The Giants have designated left-hander Eric Surkamp for assignment, according to the team's transactions page. The move was likely made to clear a roster spot for the recently signed Mike Morse.
The 26-year-old Surkamp made one start for the Giants in 2013, yielding an unsightly seven runs in 2 2/3 innings of work. His work in the minor league was excellent, however, as he pitched to a 2.80 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings. Surkamp split the season between Double-A and Triple-A as he recovered from 2012 Tommy John surgery, spending the bulk of his time in Triple-A Fresno.
In his minor league career, Surkamp has a 2.84 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 484 2/3 innings. The former sixth-round pick made his big league debut for the Giants in 2011 and ranked among Baseball America's Top 30 Giants prospects from 2010-13.
Did meh in his 6 starts, but I think he’s a better pitcher than that under the right coaching. Mets, Pirates, Astros? I’d take a spin on him and claim him.
Yeah, I think the Astros would be crazy not get this guy, his track record is too sparkling to pass up.
I think a guy like this is worth having as AAA depth for all MLB teams.
Yeah, quite a few pitchers start out meh or even terrible their first several starts. Julio Teheren did pretty bad his first 10 starts or so (including the first several starts this season) but ended the season with a low 3 ERA and had a second half with a sub 3 ERA.
Now he’s no Julio Teheren, but he could be has a very effective middle of the rotation potential and more likely back end.
Surkamp is under no circumstances a mid-rotation guy. Good command and control, but a mediocre fastball and only one truly plus breaking pitch means he has shown no ability to get swings and misses in the upper minors or the majors. TJ was a big setback as well. Based on his repertoire, I’d call any kind of major league outcome as a big win for him.
No guy has ever been successful without the fastest fastball. There’s not an all time great about to be inducted to the HOF, who spent most of his career struggling to get into the upper 80’s with his fastball. Don’t hang you’re hat on the speed of a fastball. He has a lot of movement on the fastball, which I’ll take over a 100 mph hurler with a flat fastball.
Comparing Surkamp to Maddux is pretty laughable. You don’t need a 93 MPH fastball to succeed in the majors, but it certainly widens the margin for error. Surkamp’s fastball isn’t very good in terms of velocity or movement, so he has to be perfect to be effective. The odds that he’ll be perfect are pretty low. For every Ted Lilly, there’s a dozen guys whose stuff never kept him in the majors or got him out of AAA at all. Surkamp is probably not Ted Lilly.
Keep dreaming, though.
Not saying he’s Maddux as Maddux wasn’t a back of the rotation type with mid-rotation potential like I said about Surkamp. But the guy struck out 10 per game in the minors. Every report I’ve read talks about movement on his fastball.
Here’s one quote from BP.
“Surkamp succeeds via movement and location. He gets to 90 mph with his fastball, but he can sink it, cut it, and locate the pitch in all four quadrants at will. His slow curveball is an effective pitch with heavy break, and his changeup is at least average.”
Here’s another from the scouting book.
“Surkamp doesn’t have a great fastball, barely scraping 90mph on a good day. But he does get some nice natural movement on it, and does locate it well most of the time.”
Please, continue to tell me about my club’s prospects.
Guys like that often succeed in the low minors because hitters at that level by and large can’t hit a good breaking ball or a well-located fastball at any velocity. As you advance into the upper minors and the majors, that stops being the case and such prospects burn out. Surkamp fits the mold of a hundred pitchers before him, and what limited results we have from his time in the majors and AAA indicate the same pattern. When he starts facing hitters who can hit an inside pitch and lay off of a curveball, the strikeouts and stinginess disappear.
He’s just not that good a pitcher.
Giving you reports who work in the world of baseball evaluating players like this. But hey if Giants don’t want him several other teams will.
Those reports are two years and a Tommy John surgery old, unfortunately.
Granted but looking at his performance this year isn’t exactly what you should do. Initially TJ players can lose some of what they had but those things come back eventually.
Nolan Ryan started of meh too
What do you mean by under the right coaching? Giants have had no problem getting great seasons out of their young pitchers the past 5 years.
Padres should take a flyer on him. Only prob, no room on 40 man
Yeah his numbers looked really good coming up through the system. Dominant really. I would think there would be several teams willing to take a flyer. He could most likely at least be a situational lefty in the bullpen. Those guys are worth about $5mil/year these days.
Here come Jed and Theo…..
I think worth a flyer for any team. The Astros shouldn’t pass on him
the Astros will claim him … still a top rated prospect in the Giants Org. Astros are obsessed with young talent with potential.
Could be wrong but I think NL teams get priority. So Marlins or Cubs will likely claim him.
I don’t think 26 year-olds who get DFA’s are top rated prospects anymore.
tell that to MLB.com. He is ranked #12 in the Giants system.
I think there’s a dozen Low-A arms behind him that have higher ceilings. They just haven’t had the chance to post their numbers yet.
The Giants farm isn’t in the top half of minor league systems, and he can’t even crack the top 10 in it.
Pick him up Padres. I’d feel better with Surkamp than Shuster.
Hopefully he accepts an assignment to AAA because depth at starting pitching is useful. If not the Giants shouldn’t have trouble trading Surkamp.
He would have to clear waivers before being assigned. Not sure what is option status is but he might still have another option year meaning they could have just optioned him to AAA rather than DFA him.
DFA: The team then has ten days to assign the player to the minor leagues, trade him, or release him.
Surkamp can refuse an assignment to the minors and become a free agent.
They can either trade him or send him through waivers. Only if he’s not traded and passes through waivers can they attempt to assign him or release him as a free agent. Trust me, there’s almost 0 chance of him being a Giant at the end of this.
I think these moves are made often to gauge interest for a trade. The team can return him to the 40 and DFA someone else, within the allotted time.
I agree with the poster that inferred that his stuff isn’t that great, 89 MPH FB, and he got by with control and mixes pitches. Recent T.J. as well.
I don’t believe they can pull him back and DFA someone else. It’s not assignment waivers we’re talking about. His fastball isn’t great but it has a lot of movement which makes him more valuable than some pitchers that light up the radar guns. Chances are they find a trade candidate.
Just google mlb DFA. The team has 7-10 days to take certain action. One of the options is to return the player to the roster within 10 days.
From the looks of it, this guy seems better than Morse..
Jocketty should snatch him up, local kid from Cincinnati Ohio. Great numbers and the Giants should not give up on Eric. He would be a great LHP out of the pen if he doesn’t work in the rotation. GET HIM WALT.
They should trade him for Skipworth from marlins their names just would be cool in trade for each other
So many experts, so little time.