Alexander Suarez goes Bang!
Plus Week 7 Stats Reviews
Officially, short season ball begins next week, but thanks to San Jose sneaking in a little holiday gate with a Monday night game, we’ve prematurely reached the point in the season where full Monday off days have disappeared on us.
So, today we get the regular Week 7 Stats Review, looking back on the season thus far. But we also have a game to cover so let’s get to the Lines first….
HITTER of the Night: Alexander Suarez (SJ), 2 for 4, 2 HR (5), 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 K
PITCHER of the Night: Keaton Winn (SJ), 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
San Jose beat Stockton Ports (A’s), 10-2
When players put up big numbers in the rookie league — but those big numbers come with equally red flags — the path forward for players is always a murky question mark. Which will turn out to be more predictive? The power, the speed, the ability to get to hard contact regularly, or the huge strikeout rates, which come with implications of major approach issues, swing issues or both? We’ve seen Aeverson Arteaga be able to translate much of the success he had in the complex to his Low A debut so far, despite continued strikeout rates that are problematically elevated.
For Alexander Suarez, the transition has been more bumpy. The powerful OF posted an excellent .311/.379/.503 line in the complex last year — one of the best offensive performances in the league. But that came attached to a sky-high (for the level) 33% K rate. Moving up to A ball, the strikeouts have remained, but the rest of the numbers seem to have remained in Scottsdale. Suarez is off to a .186/.273/.372 with a 35% strikeout rate. Tough year!
But those intriguing tools are still in there, and yesterday he was able to flex and show some of them off, going deep twice in a 10-2 pasting of the young Ports. Suarez’ first home run of the day came on a low and in fastball, and was described by Joe Ritzo as being one of the most impressive home runs of the season for the Giants, blasted over 450 feet to left field. That was the second of back to back shots with Dilan Rosario in the 2nd inning that first started to wrench this game towards “Blow Out” status.
But it was a 6-run 6th inning that really put things into the laugher category, and almost everybody got involved in that one. The Giants put up four extra-base hits in a seven-hit inning to really rev the holiday fans up, with Suarez’ three-run shot (off a breaking ball this time) providing the accent mark.
Let’s check out that epic bat flip by Suarez one more time. Think he wasn’t enjoying this Memorial Day?
Starter Keaton Winn didn’t have his best command of the season, nor really his best stuff. He left his fastball up out of the zone frequently, and didn’t quite seem to have the sharp bite on his splitter. But he battled and prevailed through a lot of long at bats, ultimately ending up with 7 strikeouts — just one off his season high — and reaching the 70 pitch mark for the second straight start. Not quite the sharpest Winn we’ve seen this season — but still way too much for the relatively weak Ports’ lineup. The Giants are being careful with Winn in his return from TJ surgery, and so far it’s paying off with a performance that is really turning heads. Here he is blowing away A’s #4 prospect Max Muncy for the second time in the game.
Sacramento River Cats: 22-26, 4th Place (5.0 GB)
-42 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
PCL LEADERS
David Villar: OBP (6th), SLG (1st), OPS (2nd), HR (1st), Runs (T-7th), RBI (2nd), BB (T-9th), SO (T-7th), ISO (1st), wRC+ (2nd), FB% (T-9th)
Heliot Ramos: GB% (2nd), SwS%-highest (9th)
Arquimedes Gamboa: BB% (7th)
Austin Dean: 3b (T-5th), HR (T-9th), ISO (5th), FB% (4th)
Enmanuel De Jesus: ERA (7th), FIP (5th), SO (3rd), K% (3rd), K-BB% (5th), Opp Avg (6th), WHIP (9th), FB% (9th), SwS% (5th)
Michael Plassmeyer: IP (10th), K% (10th), FB% (2nd), SwS% (3rd)
Sean Hjelle: BB% (5th), FIP (8th), GB% (2nd)
Raynel Espinal: SO (T-8th)
Joey Marciano: Saves (T-7th)
TRANSACTIONS (not including recall/options to/from SF)
RHP Norwith Gudino activated from 7-day IL
Richmond Flying Squirrels: 24-21, 3rd Place (3.0 GB)
-24 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
EL LEADERS
Frankie Tostado: Avg (2nd), SLG (10th), OPS (10th), Hits (3rd), wRC+ (9th), SwS%-highest (7th)
Shane Matheny: Avg (9th), OBP (4th), SLG (6th), OPS (5th), wRC+ (6th)
Sean Roby: HR (3rd), ISO (5th), SO (4th), SwS% (8th)
Tyler Fitzgerald: SO (5th), FB% (1st)
Brandon Martorano: ISO (9th), FB% (T-9th)
Diego Rincones: K%-lowest (4th)
Michael Gigliotti: SB (T-10th), BB% (9th)
Jake Dahlberg: HR Allowed (T-6th), BB-fewest (T-6th), BB%-lowest (8th), FB% (6th)
Kai-Wei Teng: BB-Most (7th), GB% (1st)
Gray Fenter: BB-Most (4th)
Bryan Brickhouse: SwS% (10th)
Chris Wright: Saves (T-7th)
Richmond is second in the EL in team HR with 59.
TRANSACTIONS
LHP Kyle Harrison assigned from Eugene
OF Franklin Labour activated from 7-day IL
INF/OF Simon Whiteman placed on 7-day IL
INF Will Wilson activated from 7-day IL
INF Hayden Cantrelle acquired from Miami, assigned to Richmond (NOTE: this could be a paper transaction, with him actually reporting elsewhere. Cantrelle has not be activated onto Richmond roster)
Eugene Emeralds: 21-18, 2nd Place (1.0 GB)
+3 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
NWL LEADERS
Casey Schmitt: Avg (2nd), OBP (5th), SLG (1st), OPS (2nd), Hits (T-10th), HR (T-4th), RBI (T-10th), SO-fewest (10th), ISO (5th), wRC+ (2nd), FB% (5th)
Marco Luciano: Avg (4th), OBP (9th), SLG (2nd), OPS (3rd), Hits (T-8th), HR (1st), ISO (3rd), wRC+ (3rd)
Carter Aldrete: SLG (5th), HR (T-6th), ISO (1st), SO-fewest (2nd), FB% (9th)
Ghordy Santos: SO-most (9th),
Hunter Bishop: SB (T-7th), SO-most (2nd), K%-highest (2nd), GB% (6th), SwS%-highest (4th)
Jairo Pomares: HR (T-9th), ISO (10th), K%-highest (8th), FB% (1st), SwS%-highest (6th)
Patrick Bailey: HR (T-9th), SO-fewest (T-7th), FB% (3rd), SwS%-lowest (9th)
Jimmy Glowenke: HR (T-9th), ISO (9th) K%-highest (6th), FB% (2nd), SwS%-highest (2nd)
Kyle Harrison: SO (2nd)
Nick Avila: Saves (1st)
Eugene leads the NWL in team HR (50). Think this team likes hitting fly balls? Check out their dominance on the FB% leaderboard!
TRANSACTIONS
LHP Kyle Harrison re-assigned to Richmond
RHP Mason Black assigned from San Jose
San Jose Giants: 27-19, 2nd Place (2.5 GB)
+51 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
CAL LEAGUE LEADERS
Vaun Brown: Avg (2nd), OBP (4th), SLG (1st), OPS (1st), Hits (1st), HR (3rd), 3b (T-4th), Runs (3rd), RBI (T-10th), SB (T-4th), ISO (2nd), wRC+ (1st), LD% (1st)
Grant McCray: SLG (10th), OPS (10th), 3b (1st), SO-most (8th), ISO (7th)
Abdiel Layer: K%-highest (5th), ISO (9th)
Victor Bericoto: BB% (T-10th)
Dilan Rosario: BB% (T-10th), K%-highest (6th)
Aeverson Arteaga: Hits (5th), Runs (T-6th), SO-most (4th), K%-highest (8th), LD% (2nd), FB% (3rd)
Yorlis Rodriguez: FB% (2nd), SwS%-highest (3rd)
Garrett Frechette: 3b (T-4th), SwS%-highest (7th)
Adrian Sugastey: K%-lowest (9th)
Mason Black: SO (T-10th)
Manuel Mercedes: BB-Most (4th)
Seth Lonsway: BB-Most (6th)
Tyler Myrick: Saves (T-4th)
San Jose doesn’t appear to have any qualified pitchers in the California League (Black was before he moved on). The team is second in the league in HRs (52).
TRANSACTIONS
RHP Mason Black re-assigned to Eugene
INF Riley Mahan assigned to San Jose
RHP Sam Delaplane activated for rehab assignment
Tonight’s Scheduled Starters
Sacramento (Espinal) @ Las Vegas (Wiles), 7:05 pm, MiLBTV
Richmond (Frisbee) @ Akron (TBD), 3:35 pm, MiLBTV
Eugene (TBD) @ Everett (TBD), 7:05 pm, NO VIDEO
Eugene (TBD) @ Everett (TBD), SUSPENDED GAME NO VIDEO
San Jose: OFF
Eugene makes up one of its many weather-impacted games, in this case a game that was suspended in the 4th inning way back on April 10 (the third game of the season). That gives us (sort of ) our full allotment of games, as San Jose is taking their standard Monday off day on Tuesday this week. This is also the final week of a reasonably sane “four teams per day” schedule. Next Monday, rookie leagues open up, with the Giants once again fielding two teams each in the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and the Dominican Summer League (DSL).
We’re really getting into it now!
Look for a great episode of the podcast coming your way later today. I’ve got Giants’ Manager of Education and Cultural Development Laura Nuñez on today, talking about the ways her department provides resources to help develop the whole player. I’m very excited to have Laura on the pod and hope you really enjoy it!
The guy batting cleanup, Mahan, a new acquisition and 26, is he considered a prospect or some kind of 'filler'?
What do you see going on with Rincones? He’s gone from a potential 40 man to I don’t know what without moving up a level.