Giants' top pick Jackson Flora to make first start at Class-A San Jose this week
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco Giants are all about youth right now, and there's little more the team needs than starting pitching. On cue, top draft pick Jackson Flora is heading out to an affiliate.
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Flora, the fourth-overall pick in July, will join Class-A San Jose, the Chronicle has learned, and he will make a start at Fresno later this week, likely Friday or Saturday. The 21-year-old right-hander from Pleasanton and UC Santa Barbara has been in action at the Giants' complex in Phoenix, including in the "Bridge League" on Sunday.
He worked a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and Baseball America was enthusiastic.
"You try not to overreact to a short look, but I came away impressed with Flora's body control, ease of operations and cohesiveness of his mix," Jason Pennini wrote. "I think he has ways to attack both righthanded and lefthanded hitters along with a build for logging innings. It's a high-floor look and a tough profile to poke holes in."
Flora, who attended Foothill High School and rooted for the Giants, struck out 133 in 102 innings at Santa Barbara this year and put up a 1.03 ERA. It's possible he'd be a consideration for San Francisco at some point next year - college pitchers, especially first-rounders, tend to be among those who move most quickly through organizations, and he's more than likely to get an invite to big-league camp.
Because he's not on the 40-man roster, Flora can continue to play during next year's expected labor stoppage.
No Davidson on Sept. 1: Rosters expanded by two on Tuesday, but the Giants aren't expected to bring up outfielder Bo Davidson, despite his strong season at Triple-A Sacramento, at least initially. He bats left-handed, as does Turner Hill, who is slated for the majority of left-handed at-bats in left field for now, with Drew Gilbert the lefty-hitting center-field option.
Davidson, 24, must be placed on the 40-man roster in November at the latest or he would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft, so there's a good chance he'll come up at some point in the final month if there is a need. He's batting .290 at Sacramento and has 26 homers combined between Sacramento and Double-A Richmond.
Only one of the two September callups may be a pitcher, and Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson is likely to rejoin the team later in the week after pitching Saturday as the 27th man for the doubleheader. The other is likely to be a catcher, so probably Zach Morgan, who got less than 24 hours with the Giants last month after Daniel Susac's injury but didn't appear in the game. Morgan, 26, is from Stockton and played at Fresno State.
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