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SF Giants Minor Lines 8/17/15

Is the next hit-happy MI rolling off the assembly line? It's too early to tell just yet.... but Yes!

By Roger

I'm thinking this is exactly the picture Tim Hudson would have wanted to be one of the final action shots of his career: minor leagues, jumanji jersey, major pitcher DERP face, this has it all!

HIGHLIGHTS: Ty Blach threw 3 hit shutout. Mac Williamson reached base five times, had 6 RBI, including Grand Slam. Ronnie Jebavy had a four-hit night. Tyler Brown reached base four times including double, triple. Sandro Cabrera threw 6 one-hit innings with 6 Ks.

Sacramento beat Round Rock Express (Rangers), 11-0

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

CF

Darren Ford

4

1

3

0

2

0

0

1

0

.270

.340

.431

LF

Mac Williamson

2

4

2

6

1

0

1

2

0

.261

.380

.420

1b

Kevin Frandsen

5

0

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

.286

.348

.365

RF

Jarrett Parker

3

3

1

0

0

0

0

1

2

.279

.383

.492

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Ty Blach W 11-10

9.0

3

0

0

2

6

0

0

0

4.21

117

78

Ty Blach went the distance for a three-hit shutout and the Sacramento offense exploded as the RiverCats took their third straight from the Express and eighth straight win overall. The streak puts them just three games below .500 and gives them a legit chance to end up with a winning year.

Sacramento totaled 15 hits, including six XBH, plus six walks and two HB. Every batter in the lineup had at least one hit and five had multiple hits. Eight members of the lineup reached base multiple times (Everth Cabrera being the long exception). Leading the attack was Mac Williamson, who had perhaps his finest day of the season reaching base in all five PA (including a HBP). After walking in his first at bat, he lashed a two-run double in the 3rd. And then in the 6th he came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs and seriously damaged a baseball:

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It's been noted that Williamson recently was switched from his normal RF position to regular time in LF. While I posited at first that this was a reaction to his thumb injury (which it more or less correlated to), I now wonder if the Giants aren't wanting to get Williamson repetitions in LF in preparation for time in SF, since LF is likely to be the spot with playing time availability at the major league level for some time to come.

Ty Blach, meanwhile, just kept going out there and piling up zeros. Blach leads the staff in innings pitched by a whopping 50 innings. And though it's often remarked upon how many hits he issues, it's worth noting that of the team's starters, Blach has the second lowest WHIP (1.29) just behind Chris Stratton (1.23).  His 3.63 K:BB ratio is by far the best on the staff among starters, with Blackburn second at 2.66 and Stratton next at 1.77. Blach definitely lives by the contact and dies by the contact, but there may be a back-end starter or swingman in there yet.

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* * *

Richmond had a scheduled off day
This was their final off-day of the season. They begin a six game trip to Binghamton and Trenton today. Fourteen of their final 21 games are on the road. At 60-60 their playoff hopes are dimming.

* * *

San Jose lost at Stockton Ports (A's), 13-2

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

SS

Christian Arroyo

4

0

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

.322

.367

.493

LF

Daniel Carbonell

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

.267

.316

.378

RF

Tyler Horan

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

.209

.309

.379

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Luis Ysla L 2-6

0.2

6

6

6

1

1

1

0

0

6.46

34

21

Christian Jones

3.0

5

3

2

0

3

0

0

0

3.20

63

47

Tyler Rogers

3.1

1

1

1

2

3

1

0

0

1.53

45

29

Dan Slania

0.2

2

3

3

1

2

1

1

0

3.25

28

17

The only particular positive thing to come out of this game was the rapid return of Christian Arroyo to the lineup from his scary looking mishap on the weekend. Arroyo returned to the lineup and, as is his wont, returned to hitting line drives all over the yard. He accounted for half of San Jose's six hits on the game and picked up their only RBI. After having some contact issues early in the year, Arroyo's K rate is now down to a respectable 16%, even as he flirts with a .500 SLG.

The really impressive thing about Arroyo, offensively, is how incredibly consistent he is. Here's his monthly splits for this year:

April (just 28 AB): .321/.367/.679
June: .314/.346/.412
July: .324/.390/.505
August: .322/.355/.525

Luis Ysla had been steadily turning his season around from the disastrous April that bounced him from the rotation, working well in relief until finally getting back into the rotation and performing fairly well there. But yesterday, he reverted to April's form, failing to get out of the first inning. The first five batters of the 1st inning went single, single, double, Sac Fly, HR and there the competitive portion of this game effectively ended. Another couple of singles and a K and Ysla's night was done.

Dan Slania continued what has been a rough second half. Almost immediately after returning from the All Star Game Slania began giving up runs in bunches and he hasn't really stopped. Though his peripherals have hardly changed at all his ERA has jumped from sub-2.00 in the first half to nearly 5.00 in the second half while his BAA jumped from .202 to .270. Some might argue he's just getting BABIP'd but I'd suspect a slight degradation in the cripsness of his stuff is at play. Last night he was brought in to get some garbage time work in, in the final inning of the game, and couldn't make it through his inning, forcing manager Russ Morman to bring in backup SS John Polonius to finish off the game.

Final note, perhaps looking toward strengthening their rotation for a potential playoff series, the Giants handed out a huge promotion to 2nd round pick Andrew Suarez:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/MLBDraft">@MLBDraft</a> 2nd-rounder Andrew Suarez promoted from <a href="https://twitter.com/SKVolcanoes">@SKVolcanoes</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/SJGiants">@SJGiants</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/SFGiants">@SFGiants</a>&#39; #15: <a href="http://t.co/GeigIi0qQb">http://t.co/GeigIi0qQb</a> <a href="http://t.co/2vNp5bKzpD">pic.twitter.com/2vNp5bKzpD</a></p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/633432221194436608">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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* * *

Augusta lost to the Savannah Sand Gants (Mets), 6-1

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

RF

Dylan Davis

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

.263

.326

.438

C

Matt Winn

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

.393

.452

.607

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pat Young L 8-3

3.0

6

6

3

3

2

0

0

0

3.86

Rodolfo Martinez

2.0

1

0

0

1

4

0

0

1

3.22

David Lee lays out the implications for this series with the Sand Gnats in the following article, but a few items covered are worth noting specifically: 1) Savannah comes into the series on a 13 game winning streak during which they've outscored opponents 91-30; 2) Savannah owns a 7-3 record vs. Augusta this year; 3) Eight of Augusta's final 21 games are against Savannah. Oh and, should they happen to make the playoffs, the team Augusta will immediately face is Savannah.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A 5 run 3rd inning gives the Sand Gnats the 6-1 win on Monday night over the GreenJackets.&#10;<a href="http://t.co/iL1GUttsS7">http://t.co/iL1GUttsS7</a> <a href="http://t.co/TOx8yM8XJR">pic.twitter.com/TOx8yM8XJR</a></p>&mdash; Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenJackets/status/633484765576986624">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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With all that said, Augusta went out for the first game of the series and got themselves a butt kicking. The game started with a rain delay, and even after starting they played under sporadic rainy conditions giving the game a sort of dampened, "get through it" feel. It was perhaps an ill omen that Johneshwy Fargas had been marked down for a day of rest for this series opener. Regardless, the Greenjackets did manage nine hits in the game. But all were singles, they had no walks, no SB, and they went 0 for 7 with RISP.  Most of their chances came early, as Savannah relief pitcher Christian Mongtomery totally dominated, striking out 7 in a row at one point.

The turning point of the game was a five run third inning for Savannah.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This isn&#39;t going well. Savannah leads Augusta 6-0 in the 3rd inning. Defense is responsible for some but Young is getting hit.</p>&mdash; David Lee (@David11Lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/David11Lee/status/633444041015881728">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Augusta also suffered a scary looking loss early in the game when SS Travious Relaford was forced to leave the game:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Travious Relaford takes a sharp, high hopper off what appeared to be around the mouth. Stayed down a minute before walking off. Rodriguez in</p>&mdash; David Lee (@David11Lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/David11Lee/status/633442268255526913">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Augusta still leads the potential Wild Card race and is now 4.5 games back in the division chase.

* * *

Salem-Keizer lost to the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks), 8-3

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

CF

Ronnie Jebavy

4

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

.267

.313

.395

SS

C.J. Hinojosa

4

1

2

2

0

0

1

0

0

.302

.332

.492

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Nolan Riggs L 3-2

4.0

5

5

4

1

4

2

0

0

2.85

Cory Taylor

1.1

5

2

2

0

1

0

0

0

2.48

Ronnie Jebavy had his second four-hit night of the year and C.J. Hinojosa continued his streak of hot power hitting, becoming the sixth member of the team to reach 5 HRs (Chris Shaw leads the team with 6). Other than that, little went right as the Hillsboro Hops continued their domination of the Volcanoes. SK is now just 2-8 on the year vs the Hops.

Hillsboro jumped out to a lead early, hitting back to back HRs off starter Nolan Riggs during a four-run 3rd inning that gave them a 5-0 lead they'd never relinquish.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">C.J. Hinojosa gets the Volcanoes back in the game! SKV trails 5-3 through 6. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoSKV?src=hash">#GoSKV</a> <a href="http://t.co/sb6GclRTzq">pic.twitter.com/sb6GclRTzq</a></p>&mdash; Volcanoes Baseball (@SKVolcanoes) <a href="https://twitter.com/SKVolcanoes/status/633482091116687364">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Hinojosa's HR made the game temporarily exciting again, but the Hops tacked on 3 late inning runs vs. relievers Cory Taylor and Jarett Leverett.

The loss dropped the Volcanoes to 3rd place, two games out of first and a game behind Eugene. SK still leads Eugene by two in the Wild Card standings.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Volcanoes drop game one, final score 8-3. We are back tomorrow for game 2 vs Hillsboro. <a href="https://twitter.com/RonbonJebavy">@RonbonJebavy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VolcanoesPOG?src=hash">#VolcanoesPOG</a> <a href="http://t.co/FiEtqxTI6G">pic.twitter.com/FiEtqxTI6G</a></p>&mdash; Volcanoes Baseball (@SKVolcanoes) <a href="https://twitter.com/SKVolcanoes/status/633500351790891008">August 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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* * *

AZL Giants lost to the AZL Mariners, 5-1

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

SS

Jalen Miller

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.229

.306

.279

2b

Tyler Brown

3

1

3

0

1

1

0

1

0

.451

.516

.647

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Deiyerbert Bolivar L 0-1

4.1

5

4

3

2

4

0

0

0

2.66

Matthew Pope

1.0

0

0

0

1

2

0

0

0

3.45

Randy Ortiz

1.0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7.04

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tyler Brown (.409) 2015 26thR&#10;AZL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFGiants?src=hash">#SFGiants</a> 2B #1 &#10;20 yo, 6&#39;1&quot;, 170 lbs&#10;4 AB, 3 H, 2 RBI, 1 HR (vs Cubs) <a href="http://t.co/MLTH1RLhbF">pic.twitter.com/MLTH1RLhbF</a></p>&mdash; Karen Rambat (@rambat) <a href="https://twitter.com/rambat/status/632776804357373953">August 16, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Tyler Brown continued his crazy white-hot week by reaching base in all four PA, accounting for half of the AZL Giants' hits, half the team's walks, all of the XBH, and the only run scored. Over his last four games, Brown is 11 for 15 with three doubles, two triples, and a HR.

Now, context: Brown is almost exactly two years older than Jalen Miller.  In fact, he's four months older than Christian Arroyo, though that just gets back to how crazy good Arroyo's been. Still, all you can do is play the games you have before you, and Brown's certainly been announcing his presence with authority. Leastwise, he's getting himself on my mental map as more than just Phil Bickford's JC roommate. 1.150 OPS will do that!

Deiyerbert Bolivar threw four strong innings last night, but he hit the wall when he went out for his 5th (which would have matched his longest appearance of the year, set in his previous start). He allowed two singles and then advanced all the runners when he committed, what would you think? an error on an attempted pickoff throw!!! UGH!! Stop DOING that Giants pitchers! Anyway, after walking the next batter, Bolivar's night was over.  Alvaro Diaz then gas-canned in both of his inherited runners to complete Bolivar's line.

This isn't from last night's game, but I always like visualizing players where possible:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Deiyerbert Bolivar #34 AZL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFGiants?src=hash">#SFGiants</a> &#10;LHP 1.32 (ERA) 19 yo, Venezuela, 5&#39;11&quot;&#10;68 IP, 44 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 22 BB, 70 SO <a href="http://t.co/TqDHd1BPCo">pic.twitter.com/TqDHd1BPCo</a></p>&mdash; Karen Rambat (@rambat) <a href="https://twitter.com/rambat/status/628033618451890176">August 3, 2015</a></blockquote>

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The AZL Giants maintain a minuscule 0.5 game division lead with 10 games to play.

* * *

DSL Giants lost to the DSL Yankees1, 3-2 in 10 inn

Age

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

SB

CS

BA

2b

19.4

Robert Antunez

5

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

.331

DH

18.10

Manuel Geraldo

5

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

.331

LF

18.8

Mecky Coronado

5

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

.352

PH

17.9

Brayan De Pena

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.196

SS

17.3

Jose Rivero

3

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

2

0

0

.198

Age

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

20.1

Sandro Cabrera

6.0

1

0

0

0

6

0

1

0

2.42

16.11

Luis Amaya

3.0

2

2

2

1

3

0

1

0

1.90

20.10

Hengerber Medina L 3-3

0.2

1

1

1

2

1

0

0

0

1.53

Just a little context for this matchup. Turn back the hands of time with me to the spring of 2014, when rumors spread that the Yankees had developed a new strategy for the approaching July 2nd IFA market.  Rather than trying to figure out which of the various 15/16 year old Dominican kids were most likely to develop into big leaguers, they'd hedge their bets by just shoveling as much of the top of the market as they could into their koffers and haul it all off to Yankee town.  They had a rather amazing 52 seven or six figure signings, including, by BA's rankings, nine of the top 25 prospects on the market, spending a total of about $30-35mm. Fast forward to today, and six of those signings were on the field for the Yankees1 team. Now most of those guys were the mid-six figure signings like SS Diego Castillo ($750k) or OF Pablo Olivares ($400k), but the lineup also included Nelson Gomez, whose $2.25mm bonus was the second highest the Yankees gave out last year (as it happened, Gomez would play a large role in this game). The Yankees1 pitching staff includes a host of other fair sized bonus guys. So this is the team the Giants are competing against in their division.

Sandro Cabrera faced the Yankees lineup and for six innings he dominated them, adding to his impressive resume. Cabrera leads the DSL in strikeouts with 82 in 70.2 IP to go along with his 2.42 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 3.42 K:BB. Cabrera allowed only two baserunners in his six shutout innings. Perhaps Cabrera needed to have gone out for the 7th as well, as Luis Amaya would allow a two-run rally that turned the game. The Yankees only had four hits in the game (and three walks), but they collected three of those baserunners into one two-out rally in the seventh, with the big hit being Nelson Gomez' double.  Amaya would go on to pitch two scoreless innings with 3 Ks, but the damage was done.

Down 2-1 with two outs in the top of the 9th, the Giants staged their own rally, when PH Brayan de Pena grounded a single to LF, and then the light-hitting young SS Jose Rivero doubled him in to tie the game. But in the bottom of the 10th Hengerber Medina walked the first batter he faced. A SB put the winning run in scoring position, and a two-out single brought it home.

Now instead of having a pad, the Giants find themselves tied for 1st place with five games to go, with another game vs the same Yankees team tomorrow. This time at the Giants complex.

* * *

Chris Stratton, Matt Gage, Johnsons Jordan and Chris, and Michael Connolly are today's scheduled starters. I believe Melvin Adon goes for the DSL team.

Most of you probably saw this, but I'll include it here again, a little more afterglow of Chase Johnson's brilliant effort this weekend:

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