Later today, the San Francisco Giants will divide their roster in half and take on the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.
Per @JohnSheaHey, here are the two lineups.
Vs. Milwaukee:
- Andres Torres
- Marco Scutaro
- Joaquin Arias
- Buster Posey
- Brandon Belt
- Francisco Peguero
- Cole Gillespie
- Wilson Valdez
- Ryan Vogelsong
@ San Diego:
- Gregor Blanco
- Gary Brown
- Brandon Crawford
- Roger Kieschnick
- Brock Bond
- Ricky Oropesa
- Nick Noonan
- Jackson Williams
- Chad Gaudin
It seems as though the home squad features mostly members of the active roster, while the away team is full of players trying to make an impression with the big-league club. It makes sense because usually the prospects are the ones forced to travel.
Like most rules, there are exceptions however. Each team features a few players that would not ordinarily fit those descriptions. Wilson Valdez, Francisco Peguero and Cole Gillespie are all major-league level players, but are far from locks to make the Giants opening day roster. As for the other squad, Gregor Blanco and Brandon Crawford are both going to make the team, barring injuries or some unexpected slump.
While the average fan would rather watch the team that features many of the starters, the other team will definitely garner more intrigue from management. Gary Brown, Roger Kieschnick, Nick Noonan, Brock Bond and Chad Gaudin are all candidates to make the roster at some point in the season if injuries should arise. Also, Jackson Williams is considered by many to be the elite defensive catcher in the organization. In fact he was rated as such by Baseball America following '07, '08 and 2010. The Giants have already proven their willingness to add catchers to the roster that add very little offensively, like Eli Whitside and Chris Stewart; both of whom failed to hit .220 over their time with the club.
As for relief pitchers, the big-league team will have Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez. The other team will have Yusmeiro Petit, Scott Proctor and Georgo Kontos. Once again, no real big surprises other than Kontos, who made 44 appearances for the Giants last year.
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