Former Waipahu High all-state pitcher Jerome Williams is growing on the San Francisco Giants.
A lanky 6 feet 1 and 187 pounds in high school, the 1999 supplemental draft pick (39th overall) has grown three inches and gained 18 pounds.
But the growth that impresses the Giants is on the mound.
At Class A San Jose (Calif.) last season, Williams was 7-6 with a 2.94 earned-run average. He made 23 appearances, 19 of them starts. He struck out 115 and walked 48 in 126 innings.
He was promoted to Double A Shreveport (La.), where he made a start in the Texas League playoffs. He lost 1-0 to Wichita, but he allowed one run, two hits and two walks, while striking out two in seven innings.
Not bad for someone who didn’t turn 19 until December.
"When I got there, a lot of the (older) guys said, ‘You don’t belong here,’ " recalled Williams. "After that game, they said, ‘You belong here.’ "
The book, "Future Stars-The Rookies of 2001-2002," called Williams "one of the most advanced teenage pitching prospects to hit the scene in recent years."
Williams, who attended a Giants conditioning camp Feb. 3-8 in Scottsdale, Ariz., has been working out with Lenn Sakata, the Giants’ Class A manager for San Jose. Sakata has said Williams could make the big leagues in two years.
Another teen who adjusted to pro ball was 2000 Kamehameha Schools graduate Kahi Kaanoi, a seventh-round pick by the Kansas City Royals.
In four games for the rookie Gulf Coast League Royals, Kaanoi was 2-1 with an 0.56 ERA., pitching against competition primarily his age. He faced top draft pick of 2000, Adrian Gonzalez, the national high school player of the year. Kaanoi said Gonzalez, of the Florida Marlins farm system, doubled off him, but he struck him out the next time.
Kaanoi then got promoted to Class A Charleston (W.Va.) of the South Atlantic League. He was 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA, facing mostly players older than him. Kaanoi did not turn 18 until Aug. 19.
However, the right-hander suffered a shoulder injury and is still recovering from offseason surgery. Kaanoi said it might be another two months before he is able to pitch again.
"I got tired toward the end of the season and got kind of lazy" with my mechanics, Kaanoi explained about his injury. "I was dropping my arm."
