On Thursday Evening, August 6, Giants Rising Stars Pablo Sandoval and Andres Torres visited Sports Gallery at our Walnut Creek Gallery. It was Pablo's second signing at Sports Gallery and Andres' first.

Pablo Sandoval, born in Carabobo, Venezuela, is the latest Giants phenom. Signed by San Francisco in 2002 at the age of 16, few Giants players have generated as much buzz as Sandoval so early in their career. He has torn up every league he's played in the last two years with his bat (in 273 at-bats for A San Jose, he hit .359 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI and in 175 at-bats with AA Connecticut, he hit .337 with eight homers and 37 RBI) and he's doing the same with SF hitting well over .300 in 2009 and leading the team in HR's. And Pablo has proved very capable at multiple defensive positions, playing Catcher, 3B and 1B extremely well, with third being his primary position. Nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda" by teammate Barry Zito because of his resemblance to the movie character, Pablo is fast becoming one of the most popular athletes in the Bay Area. And watch out for Andres Torres, already the owner of a rare non-Barry splash shot in his first year as a Giant. This Puerto Rico native is turning heads around the League with both his bat and his glove. A key part of the Giants future.