The Giants are beginning to groom prospect John Bowker at first base, according to Andrew Baggarly of Medianews.  After Bowker’s torrid start to his major league career, the organization is employing the services of Ex-Giant J.T. Snow to teach him the finer points of the position in hopes that he will stay in the every day lineup.  Bowker got his first major league experience at the position on Wednesday when he was shifted to first base in the ninth inning after starting the game in right field.

• Rick Eymer of MLB.com reports that John Bowker made his first appearance in the big leagues on Saturday and became the 8th player in Giants history to hit a home run in his major league debut. Bowker had 4 RBIs and another home run in his second game the next day as the Giants went on to beat the Cardinals 7-4. Pretty impressive stuff, and needless to say, the Giants’ lineup could use a little power boost.
• Brian Bocock has been a solid replacement at shortstop for the injured Omar Vizquel, although his performance at the plate has left something to be desired (.200 with 2 RBIs). Still, he’s played every inning of every game so far this season. Bocock attributes some of his struggles to simply not being familiar with the pitchers he’s faced, so he’s been spending a lot of time watching film of the pitchers he will be facing in upcoming games, writes Chris Haft.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com gave a nice status report on the 30 players drafted in the first round of the 2007 first-year player draft. He notes that because of a recent change in draft rules, players must sign with the teams that drafted them by August 15th or they have to re-enter the draft pool for the following year. Each first rounder did so, although some not early enough to play last summer.

Some highlights from Mayo’s article (draft position in parentheses):

• David Price (No. 1, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays): His elbow injury did not require surgery; he will make his pro debut in Class A, probably this May.
• Ross Detwiler (No. 6, LHP, Washington Nationals): Brought up late last September, Detwiler will start the year in the minors but looks to be moving up quickly.
• Tim Alderson (No. 22, RHP, San Francisco Giants): His unorthodox delivery made some clubs shy away from drafting him, but an impressive performance out of high school has the Giants starting him in Class A Advanced ball.
• Aaron Poreda (No. 25, LHP,Chicago White Sox): He can get his fastball into the high-90s, but the White Sox are having him spend time in the minors this year to develop his secondary pitches.

UPDATE (8:03 PM EST): Giants MI Kevin Frandsen ruptured his Achilles tendon today, likely ending his season. While Eugenio Velez was already going to make the roster, this certainly opens the door for more playing time with the Giants this year. Move Velez up a few notches on your 2008 fantasy sleeper list.

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The Giants’ Eugenio Velez has had an exciting spring, raking at the plate and leading the league in steals (13), although he’s had a balky glove at second and third at times. While manager Bruce Bochy has made it clear there are no guarantees that Velez will make the 25-man roster, general manager Brian Sabean has indicated that he would, as Andrew Baggarly reports. Still, the Giants are short on infield options. If Velez can get his defense on track, he might see significant playing time, and could rack up some steals for fantasy owners in deep leagues. Keep an eye out.

Update:   It’s official… the Giants have optioned Nate Schierholtz to Triple-A Fresno.  About the move GM Brian Sabean had this to say:  “He’s the victim of the rule, really. It’s a matter of keeping our inventory.”

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that although Nate Schierholtz has the ability to warrant a spot on the 25-man roster, the Giants are likely to use his last option and have him start the year in Triple-A. Schierholtz hit .333 for Triple-A Fresno, and .304 in 112 at-bats in the big leagues last year. The Giants are in a tough spot with the young outfielder. To make room for him on the major league roster, they would need to move Rajai Davis or Fred Lewis (who are both 4th year players without options), or trade Dave Roberts or Randy Winn. Trading Dave Roberts makes the most sense, which would open up an everyday spot for Schierholtz and give him a chance to develop his skills on the big league level. The Giants just need to decide what direction they are heading this season.

Giants infield prospect Eugenio Velez is making a strong impression on manager Bruce Bochy this Spring, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. It appears that Velez not only has a good chance to make the 25-man roster, but also to slide into the starting lineup occasionally in a utility role. His speed on the basepaths has been phenomenal, but recently it has been his glove and bat that are drawing attention. After replacing Ray Durham in the bottom of the first inning on friday, Velez had two hits, including a home run off Diamondbacks’ ace Brandon Webb, and made a diving stop on a ground ball that he turned into a double play. The 25-year-old has a league-leading 9 stolen bases and a .357 batting average this Spring.

Earlier this week we listed the top prospects getting cut from the Rays, Indians, Pirates, Nationals, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins, Angels, and Orioles.  We’ve listed below a handful of prospects who have been cut since then.

• Beau Mills, 3B/1B, Indians
• Trevor Crowe, OF, Indians
• Matt LaPorta, OF, Brewers
• Phillipe Aumont, RHP, Mariners
• Robinzon Diaz, C, Blue Jays
• Charlie Morton, RHP, Braves
• Tyler Flowers, C/1B, Braves
• Brett Sinkbeil, RHP, Marlins
• Lance Broadway, RHP, White Sox
• Rick Porcello, RHP, Tigers
• Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies
• Chris Nelson, SS, Rockies
• Jeff Samardzija, RHP, Cubs
• John Bowker, OF, Giants

• After hitting two long balls yesterday, Cameron Maybin came through with another home run today.  Looks like the youngster is making a push for that CF job.  Maybin had come into the game as a pinch runner earlier in the game.
• Kosuke Fukudome wowed fans with his defense today, making a spinning acrobatic catch to save an extra base hit.  Piniella also batted Fukudome in the 5 hole today, wanting to put a solid bat behind Aramis Ramirez.
• As we reported a few days ago, David Price has been cut from the big league squad.  It was announced today that Price will be starting the season at Class A.  This is pretty standard for first year players, but Price proved this spring that he isn’t a standard prospect.  It had been speculated that Price might start a little higher than Single-A ball.  Regardless of where he starts, Price should end up at the big show in no time.
• Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com released his list of the top five farm systems.  Mayo had the Rays at #1 (no surprise there), the A’s at #2 (okay, that’s surprising), the Rangers at #3, the Reds at #4, and the Red Sox rounding it up at #5.
• The Giants are trying speedster Eugenio Velez at 3B.  Two weeks into March and the Giants still don’t really have a leading candidate for the 3B spot, so Velez definitely has a shot.  The Giants have been reported to be surveying the trade market for a third basemen, but if Velez wins this job, look out.  With a little bit of playing time Velez is definitely a fantasy sleeper to watch for his SB totals.
• Twins RHP Nick Blackburn finally gave up a run.  The youngster hadn’t given up a run this spring, until surrendering 3 ER in 3 IP today.

It’s looking more and more likely that Giants prospect Brian Bocock will begin the season as the starting shortsop in San Francisco. The Giants are extremely impressed with Bocock’s slick glove work. In over 50 innings of spring training work, Bocock has yet to commit an error. Giants CF Aaron Rowand had this to say about him:

“The way he plays defense? He’s a big league shortstop already. Great range. Great hands. And a cannon of an arm.”

The only concern for the Giants has been Bocock’s bat. He only hit .220 last year… at Single A. If he only hit .220 against Low-A pitchers, imagine what the NL West pitchers will do to him. Bocock is hoping that an adjustment he made to his swing at the direction of Rowand and hitting coach Carney Lansford will help him make more contact and use his speed to get on base.

• Andy LaRoche had surgery on his right thumb and is expected to be out for 8 to 10 weeks. The third baseman injured the thumb when a pickoff throw ricocheted of a runner and hit him in the hand. Not great news for a Dodgers infield that is already down a starter (Jeff Kent, although his injury is considered minor) and struggling to find healthy replacements.

• Clayton Kershaw got a few pointers from legendary lefty Sandy Koufax.

• Nate Schierholtz hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 7th to pull the Giants ahead of the A’s on Friday. Although Schierholtz has made excellent progress in San Francisco organization, Rick Eymer of MLB.com writes that the 24-year-old might find himself the low man on the outfield totem pole. Barring a trade of some kind that frees up a spot, the Giants are likely to use Schierholtz last minor league option and have him start the year at Triple-A Fresno.

• In other Giants news, four players were sent down to Minor League camp: Clay Timpner (who hit .301 at Triple-A Fresno last season), outfielder John Bowker, and pitchers Osiris Matos and Kevin Pichardo.

• The competition is heating up for the fifth spot in the Oakland A’s rotation. Greg Smith, acquired from the Diamondbacks in the Dan Haren trade, has had a great spring, including Tuesday’s four inning outing: 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and no earned runs. Also in the running are Dana Eveland (also acquired in the Haren deal), Lenny DiNardo, Gio Gonzalez (acquired from the White Sox in the Nick Swisher trade), and Kirk Sarloos. Further complicating the starting pitching situation for the A’s is the injured Chad Gaudin, who is likely start the season on the DL. Thus, there would be two vacancies in the rotation, at least for a while.