Week 13 in Review: Fond Farewells
July 26-Aug 2, 2021 SF Giants Minor Lines
It’s time for the Tuesday Free For All! There aren’t many of these, so if you’d like to receive more There R Giants content, why not subscribe for daily posts, Monday - Friday?
The big news of the week was obviously the trade deadline, with the Giants pulling off a major deal in acquiring former MVP Kris Bryant, and a minor deal in bringing back good ol’ Tony Watson to give the bullpen a little veteran gravitas for the stretch run. Good deals! And hopefully enough for value to get this team to the finish line with a division title.
Ah yes, but here at There R Giants, the focus is always on the player development side, so it’s worth taking a final look at how the Giants developed the talent they used to swing these deadline deals — and say a fond farewell to some good (now-former) Giants and wish them the best of luck in pursuing their dreams.
Alexander Canario was a modest $60,000 signing way back on July 2, 2016 — far less than players like the long-since released Ismael Alcantara or the just released (see below) Andrew Caraballo. But Canario quickly began to shine brighter than some of his higher priced contemporaries, and by the following summer, stood out enough to be named a member of the DSL Classification All Star Team by Baseball America. BA ranked him the system’s #13 prospect before he’d ever played domestically. Canario’s calling card was his terrific bat speed, which produced enormous power, but he was also a strong all around athlete with good speed and a strong arm. Though slowed by a chronic shoulder issue, he exploded in 2019, blasting 7 home runs in just 10 games in the rookie league, and nine more after a quick promotion to short season Salem-Keizer. The strikeouts were an issue, but his talent was too outsized to deny, and despite having never played at the full-season level, the Giants protected him by adding him to the 40-man last winter. Ironically, that ultimately made him the most likely prospect to be traded, but both the Giants and Canario should be proud of his development from a low-level IFA signing to a major piece used in acquiring an MVP-level player in just five years.
Nearly as improbable was the rise of Caleb Kilian, the Giants 8th round pick in the 2019 draft — and the first pitcher they selected that year. Kilian had a long run in the College World Series as the ace of the Texas Tech staff, so the Giants eased him into pro ball. In 16 innings in 2019, Kilian didn’t allow a run. He also had a 17 to 2 K/BB ratio — which gave a small hint of what kind of pitcher the Giants had found. Caleb recounted for me his efforts to stay in shape during the COVID summer of 2020, throwing into a tiny net at an empty playground. Whatever it was, it seemed to work, because when Kilian showed up at Instrux, he was throwing a four-seamer that popped up to 97 along with a two-seamer, cutter, and sinker that he could dot the edges of the zone with. Starting his career in earnest in 2021, Kilian laid waste to the High-A West and earned a quick promotion after winning two Pitcher of the Week honors and a Pitcher of the Month. He was nearly as impressive in Double-A Richmond, posting a 2.43 ERA in 11 starts, earning another Pitcher of the Week, and impressing both Giants, and apparently Cubs, officials with his ability to work to the edges of all quadrants with a variety of movements. In the worst start of his career (his last start as a Giant) he allowed a total of four runs. He has surrendered two homers in his career (one a cheapie) and has a career K/BB of 113 to 11.
Jose Marte was another low dollar signing on the J2 market in 2015 (the same year the Giants paid $6 million for Lucius Fox, as well as several six figure signings like Ricardo Genovés, Kervin Castro and Camilo Doval). Marte was an older signing, 19 at the time, with a hard, heavy fastball that stays in the high 90s. Inconsistent command and wavering velocity prevented him from moving quickly, and he was miscast as a starter, which caused his stuff to play down and produce a series of unimpressive stat lines. In 2021, the Giants finally placed the 25-year-old in the pen and he immediately dominated, touching 100 with his fastball, and overwhelming High-A hitters with a wicked slider. After a quick promotion to Richmond, his results were a little more uneven: in some outings his stuff was electric while in others he struggled to throw strikes and hung just enough sliders to get hurt. The big arm shows obvious potential, but with minor league free agency awaiting at the end of the year and no room on the 40-man, Marte was another trade candidate waiting to happen.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Ivan Armstrong was also a low-dollar signing in the 2018 J2 class, penning a deal with an $85,000 signing bonus. But the truly ginormous teenager — seriously, there was no missing Armstrong when I showed up at Excite Ballpark Thursday night, he towered over teammates like Fezzik over Vizzini — quickly began showing an arm that deserved a much higher bonus. Before he started his career in the DSL, Armstrong was already throwing in the mid-90s as a 17-year-old. He posted unimpressive numbers in rookie ball, but if you listened closely to my podcast with Joe Salermo, you noticed that Armstrong was one of the first players he mentioned as success stories coming out of the international development story. Impressively for a power arm, he was adept at throwing strikes as a multi-inning reliever for San Jose this year. He’s still not much beyond a fastball thrower, but he stumbled onto a major weapon this summer when he discovered a grip that turned into a 98 mph power-sinker right out of Brusdar Graterol’s portfolio. Armstrong is another player who could interest teams in next year’s Rule 5 draft, but had no way onto the 40-man roster this winter.
Four players who didn’t raise an eyebrow when they signed their first professional contracts; four examples of strong amateur scouting and pro development. And most importantly, four players with the drive, the talent, and the work ethic to go from “nobodies” to “somebodies” in relatively short time. Players get traded for because they have something teams want, and usually, because teams see potential big leaguers in them.
Here’s hoping every one of these good Giants is wearing a big league jersey at some point in the near future. Good luck guys. We’ll be watching!
The Week That Was
CO-HITTERS of the WEEK:
Joe McCarthy (Sac), 10 for 17, 2b, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K, .588/.650/1.000
Luis Matos (SJ), 14 for 26, 2 2b, HR, 1 BB, 1 K, .538/.556/.731
PITCHER of the WEEK: Ryan Murphy (SJ), 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K, Promotion!
Sacramento River Cats: 31-45
(1-4 week UPDATE)
Transactions:
Add INF Brandon Belt (added by ML San Francisco on rehab)
Add RHP Zack Littell (optioned by ML San Francisco)
Add RHP John Brebbia (optioned by ML San Francisco)
Delete RHP Aaron Sanchez (reinstated from rehab by ML San Francisco)
Delete LHP Sam Selman (traded to Los Angeles Angels)
Add LHP Sammy Long (optioned by ML San Francisco)
Add INF Jason Vosler (optioned by ML San Francisco)
Delete RHP Akeel Morris (transferred to Double-A Richmond)
OF Jaylin Davis transferred from rehab assignment to optional assignment
Add OF Mike Tauchman (outrighted by San Francisco after clearing waivers)
Delete 3b Mitchell Tolman (re-assigned to Richmond)
Sacramento was Rehab Central this week, with a roster that featured Tommy La Stella, Jaylin Davis, and Brandon Belt, while Reyes Moronta could often be found on the bump. That makes for a pretty exciting night at the park for the fans as the big leaguers always find time to make a few memories!
Belt and La Stella know they have roster spots waiting for them when their health is ready (not so much Davis, who was moved from a rehab assignment to an optional assignment yesterday). For most of the rest of the roster, players need to force the Giants hand with their play, and several River Cats are giving it their all lately. Mauricio Dubón is hitting .343 since his demotion with three homers. He also is showing a better control of the strike zone, with 12 walks and 23 Ks, AND playing a heck of shortstop.
Another player trying to force the issue is 2020 Opening Day starter Joe McCarthy, who is having his finest year as a pro. McCarthy is on the verge of doubling his previous career high in homers (8) after going deep in back to back games Saturday and Sunday (probably just trying to show up little brother Jake in the other dugout). But it’s not just a dinger-fest for McCarthy this year. Between his .391 OBP and .559 SLG, he’s posting the 11th best OPS in the Triple-A West. That .559 SLG is a career best, too, and not just in pro ball — it’s more than .100 points higher than his best mark at the University of Virginia. It probably won’t happen in 2021, but a return to majors seems likely for former 5th round pick.
Thirty-two year old minor league vet Jason Krizan is giving the River Cats great production, hitting .318/.375/.489, while playing all over the field. It would be nice to see Krizan rewarded with his week in the Show sometime, though that time is not going to be the 2021 Giants, I’m afraid.
Joey Bart played through a month of trade rumors posting an .853 OPS in July. He hit his 10th HR of the season this week and he’s also been throwing the heck out of the ball lately.
The pitching staff hasn’t given us too much to talk about this year, but this did happen last week — or at least, that’s the story. 104.5? Really, Camilo?
Up Next: Sacramento finishes up their series with Reno today, and then gets a welcome off day at home before playing host to the Albuquerque Chihuahuas, the Rockies Triple-A affiliate. Albuquerque is 34-42, in fourth place in the East division, and has been outscored by 82 runs this year, the worst Run Differential in the league.
Richmond Flying Squirrels: 39-39
(1-5 week)
Transactions:
Delete RHP Caleb Kilian (traded to Chicago Cubs)
Delete RHP Jose Marte (traded to Los Angeles Angels)
Add LHP Mac Marshall (reinstated from 7-day IL)
Delete LHP Mac Marshall (voluntarily retired)
Add 3b Mitchell Tolman (re-assigned from Sacramento)
Heliot Ramos certainly wasn’t carrying the Richmond team — he was hitting just .237 when he was promoted — but the Squirrels certainly seemed to have lost something when he left for the West Coast. They’ve dropped ten out of eleven games since his promotion was announced, and are in danger of slipping below .500. Of course, Ramos is hardly the only star power that just caught a jet out of town. With Kilian and Marte departed, the pitching staff has lost it’ best starter and one of its most powerful relievers. This could be a struggle down the stretch to keep an even keel.
The new guys who have come up from Eugene (other than Kilian) haven’t made a tremendous impact as of yet, though Simon Whiteman has given the team a boost at the top of the lineup. After starting 0 for 17 in Double-A, Whiteman has hit .293 with a .373 OBP and scored 20 runs in 30 games. He’s also given Richmond a speed threat, stealing 13 bases in 14 attempts (he leads the organization with 30 steals overall). Whiteman also saw his first professional action in CF on Sunday, giving the speed and defense player greater versatility. Whiteman’s former Eugene teammates Will Wilson and Diego Rincones have had a tougher time adjusting to the new level. Wilson is hitting just .187 with 36 K in 104 PA, while Rincones has done mildly better, hitting .222 with a .794 OPS.
Richmond’s best and most consistent hitters this year have been the corner infield combo — 3b David Villar (.788 OPS, 11 HR, 32 RBI) and 1b Frankie Tostado (.782 OPS, 9 HR, 48 RBI). Both have slightly wonky BB/K ratios with more whiff than you’d like to see and less stroll, but they’ve given the Richmond lineup a little presence without Ramos.
The Richmond pitching staff was already working from behind after losing Sammy Long, Tristan Beck, and Matt Frisbee from the opening day rotation, and the loss of Kilian will clearly sting. Former Mariners and Rays prospect Michael Plassmeyer (4.25 ERA in 48.2 IP) has given them some length, as has Sean Hjelle (3.53 ERA), the lone holdover from the original rotation. Hjelle’s 54% groundball rate is the highest in the Double-A Northeast league, while his 30% rate on Called and Swinging Strikes (CSW%) is in the league’s top 10. He could be in Sacramento before the year is done. To help cover innings, the Giants signed former Brave Aaron Blair and have sent Akeel Morris back down from Sacramento.
The strength of the staff continues to be the bullpen, though the relievers are starting to show the wear of all the innings they’ve been asked to cover. Ronnie Williams has come up huge as a multi-innings reliever. Often giving manager Jose Alguacil 3 or 4 innings out of the pen, Williams leads the staff with a 1.44 ERA. R.J. Dabovich was forming a two-headed bullpen monster with Jose Marte, but now he’ll have to go it alone. Dabovich’s CSW% is an eye-popping 43%. Mac Marshall, who never seemed to be able to get away from the Injured List, voluntarily retired after his latest disappointing outing off the 7-day.
Richmond dropped the final four games of their series with Bowie last week by a total of six runs. Whether they jumped out to a lead and couldn’t hold on, or fell behind early and couldn’t quite come back (as was the case Sunday), whether they pitched great and couldn’t hit or hit well enough but couldn’t keep runs off the board — whatever they tried in this series just fell a little bit short.
Up Next: Richmond stays at home to face the Reading Fightin’ Phils, at 30-48 one of the weakest teams in the league. It remains to be seen if Richmond can figure out a way to recover from the loss of Kilian and Marte and keep that record above the .500 line after back to back 1-5 weeks.
Eugene Emeralds: 44-34
(3-4 week)
Transactions:
Delete 1b Logan Wyatt (re-assigned to ACL Giants Orange)
Add RHP Ryan Murphy (re-assigned from San Jose)
Delete OF Hunter Bishop (sent on rehab assignment to ACL Giants Black)
The seven games against Everett last week were decided by a total of 11 runs — a much better showing than the previous series when Eugene dropped five of six and was outscored 54-17. With a 7 game lead over third place Spokane, Eugene is very likely looking at a championship matchup against these AquaSox, so playing them evenly this week was a step in the right direction.
But to truly be competitive, Eugene needs to fix a rotation in which the lowest ERA is Kai-Wei Teng’s 5.68. That’s not good! Seth Corry started out 2021 by either walking or striking out nearly every hitter he saw, but soon enough the opposition was able to take advantage of his poor control by sitting on fastballs in hitters’ counts and his ERA has risen dramatically. In his last start, Corry allowed six runs in just 0.2 IP, leaving the ERA at a painful looking 6.83. He leads all minor league pitchers with 59 walks — that’s one more walk than he had in the entire 2019 season in more than twice as many innings as he’s pitched this year (58.2). He also has the second most Hit Batsmen this year. There may not be another player in the system who could use a good final six weeks like Corry.
Speaking of guys who need a good final stretch, remember the opening day lineup for the Emeralds that featured three 1st round picks and a 2nd rounder. All four of that group is long gone, and only Will Wilson has gone up. Hunter Bishop has been on the IL since the opening week, only resurfacing for rehab games in the ACL last week. Patrick Bailey was demoted to San Jose after a quick pitstop in Scottsdale to try to straighten out his swing). And Logan Wyatt has missed much of July with a hamstring strain. He, too, has been moved to the ACL to get his stroke back. It’s been a frankly disappointing year for much of the high round college talent.
Even so, Eugene is scoring the second most runs in the High A West, thanks in large part to several of the replacements. Undrafted free agent Brett Auerbach was an on base machine in San Jose, but he’s been a basher since coming to Eugene, hitting 8 home runs in 22 games and still posting a .346 OBP. Armani Smith missed some time recently with a leg strain, but he’s posted a solid .786 OPS with Eugene. Ricardo Genovés hasn’t repeated his offensive performance from San Jose, where he led the Low-A West in nearly every offensive category before being promoted, but he’s continued to walk (14% BB rate) and hit for decent power (.152 ISO). The strikeout rate has taken a dramatic leap upwards (from 18% to 27%), however, and he’s hitting just .202 in Eugene.
The leaders of the Eugene offense lately have been the players who weren’t the headliners of the Opening Day roster, but filled in around the edges. Franklin Labour finished off a huge month of July by going 10 for 22 last week, with three home runs. For the month, Labour hit .321/.471/.593. His .915 OPS for the season is 7th best in the league. Right behind him is Tyler Fitzgerald who leads the team with 12 home runs and is second (behind Labour) with 46 RBI. The strikeout rate is still higher than you’d like to see at 33%. Carter Aldrete started the year cold, but since returning from an IL stint on June 24, Rich’s kid has been on fire, hitting .299 with six home runs and a .526 SLG.
Finally, let’s give a shout out to Ismael Munguia. As strikeouts continue to strikeout at every level of the game, Munguia is out there playing a Wee Willie Keeler version of baseball with a comically minimal 6.8% K rate.
Even without its star power, this team can score runs, but they’ve got to do something about that league worst 5.13 staff ERA. Hopefully, the promotion of Ryan Murphy — the leading strikeout artist in all of A ball — will help. After his start last Tuesday, Murphy led the entire minor leagues with 116 Ks, thanks to five consecutive double-digit strikeout starts. He dropped all the way down to fourth after missing his scheduled second start of the week, but he should make his Eugene debut tonight, and would jump back over the Nats Cade Cavalli into the lead with another 10 K performance. I’ll be there to watch it up close and personal like!
Up Next: Eugene returns home to take on the league’s cellar dweller, the Tri-City Dust Devils. The Angels High-A affiliate has a truly woeful -118 Run Differential, so this is a series to get healthy on. Hopefully the Emeralds can take advantage of it.
San Jose Giants: 51-27
(5-1 week)
Transactions:
Delete LHP Nick Swiney (sent on rehab assignment to ACL Giants Black)
Delete RHP Ryan Murphy (re-assigned to Eugene)
Delete OF Alex Canario (traded to Chicago Cubs)
Delete RHP Ivan Armstrong (traded to Los Angeles Angels)
Add RHP Jesus Toña (re-assigned from ACL Giants Orange)
Add OF Najee Gaskins (re-assigned from ACL Giants Black)
The San Jose lineup, which has to be one of the deepest Low-A lineups in prospect following memory, has a virtual stranglehold on the league’s Player of the Week awards. This week it was, no surprise, Luis Matos who took the prize, after he hit .538 for the week, and some of his outs were even harder than the hits.
Matos is on a terrific run where he seems to reach virtually every kind of pitch, every speed of pitch, every location, with ease, spraying liners into the outfield in nearly every at bat. With two three-hit games and a four-hit game this week, it’s time to update the Big Board for Matos’ career:
Games with 0 Hits: 23
Games with 3+ Hits: 20
Pretty danged incredible. I will say that it’s worth remembering that at the same age, Heliot Ramos hit .306 with a .500 SLG at a higher level, but it’s hard to watch Matos and not come away thinking that he’ll have the better hit tool in the long run. With 17 SB, 22 doubles, and a stylish sense of confidence tracking balls in center field, Matos really is the kind of player who you like more, the more you see him play.
Barely behind Matos was last week’s Player of the Week honoree, Jairo Pomares, who hit .435 last week, including his 11th home run in just 39 games — an opposite field bomb. The 20-year-old looks like he has a great hitter’s rhythm, and hands that get the barrel on the ball. He’s not a walker, but he shows the ability for good takes. He’s just on the hunt for pitches he can hit hard — and Low-A pitchers like to serve them up. I’m going to post a re-ranked Top 30 for the system once I’m completely done for this trip, but I see no way of keeping Pomares out of my Top 10 at this point.
But honestly, nearly every player on this team is impressive. I spent much of the last four days talking to scouts of other organizations who cover the Giants’ system, and the depth of players that are getting written up as potential big leaguers is pretty amazing. EVERYBODY is hitting the ball hard. Casey Schmitt started the year slowly, but since June 1 he’s hit .313/.381/.491 and he’s struck out just 15% of the time this year. He also showed off some of his renowned defensive chops for me. He comes in on balls particularly strong, has a fast transfer and a strong, accurate arm. That glove is a carrying tool.
Beyond Schmitt, Jimmy Glowenke and Luis Toribio are both starting to heat up as well. Toribio hasn’t shown much power so far (though he did belt an opposite field home run on Saturday night), but he’s hitting singles that light up the exit velocity gun!
Carter Williams has a slightly funky swing with some stiffness to it, but he’s also producing loud contact. The whole lineup is a collection loud contact. And then, of course, there’s the shortstop. One of the scouts I talked to this week had a phrase that really popped in my mind: “effort is the enemy of execution.” Look at this swing (which produced a triple clanging off the 370’ mark) and see if you can spot any effort in it.
It wasn’t a big week for Luciano, but the big league impact tools made themselves evident every day. He’s going to hit and he’s going to hit for big power I think.
On the mound, San Jose’s arms were nearly as impressive. Beyond the big figures, I was impressed by several of the Giants relievers, particularly the hard throwing Randy Rodriguez and Abel Adames. Carson Ragsdale didn’t give me a great look — his velocity is down a tick from the early year efforts and he looked like he might be tiring a bit, but he still had an impressive mix of fastball, curve and change — all of which missed bats at some point in his night.
The two stars for me, though, were clearly Kyle Harrison and Prelander Berroa. Harrison was fighting his fastball command a little on my look. I talked to him this weekend and he spoke about his efforts to find a consistent arm slot — you’ll hear more about that later in the week (that’s a tease). But fighting himself, an inconsistent strike zone from the ump, and a little rough defense behind him, Harrison still managed an incredible 18 swing throughs in less than 4 innings of work. He was clearly feeling his changeup, and at one point fired four straight changes — all of which produced swing throughs. I mentioned this on Brooks Knudson’s terrific Giants Chatter trade deadline show, but it’s worth repeating: I think by most measures Kyle Harrison has a claim to being the best 19-year-old pitcher in pro ball.
Prelander Berroa, who at 21 is starting to become something closer to a finished product, has come a long way with his command this year. He still has a tendency to overthrow both his fastball and slider (I think Joe Ritzo calls it a power curve, but since the angle of break seems more horizontal than vertical to my eyes, I’ll call it a slider). But on Friday night he was peppering the strike zone with the pitch virtually at will. Inland Empire’s hitters’ best chance with it was to take it, but since he consistently threw it for strikes, they had to swing at it sometimes, and their hacks were all pretty feeble. By my count, six of his 11 swinging strikes on Friday came on the slider, including some real broken swings. At the same time, he hit 99 with his fastball and stayed around the zone pretty well with that, too. He even tossed in the occasional power change at 90, though that pitch could use a little more fade. He could still stand to vary the shape and bite of the slider more, getting hitters to chase it out of the zone and not just try to flip it into the backdoor edge of the zone, but that was a truly impressive showing.
In six July starts, Berroa allowed just six earned runs and just 21 hits in 33.2 IP. Only three of those hits went for extra bases. Meanwhile, he struck out 44 batters. I think he can start making room on the trophy shelf for a Pitcher of the Month plaque at this point. Maybe he even needs to make plans to visit central Oregon soon.
Up Next: San Jose has been running a close second behind Fresno for most of the year. At 51-27 they certainly seem destined to meet Fresno in the Low-A playoffs this year. Next week, the two titans of the league meet each other in Fresno, with just 1 game separating them in the standings as they start out.
Arizona Complex League
Giants Black: 14-10 (4-2 week)
Giants Orange: 11-13 (3-3 week)
Transactions:
Add 1b Logan Wyatt (re-assigned to ACL Giants Orange from Eugene)
Add OF Hunter Bishop (sent on rehab assignment from Eugene to ACL Giants Black)
Add LHP Nick Swiney (sent on rehab assignment from SJ to ACL Giants Black)
Add C Max Wright (signed as free agent, assigned to Giants Black)
Delete RHP Jesus Toña (re-assigned from ACL Giants Orange to San Jose)
Delete OF Najee Gaskins (re-assigned from ACL Giants Black to San Jose)
Delete C Angel Guzman (released)
Delete INF Andrew Caraballo (released)
Delete INF Jose Peralta (released)
Another Rehab Central! Hunter Bishop, Nick Swiney, and Logan Wyatt have all started trying to work their way back into playing shape in the desert. Bishop and Swiney have lost more than half of the year, going down in the season’s first week. They’re both pretty strong candidates to go to the Arizona Fall League if they work their way into playing shape down the stretch. Jesus Toña is another player who used the ACL to work his way back into playing shape after an undisclosed injury in the spring. The former Sally league All Star closer was assigned to San Jose on Sunday, along with 2019 20th round pick Najee Gaskins.
As for the more age appropriate rookie ballers, the story of the year continues to be Aeverson Arteaga, who has come out of the gates showing much more offensive potential than even his most passionate admirers would have believed. Arteaga has had at least one hit in 20 of his 24 games played, and is slugging a robust .671. He leads all rookie league hitters with 7 home runs. The headliner of this piece in Baseball America is Pomares, but Arteaga is one of the “12 names to know” that Matt Eddy is focused on as well:
Catcher Adrian Sugastey is also off to a strong start, hitting .348. He hasn’t shown much power yet, but he did hit his first home run as a pro this week.
Seventeen year old Diego Velasquez hasn’t hit much so far after being skipped over the DSL (just .170 so far), but he’s made contact, striking out just six times in 50 PA. That’s something! Another Team Black member, Alexander Suarez, is showing some big tools (.312 batting average, 3 home runs, 10 SB), along with a little rawness in his game (28 K in 85 PA).
Dominican Summer League
DSL Giants Black: 6-7 (2-1 week)
6th place in San Pedro Division
DSL Giants Orange: 4-9 (1-4 week)
7th place in Northeast Division
There hasn’t been a ton of good news coming out of the DSL so far this year. Both teams have started out weakly, thanks to pitching staffs that rank near the very bottom of the 46-team league in ERA, and offenses that aren’t doing much better. Team Orange has already been no-hit twice in 13 games (both 7 inning no hitters). And while Team Black has shown a little more of a pulse, the best hitter on the team (Mauricio Pierre) recently had to leave a game after apparently colliding with the right fielder chasing a fly ball. Pierre is hitting .308 with two home runs. Infielder Elian Rayo is hitting just .280, but he’s posting a huge .550 OBP thanks to a league best 15 walks against just three strikeouts!
There haven’t been many encouraging performances yet on the pitching side, but Team Orange’s Rolfi Jimenez is definitely a bright light, posting a microscopic 0.60 ERA after three starts of five innings apiece. Mikell Manzano doesn’t have a shiny ERA, but he has struck out 18 batters in his 12.2 innings. International Scouting Director Joe Salermo pegged Manzano as an arm to watch in the DSL camp this year.
The worst news in the DSL however, appears to be a COVID breakout that has cancelled Giants Black’s games the last several days. Giants Orange game for tomorrow is cancelled as well.
About Last Night
Sacramento beat Reno Aces (Diamondbacks), 6-5
Notable Lines:
Joey Bart C: 1 for 2, Run, 2 BB, K
Heliot Ramos RF: 4 for 4, 2b (18) Run, 3 RBI
Jason Vosler 3b: 1 for 4, HR (8), K
Gerson Garabito: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HB
Conner Menez: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Heliot Ramos had his best game since his promotion to Triple-A. His fourth hit of the night was a clutch two-run double that gave Sacramento an 8th inning lead that they’d hold onto for the win. After starting off slowly with Sacramento, Ramos is now 10 for his last 26 with four doubles and six RBI.
Jason Vosler followed Ramos’ gapper with a solo shot that proved to the be the winning run when Trevor Gott allowed three hits in the top of the 9th.
Joey Bart had a hit and a rare two-walk night (his first of the year) — and, did I mention he’s really throwing the ball well lately?
ACL Giants Orange won @ ACL White Sox, 5-0 (7 inn)
Notable Lines:
Grant McCray CF: 1 for 2, 2b (2), 2 Runs, BB
Aeverson Arteaga SS: 1 for 2, Run, 2 RBI, BB
Logan Wyatt 1b: 1 for 4, Run, K
Anthony Rodriguez 3b: 1 for 2, 2 BB
Manuel Mercedes: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Evan Lumbert: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.77 ERA
ACL Giants Black lost vs. ACL Mariners 4-3 (7 inn)
Notable Lines:
Alexander Suarez CF: 1 for 4, 2b (4), Run, RBI, K
Diego Velasquez SS: 1 for 4, K
Hunter Bishop LF: 0 for 4
Jacob Gonzalez 1b: 2 for 3, Run, RBI, BB
Ghordy Santos DH: 2 for 2, BB, CS
Nick Swiney: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Rafael Martinez: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HB
Starter Manuel Mercedes had his best start as a pro, matching his season high of 7 strikeouts while walking none over six shutout innings. Mercedes had one disastrous outing in which he allowed seven earned runs while getting just one out, but outside of that game, he’s allowed 9 earned runs over 29 innings while striking out 30. He hasn’t allowed a run in either of his past two starts (11.0 IP). Good looking arm.
On the rehab beat, Grant McCray played in the field for the first time this year, a major step forward for the 2019 3rd rounder. McCray is also starting to round into form at the plate with seven hits in his last four games, including a double and triple. It would be terrific to see the 20-year-old make it up to full season ball before the year ends.
In other rehab news, Hunter Bishop is still looking for his first hit in the desert, while Logan Wyatt is now 3 for 18. Nick Swiney stretched out beyond one inning for the first time. And Ghordy Santos picked up his first two hits in his third game this year. He also drew his second walk.
Aeverson Arteaga is now hitting .341 with a 1.089 OPS, although to level set a bit, his .341 average is 32nd in the league, his .418 OBP is 45th, and his .671 SLG is 11th! Still, his batting line is 64% better than the league average by Fangraphs wRC_ measure.
Jacob Gonzalez has struggled since his 2017 pro debut in the AZL, but he’s certainly enjoyed returning to the site of that success. The 23-year-old is 14 for 43 with two doubles and three homers in the ACL, though, of course, he’s far too old and advanced for the level.
DSL Giants Orange beat DSL D’backs2, 5-2 (7 inn)
Notable Lines:
Samuel Reyes DH: 2 for 3, 2b (2), Run, RBI, CS (1)
Saul Bautista CF: 1 for 3, 2b (2), Run, 2 RBI, K
Mikell Manzano: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K, WP
Mikell Manzano, over his first three pro starts, is leading the two Giants DSL teams in strikeouts (18) by a considerable extent. Of the players behind him, only Miguel Mora (13) has just two starts. Unusually for this level, those strikeouts are coming without any commensurate walks, as Manzano gave up the first walk of his career in yesterday’s game. His ERA is on the high side at 5.68, thanks to a blow up inning that knocked him out of his second start, but he’s otherwise doing what he needs to do to pique my interest. From a run prevention perspective, the best pitcher on the two Giants teams has been Orange starter Rolfi Jimenez, who is sporting a tiny 0.60 ERA through three starts, with just 1 earned run allowed in 15 innings. Jimenez has an 11/3 K/BB ratio.
The Orange’s offense had been retired 12 up, 12 down through four innings before they erupted for 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th. That inning included the team’s first four hits of the day, a walk, and a batter who reached on a strikeout. Samuel Reyes and Saul Bautista each hit doubles in the big rally. RF Cesar Quintas would lead off the following inning with a double of his own, coming in to score the team’s final run on Reyes’ RBI single.
Team Black lost their third game in a row to cancellation. In my opinion, this is almost certainly due to some positive COVID tests. But weirdly, on today’s schedule, Team Black IS scheduled to play a game, while Team Orange’s game is canceled (and was already canceled yesterday). It’s kind of hard to know what’s going on down there sometimes.
What’s On Tap?
Sacramento (Tyler Beede) vs. Reno (TBD), 7:05 pm, MiLBTV
Richmond (Sean Hjelle) vs. Reading (TBD), 3:35 pm, MiLBTV
Eugene (Ryan Murphy) @ Tri City (Taylor Ahearn), 7:05 pm, MiLBTV
San Jose (Wil Jensen) @ Fresno (TBD), 6:50 pm, MiLBTV
ACL Giants Black (TBD) @ ACL Royals Gold (TBD), 6:00 pm, No Video
ACL Giants Orange (TBD) vs. ACL Angels (TBD), 6:00 pm, No Video
DSL Giants Black (TBD) vs. DSL Mets2 (TBD), 7:30 am, No Video
DSL Giants Orange: CANCELLED
On to a new adventure. See you at PK Park tonight!
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I'm so glad you tweeted out the point after the Bryant trade about player development. You can bring in all the talent in the world but you still have to develop it. I loved the point you made so much I shared it on a fan page I'm a co admin on with Charlie Baldwin (the British gentleman from Giants Chatter). Hopefully we continue to see more and more success stories like this from this system.