Where Are They Now?

I had a sizable stack of autograph cards from former Giants Prospects on my desk and was trying to decide what/if to post about them.  Despite the Giants continuous low rating for their farm system, they have done a good job of pumping out prospects of the past several years - do names like Posey, Bumgarner, Belt, Panik, Sandoval, Duffy, Crawford, Heston ring a bell?  This doesn't include the prospects to attract players like Beltran, Pence and Leake is mid season trades.

This post isn't about those great prospects however, here are 7 that haven't hit it big along with their autographed card and some information about where they are now.

Brian Bocock

How acquired - Drafted in the 9th round of the 2006 Draft
Where is he now? - He signed a minor league contract with the KC Royals organization in early 2015 but hasn't played during the 2015 season.  He is a bench coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Single A team in the Carolina League and are affiliated with the Royals.
Giants Career - In 2008 he played 32 games for the Giants including an Opening Day start at SS.  He hit .143 in 93 plate appearances with 1 double and 2 RBI.  He also played 6 hitless games for the Phillies in 2010.


Conor Gillaspie

How acquired - Drafted in the 1st round of the 2008 Draft
Where is he now? - He was purchased by the LA Angels on 7/24/15 from the White Sox.  He played in 17 games after joining the Angels and is now in the minors with the AAA Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League.
Giants Career - He debuted with the Giants for 8 games in 2008 and returned to the majors for 21 more games in 2010-11.  He batted .205 in 48 plate appearances over those 3 seasons with 1 double, 1 homer and 4 RBI.  He had some success with the White Sox playing in 322 games over 3 seasons after leaving the Giants.


Ehire Adrianza

How acquired - Signed as an amateur free agent in 2008
Where is he now? - Unfortunately still with the Giants.  He is one of my lease favorite players and doesn't deserve a spot on a major league roster but with the Giants infielder injuries he keeps popping up on the major league roster.  
Giants Career - He has been up and down between the major and minor leagues from 2013-15 playing in a total of 105 games.  He has hit .200 in 228 plate appearances with 12 doubles, 1 homer and 13 RBI.  His combined WAR over his 3 seasons is -1.0 which supports my theory that he doesn't belong on the major league roster.


Joan Gregorio

How acquired - Signed as an international free agent in 2010
Where is he now? - He is playing with the Giants AA affiliate Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Giants Career - He has yet to make it to the majors but is trending downward on the Giants prospect rankings going from 12th in 2013 to 18th in 2014 and dropping off the list in 2015.  It appears he is shifting from a starter to reliever as only 9 of his 37 appearance this year have been starts after only 3 relief appearances during his first 5 years.


John Bowker

How acquired - Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2004 Draft
Where is he now? - After returning to the Giants organization at the beginning of 2015, he was sold to the Pirates on 6/9/15 and now is on the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates AAA affiliate.  He hasn't played in the majors since 2011 and has spent time in Japan and Mexico in addition to some minor league teams in the Pirates and Giants organization.
Giants Career - He played in 183 games over 3 seasons for the Giants hitting .238 in 513 plate appearances with 15 homers and 58 RBI.  After leaving the Giants in mid-2010 he played in 57 games with the Pirates and Phillies during the 2010-11 seasons.


Merkin Valdez

How acquired - After being signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves in 1999, he was traded to the Giants with Damian Moss for Russ Ortiz in 2002.
Where is he now? - It appears he is retired, he last played in the A's organization in 2012.  I couldn't find any record of a post baseball career.
Giants Career - He made a brief appears in 2004 with the Giants giving up 5 runs in 1.2 innings and didn't come up again until 2008.  During 2008-09 he pitched in 65 games.  His career Giants totals include 67 innings pitched, a 5.24 ERA and a SO/BB of 53/38.


Wendell Fairley

How acquired - Drafted in the 1st round of the 2007 Draft
Where is he now? - He signed on with the Southern Illinois Miners for the 2015 season after what appears to be a 3-year absence from baseball.  The Miners are an Independent League team and he played in 21 games for them this year.
Giants Career - Despite being a 1st round pick and being touted as a 5-tool player, Fairly never made it to the major leagues, never rising about AA.  He was a career .257 hitter for the Giants in their minor league system with just 8 homers in 427 games and 1601 plate appearances.

It was fun tracking down some info on these players and putting some info behind these cheaply picked up autographed cards.