A bit of an odd connection here, but Luciano was considered the No. 2 prospect in that 2018 - 2019 IFA signing period. Diego Cartaya was viewed as the No. 1 prospect and signed with the Dodgers. He is now with the Giants organization.

I just find it hard to believe that the Giants could enter next season believing that the starting rotation is a strength with Scherzer in it. For it to be a strength, a lot of that would have to come from internal improvement, which is certainly possible!

...it was hard to see their impact. I have no idea what Ryan Christenson did.

...I hate to contrast this to Bob Melvin's coaching staff, but there were few hires I was excited about. I liked what J.P. Martinez did and know that Garvin Alston was well liked by the pitchers. I also know that Pat Burrell is viewed favorably around baseball, but...

This idea only works if they add another starter to the mix as well. Adding Bassitt and a Merrill Kelly has the upside to steady rotation options.

Some teams choose to not to participate in that phase. This is followed by the MiLB portion, which teams do not publicly reveal which of those players are left unprotected.

Of the 15 selections last year, only 5 remained with the team that drafted them.

There are quite a few options in the modestly-priced market to build out a quality rotation that is also probably light on top-end talent to carry them IF they make the playoffs. I think durability and effectiveness can be found in free agency. I'll highlight a few options soon.

It has been hard to pinpoint what the current front office pinpoints in a pitcher since they took over, but this seems to be one of the traits. So, if you are looking at potential pitching additions, that might not be a bad place to start.

Hentges gives the Giants another left-handed reliever. He has posted an excellent 53.4% ground ball rate in his career. A little bit of funk to his delivery. He throws two different fastballs, and has a big, 12-to-6 curveball. Could be a nice value for the Giants.