Jeremiah Knackstedt, who will be returning to Manage the Eugene Emeralds once again in 2025, is my guest on this week’s show. We talk about the challenges of moving from the Cal League to the NWL (for both players and staff), and get into the performances on the 2024 Eugene club. Of course, that includes a whole lot of Bryce Eldridge conversation!

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Intro/Outro: “I’m Good, I’m Gone,” by Lykke Li

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It’s another KROG pod! Kerry Crowley and I discuss the oddly incomplete Giants’ roster as pitchers and catchers are set to report. We dig in on the players we hope to see step forward on the pitching and hitting side, and what we think needs to happen for this club to stay competitive.

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Intro/Outro: “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles

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Dennis Pelfrey will be returning to Richmond in 2025 to helm the Flying Squirrels for the fourth consecutive season — making him the longest tenured manager in team history. He joins me this week to talk about the challenges of developing a major league winning ballplayer. We discuss the continuity and stability in minor league coaching staffs, the change at the top of the organization, and the challenges that young players face in trying to become big leaguers.

All There R Giants’ content is supported by the generosity of my subscribers. With this year’s Top 50 currently underway and spring camp coming up next month, now is a great time to become a There R Giants’ subscriber and get all of my posts delivered, ad-free, straight to your Inbox.

There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Intro/Outro: “Blue Skies” by Willie Nelson

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Long time SFChronicle beat writer (and former President of the BBWAA), the great Susan Slusser joins me this week to set the stage for pitchers and catchers reporting soon. Susan and I talk a bit about the financial situation of the Giants, the weird impact of sharing a home Triple-A field with the Athletics, and she gets us set for the many, many camp battles that should be coming your way in just a couple of weeks! (There are a lot of them!)

You absolutely want to follow Susan’s reporting from Scottsdale, which you can do by following here on Bluesky at susanslusser.bsky.social — or simply do the old fashioned thing and subscribe to the Chronicle!

You can follow all of my work at Bluesky at rog61.bsky.social, or become a full subscriber to There R Giants to get it all delivered, ad free, straight to your Inbox. With my Top 50 prospect rankings rolling out now, and footage from minor league camp coming in late March, now is a great time to join the There R Giants’ community.

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Intro/Outro: “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory” by Oasis

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KROG returns for another year! Kerry Crowley and I discuss the Dodgers’ kicking things up to Boss Mode on MLB in 2025. And, on a happier note, we talk about what we’re excited to see in this edition of the Giants as spring training approaches.

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Intro/Outro: “Things Have Changed” by Bob Dylan

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Eric Longenhagen just put out his essential Giants’ system rankings on Fangraphs last Friday. Which makes this a great time to catch up with Eric and talk a little Giants’ prospects. We get into the chaos that was created around the international signing deadline this year, as well as Eric’s appreciation for the talent the Giants are bringing in through that market in recent years. And of course, we talk plenty of Bryce Eldridge and pitching! Eric’s list are always interesting, insightful, idiosyncratic, and brilliantly written, so I look forward to them every year — and he’s just as much fun to chat with. Enjoy!

You can read There R Giants’ full Top 50 for the Giants’ system, which will start rolling out in depth tomorrow, by becoming a There R Giants’ subscriber.

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Intro/Outro: “Think for Yourself” by The Beatles

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Once again this year, I’m privileged to have Giants’ Senior Director of International Scouting, Joe Salermo, on the podcast to talk about the latest class of international signees into the Giants’ organization. That class is headed by a player that many evaluators consider the top 16-year-old talent this year, shortstop Josuar de Jesus Gonzalez, and we talk a lot about that young man (including what we should call him). Joe also discusses the other recently signed players, the impact that Rōki Sasaki had on this year’s process, and we look back to the performance of previous year’s players as they make their way up the Giants’ system.

A lot of those players are going to be showing up in this year’s There R Giants’ Top 50 which will be rolling out starting next week — which makes this a great time to become a There R Giants’ subscriber.

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Intro/Outro: “This is the Day” by The The

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My guest this week is Joe Doyle, host of the fantastic “Over-Slot” podcast and prospect analyst for Future Stars Series_Plus. Joe and I talk about the the Giants’ draft and development identity, what types of players they have historically looked for in the draft, and how that might change under Buster Posey’s leadership.

You can become a Patreon subscriber to hear all of Joe’s conversations with Scouting Directors around MLB and other front office personnel, or follow him on Twitter at JoeDoyleMiLB or at BlueSky at joedoylemilb.bsky.social to follow all his work. You can find me at BlueSky at rog61.bsky.social to see all my work or become a There R Giants’ subscriber to get it all delivered right to your Inbox.

For those of you who would rather read than listen, you can check the “Transcripts” tab to see AI’s version of our conversation.

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Intro/Outro: “See Me, Feel Me” by The Who

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This week, The Athletic’s Katie Woo joins me to talk about St. Louis Cardinals’ player development issues. Katie and I identify a few places where the Cardinals and Giants find themselves in similar circumstances, and she discusses the Cardinals’ plans to fix their development processes.

Follow Katie on Twitter at katiejwoo or on Bluesky at katiejwoo.bsky.social. You can follow me on Bluesky at rog61.bsky.social or simply become a There R Giants’ subscriber to get all of my work delivered straight to your inbox.

There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Intro/Outro: “Christmas Blues” by Ralph Willis

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Kerry Crowley and I talk about the Giants’ vibe-based approach to roster building, the importance of having “top steppers,” and the pursuit of Corbin Burnes. We also make a Christmas wish for the return of good old fashioned baseball trades to the Giants’ off-season.

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Intro/Outro: Selections from “Nutcracker Suite for Guitar” by Stevan Pasero

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