Crick is being treated as a reliever by the Giants this spring, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

2016 was Crick's last chance as a starter, and he was awful, allowing a 5.04 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over 23 starts at the Double-A level. Crick has a chance to open the season in the Giants bullpen if he can continue to impress in spring training. As things stand, though, even if Crick doesn't break camp with the major league squad, expect him to spend the 2017 campaign working in relief.

Crick has made three Cactus League appearances and has yet to allow a run in 3.2 innings of work.

EDGE Analysis

Crick has struck out three and walked two in those three appearances. The former first-round draft pick has largely been considered a bust, and the Giants are seeing if they can salvage any value from his arm while they still have him under team control. Speaking of control, Crick doesn't possess any. In his five full seasons as a minor leaguer, he hasn't had a BB/9 under five. There is no denying that he has electric stuff, but he won't stick in the majors if he is issuing free passes at the rate he has been. That being said, a strong spring training and improved control to start the year in the minors would go a long way in saving his sinking stock value.

Crick's woes continued in 2016, posting a career-worst 5.04 ERA in 109 innings with Double-A Richmond.

EDGE Analysis

The Giants tried moving Crick from reliever to starter again and they got the worst results of his young career. While he "dialed back" the walks to a mark of 5.53 BB/9, his strikeouts also took a major step in the reverse direction (7.10 K/9). The organization is obviously trying to tinker with their former top pitching prospect, but it appears to be all for naught. After three consecutive years at the Double-A level, it is time for Crick to show some sort of progression -- even if it comes as a reliever -- otherwise he may never get an opportunity to pitch in a major league game.

Crick's last three appearances have all come out of the bullpen for Double-A Richmond after making 11 starts to open the season. Crick's has entered in the seventh and eighth inning during July, a move that has not helped his control, having walked six batters in 2.1 innings. He now has 46 free passes and 44 strikeouts over 44.1 innings, and while some have viewed him as a potential closer down the line, Crick's prospect status, both in real life and fantasy, are dropping rapidly due to his erratic offerings.

Crick has a 1.88 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 32 walks in 38.1 innings with Double-A Richmond. He missed time briefly with a sore wrist earlier this year, but is back to throwing around four innings per start. To be fair, 12 of those 32 walks came in his last 8.1 innings, but the problems with Crick's command persist. Nobody doubts his stuff, but if he has no idea where it's going, it won't matter as a starter in the big leagues. That said, Crick could be a pretty dominant reliever if the Giants chose to go that route. It is not yet time to give up on the 22-year-old righty, but he is not the best or even the second best pitching prospect in the Giants' system anymore.