Verlander -- a Cactus League rookie -- settling in with Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Justin Verlander made his third start of the Cactus League Tuesday afternoon, and the 42-year-old continued to show no signs of aging.

Verlander allowed just one run over five innings, off four hits, one walk and one home run, striking out four in San Francisco¡¯s 5-3 win over the Athletics. He has a 2.45 ERA this spring.

Selected with the second overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft, Verlander is entering his 22nd year in professional baseball. He¡¯s gone through the motions of Spring Training over 20 times, but now as a member of the Giants, he¡¯s getting his first taste of Cactus League play.

¡°It¡¯s been great,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I think for travel, it¡¯s incredible. I don¡¯t think the young guys here that have to go on the road every day realize how good they have it here versus Florida. It can be pretty tough there in the Grapefruit League. No, it¡¯s been nice. I¡¯ve really enjoyed my time here.¡±

The Cactus League¡¯s complexes are all within a 50-mile radius of each other, making travel much lighter than that of the Grapefruit League, which is spread across Florida. Pitching for the Tigers, Astros and Mets, that sort of statewide travel was all that Verlander had known.

Verlander owns a home in Jupiter, Fla., not far from where he most recently spent Spring Training with the Astros. With his wife and daughter back in Florida, Verlander has had more time to spend at the Giants¡¯ facilities in Scottsdale, where he¡¯s taken on the role of mentor to the club¡¯s young pitchers.

¡°I think it just kind of happens naturally,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I¡¯ve made it clear that I¡¯m around, I¡¯m available and want to talk. So, I get asked a lot of questions. I think it¡¯s one of the blessings of being out here in Arizona and not having my family out here, is I spend a lot of time at the field. There¡¯s really no rush for me to get home and spend the day with my daughter. And with my extra time, I spend it here and spend it with kids that aren¡¯t much older than my daughter.¡±

Manager Bob Melvin has been pleased with what he¡¯s seen from Verlander thus far.

"He¡¯s been all-in on helping those guys out, watching bullpens, having opinions," Melvin said. "I mean, you look at the skillset and what he¡¯s accomplished over his career. There¡¯s a lot more to him. He¡¯s completely prepared for each and every game. He knows the opponents well. He studies them well. So much [of] that goes into what has made him the pitcher that he is today.¡±

Six players reassigned to Minor League camp
The Giants continued to downsize their roster on Tuesday, reassigning six players to Minor League camp.

Among the six that were informed they had been reassigned were a pair of left-handed pitchers that were vying for a spot in the Giants¡¯ bullpen, Antonio Jimenez and Helcris Olivárez.

Jimenez tossed a scoreless frame in his first appearance on Feb. 24, but allowed three runs off three hits, one walk and a home run in two-thirds of an inning in his second against the Cubs two days later.

¡°In Jimenez¡¯s case, maybe he didn¡¯t perform great, but I¡¯m not sure we gave him some good spots,¡± Melvin said. ¡°I think he faced all right-handers. I¡¯m not even sure he faced a left-hander, even though he has the weapons to get the righties out. He¡¯s 23 years old. There¡¯s a lot to like about him, we just don¡¯t have enough innings right now for him.¡±

Melvin was impressed by Olivarez, who struck out four in two innings of action, allowing just one hit, no walks and no runs.

¡°Olivarez, I mean, if he can throw the ball over the plate like he has here, he¡¯s got big league written all over him,¡± Melvin said. ¡°But he¡¯s going to need to have to go down there and perform. He feels much more confident in his delivery now. I know it was only a couple of outings, but it was really impressive that he threw the ball over the plate.¡±

In addition to Olivarez and Jimenez, the club reassigned infielder Sergio Alc¨¢ntara, right-hander Justin Garza, and catcher Adri¨¢n Sugastey to Minor League camp.

Forty-four players remain in big league camp, 34 of whom are on the Giants¡¯ 40-man roster. The other 10 are non-roster invites.