peguero. Wheeler was a 2009 first round draft choice and is currently pitching for the Augusta Green Jackets of the Single-A South Atlantic League. Peguero was signed as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic, and is the youngest player on the Giants 40-man roster. He’s currently playing for the San Jose Giants of the California League.
ESPN’s Keith Law had some comments on the various players involved in the game. It’s Insider-protected, so here are the comments on the A’s and Giants representatives:
Grant Green
Hitting much better after a slow April. Green has good bat speed and the size to eventually hit for power, but he has a tendency to get on top of the ball and hasn’t carried over his plate discipline into pro ball. There’s also a decent chance he moves off shortstop, where he’s still pretty rough but has the athleticism to figure it out.Zack Wheeler
A surprise addition, since he’s been out since late May with a torn fingernail, Wheeler has been up to 96 with a hard slurve but needs to improve his changeup and fastball command; his body has a lot of projection left and he looks like a potential 1 or 2.Francisco Peguero
Toolsy but very crude centerfielder who can run and has good bat speed, but six unintentional walks in over 280 plate appearances isn’t going to get anyone’s bat to the big leagues.