Carson Ragsdale Turns Back the Clock

SF Giants Minor Lines, June 5, 2024

The long, slow climb for Spencer Bivens — which has been longer and slower than that of nearly any of his peers — continued to break into the blue skies and clear sunshine when the reliever was named Pitcher of the Month for the PCL in May. For my Stats Reviews fans, you may have noticed Bivens showing up repeatedly in the PCL leaderboards this week. That’s no surprise! The dude who started his pitching career in France just completed a month in the hardest pitching environment in the world with an 0.49 ERA, a 2-0 record, three saves, and a lot of potential rallies quashed.

Here, enjoy a quick look at what the past month has been like for Spencer:

The growth that Bivens has shown over the past year is really remarkable. A year ago at this time, he was mostly pitching the bad side of blow outs for Richmond, and on more than a few nights, put his catcher through a scud-laden workout. But over the course of the summer, he really refined command of his sinker/slider combo, and now he’s the guy Dave Brundage calls on when he’s dealing with a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the late innings. He’s also just one call away from a life-long dream come true — what must have seemed an Impossible Dream for so much of the past decade.

Heartfelt congratulations from There R Giants, Spencer. You’ve earned this the hard way!

There have been some really positive developments on the Giants’ farm of late — we’ll discuss more of those today — but stories like Bivens’ or, heck, Heliot Ramos’, always serve to remind us that the player development game is one of unexpected twists and turns, steps forward and steps back, and always, always of patience, resilience, and faith.

HITTER of the NIGHT: Allan Cerda (Rich), 2 for 3, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI
PITCHER of the NIGHT: Carson Ragsdale (Rich), 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

So, let’s hop on it! We’ve got pitchers returning to action; pitchers showing off new tricks and pushing themselves to new limits; and yes, don’t worry, we’ll have a little offense along the way as well…