SF Giants Minor Lines 8/2/17: Garrett Williams strikes out 10 in A+ debut

Someone’s on a mission to make sure his Little League heroics weren’t the last of his glory days:

HIGHLIGHTS: Garrett Williams K’d 10 in 6 shutout innings in A+ debut; Ismael Mungaia went 3 for 3 with HR, 2 BBs;

---

Sacramento had an Off Day

But as we know, that off day was more full of action than some of the RiverCats’ games.

Hank later corrected the Hwang line. He was optioned, not waived.

Jarrett Parker was at the end of his rehab and had to be re-installed. Jones was rumored to be in line for action and that’s very good to see. The next months will no doubt also provoke a good amount of regret that neither Christian Arroyo or Tyler Beede are available to get more major league tryout time.

Perhaps the most interesting of yesterday’s news was that Matt Cain might be leaving the rotation. With Johnny Cueto, Tyler Beede, and Joan Gregorio all currently unavailable for one reason or another, that would appear to open a path for Andrew Suarez to get some big league time. That’s particularly surprising since Suarez doesn’t have to be added to the 40 man roster this winter.

There’s actually a fairly lengthy list of guys who are up for Rule 5 protection this year, far more than the Giants will be able to protect, including some Minor Lines’ fan-favorites like Tyler Rogers and Dusten Knight. If guys like Suarez and/or Chris Shaw are jumped in line, the inevitable result is like to be that one of the fringe guys on the Rule 5 protection list will be left exposed.

The most notable of the guys who are going to be Rule 5 eligible this year are probably these guys (some of whom already were last year):

• Tyler Beede
• Aramis Garcia
• Rodolfo Martinez
• DJ Snelten
• Tyler Rogers
• Dusten Knight
• Sam Coonrod
• Jordan Johnson
• Jake McCasland
• Kelvin Beltre
• Raffi Vizcaino
• Caleb Simpson
• Jonah Arenado
• Dylan Davis
• Manuel Geraldo

---

Richmond won at Portland SeaDogs (Red Sox), 7-5 in 11 inn

After two years in the Cal League, Aramis Garcia finally made his AA debut in Portland, ME. And though he didn’t have much to do with the extra-innings win, he did pick up his first AA hit on an infield single in his second at bat.

Newcomer Dillon McNamara took the start that was originally intended for Sam Coonrod, and McNamara struggled with it, allowing 4 runs in just 2 innings. But five relievers then shut the SeaDogs down over the next 9 innings, allowing just one more run. Jarret Martin, Cody Hall and Tyler Cyr were particularly effective at the back end of the game, allowing just two hits over the final 4.1 while striking out six — four of those Ks coming in Halls’ two inning stint.

Coonrod is now officially in the bullpen for the rest of the year and I think this is clearly a move to use the final month to evaluate whether or not he needs to be protected — can he potentially help the Giants pen at some point in ‘18?

The Squirrels got a free rally in the 11th when Hunter Cole and Caleb Gindl received back to back walks to load the bases with no outs. Brandon Bednar followed with the single that brought in the winning runs.

Cole had also had a big hit earlier, tripling in two runs to tie the game. Since Cole moved from Augusta all the way to Richmond in his first full year his career has really hit the horse latitudes. He’s spent much of 2017 either on the DL or trying to separate his batting average from the Mendoza Line. It would be nice to see him have a healthy, productive stretch again.

---

San Jose beat Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks), 3-0
sweeping their three game series, 3-0

And here we come to the star performance of the day: Garrett Williams’ sensational A+ debut. Following a one-inning rehab outing from Mark Melancon, Williams took the mound in the 2nd and like Nuke LaLoosh, the lefty from Lubbock announced his presence with authority. Using a low-90s fastball with life and that killer curve he’s had since Little League, Williams struck out 7 of the first 11 batters he faced. That deserves a Wow!

In the end, he would throw 6 shutout innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 BB along with the 10 Ks. Williams, who could barely get into games at Oklahoma St. due to his extreme lack of command (with every pitch really) has really found something this year. His strikeout rate is now up to about 1 per inning and he’s walked just 28 in his 70 innings. And he’s gotten much better in the second half of the season. After joining Augusta in mid-May, Williams walked 21 batters in 34.2 innings through the end of June (against 37 Ks). But since July he’s K’d 31 batters and walked just 7 over 33.1 innings. A Garrett Williams who can locate the strike zone is one dangerous lefty with the quality of his stuff. Just an electric day in San Jose.

Bryan Reynolds is obviously another guy who’s really gotten hot since the beginning of July. Except for a stretch in May, Reynolds has really been a consistent offensive presence for the Giants all year, but he’s really humming since July 1st, hitting .340/.404/.456. Reynolds has a long history of combining high strike out totals with high batting averages, and he’s continued that trend in high A. I know some folks grumble about his power numbers, but there’s definitely power in that bat from both sides. Don’t believe me? Look, he hit one over his face!

Tweener questions will probably linger about Reynolds along his path up to the big leagues, but he’s definitely having a strong full season debut. Reynolds is a future contributor of some nature, I don’t think there’s much doubt about that.

With the sweep — SWEEP — of the Rawhide — San Jose is gradually injecting some life into its second half hopes. Given how bad their first half record was they almost certainly have to win their division to get into the post-season, but they now sit just a game out of first behind Modesto, thanks in part to their series win there last week. With some new life in their rotation in Williams and fellow lefty Grant Watson (more of the crafty variety) we’ll see if they can stay in the hunt.

---

Augusta lost at Rome Braves, 5-0

What was I just saying about “taking outs quicker than you make outs” the other day? Here’s how you lose a low scoring game.

That play and a subsequent RBI hit sunk Adon’s start before he’d even registered an out. But Adon would rally to escape the first with a couple of strikeouts, and then hang on to throw another excellent start.

Adon’s had some bumps along the road, but he’s been one of the steadier presences in the Augusta rotation since Opening Day. If he can take another step forward in 2018 in San Jose he could be on the right path. That’s a body that’s made to throw a baseball.

His offense, sadly, gave him little support, amassing just five singles on the day. Sandro Fabian is in a particularly egregious rut as he’s now struck out in 5 of his last 7 at bats.

---

Salem-Keizer had the final day of its All Star Break

---

AZL Giants beat the AZL Dodgers, 4-3 in 10 inn

And here we come sensational lefty #2! 3rd round pick Seth Corry was perfect in his fourth professional start — literally! Corry retired all 12 of the batters he faced in this outing, including four Ks. Corry’s been exceptionally hard to hit as a pro, allowing just 5 hits overall in his seven games. The bigger news was not allowing a walk as the Giants work with him to refine his delivery. Early results are doing well as he’s struck out 7, walked just two, and allowed just one hit in his last two starts (over 7 innings).

If you want to do some background research on Corry by the way, the two-sport athlete was the subject of quite a few articles in the local sports section of the Salt Lake Tribune. Like this fascinating story that details some of his heart-breaking losses in championship games in high school:

The star of this extra innings win over the Dodgers (BEAT _AZ-LA!) was CF Ismael Munguia. Taking a resting Heliot Ramos’ spot in the order, the sparkplug from Nicaragua really shown. Munguia reached base five times in this game, including a 3 for 3 effort that included his first professional HR in his first at bat. The Giants also got two-hit efforts from C Ricardo Genoves and SS Jose Rivero.

Both Heliot Ramos and Jacob Gonzalez made PH appearances in the game. Ramos singled in his lone at bat while Gonzalez struck out in the bottom of the 10th with the winning run at 3b and no outs. Aaron Bond picked him up however, with a walk off Sac Fly.

And speaking of Heliot, I’m sure most of you have seen this by now, but for those of you who haven’t, I think we can all say: Yes, Please!

---

DSL Giants beat the DSL Orioles, 2-0

LHP Marco Gonzalez had another excellent outing, going six shutout innings with 6 Ks to 1 BB. Gonzalez has an extraordinary 60 K to 18 BB ratio this year (53 IP) though reports of his stuff sound like he’s killing the kids with soft stuff, which is definitely a great way to succeed at this level (Grant Watson says it’s a great way to succeed in D-1 and A ball too!).

Samuel Jorge picked up an RBI single in this game and also stole his 3rd bag of the year. Fellow SS Ghordy Santos reached base twice with a single and a walk. The DSL team could really use for those two bats to come alive down the stretch.

---

Today’s Scheduled Starters:
Sacramento: TBD vs. Brian Flynn
Richmond: Nate Reed vs. Teddy Stankiewicz
San Jose: Jake McCasland
Augusta: Caleb Baragar vs. TBD
Salem-Keizer: TBD vs. Anjul Hernandez
AZL: OFF
DSL: Anuedy Acosta

It looks like I inadvertently created an “Ask BA” column the other day. I have to say I was surprised to learn that the Giants don’t have the worst top to bottom record in baseball this year. But the real surprise comes in the second half of the piece when JJ takes a look at the best top to bottom records. I really had no idea.