Giant Fan's info on your new pitchers

O's fans, I'll give you scouting reports on your 3 new pitchers if you can
tell me more about Ponson. What kind of pitches does he have? I've read that
he has a fastball, slider,changeup,curveball,and a forkball/sinker. Is this
correct? I've read that he doesn't use his forkball or curveball that often
do to fears about past arm problems.

And now, my part of the bargain:

Kurt Ainsworth

2003 TSN
Last year at Triple-A, the Giants saw the development they wanted to see
from Ainsworth, one of the best of a group of strong pitching prospects in
the system. He should earn the fifth starter's job with the big club this
spring. Ainsworth has a reputation for his mid-90s heater which has
exceptional movement. He has a polished repertoire of off-speed pitches
including a slider and change. At times it seems as if he prefers to pitch
around batters for fear of surrendering a hit. This might work in the minors
but he'll have to be very precise to keep major-leaguers from just hanging
in and taking a walk. Ainsworth has shown that he has the raw talent to
eventually work his way into the top part of a big-league rotation.

Baseball America 2003 Lists him as the Giants #2 prospect of entire farm
system
Strengths: Ainsworth is a complete pitcher with a solid five-pitch
repertoire. He throws a 92-94 mph four-seam fast-ball, an 88-90 mph sinker,
a slider, a curve and a changeup. He also developed a much better feel for
setting up hitters his second time through Fresno. Weaknesses: While he's
not overpowering, Ainsworth has the stuff and command to win. He needs to
believe that, however, and go after hitters rather than trying to make the
perfect pitch.

The Prospect report 2003 list him as the Giants #3 prospect of entire farm
system
The Skinny: A 1999 1st round draft pick whose rise has been methodical,
Ainsworth started the year in the big leagues as a spot-starter/long
reliever. He pitched well, but was sent back to AAA to get more consistent
work. He tossed quality starts in six of his first seven outings for Fresno,
and finished fourth in the PCL ERA race despite missing a month in
mid-season with a strained back muscle. Ainsworth has a big league
repertoire, with the ability to throw five quality pitches for strikes. His
four-seam fastball sits in the low 90s, and he keeps batters offstride with
a high 80s sinker. Both his slider and curveball are effective, and he
finishes off the quintet with a quality changeup. He has an excellent feel
for pitching, but the Giants would like to see him throw with more
confidence, and not try to be so exacting with every pitch.

SF Giants Insider 2003 #3 prospect
A 1999 first round pick, Ainsworth has nothing left to prove after two
strong years at AAA, so the Giants were so anxious to see him in the major
league rotation after they gave Livan Hernandez a bums' rush out of town.
Not that the extra time at AAA hurt him-Ainsworth has always pitched a touch
tentatively, and the extra year at AAA taught him to trust his stuff more
and challenge hitters. And he does have good stuff: A 92-94 mph 4-seam
fastball, a sinker in the 88-90 range, a slider, a curve, and a change. All
are major league quality pitches, and he can throw them all for strikes. An
analogy would be Russ Ortiz with slightly better command.

Top Prospect Report Alert 2002
Ainsworth is certainly the most ready of the Giants "big 3", potentially
earning a roster spot in Spring Training. The 1999 1st Rounder pitched
better in 2001 than his superficial stats would indicate. He use a 90mph
fastball, very good slider (his best pitch), and an adequate curve to
effectively control most games. Unfortunately he is not as aggressive as you
might want and his control is only a bit above average and neither of those
things will benefit him at the next level. His upside is that of a solid
mid-rotation starter and I expect him to achieve it.

Top Prospect Report Alert 2001
After going 2-0 (against the Netherlands and Australia) with a 1.54 "Down
Under" last year, it looked like Team USA had 4 starters poised for stardom.
Of the four, Ainsworth is looking the least like a major leaguer this year.
His H/9 and SO numbers are good, but the walks are a little high, and the
HRs are "Lima-rific." (20 in 124 innings) Ainsworth throws low-to-mid 90's
with two good breaking pitches (slider and curve). One might wonder (I do)
if his arm is a little tired after pitching a ton the last two seasons for
LSU, the Giants, and the USA. The walks and homers combo is a bit
disturbing, but the PCL is a big-time hitters league, so he gets the benefit
of the doubt. Ainsworth could easily be ready next season for the fourth or
fifth starter role, and should be up sometime during the season regardless.

Damian Moss

TSN 2003
The Australian southpaw wasn't even among the Braves' Top 15 prospects when
he made the club as a fifth starter last spring and emerged as a significant
force. An off-season trade makes him the Giants' No. 3 starter.Assets: He
has killer stuff against left-handed hitters and is terrific pitching from
the stretch with runners on. Plus, his pickoff move leads to more runners
caught than successful steals. Flaws: His command often gets him into
trouble via walks and wild pitches, which, in turn, leads to too many
pitches thrown and shorter starts than anyone would like. Career potential:
Though he may have to suffer through the sophomore jinx in 2003, he'll wind
up a solid mid-rotation starter capable of double figures in wins every
year.

Stats Inc 2003
Moss' emergence can be attributed to his improved command. He led the
Triple-A International League in walks in 2000 and had difficulty finding
the strike zone early last season. But he worked hard on spotting his
high-80s fastball. Moss didn't trust his pitches early in the campaign,
before several teammates convinced him that his fastball and plus changeup
had enough movement, and his curveball was sharp enough, to get hitters out.
Instead of trying to be too fine by painting the corners, Moss began
challenging hitters. As a result, he limited opponents to a .221 average
while allowing only 7.03 hits per nine innings. He throws across his body,
which gives his pitches a natural cutting action. He also will throw a
changeup at any time.


Ryan Hannaman

Baseball America 2003 Lists him as the Giants #8 prospect of entire farm
system
Background: The cream of the Giants system is the trio of polished
righthanders atop this list, but they also have collected an impressive
group of power lefties. As with Liriano, San Francisco first saw Hannaman as
a position player and immediately made him a full-time pitcher. Strengths:
Hannaman's inexperience was evident when he signed, but one club official
called him the most improved player in the system. As he got a better feel
for his mechanics, he finished 2002 with 68 strikeouts in his last 49
innings. Batters can't get comfortable against his lively mid-90s fastball
and tight slider.
Weaknesses: Still raw, Hannaman doesn't have a consistent delivery, which
causes his slider to flatten and his location to suffer. He's going to need
some time to come up with a changeup. He also requires plenty of work on the
nuances of pitching, such as holding runners and fielding his position.
The Future: If Hannaman can't smooth out his rough edges, he still could
project as a nasty southpaw closer. He'll pitch this year in high Class A



Ryan Hannaman, LHP
The Propspect Report 2003 lists him as the Giants #6 prospect
HT: 6-3 WT: 200 Bats: L Throws: L 2003 AGE: 22 on 8/28/03

The Skinny: Hannaman was an incredibly raw product from a small Alabama high
school when the Giants selected him in the 4th round of the 2000 draft. The
Giants moved him slowly, pitching him only in short-season leagues for his
first two seasons before starting him in the Sally League in 2002. He showed
tremendous improvement throughout the season, posting a 1.05 ERA in his
final seven starts with 61 punchouts in 42.2 innings. Hannaman sits
consistently in the low 90s, but has touched as high as 97 mph in workouts.
He adds a hard slider that he likes to use as a knockout pitch. All of his
pitches feature excellent, natural lefty movement, and he has made great
strides in his command.

2003 Outlook: While Hannaman is still very far from a premium prospect, his
ceiling is enormous. He's an excellent candidate for a bust-out season at A
San Jose.

SFgiant insider 2003 #6 prospect
A position player in high school, Hannaman didn't even know which side of
the rubber to stand on when the drafted him as a pitcher in the 4th round of
the 2000 draft. He's still raw, but he was the most improved player in the
Giants system last year. His fastball is in the mid-90s, his slider is in
the low-90s, and both have wicked movement. He needs to lose a little
wildness and develop a change up, but his learning curve to date indicates
that he should be able to do so, and he is young enough that the Giants
shouldn't rush him. Hannaman is in the San Jose rotation this year.

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