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What’s Up With Christian Arroyo
Since the trading deadline, the farm system’s focus on development has shifted from developing the next starting pitcher, to developing Christian Arroyo as the team’s third baseman of the future. So how has the development gone.
Unfortunately, with the focus on Arroyo, his performance has slipped recently. In 12 games since the trade deadline, Arroyo has gone just 7-for-43 (.163). There is at least one silver lining, as Arroyo’s had 8 walks against 8 strikeouts on the month, but clearly his hitting has gone down hill.
Overall, Arroyo’s batting .272/318/.370 on the season, a bit of a slip from his season last year where he hit .304/.344/.459 for San Jose. The easiest place to lay the blame on Arroyo’s falling numbers has been his power. While it’s no surprise that the California League is a better place for power hitting, Arroyo has just two home runs on the season (after 9 in San Jose). In fact, Arroyo hasn’t had a home run since April. Arroyo does have 32 doubles, good for third in the Eastern League and already more than the 28 he had in San Jose last season, but clearly the team hopes some of those can grow into home runs.
Another interesting note about Arroyo’s performance is that he doesn’t seem to do well at The Diamond in Richmond. He’s batting just .217 in Richmond, with a .566 OPS, while he’s batting .317 with a .788 OPS on the road. There’s no obvious reason for this, as The Diamond generally has been pretty neutral on everything except being a bit tough on home runs.
One other side to look at in Arroyo’s development has been his defense. Before the trade, Arroyo had been splitting his time around the infield, with most of his time at shortstop. Since the deadline, he’s been playing regularly at third. It hasn’t been clean defensively, with just a .932 fielding percentage there. However, considering he hadn’t played there effectively before this season, and that just two of his eight errors as a third baseman have come there now that he’s playing there regularly, there’s reason to see his improvement there.
Despite any struggles, Arroyo’s importance to the Giants future is still clear. The Pacific Coast League in 2017 will certainly be much friendlier for the new third baseman, and it will be interesting to see how he responds there.
Chuckie Jones: Retired or Suspended?
The Chuckie Jones story is interesting. It was reported in November that Jones had retired. The 7th round pick from 2010 had hit .240 in 2015, in 44 games with Augusta after missing the first half of the season with a 50-game suspension. However, Jones was reinstated late last week suddenly, and two days later it was announced he had been suspended 100 games for his third positive test.
It’s possible that Jones had tested positive lsat season, and chose to retire rather than face it, and that he simply changed his mind this year. Regardless of whenever the positive test occurred and his reasons for retiring and returning, the remaining San Jose regular season will count towards 26 games of his suspension, plus any postseason games.
T.J. Bennett Wins California League Honor
With a pretty spectacular week, T.J. Bennett took home the California League Offensive Player Of The Week Honors, the third San Jose Giant to win it.
Bennett was 12-for-27 on the week (.444) ending on August 7th, with five doubles, three home runs and a stolen base. He highlighted the week with a 4-for-4 night on that Saturday night, with a home run and a double on that day.
On the season, Bennett is now hitting .283/.349/.441 in 44 games at San Jose, with four home runs in 44 games.
In addition to Bennett, Jonah Arenado (May 15th) and Steven Duggar (May 22nd) have won the honor this season for the San Jose Giants.
If you don’t know T.J.’s remarkable story, he became a Giant in the kind of way that’ll make most other people curse how some people have all the luck: he was playing in Indy ball and ran into Bobby Evans…at a concert. You can listen about it here.
INF T.J. Bennett joins me pregame at 6:35 and chats about joining the Giants organization this year. Listen: https://t.co/CPpW1JrGT7
— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) July 17, 2016
Hitter of the Week - Francisco Medina
Francisco Medina was hitting balls on a line all this week in the DSL.
Medina was 13-for-22 (.591) for the week, leading the system in batting average and thanks to two home runs, also led the system in OPS at 1.517. Medina also gathered two walks, and was hit by two pitches, while striking out four times.
The hot week has raised Medina’s batting line on the season to .289/.394/.360, with three home runs now. Medina has an impressive 31 walks against 33 strikeouts in 58 games with the DSL Giants.
Pitcher of the Week - Michael Connolly
This week had a number of excellent possibilities for pitcher of the week.
My pick goes to Michael Connolly, who had a 7-inning, one hitter on Monday. He allowed just two baserunners while striking out 7 in the GreenJackets 5-0 win. It was his second scoreless outing in a row, and Connolly has now allowed one run or less in five of his last six starts.
The 24-year old Connolly has a 2.35 ERA on the season, with a 10-4 record. He has 94 strikeouts against 22 walks in 114.2 innings.
Saturday’s Lines
|
AAA |
Score |
AA |
Score 11 Inn. |
High-A |
Score |
Low-A |
Score |
|
Omaha |
4 |
Bowie |
4 |
San Jose |
2 |
Lexington |
1 |
|
Sacramento |
2 |
Richmond |
1 |
Lancaster |
16 |
Augusta |
4 |
|
Short-A |
Score |
AZ Rookie |
Score |
DSL Rookie |
Score |
|
|
|
Salem-Keizer |
11 |
Giant |
2 |
Twins |
3 |
|
|
|
Everett |
7 |
Cubs |
3 |
Giants |
7 |
|
|
Notable Lines
|
Team |
Player |
Pos |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
AVG |
|
SAC |
LF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.253 |
|
|
SAC |
2B |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.303 |
|
|
SAC |
SS |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.235 |
|
|
SAC |
CF |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.301 |
|
|
RIC |
2B |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.272 |
|
|
RIC |
1B |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.242 |
|
|
RIC |
RF |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.269 |
|
|
RIC |
3B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.246 |
|
|
RIC |
C |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.231 |
|
|
SJ |
RF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.298 |
|
|
SJ |
1B |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.267 |
|
|
SJ |
C |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.295 |
|
|
AUG |
SS |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.228 |
|
|
AUG |
1B |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.256 |
|
|
AUG |
RF |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
.299 |
|
|
AUG |
3B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.175 |
|
|
AUG |
2B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.197 |
|
|
S-K |
3B |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.287 |
|
|
S-K |
CF |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.311 |
|
|
S-K |
RF |
4 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
.336 |
|
|
S-K |
DH |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
.270 |
|
|
S-K |
SS |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
.259 |
|
|
S-K |
2B |
5 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.307 |
|
|
AZL |
RF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
|
|
AZL |
1B |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.244 |
|
|
AZL |
C |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.267 |
|
|
AZL |
CF |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.290 |
|
|
DSL |
1B |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.305 |
|
|
DSL |
RF |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.254 |
|
|
DSL |
3B |
4 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
.289 |
|
|
DSL |
C |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.198 |
|
Team |
Player |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
|
SAC |
Clayton Blackburn (L, 6-9) |
6.0 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4.56 |
|
SAC |
1.0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.29 |
|
|
RIC |
6.0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4.99 |
|
|
RIC |
Jose Casilla (BS, 1) |
2.0 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.41 |
|
RIC |
Rodolfo Martinez (L, 0-2) |
0.1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7.31 |
|
SJ |
Mark Reyes (L, 8-7) |
3.1 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4.84 |
|
SJ |
2.2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10.24 |
|
|
SJ |
0.1 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
81.00 |
|
|
AUG |
4.0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.27 |
|
|
AUG |
Luis Pino (W, 2-0) |
4.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.08 |
|
AUG |
Ryan Koziol (S, 5) |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.88 |
|
S-K |
2.2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5.40 |
|
|
S-K |
Kendry Melo (W, 4-1) |
2.1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5.22 |
|
S-K |
Rayan Hernandez (H, 1) |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
|
S-K |
Hengerber Medina (H, 3) |
1.0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.43 |
|
AZL |
2.2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
AZL |
5.1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.35 |
|
|
AZL |
Jake Greenwalt (BS, 1)(L, 0-1) |
0.0 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5.40 |
|
DSL |
4.2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3.49 |
|
|
DSL |
Kervin Castro (W, 3-1) |
2.1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.76 |
• Clayton Blackburn bounced back from a rough start to put in a solid one on Saturday. He hit a season-high with 106 pitches.
• Cory Gearrin made his seventh rehab appearance. He’s gone one inning in all of them, but this was the first time he gave up more than one hit.
• Christian Arroyo’s double was his 32nd of the year, giving him 3rd most in the Eastern League. 34 is the league lead.
• Kyle Crick had his second straight game without allowing an earned run, although he did give up four unearned last time. This was his second six-inning shutout effort this year, but he walked less this time (5 before), and gave up more hits (just 1 last time).
• Rodolfo Martinez had another implosion, the second time he’s give up three runs in an outing at Richmond. This time, a home run was not the culprit.
• If San Jose needs a position player to pitch ever again, it might be best to ignore Cristian Paulino if he volunteers. Not only did he give up six runs, but he hit two batters.
• Skyler Ewing collected his eighth home run of the season. 7 of his eight home runs have come in July and August.
• Heath Slatton made his first start of the year, as the lower level has some opening for pitchers with Cory Taylor’s promotion.
• Heath Quinn posted the first four-hit day of his career, though he’s had many three-hit days. He leads the NWL with a .336 batting average.
• Kevin Rivera has a nine-game hitting streak.
• Chris Heston made his first appearance in rehab. He has been on the shelf since his June 26th start in Triple-A.
• Francisco Medina has seven hits in his last eight at-bats over two games, include two home runs. That gives him three home runs on the season.
Sacramento Litterbox
Austin Slater put together some good numbers this week for Sacramento. He went 7-for-21 and had four doubles, giving him 9 with the RiverCats. The hitting has raised his average to .253 in 50 games at AAA…Ty Blach had the start of the week for Sacramento, with a 9-inning shutout of Tacoma, allowing just two hits and two walks, striking out 7.
Richmond Nuthouse
Ryder Jones had a big week, playing mostly first base for the Squirrels since the deadline. Jones was 8-for-23 this week, with two home runs and five RBI. He’s risen his batting average to .246 on the season, helped particularly by a 3-for-3 day on Friday.
San Jose Footprints
San Jose went 3-3 on the week, and are 22-27 in the second half. They are currently tied for the wild card spot with Stockton…Since returning from injury, Aramis Garcia has done well. He was hitless in his first game in the AZL, but since then, has picked up a hit in each of the 8 games he’s played, both in Arizona and San Jose.…Dylan Davis put together an excellent week, including three home runs to lead the system. Davis has 12 with San Jose and 20 on the season total.
Augusta Putt-putt Course
Augusta went 6-0 this week, and is 31-17 in the second half, and have extended their division lead to 3.5 games over Rome…In addition to Connolly, Jake McCasland also had a spectacular outing for the GreenJackets, going six shutout innings with 9 strikeouts…Jalen Miller went on a hot streak, hitting home runs in three straight games (though not on consecutive days), giving him five on the season.
Salem-Keizer Crater
Putting together a great season is reliever Patrick Ruotolo, the team’s 27th round pick this season. Ruotolo has made nine relief appearances for the Volcanoes this season, and has struck out 27 in 13.1 innings of work. He’s allowed six hits and nine walks in that span… Kevin Rivera has put together a nine-game hit streak, and is now batting .307 on the season. Both of Rivera’s home run this season have come during this streak.
Arizona Air Conditioner
Jacob Heyward is being used sparingly, and only got into two games this week. He was 2-for-8 on the week, with no walks…Sandro Fabian has a 7-game hitting streak going, and is 11-for-27 on the streak…Caleb Baragar got two starts this week, going for a combined 9.1 innings, allowing just four hits, six walks and one earned run.
Dominican Beach
SS Hector Santiago made the rare move moving from the AZL down to the DSL. The 12th round pick from last year was batting .167 in 16 games in the AZL. It’s rare for any Rule 4 draftee to appear in the DSL, but perhaps the team is hoping the native Puerto Rican might benefit from being back in the Caribbean.
Transaction Log:
Sacramento:
No Listed Transactions
Richmond:
8/8 - LHP Josh Osich sent to Richmond on a rehab assignment; RHP Ray Black placed on the 7-Day DL.
8/9 - RF Carlos Moncrief placed on the 7-Day DL with a quad injury.
8/10 - C Eliezer Zambrano activated from the 7-Day DL; RHP Chase Johnson placed on the 7-Day DL.
8/11 - 1B Angel Villalona activated from the 7-Day DL.
Black hits the DL for the second time. He had been on a good run of eight appearances without an ER, dropping his ERA from 6.20 to 4.88. Moncrief had gone cold, going 5-for-29 in his last 10 games. Zambrano had missed about a month and a half on the DL, and was batting .185. Chase Johnson had a 1.93 ERA since mid-July before hitting the DL, and currently has a 3.27 ERA. Angel comes back off the DL again, and has made only four appearances since June 14th.
San Jose:
8/8 - RF Chuckie Jones placed on the restricted list.
8/9 - RHP Jose Morel placed on the 7-Day DL; C Aramis Garcia activated from the 7-Day DL.
8/10 - SS Richard Rodriguez activated from the 7-Day DL.
8/13 - RHP Connor Overton assigned to the San Jose Giants; SS Richard Rodriguez placed on the 7-Day DL.
Morel went on the DL after being injured during a rough first inning in his last start. His ERA is at 5.40 on the season. Garcia’s return from injury is good news for the prospect, having been out since May 22nd. Richard Rodriguez didn’t even make an appearance back from the DL, and he hasn’t played since July 31st. Connor Overton was signed as a minor league free agent and was assigned straight to San Jose. He spent most of 2015 with the two low-level A-teams with the Marlins, having a 6.68 ERA.
Augusta:
8/10 - C Rene Melendez assigned to Augusta from San Jose.
8/13 - C Adam Sonabend placed on the temporarily inactive list.
Melendez played 18 games with San Jose, batting .210. Sonabend has played 20 games at Augusta, batting .200.
Salem-Keizer:
No Transactions Listed
AZL Giants:
8/8 - LHP Luis Amaya assigned to the AZL Giants; LHP Chris Falwell placed on the 7-Day DL; RF Woody Edwards activated from the 7-Day DL.
8/13 - RHP Chris Heston sent on a rehab assignment to the AZL.
Luis Amaya is making his season debut for 2016. Amaya had a 1.77 ERA in relief in the DSL. Falwell has a 2.52 ERA in 7 appearances, 3 starts, this year. Edwards has a .309 batting average on 18 games.
DSL Giants:
8/11 - SS Hector Santiago assigned to the DSL Giants from the AZL.
Santiago had a .167 batting average in the AZL.
The Wrap-Up:
In case you missed this earlier in the week, this is the craziest play you’ll see all day (from the Dayton Dragons).
This is the craziest double play I have ever seen https://t.co/QzXhQuhqKH
— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) August 12, 2016