The Prospect Roundup, 8/28

The Austin Slater Show

This week, Austin Slater was all over the news with a spectacular show of hitting and power.  But aside from the hot streak, what is to be expected of this center fielder?  After a report from his Sacramento teammate, a lot of people want to know.

Gorkys likes CF prospect Austin Slater. Said he needs a bit more work at the plate but can succeed in bigs. #sfgiants

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) August 23, 2016

First, the hot streak.  Over a period of 7 games from August 19th through August 25th, Slater was 17-for-30 (.567) with 6 home runs and 3 doubles.  That’s a pretty spectacular run, with his Triple-A batting average jumping from .258 at the start of it to .299 by the end.

As of Saturday’s games, Slater has a .294/.380/.502 line with Sacramento in 64 games, after batting .317/.413/.490 over 41 games during a successful Double-A run in Richmond.  Those are a strong improvement from his combined line in 2014 (.294/.334/.381) between San Jose and Richmond.

That said, the line over the past week comes with one very big asterisk: Four of the seven games came in Reno, which is one of the high altitude parks that gives the PCL its offensive reputation.  According to Baseball America, Reno’s 134 Park Factor for home runs (which means it has a 34% rate above average) is the highest in the PCL.  It’s 111 Park Factor for Batting Average on Balls In Play is the second highest.

(Notably, Sacramento has a 68 Park Factor for home runs, and an 89 Park Factor for BABIP, both the lowest in the PCL).

That split is a big part of Slater’s Triple-A season.  Slater has 10 home runs on the road compared to just 2 at home, with no small part of it due to this road trip.

Aside from the hot streak, however, Slater has emerged as one of the more intriguing prospects in the Giants system this season.  The 8th round pick out of Stanford stands out among Giants outfield prospects at the higher levels with his ability to play center, but also his general versatility.  In fact, Slater spent much of 2015 as a second baseman, and also played shortstop.  This season, he has played both center and left field, the latter mostly in Sacramento, with Gorkys Hernandez playing center.

So far, Slater has avoided most prospect lists, possibly connected to his Stanford status (a school not known for it’s ability to develop Major League hitters), but he has a mix of raw speed and power, neither of which have completely manifested yet.

This season’s 17 home runs, however affected by road games, far surpasses his previous season high of 3 last year.  He also has reached a career high in steals (8), but he has been very unsuccessful on the basepaths, especially in Triple-A, where he’s only stolen 2 bases in 8 attempts.  For his career, his success rate is 62.5% (20 in 32 attempts).

What can the Giants expect from Slater?  He remains a bit of a mystery, in a sudden glut of outfielders at the Triple-A level.  The Giants have one likely starting spot in the outfield for 2017, with Angel Pagan’s expiring contract, and Gregor Blanco is headed for free agency as well.  Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson have both put forward solid cases to be considered for that spot, not to mention bench possibilities.  Slater could add the versatility to play center field behind Denard Span, who has not been the healthiest, but Gorkys Hernandez has also stepped into that discussion.

The Giants Take Care Of Their Own

With the impending minor league lawsuit, the discussion of of minor league pay and expenses has come to the forefront this season.  But in an interesting article by Deadspin breaking down the expenses that minor league players face found one detail about the Giants’ system: Clubhouse dues, and the lack thereof.

For those who aren’t aware, there is an informal procedure where players are more-or-less required to pay clubhouse dues, money that goes to pay for various services within the clubhouse, including food, laundry and other things.  On top of that, players often pay tips to supplement the salary of the clubhouse manager and his staff.

However, as Matt Pare (quickly becoming the go to current source of minor league life) noted in the Deadspin article, this year the Giants have done away with the clubhouse dues policy.  He still has to pay on the road, and he still pays tips (which is not only a long-accepted policy, but also a long-accepted way of gaining favor with the clubbie), but one of the truly daily expenses for minor leaguers have been removed for Giants players.

Pare added this quote which should be encouraging to Giants fans.  “That’s how you get the homegrown talent.”

This isn’t the first time the Giants have played with the system of various clubhouse fees.  Last year, the Giants hired a new visiting clubhouse manager, Abe Silvestri.  The costs of moving his family to the bay area were much higher than usual, so the Giants gave him a significantly increased salary, but in turn asked him to consequently direct tip money from to his staff instead of to him.  That led to miscommunication with the first visiting team, the Rockies, who didn’t pay any tips or dues.  The Giants adjusted the policy after that.

After a different issue involving clubhouse dues erupted with the Chicago White Sox, who are quickly becoming baseball’s Player-Activist team with scissors, over a dispute that comes down to ownership intruding on what’s considered a sacred area in the clubhouse, it’s possible that clubhouse dues, long one of baseball’s most official unwritten rules, may become more formalized in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Whether that will affect the minor league clubs, either officially or just by mimicking the major league system, will be interesting to see.

California League Contractions

As has been rumored since the beginning of the season, the California League will go through a contraction this season, as the Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners) and High Desert Mavericks (Rangers) will disappear, with two new teams appearing in the Carolina League for 2017 to replace them.

There are going to be more, longer stories that you can read regarding this news, but let’s touch on the important issues.

The Reason These Contractions Happened Was Simple: The Main Route For Public Money Disappeared

Each team went wrong for a different reason.  Bakersfield’s stadium was old and faced the wrong way, and needed to be replaced.  Bakersfield was the 9th-largest city in California, and was a fine market with a new stadium, of which there were proposals.  High Desert was a fine stadium, and was built on the promise of California expansion that just never got as far as Adelanto, and when a nearby military base closed, the team’s attendance base dried up.  The Mavericks had proposals to move, most notably to Chico, which looked good.

And then, the recession happened, and Governor Jerry Brown eliminated city redevelopment agencies.

Redevelopment agencies were ways for cities to fund improvements that would help run down areas of cities, and on the minor league end, that has been a relatively healthy way for cities to spend that money without needing specific bonds or voter approval.  But without redevelopment agencies, three California stadium proposals went down the drain (an Escondido/Lake Elsinore Triple-A stadium for the displaced Portland Beavers also got lost; they made a temporary home in Tucson before becoming the El Paso Chihuahuas).  Without that money, stadium proposals in California have disappeared.  And now, so have two teams.

What Does This Mean For The San Jose Giants?

Good question.

This means, with two less teams, the San Jose Giants will get a lot more familiarity with the teams they face.  That could mean hitters learning pitchers better, but then again, maybe better scouting for the pitchers facing said hitters.  And that goes both ways.

The contraction will leave four teams in the Northern and Southern Divisions, though it will be up to the league to determine how many times teams face each other.  That means we don’t know if this means more southern road trips for San Jose.

More notably, this will reduce how offensive the California League is overall, and the ways in which we might discount how hitters’ numbers look.  High Desert was one of the league’s two ridiculous ballparks, with the name revealing the two characteristics (high altitude, and dry desert high temperatures) that led to it being a place with lots and lots of home runs.  Meanwhile, Bakersfield had the shortest center field in baseball (354 feet), and that led to a fair number of extra home runs.

The California League will still be home to Lancaster, always a launching pad, but now the offensive numbers that the Cali League is famous for should be more realistic.

Who Gets Kicked Out Of The California League?

This won’t affect the Giants so much, but it’s curious.

One of the unique factors of the California League is that it’s one of only two full-season Minor Leagues to play west of the rockies.  That’s important for for West Division teams to have an affiliate close to home.  Currently, the 10-team California League’s 10 major league affiliates are entirely the West Division teams in both leagues.  One of the contracted teams is the Texas Rangers affiliate (High Desert), who have purchased a stake in the new Carolina League team in Kinston, N.C..  But in Texas, that won’t be much of a difference in distance.

The other team is a Seattle Mariners affiliate, but it won’t be clear the Mariners will go to the Carolina League.  It’s been reported that the Mariners have purchased an interest in the Modesto Nuts, a Rockies affiliate, which implies the Mariners may take over the Nuts.  If that happens, then the Mariners could be left standing when the music stops.  But five teams (including Modesto) have Player Development Contracts up after this year, and that includes the other Texas team, the Houston Astros, affiliated with the Lancaster JetHawks.

Why Was The Carolina League Called The Carolina League?

Seriously.  Before this expansion, 5 of the league’s 8 teams were not in either of the Carolinas, and two teams are in states that don’t even border either Carolina.

This expansion could even it out (with one team definitely going to Kinston, N.C., and a second team probably going to Fayetteville, N.C.), so the two divisions could just become the Carolinas Division and the Not Carolinas Division.

Could The California League Ever Regain New Teams?

Could it happen?  Maybe, but it’s more of a numbers game since, right now, Minor League Baseball wants to keep each level of baseball with 30 teams, to match the Major Leagues.  But perhaps it could happen, especially if Major League Baseball expands.  More important would be finding ways to fund these parks, but hopefully this would become possible.

California is the most populous state in the nation, and alone would be a Top 10 Country in the world in GDP.  Surely, there is room for more teams?

Baseball America made a list of 5 cities that would be prime expansion spots inside California.  In order from #5 on, Santa Barbara, Victorville (near Adelanto, but far more populous and accessible), Santa Rosa, Oxnard, and Bakersfield.

It’s a good list, but I would add a few other cities to the possibility list.

Chico - Population 90,316 - This was a proposed move for the Mavericks, and it would expand the California League more north than it’s ever been.  While it’s population is smaller than other areas, it is the hub of the northern valley community, has a good college population, and could draw fans from further.

Vacaville - Population 96,803 - A middle-ground, almost halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.  It wouldn’t be too far from the North Division rivals of Stockton and San Jose, and also would draw from nearby Fairfield (and maybe even Vallejo).

Escondido - Population 151,451 - Planned for a Triple-A franchise previously, Escondido is still one of the fastest growing communities in the San Diego suburbs, and would be prime for a Padres affiliate proximity the way the Giants, Dodgers, Athletics and Angels have.

Santa Cruz/Watsonville - Combining for a population over 100,000, it might be a little close to San Jose, but tell that to Rancho Cucamonga and Inland Empire.  Santa Cruz is home to the Golden State Warriors minor league team, so they’ve got some history.  Then again…

Monterey/Seaside/Salinas - Monterey is the sexy name with an upper class population; Salinas is the population center (157,380) and home to former California League teams.  Seaside might be the happy medium, with more land, a half hour drive from Salinas, and a beautiful setting.

San Luis Obispo - Beautiful setting, albeit a bit isolated.  This would work best with either a Monterey or Santa Barbara expansion.  While SLO itself has a small population,  (45,119), the SLO Metro Area comprises a 269,637 population very isolated from other baseball options.

Not Changing - Giants and Volcanoes Stick Together

Speaking of the Player Development Contracts, this week the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and the San Francisco Giants renewed their affiliations through 2018, removing any potential drama, not that any was expected.  The Volcanoes and the Giants have been partners for the entirety of the Salem-Keizer history, beginning in 1997.  The Giants were affiliated with the Volcanoes’ previous incarnation in Bellingham since 1994.

Most PDCs are two-year deals, which is why there is an anticipated shuffle after every even year.  However, the Salem-Keizer agreement is a bit unusual considering other extensions the Giants gave this spring.  In April, San Francisco and San Jose extended their PDC until 2020, which was really mostly a formality considering the Major League team has an ownership stake in San Jose.  But the Giants also extended both Sacramento and Richmond in March, also both through 2020.  Does that mean the ties with Salem-Keizer are weaker?  That would only be speculation, but who knows.

What that means is that only Giants affiliate with a PDC coming up for 2016 (as of this moment) is Augusta.  Augusta’s long stadium struggles have been an issue, although it seems things are moving forward with a new park in North Augusta currently scheduled for opening in 2018 (those jeers you’re hearing are coming from Hartford, Connecticut).  Is it possible Augusta may market a new stadium to try and pull in a Major League affiliate that is somewhat closer? (They won’t get Atlanta, who owns the closer Rome Braves)

The answer to that is “No”.  At press time, there are only 8 affiliates that may switch; San Francisco, New York Yankees (Charleston of the SAL), Oakland (Beloit, MWL), Seattle (Clinton, MWL), Cincinnati (Dayton, MWL), San Diego (Fort Wayne, MWL), Cleveland (Lake County, MWL), and Toronto (Lansing, MWL).  Maybe the Yankees would be particularly of interest to the GreenJackets due to national notoriety, but as far as the other teams go, the Giants are probably the biggest name.  The Giants and Augusta have been affiliated since 2005, and it would not be surprising to see that continue.

San Jose Pitching Coach Comments On Some San Jose Pitchers

San Jose’s pitching coach Mike Couchee had some interesting comments to make on Joe Ritzo’s pre-show earlier this week.  Here’s some of them.

SJ pitching coach Mike Couchee on Reyes Moronta: "Hitters have to sit on 98 & then having to adjust to his two breaking balls is difficult"

— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) August 25, 2016

Couchee on Dan Slania starting: "He's added some pitches (this year). He's a horse and has the stuff to compete for 6 or 7 innings."

— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) August 25, 2016

Couchee on Cory Taylor: "Confident kid, doesn't mess around. It's like you're trying to take food off my plate and that ain't gonna happen."

— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) August 25, 2016

You can listen to the show here:

#SJGiants look to make two straight in Bakersfield. Pitching coach Mike Couchee on the pregame at 6:45. Listen: https://t.co/CPpW1Ja61z

— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) August 25, 2016

Playoff Status For All Teams

Of the Giants 7 farm teams, three have chances to make the playoffs, including one such fate to be determined today.

The AZL Giants go into Sunday’s regular season finale a half-game back of the Angels.  The Angels face the playoff-bound Reds of the Central Division on Sunday, while the Giants face the Central 2nd place Dodgers.  The Giants will need a win, and an Angels loss, to make the playoffs.

The San Jose Giants need either the Bakersfield Blaze or Visalia Rawhide to win the 2nd half title to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team, or win the 2nd half title outright.  San Jose is currently in 4th place for the 2nd half title, six games back.  The Blaze lead the division, with the Rawhide four games back in second, and the Modesto Nuts as the biggest threat in third place, five games back.  The rest of the Giants’ eight games are all against Bakersfield and Visalia.

Augusta’s recent struggles have cost them a division lead, and have a 1.5 game deficit behind the Rome Braves with 8 games to play, five of them against Rome (including Sunday’s).  Rome’s Magic Number is 7.

The remaining four teams are all either officially eliminated, or will be shortly.

The Sacramento River Cats are buried in last place in the Pacific Northern division, and are eliminated from playoff contention.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels sit in fifth place in the Western Division, and are eliminated from playoff contention.  The only question is whether they will finish as high as fourth or in last place.

Salem-Keizer is currently in last place in the South Division 2nd half standings, and will be officially eliminated with two more losses.

The DSL Giants finished in 3rd place in their division, and missed the playoffs.

Saturday’s Scores

AAA	Score	AA	Score 11 Inn.	High-A	Score	Low-A	Score
Sacramento	2	Richmond	13	San Jose	7	Augusta	7
Fresno	6	Akron	3	Visalia	4	Rome	2
Short-A	Score	AZ Rookie	Score	DSL Rookie	Score
Eugene	14	Dodgers	3	Cancelled
Salem-Keizer	9	Giants	6

Saturday’s Lines

Team	Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG*
SAC	Mac Williamson	LF	4	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	2	0.273
SAC	Austin Slater	CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.294
SAC	Ryan Lollis	RF	4	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.266
SAC	Ricky Oropesa	DH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0.118
RIC	Steven Duggar	CF	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	2	0.315
RIC	Christian Arroyo	3B	5	1	2	0	0	1	3	0	0	0.274
RIC	Chris Shaw	1B	5	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.241
RIC	Tyler Horan	DH	4	2	1	0	1	0	3	1	1	0.250
SJ	Robbie Garvey	LF	3	3	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.267
SJ	Dylan Davis	RF	5	0	2	2	0	0	3	0	2	0.306
SJ	Miguel Gomez	DH	5	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	0.252
AUG	Johneshwy Fargas	CF	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.279
AUG	Bryan Reynolds	DH	5	3	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.455
AUG	Dillon Dobson	3B	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.280
AUG	Jean Angomas	LF	5	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0.253
S-K	Manuel Geraldo	3B	5	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	0.291
S-K	Ryan Howard	SS	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.266
S-K	Gio Brusa	DH	5	1	2	0	0	1	3	0	1	0.262
S-K	Heath Quinn	RF	2	3	1	0	0	1	2	2	0	0.333
S-K	Ashford Fulmer	LF	5	1	3	2	0	0	1	0	2	0.308
S-K	Kevin Rivera	2B	4	0	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	0.315
AZL	Mikey Edie	CF	4	0	2	0	1	0	2	1	0	0.225
AZL	Jacob Heyward	DH	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.326
AZL	Sandro Fabian	RF	4	1	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	0.342
AZL	Jose Layer	LF	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.280
AZL	Michael Bernal	2B	4	1	3	1	0	1	3	0	1	0.264

Team	Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
SAC	Matt Cain (L, 1-1)	5.0	10	6	4	2	4	1	5.06
SAC	Alex Torres	3.0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.42
RIC	Nestor Molina (W, 2-0)	5.0	6	2	2	0	5	2	3.18
RIC	Tyler Mizenko	2.0	2	1	1	0	0	0	4.38
RIC	Rodolfo Martinez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	7.29
RIC	Joe Nathan	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
SJ	Mark Reyes (W, 9-8)	5.0	5	3	2	4	3	0	4.97
SJ	Hengerber Medina (H, 1)	2.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3.86
SJ	Tyler Cyr	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	2.70
SJ	Reyes Moronta (S, 14)	1.0	0	0	0	1	3	0	2.57
AUG	Raffi Vizcaino (W, 1-0)	7.0	4	2	2	0	8	0	2.57
AUG	Ryan Halstead	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.98
S-K	Stephen Woods	3.0	5	4	4	3	6	1	5.63
S-K	Matt Pope (L, 1-1)	2.0	6	7	7	0	2	1	8.16
S-K	Kendry Melo	3.0	1	2	1	1	1	0	4.42
S-K	John Timmins	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	10.32
AZL	Caleb Baragar	5.0	3	1	1	0	5	0	2.28
AZL	Cameron Avila-Leeper	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0.00
AZL	Luis Amaya (BS, 1)(W, 1-0)	1.0	3	2	2	1	1	0	3.68
AZL	Julio Benitez (S, 3)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3.79

• Matt Cain ran into trouble in his rehab start, mostly in the third inning, giving up six hits in that inning alone, and five of his six runs.

• Mac Williamson hit his second home run in as many games, and has 11 with Sacramento in 51 games.

• Ryan Lollis collected his second three-hit game in a row, and his fourth game with at least three hits this season.

• Christian Arroyo’s long home run drought has ended.  He hit his first home run since May 23rd, and only his third of the season.

• 27 year-old Nestor Molina got his first win as a Richmond starter.  He did get a win in his first Richmond appearance, where he faced one batter.

• Dylan Davis picked up two doubles, giving him 10 in San Jose and 27 overall.  Davis’ power appeared this season between Augusta and San Jose.  He had 16 doubles and 12 home runs last year, but has 27 and 26 this year, so far.

• Bryan Reynolds picked up his third game with at least three hits of the last week, and has really taken to the South Atlantic League.  He now has a .455/.471/.667 batting line.

• Raffi Vizcaino made his Augusta debut, going a season-high 7 innings, and collecting a season-high 8 strikeouts.

• Gio Brusa collected his 9th home run of the season, in his 47th game.

• Heath Quinn hit his 2nd home run of the last three games, giving him 8 on the year in 53 games.

• 18-year old Sandro Fabian used a three-hit game to continue a 7-game hitting streak, and raising his batting average to .342.

Hitter of the Week - Austin Slater

Surprise, surprise, Austin Slater gets the Hitter of the Week honors.

For this week, Slater was 11-for-29 (.379) with three doubles and four home runs, the home run total leading the system.  With that, he also had a system-leading 13 RBI.

For the season in Sacramento, he’s batting .294/.380/.502, with 12 doubles and 12 home runs.

Pitcher of the Week - Johan Herrera

This was the DSL team’s last games, so the DSL team gets one last honor.

17-year old Johan Herrera had his final start on Tuesday, and pitched a gem.  8 innings, one hit, no walks, and no runs.  Everything in this start was a season-best for the young man.

On his season, Herrera had a 2.09 ERA, with 50 strikeouts and 18 walks in 77.2 innings.  He has a .230 average against and a 1.07 WHIP.

Sacramento Litterbox

Ty Blach tied a franchise high with his 14th win this week, in a 7-inning shutout start, in which he struck out 9.  Blach has a 3.43 ERA in 26 starts…Jarrett Parker hit .333 (7-for-21) with two doubles, a triple and a home run this week, ahead of getting a call up to San Francisco again.

Richmond Nuthouse

During Saturday’s game, the Flying Squirrels set a team record with a 12-run fifth inning.  The inning featured nine hits, four walks, a pair of errors, and a single by catcher Steven Lerud that allowed him to round the bases thanks to a single error by the right fielder on the throw.  I don’t know how, there’s no video up right now.  I’ll keep looking for that…A non-Giants note: the Hartford Yard Goats played the season as the Homeless Yard Goats.  They were expecting to play the first half of their “home” games on the road, though in their home garb and batting in the bottom halves of innings.  However, construction delays and cost overruns have made it so Harford’s stadium hasn’t been finished, after the city fired the developers.  If the city doesn’t figure out how to finish the stadium, the Yard Goats will find a new home, and Hartford minor league baseball will become an urban legend…

San Jose Footprints

Rando Moreno’s 4-for-4 day on Thursday is part of four straight games in which he’s had multiple hits.  His San Jose batting average jumped from .185 to .258 during the stretch…San Jose sits at 67-65 with 8 games to play.  They need to go at least 4-4 the rest of the way to keep up their record of consecutive winning seasons, which would give them 13 straight.  It’s been a fantastic run for them…Despite fantastic numbers at higher levels, Dan Slania has struggled in San Jose, giving up 7 runs in his most recent start, and now has a 5.25 ERA in San Jose.  That might have something to do with his innings, as he’s now pitched more than 40 innings more than any season in the past…San Jose enjoyed one last game at the wrong-way park in Bakersfield, before the disappear after this season.

One last Sam Lynn Sunset. Tonight is the Giants' final regular season game ever in Bakersfield. pic.twitter.com/uHhnm5M5xy

— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) August 26, 2016

Augusta Putt-putt Course

With Lucius Fox gone, it appears the Giants will give Jalen Miller a chance to switch back to shortstop.  Miller played second base most of the season with Fox around, but has now made five starts at shortstop with this recent week.

Dominican Beach

The DSL season came to an end on Saturday, and for the Giants, it ended with the team not even getting in its final game due to rain…After an up-and-down season, catcher Angeddy Almanzar led the team in batting average at .294, and also led the team with 17 doubles, 5 home runs, and an .811 OPS…Among the regular starters, Johan Herrera led the team with 2.09 ERA and also led the team with 14 starts.  Herrera also co-led the team with 50 strikeouts, along with 23-year old Orleny Quiroz, who had a 2.18 ERA in 14 appearances (8 starts).  Quiroz hit the 50 strikeout mark in just 45.1 innings, while Herrera did it in 77.2 innings.

Transaction Log:

Sacramento:

8/26 - 1B Ricky Oropesa activated from the 7-Day DL.

The 2011 3rd round pick has only gotten into 11 games in Sacramento, batting .063.  He was hitting .219/.300/.369 in Richmond in 68 games earlier this season.

Richmond:

No Transactions Listed

San Jose:

8/23 - RHP Chris Heston sent to San Jose on a rehab assignment.

8/25 - LHP Carlos Diaz placed on the 7-Day DL.

8/26 - RHP Tyler Cyr activated from the 7-Day DL.

The 22-year old Diaz had a 10.54 ERA in 11 appearances with San Jose, with a .397 average against.  He had a 4.32 ERA in 10 games with Salem-Keizer earlier this year.  Tyler Cyr missed nearly all of August on the DL.  He has a 2.37 ERA in San Jose in 16 games, after a 2.31 ERA in 20 games in Augusta.

Augusta:

8/21 - C Adam Sonabend placed on the 7-Day DL.

8/24 - RHP Raffi Vizcaino assigned to Augusta from Salem-Keizer; C Rene Melendez placed on the 7-Day DL; LHP Grant Watson placed on the 7-Day DL with left arm fatigue.

This is the 5th time that Sonabend has gone on the DL this season.  He has gotten into just 20 games, batting .200.  Melendez was assigned to Augusta on August 10th, but still hasn’t gotten into an Augusta game.  He hit .210 in 18 games in San Jose.

Salem-Keizer:

No Transactions Listed

AZL Giants:

8/21 - CF Byron Murray sent to the AZL Giants on a rehab assignment from San Jose.

8/22 - LHP Cameron Avila-Leeper assigned to the AZL Giants.

Murray missed all of 2016 with injury.  He was a 25th round pick in 2014, and hit .251 in 2015 between the AZL and Salem-Keizer.  20-year old Cameron Avila-Leeper is making his professional debut.  He was a 17th round pick in 2015 out of San Joaquin Delta (Junior) college.

DSL Giants:

No Transactions Listed

The Wrap-Up:

On the topic of life in the minor leagues, the Washington Post wrote a fantastic article that touched both on the life of minor leaguers (including, surprise surprise, Matt Paré) and the upcoming lawsuit led by former Giant prospect Garrett Broshuis.  Give it a read when you can by clicking here.