Giant Future for Prospect Buster Posey

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Buster Posey has a game plan. He focuses on today and what he can do to get better. Tomorrow -- and spring training -- will come soon enough.

Posey, the San Francisco Giants' catcher of the future, is taking a few weeks to catch his breath before he dives full bore into his spring training preparation. His first full year in professional baseball, punctuated by a September promotion to the major leagues, ended last month with the conclusion of the Arizona Fall League.

Posey's future has been oft-debated, and the former Florida State star and fifth overall pick in the 2008 draft is expected to begin the 2010 season back with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, according to recent statements from Giants general manager Brian Sabean.

While Sabean says the Giants front office doesn't believe Posey is physically ready yet to catch 100-plus games in the majors, that's not to say Posey won't have the opportunity to make another favorable impression at big-league camp in February.

Many in that same front office believe Posey has the ability to become a perennial All-Star.

The 22-year-old makes his offseason home in Florida's state capital, where he helped lead the Seminoles to the College World Series in 2008 and became one of the program's most popular and respected players.

Posey recently participated as an instructor in a local father-son baseball camp with four of his former Seminole teammates and Atlanta Braves catcher David Ross, who also makes Tallahassee his offseason home. Posey, who looked refreshed and in great spirits, was pleased with his initial pro season.

"I think this year has been really productive," Posey said.

"I've definitely learned a lot [in fall league]. I concentrated on my all-around game. Just facing good competition, whether it's batters I am trying to call pitches to get out or whether it's pitchers I am facing. I think it has been a good experience for me, trying to learn how to play the game when my body is tired. Just trying to figure out what I have to do to be successful."

Posey certainly fulfilled expectations.

He hit .325 with 18 homers and 80 RBI combined at Single-A San Jose and Fresno. He also collected 31 doubles and scored 84 runs while finishing with a .416 on-base percentage. Posey was named the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps Minor League Player of the Year for 2009.

In a limited audition with San Francisco down the stretch, however, Posey was 2-for-17 and he followed that up with a 16-for-71 campaign in the Arizona Fall League. Club officials would like to see Posey, who hit .257 in his final 10 games of the AFL season, get stronger.

"Our overall conclusion from a baseball standpoint is [that] nobody thinks he's ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues," Sabean told the San Jose Mercury News.

"That would be a tall order. Could he be introduced at some point and learn as he went? That's probably the better solution."

Sabean said he hadn't completely ruled out starting the season with Posey if none of the free-agent choices materialized during the ongoing Winter Meetings. None did.

"Obviously, we have a premium staff," Sabean said.

"First and foremost, he'd have to take on those duties. We know he's going to hit, but if for some reason he does not, you wouldn't want to be in that position to send him back or put that kind of pressure on him. That's our overall concern. He may be better off to earn his way here."

Posey's promotion to The Show last September was a dream come true.

The call came on the evening of Sept. 1, when Posey was in the in the Fresno bullpen warming up his starting pitcher for that evening's game in Las Vegas. Grizzlies manager Dan Rohn interrupted the session and informed Posey he wasn't in the lineup.

"Another catcher stepped in and started warming up the pitcher," Posey recalled.

"I was a little confused at first but started to put the pieces together. He ended up telling me three innings in that I was going up the next day. I really didn't expect it, but it was a great surprise."

San Francisco brass had repeatedly said it didn't plan to promote Posey, but the Giants got into a jam when starter Bengie Molina was slow to recover from a leg injury. When Posey got the word, he hustled to a telephone and made quick calls to his wife and parents.

Less than 24 hours later, the group met in Philadelphia for the Giants' series against the defending World Series champion Phillies.

"I took a shuttle straight to the field; I didn't even get to go to the hotel," Posey said.

"It was pretty overwhelming at that point, walking into a big-league stadium. Philadelphia was a pretty neat place to get called up to. They had won the World Series last year and were trying to clinch the Eastern Division. Our first game was there, and the place was rocking pretty good. I didn't play in that series, but just being part of it was special.

"It was a pretty memorable place to spend my first game."

Posey made his major league debut on Sept. 11 and his first plate appearance came at home against the Dodgers and right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.

"I was a little nervous but fine once I got into the batter's box," Posey said. "I ended up punching out but it's one of those things. ... I will always remember that feeling."

Posey was also dressed for success -- wig, dress and high heels, accessories were optional. As part of rookie-hazing hijinks in the major leagues, Posey and fellow Giants rookies were dressed in drag for a late-season airline flight.

"I don't know how pretty of a girl I would make," he said and laughed. "That wasn't a pretty sight."

Posey, of course, is a good-looking catching prospect.

He absorbed every facet of the game during his stint in the bigs. The Giants want him to continue to learn the nuances of baseball's most demanding position. That includes refining his defensive skills, learning how to call pitches and coping with long days and nights.

"I think it's just a matter of slowing the game down," Posey said of the difference between the minors and majors.

"Obviously, the guys, their tools are more refined, more polished and just more consistent overall, but for me being up there to start the game seemed a lot faster. The more I was around it, it started slowing down a little bit more. I would say that was the biggest difference, the speed of the game."

After a quick reprieve for the holidays, Posey will pick up the pace regarding his offseason workouts.

"Spring training will be here before we know it," Posey said.