We reach our weekly pause with a pocketful of good news — two of the four affiliates have punched their tickets for the league’s postseason (still a ways away), and a third is riding high on an 11-game winning streak. In addition, this week’s review will include a long lost friend — the “player of the week” honors that seemed like a weekly presence last year. Seems like there should be plenty of good news to find if we poke around a bit in the stat lines!
So onwards, into the numbers we go! (We’ll leave the complex level results for the bottom this time out).
Sacramento River Cats: 30-42, 4th Place (11.5 GB)
-60 Run Differential
Is the hardest job in baseball the clubbie in the River Cats locker room who has to make sure that all of the lockers and jerseys have the right names on them? It’s got to be up there!
Still funny to see those Junis numbers.
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
PCL LEADERS
David Villar: HR (1st), OBP (4th), SLG (2nd), OPS (2nd), ISO (1st), Runs (3rd), RBI (1st), BB (T-4th), SO (6th), BB% (5th), wRC+ (2nd), FB% (5th)
Bryce Johnson: SB (5th)
Austin Dean: 3b (T-9th), FB% (10th)
Ka’ai Tom: LD% (7th)
Heliot Ramos: GB% (3rd)
Enmanuel De Jesus: ERA (8th), SO (5th), K% (6th), K-BB% (10th), SwS% (7th)
Raynel Espinal: ERA (10th), FIP (6th), SO (2nd), K% (3rd), K-BB% (4th), LD%-lowest (4th), FB% (8th), SwS% (3rd)
Sean Hjelle: ERA (9th), BB% (6th), WHIP (9th), FIP (9th), LD%-lowest (1st), GB% (3rd)
Joey Marciano: Saves (T-6th)
Because of the paucity of qualified pitchers in most leagues, I dropped minimum innings requirements to 50 IP for all pitching leader statistics for all full season levels.
TRANSACTIONS (not including recall/options to/from SF)
RHP Wei-Chieh Huang placed on 7-day IL
OF Steven Duggar traded to Texas for Willie Calhoun
OF Willie Calhoun assigned to Sacramento
RHP Spencer Bivens re-assigned from San Jose
SS Will Wilson placed on 7-day IL
RHP Matt Carasiti activated from 7-day IL
C/1b Yermin Mercedes assigned to Sacramento
RHP R.J. Dabovich re-assigned from Richmond
Wilson had gotten off to a nice start with Sacramento before suffering a hand injury. It looks like he’ll be out for about a month.
Richmond Flying Squirrels: 40-29, Clinched First Half Title
+16 Run Differential
Sunday’s game concluded the 1st half of Eastern League play in thrilling fashion. Now, with a ticket to the playoffs (and home field in the first round) in their pocket, everyone’s back to 0-0 with a lot of baseball ahead.
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
EL LEADERS
Frankie Tostado: Avg (4th), Hits (4th)
Shane Matheny: Avg (6th), OBP (2nd), OPS (8th), BB% (7th), wRC+ (4th), LD% (10th)
Sean Roby: HR (2nd), SLG (9th), SO (2nd), ISO (2nd)
Tyler Fitzgerald: SO (5th), FB% (1st)
Diego Rincones: K% (1st)
Michael Gigliotti: OBP (9th), SB (T-7th), BB% (8th)
Jake Dahlberg: BB% (6th)
Kai-Wei Teng: IP (9th), SO (6th), GB% (4th)
Bryan Brickhouse: IP (8th), SO (10th)
Matt Frisbee: LD%-lowest (5th), FB% (6th)
Chris Wright: Saves (T-5th)
R.J. Dabovich: Saves (T-8th)
TRANSACTIONS
RHP Solomon Bates sent on rehab assignment to ACL Giants Orange
C Robert Emery re-assigned to Eugene
RHP Clay Helvey re-assigned from Eugene
RHP R.J. Dabovich re-assigned to Sacramento
I’d look for Ryan Murphy to be headed this way today as well.
Eugene Emeralds: 2-1, 1st Place, Clinched First Half Title
+56 Run Differential
Eugene has the league’s best overall record, best run differential, practically laps the league in home runs, and leads all clubs in SLG, OPS, ERA, and Strikeouts by their pitching staff. It’s been a dominant run so far.
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
Put these two levels together and Kyle Harrison has struck out 109 of the 249 batters he’s faced. He’s a 20 year old in Double A. Wow!
NWL LEADERS
Casey Schmitt: HR (1st), Avg (1st), OBP (7th), SLG (3rd), OPS (1st), Hits (3rd), ISO (6th), wRC+ (2nd), FB% (4th)
Ghordy Santos: Avg (10th), Hits (4th), 2b (5th), SO (4th)
Carter Aldrete: HR (T-4th), Avg (6th), SLG (2nd), OPS (4th), 2b (T-9th), K%-lowest (7th), ISO (2nd), wRC+ (6th)
Hunter Bishop: HR (T-7th), SO (1st), SB (T-5th), GB% (T-9th)
Luis Toribio: HR (T-7th), BB (T-9th), BB% (T-3rd), ISO (7th), GB% (2nd)
Jairo Pomares: ISO (10th), FB% (2nd)
Nick Avila: Saves (1st)
Nick Swiney: SO (9th)
Even dropping the innings pitched down to 50, there still aren’t any Eugene pitchers who qualify in the NWL. If I dropped the limit all the way down to 45 IP, Swiney would be 5th in the league in Swinging Strike percentage.
Avila has twice as many saves as the guy in 2nd in the league.
TRANSACTIONS
OF Jairo Pomares re-assigned from ACL Giants Orange
C Cesar Gonzalez re-assigned from ACL Giants Black, then re-assigned back to ACL Giants Black
OF Vaun Brown re-assigned from San Jose Giants
RHP Clay Helvey re-assigned to Richmond
C Robert Emery re-assigned from Richmond
C Patrick Bailey activated from 7-day IL
The catcher roulette goes on! Again, look for a move with Murphy today.
HONORS
OF Hunter Bishop was named the Player of the Week for the NWL
San Jose Giants: 3-0, 1st Place in 2nd Half
+99 Run Differential
Had the first half gone to the end of this week, rather than stopping on Thursday, the Giants would have won their division by two games, thanks to an 11 game winning streak, combined with Fresno ending the week on a three game losing streak. As it is, they’re 3-0 and pushing the boulder back up the mountain.
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
CAL LEAGUE LEADERS
Vaun Brown: Avg (1st), OBP (2nd), SLG (1st), OPS (1st), Hits (3rd), 2b (T-9th), 3b (T-4th), HR (3rd), Runs (8th), SB (5th), ISO (1st), wRC+ (1st), LD% (4th)
Grant McCray: Avg (8th), SLG (5th), OPS (6th), Hits (5th), 2b (6th), 3b (1st), HR (T-7th), Runs (T-6th), SO (4th), SB (7th), ISO (5th), wRC+ (7th), LD% (T-9th)
Aeverson Arteaga: Hits (6th), 2b (T-2nd), Runs (9th), RBI (10th), SO (T-10th), LD% (7th), FB% (7th)
Yorlis Rodriguez: FB% (1st)
Garrett Frechette: Avg (10th)
Landen Roupp: SO (T-5th)
Seth Lonsway: ERA (3rd), FIP (6th), SO (T-9th), BB (T-7th), K% (3rd), Opp Avg (3rd), BABIP (9th), LD% (1st), GB% (1st), SwS% (9th)
Eric Silva: K% (6th), K-BB% (9th), Opp Avg (4th), WHIP (5th), BABIP (3rd), LD% (10th), FB% (3rd), SwS% (10th)
Matt Mikulski: SO (T-9th), K% (8th), BB% (6th), K-BB% (7th), Opp Avg (9th), WHIP (8th), BABIP (10th), LD% (6th), FB% (2nd), SwS% (8th)
Tyler Myrick: Saves (T-4th)
Jose Cruz: Saves (T-9th)
Hunter Dula: Saves (T-9th)
Manuel Mercedes: BB (5th)
Only one player in the Cal League has more XBH than Brown and McCray.
TRANSACTIONS
RHP Jorge Guzman sent to San Jose on rehab assignment
INF Hayden Cantrelle placed on 7-day IL
OF Vaun Brown re-assigned to Eugene
RHP Spencer Bivens re-assigned to Sacramento
LHP Joe Kemlage re-assigned from ACL Giants Black
INF Anyesber Sivira re-assigned from ACL Giants Black
RHP Ben Madison re-assigned from ACL Giants Black
INF Dilan Rosario re-assigned to ACL Giants Black
Kemlage’s reign of terror (see below) on the poor Arizona rookies is finally over, and he’s brought some friends with him! Rosario really started the year out strongly. Sadly, he now heads back for his third summer in the complex league.
Thank god, we don’t have to petition for Brown to be promoted anymore! Of course, his presence in Eugene is sort of locking Carter Williams into San Jose’s roster, which brings us to…
HONORS
OF Carter Williams named California League Player of the Week
RHP Nick Sinacola named California League Pitcher of the Week
Arizona Complex League
Giants Black: 11-2, 1st Place, +46 Run Differential
Giants Orange: 3-12, 6th Place, 9.0 GB, -30 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
I took some of the rehabbing upper levels pitchers out of this list in a futile attempt to make it less unwieldy.
ACL LEAGUE LEADERS
Anthony Rodriguez: HR (1st), RBI (T-7th), SO (T-9th), ISO (10th), FB% (6th)
Anyesber Sivira: SLG (10th), OPS (10th), wRC+ (10th), LD% (8th)
P.J. Hilson: Runs (T-7th), FB% (1st)
Donovan McIntyre: SO (2nd), LD% (10th)
Elian Rayo: BB (4th), BB% (7th)
Irvin Murr III: SO (T-6th)
Derwin Laya: GB% (2nd)
Tyler Forner: SO (T-9th), LD% (4th)
Jared Dupere: GB% (10th)
Joe Kemlage: ERA (1st), FIP (1st), IP (5th), SO (T-2nd), K% (1st), BB% (4th), K-BB% (1st), Opp Avg (3rd), WHIP (1st), BABIP (T-10th), GB% (4th)
Mikell Manzano: IP (3rd), SO (T-2nd), GB% (8th)
Nomar Medina: ERA (8th), FIP (5th), IP (2nd), SO (5th), BB% (7th), SwS% (6th)
Freddery Paulino: IP (4th), LD% (10th)
Laya’s ground ball percentage is nearly 79%. Good lord, that’s a lot of ground balls! As noted above, rookie ballers are now freed from having to face Kemlage. The 23-year-old obviously didn’t belong at this level.
Dominican Summer League
Giants Black: 8-9, 6th Place (5.0 GB), -9 Run Differential
Giants Orange, 7-10, 8th Place (6.0 GB), -12 Run Differential
SORTABLE TABLES: HITTERS PITCHERS
DSL LEAGUE LEADERS
Estanlin Cassiani: SO%-lowest (4th), SwS%-lowest (1st), GB% (9th)
Guillermo Williamson: HR (T-8th)
Saul Bautista: SB (T-8th)
Cesar Perdomo: ERA (T-1st)
Jorge Martinez: SO (T-10th), GB% (9th)
Ricardo Estrada: FB% (6th)
Luis Bermudez: ERA (10th), Opp Avg (3rd), WHIP (1st), BABIP (1st), LD% (T-7th), GB% (1st)
Things aren’t looking great in the DSL, where the two Giants teams combined have nine players posting league average offensive performances, and two of them have already been shipped up to Arizona. Props to Bermudez for jumping up the leaderboards though. That opponent average is just .060 and the BABIP .054!
Yesterday’s Action
My apologies for yesterday’s gaff. Either the MiLB scoreboard was messed up or my sense of how to read a calendar was. Of course, there WERE ACL games last night!
ACL Giants Black lost @ ACL Brewers Blue, 7-1 (7 inn)
P.J. Hilson went deep for the second time this year, though he also struck out twice. Heading for his 21st birthday in August and in his fourth complex season, the toolsy Hilson has cut his K rate down by about 10% so far this year (still 27%), but is hitting just .204. On the other hand, 18-year-old CF Mauricio Pierre isn’t hitting for any power, but is he showing a nice feel for hitting — or he’s getting really lucky with his placement! Pierre’s average on balls in play is an incredible .500! I’ve spoken with scouts who really like the way he moves in center field and his body is highly projectible.
There were quite a few interesting pitching performances on the ACL squads yesterday, and let’s stop to highlight 23-year-old right hander Kanoa Pagan, who struck out six of the nine batters he faced last night. Pagan is a NorCal kid from Santa Clara whom the Giants took with a 19th-round pick in 2019, based on a loose, whippy arm and a velocity spike while pitching at Mission College. Pagan’s had a tough time of it since then, both on the field (where he underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted), and off (his family had to deal with the tragic loss of his eight-year-old brother during spring training of 2020). It’s good to see him back and having success on the field, anyhow. Hopefully, healing has happened off of it, as well.
ACL Giants Orange beat ACL Dodgers, 3-2
Giants Orange used the long ball to take down the Dodgers, getting home runs from Irvin Murr III (his second) and Rajean Anza. It was the first professional home run for Anza. The 19-year-old catcher is in his second professional season and, being a catcher, is almost certain to be assigned to every affiliate in the system sometime over the next two months. Murr has just nine hits on the year, but three have gone for extra bases. He has struck out in 41% of his PA. Here’s a reminder of what he looks like:
The Orange pitching really shoved last night, give or take a couple of solo home runs. Gerelmi Maldonado and Brayan Palencia have both been reported to be throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s this spring and bear keeping an eye on. Maldonado was reported to be one of the hardest throwers on last year’s DSL squads, though he had spotty success at preventing runs there. He’s still an arm that could grow into something very interesting very soon. Palencia’s more of a recent pop up, but I’ve talked with a scout who saw him in the upper 90s in extended this spring.
Ofelky Peralta is far too old for this level and I don’t know that he’s rehabbing any injury. The 25-year-old right hander was released by the Orioles from their Triple A squad last month. He’s always been a hard thrower who struggled to throw strikes, so it’s quite possible he’s in Arizona working with the Giants’ pitching laboratory folks on some tweaks to his motion before heading up to a more appropriate level.
DSL Giants Black beat DSL Tigers2, 5-3 (7 inn)
Guillermo Williamson (18) keeps on hitting for power, with two doubles in this game. The lefty is hitting just .250, but slugging .481. Saul Bautista (18), who is having a quietly good year, pushed his average over .300 with two singles. He did get caught stealing for the second time this year, failing to add to his total of eight — tied for 8th best in the league. Luis Yepez (20) allowed his first run of the season, but saved his second game.
DSL Giants Orange lost @ DSL LAD Mega, 9-4 (7 inn)
Million dollar catcher Juan Perez (17), who is the only one of the recent six- or seven-figure signings on the position player side who is actually playing these days, picked up two hits. That’s his second consecutive multi-hit game, after picking up just five hits total in his first 11 games. He does not yet have an extra base hit, but has collected eight walks against 13 strikeouts in 40 AB.
There is not, overall, a whole lot going on with these DSL teams — but the kids are learning how to play, and in the next year or two, some of them should make their way to Arizona and prove themselves more interesting than we can currently conceive.
Today’s Scheduled Starters:
Sacramento (De Jesus) @ Reno (TBD), 6:35 pm, MiLBTV
Richmond (Dahlberg) @ Bowie (TBD), 3:35 pm, MiLBTV
Eugene (TBD) vs. Everett (Mercedes), 6:35 pm, MiLBTV
San Jose (TBD) vs. Modesto (TBD), 6:35 pm, MiLBTV
ACL Giants Black (Monegro) vs. ACL Athletics (TBD), 6:00 pm, No Video
ACL Giants Orange (Paulino) @ ACL Mariners (TBD), 6:00 pm, No Video
DSL Giants Black (Grullon) @ DSL Nationals (TBD), 8:00 am, No Video
DSL Giants Orange (Mota) vs. DSL NYY Yankees (TBD), 8:00 am, No Video
Scheduling note — this week’s podcast had to be postponed due to guest illness. Having hyped it up a bit, I sincerely apologize for the delay. I’m trying to reschedule as soon as I can. I also might have a player interview or two to drop in a pod in the next few days.
The second half begins. Let’s get at it!
Murphy and Harrison in AA at the same time. Xmas has come early for you Roger.