Marc Kroon: Apparently the Nicest Guy in the Giants System

If you're a Giant or Grizzlies or Minor League baseball fan in general and are not following Marc Kroon yet on Twitter, well...you REALLY should start doing so for two reasons:

1.) He's a nice guy and probably responds directly to his tweeps more often than your usual "athlete" on twitter.
2.) He is hooking fans up with free tickets to Fresno Grizzlies games, not just at Chukchansi Park, but wherever the Grizzlies play.

Talk about a nice guy. You're not seeing really any other player with a Twitter profile be this generous (and not only in the Giants minor league system, but in all of minor league baseball in general).

But who is Marc Kroon, anyways?

The San Francisco Chronicle had a nice story on him in January when he was signed to a Minor League contract. Though he didn't make the team out of Spring Training, Kroon currently is on the Grizzlies roster and holding his own. In 6.2 IP, he has 9 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.95 and an ERA of 2.70. While you would like him to control his walk numbers a little bit (he has five walks so far this year), Kroon can strike guys out, and that is a good quality to have as a reliever.

Kroon isn't exactly a young player (he's actually 38 years old) and he has spent most of his career in the minors and in Japan (though he was a top prospect coming out of High School, as he was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1991 draft by the New York Mets). In Japan though, not only did he play for the Yomiuri Giants (Love his picture with Mariah BTW!), but he was one of the more dominant closers in the Far East, known for his blazing fastball (clocked at 101 MPH three years ago), and ability to make hitters whiff. In his four seasons in Japan from 2007-2010 (he played with Yokohama in 2007 and Yomiuri from 2008-2010...remember, in the Nippon Baseball League, all the teams are known by their sponsors, not their city), he posted K/9 rates of 13.8, 13.4, 10.3 and 13. His high K/9 rate, and good K/BB ratios (he never had a K/BB ratio under 2.52 in the NPB), made him ideal for the ninth inning as a closer. He saved 31 games with the Bay Stars in 2007 and 93 games total in his three seasons with the Giants.

Despite being a fan favorite in Japan, (he's got his own Web site that mostly caters to Japanese fans), he came back to the states looking for a second chance in the Majors (the last time he played in the Big Leagues was in 2004 with the Colorado Rockies). Considering the Giants organization hasn't hesitated to give relievers second chances in the past (and it has paid off), Kroon will have an opportunity to succeed, despite starting the year in Fresno. Additionally, his unique pitching style and motion could give some hitters fits in the Pacific Coast League and perhaps Major League level. (Many Japanese pitchers' styles do, especially initially, and despite being from the States, Kroon has seemingly adopted a more Japanese-style pitching motion, with a slight pause in the windup.)

Of course, Kroon isn't a slam dunk by any stretch just yet. Throughout his professional career, walks have been an issue (he has a career 5.1 BB/9 rate and 6.0 BB/9 rate in Triple-A). While he seemed to pan out the issues his first few years in Japan (his BB/9 was 3.2, 4.0 and 3.4 his first three seasons), his BB/9 numbers increased to 5.2 his last season with Yomiuri (which lowered his K/BB ratio under 3 for the first time in his Japanese career). The control issues haven't gotten any better either since coming to the states, as his five walks in 6.2 IP have produced a BB/9 rate of 6.8. While that is just a small sample, and Kroon has plenty of time to lower that rate, it certainly doesn't prove that his walk issues from his past are a thing of the past (at least initially).

The story with Kroon's career is a fascinating one, and in many ways, a lot of baseball fans are hoping for Kroon to succeed. Even just following him on Twitter, Kroon seems to be an upbeat, cordial and positive person who is a breath of fresh air. And not only is he a good person, but he seems to be a decent pitcher with an above average fastball and above average ability to strike batters out. Will he get to showcase those traits as a Giant? It's too early to call and a lot of chips will have to fall in the right place (ineffectiveness to relievers in the Giants bullpen, somebody being DFA'd to make room for Kroon on the 40-man roster, etc.), but you certainly hope so.

Good guys like him with skill sets like his deserve some kind of shot. (Or at least a second shot.)

Giants Interested In a Giant (Hisanori Takahashi), and What About Yu Darvish?

I was browsing on MLB Fantasy Prospects when I stumbled upon this bit by MLBFP Writer Stephen Sheridan. Apparently, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Rotoworld), the Giants are one of the many teams interested in the services of Japanese left-handed pitcher Hisanori Takahashi of the Yomiuri Giants.

What do I know about Takahashi? Not a lot. The only thing I really know about him is that I watched him give up a single to Craig Brazell of the Hanshin Tigers on YouTube.

The plus side of Takahashi is that he's had a solid career statistically for the Giants (the Japanese ones of course). Last season, he had a 10-6 record for the Giants along with a 2.94 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 144 IP. Of course, his K/9 rate at 4.66 is nothing special, probably disparaging considering it was in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, but overall, the numbers are promising, especially the sub-three ERA.

On the other end, Takahashi isn't exactly young. He's currently 34-years-old, which is a big difference from Kei Igawa and Daisuke Matsuzaka, who broke into the Major Leagues under 30. Thus, if the Giants do want to take a waiver on Takahashi, chances are he would be used just to keep the fifth spot warm for Madison Bumgarner.

Furthermore, if any team is going to sign him, be it the Giants or somebody else, he most likely will only be getting a one-year deal. At 34-years-old, anything beyond one or two years is particularly risky, especially considering that Takahashi is regressing (though, if you look at his stats, he's never been a high-strikeout pitcher over his career).

So, should the Giants invest in this guy? If I were Brian Sabean, (and believe me, there are some people who really wish they were), I would probably pass on Takahashi. He's just too old, and the struggles of Igawa and Matsuzaka as starting pitchers doesn't bode well for a 34-year-old who is DEMANDING to be a starting pitcher at the MLB level. I'm not saying the struggles of Igawa or Matsuzaka are a cultural thing (Hideo Nomo proved to be DECENT as a starting pitcher), but if two younger, higher-ceiling Japanese pitchers have struggled in their times as starting pitchers in the Major Leagues, I'm not inclined to believe that an on-the-decline lefty is going to break the mold.

That being said, this Takahashi talk I find very interesting (especially from a Giants fan's perspective) mainly because it opens up talk about another pitcher from Japan:

You know who I'm talking about: Yu Darvish.

Now, I know Yu Darvish has stated that he does not want to play in America. I know he's an icon there, and I know he's one of the most infamous Japanese athletes ever because of his tendency to get Japanese pop stars pregnant. (Common in our society, as evidenced by Tom Brady, but apparently a "no-no" in Japanese culture...who knew?)

Yet I desperately want to see Darvish pitch in the Majors. If you watched any of the WBC last year, you'll know that his stuff is flat out nasty. In many ways, if people thought "Dice-K" was great in those last two World Baseball Classics, they really haven't seen anything yet.

Darvish is an incredible strikeout artist, as evidenced by his 210 and 208 strikeouts in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Granted, his strikeout numbers went down to 167 strikeouts in 182 innings pitched in 2009, but that probably was to be expected after shouldering a pretty hefty work load in Japan's second-straight WBC championship run prior to the 2009 Japanese season.

And the best part about Darvish? He's still really, really young. He's only 23-years-old! Thus, Darvish has the luxury of still developing as a pitcher should he come to America in the next couple of years. (It would be similar to what we're seeing the Red Sox do with Junichi Tazawa, though Darvish is far more polished than Tazawa at this point.)

So Darvish would be a far cry from Igawa and Matsuzaka, who were bound to decline being in their late-20's.

Anyways, can this interest by Sabean and the Giants in Takahashi transition to anything in terms of the Giants landing Darvish in the near future? Probably not. For all I know, I'm just shooting in the dark, trying to start something that most likely won't come to fruition (I'd say the chances as of now are less than two percent).

However, even though Giants fans will want to pass on Takahashi this off-season, they should be paying attention to whether or not Darvish decides to change his mind in terms of coming to America to pitch.

For Darvish in Black and Orange, pitching along with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner in the starting rotation, would be worth whatever the exorbitant price should be.