SF Giants Minor Lines 6/25/18: Is Ramos Heating Up?

Man, there was power up and down the Giants’ box scores…but there was just as many runs given up in the pitchers’ lines as well. But as some guys hit well and others struggled, there was one top prospect who looks like he’s starting to heat up…

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Sacramento defeated Albuquerque (Rockies), 9-4

Because of course it was.

But Williamson wasn’t the only big slugger in the thin air in Albuquerque…in fact, he didn’t really show exactly what the Giants wanted. Williamson was only 1-for-5, and while his second inning home run was a big hit in his return, the Giants are looking for the swing that got all kinds of hits. The good news is that Williamson did only strike out once.

Chris Shaw, however, made the most of the thin air. He had two home runs, a solo shot in the 4th inning and a 3-run shot in the 7th to break the 4-4 tie, giving him 14 on the season. Shaw also picked up a single, for his first 3-hit game since May 13th. Shaw’s batting average rose to .260, and is 10 home runs away from the 24 he hit in 2017. (53 games versus 125 last season).

Two other River Cats got into the three-hit swing of things. Ryder Jones broke a 1-for-11 skid with his three hit game, and got his 7th home run of the season. Some kid named Steven Duggar also got three hits, halting his batting average slide (at least for this game) and getting it back to .279. And Chase D’Arnaud only got one hit, but also collected three walks. He has a .295/.403/.509 batting line on the season.

On the mound, Casey Kelly didn’t have a great game, giving up nine hits for the second time in as many starts, and third time in five starts, but it was enough for the win. In relief, Ray Black only struck out one in one inning, so that’s kind of a disappointment. But Tyler Beede also had an inning without allowing any runs (or walks) and striking out one, so that’s good for him.

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Richmond was defeated by Hartford (Rockies), 5-0

I’ve got to give it to Hartford, their stadium is in a nice neighborhood.

Unfortunately, maybe all the Squirrels were checking out the view. The Squirrels took home a goose egg, even despite a one-out triple by C.J. Hinojosa in the 5th inning. Hinojosa was one of only two Squirrels with multiple hits, and it keeps his streak alive with at least one hit in every Double-A game he’s played this season (now 11 games long). The triple was his first of the year, either at San Jose or Richmond.

Dylan Davis took home the other 2-hit game, to raise his batting average to .245. He also added his 16th double of the year.

The pitching side wasn’t any good either, as Shaun Anderson scheduled for his second start in a row. He gave up eight hits and two walks in 5.2 innings, coming off giving up 11 hits and five runs last week. Anderson’s batting average against has been rising steadily since mid-March. It was .229 on May 23rd, and just over a month later, it’s now .264. This is a concern that bears watching for the 23-year old.

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San Jose defeated Stockton (Athletics), 5-2

Yep, Jason Bahr got the promotion and made his first start in Single-A, after a very nice first half in Augusta. How did he do?

I suppose we can call that a “decent” start. Okay, it was pretty damn good. Bahr was a bit old for Augusta, having turned 23 before the season, but he did what he was supposed to up there. Five strikeouts against five baserunners pretty much is what he’s supposed to do in San Jose as well.

Another Augusta promotion made his second appearance in San Jose. 23-year old Frank Rubio had 10 saves in 11 tries with Augusta, 1.55 ERA in 29 innings with 32 strikeouts and six walks. After going two innings in his first appearance at San Jose, he went one for his second save.

At the plate, the 4-7 hitters were the big hitters. Sando Fabian and Matt Winn each had a pair of hits. Fabian’s batting average has been hovering in the .220’s for over a week, but he got it back to .232 with this game. Winn’s 2-hit game broke him from a 1-for-14 slide, getting his batting average back over .250.

Johneshwy Fargas did something he doesn’t usually do, picking up a home run, only his third of the season. He didn’t steal a base, breaking a streak of three games with one, but getting a home run is a fair tradeoff. Gio Brusa added his 14th double, giving him half as many in 56 games as he had in 113 last season. Not bad, but he’s upped his triples (3 this year to 2 last year) and home runs (11 to 17 last year), so it’s still looking good. Just don’t look at the strikeout numbers.

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Augusta lost to Hickory (Rangers), 4-3 in 10 innings

One big inning got Augusta back into this game, but it ended up a loss anyways. The GreenJackets got four consecutive two-out hits, highlighted by a two-run double by Manuel Geraldo, which gave the GreenJackets a very brief one-run lead. It was given up by Camilo Doval quickly in the bottom half of the 7th, and eventually a run in the 11th going against Olbis Parra in his third inning of work.

In the box score, the rise of Heliot Ramos continues. He got multiple hits for the second game in a row, and now has at least one hit in ten of his last eleven games. That puts his batting average on the sunny side of .250 for the first time since April 27th. Meanwhile, Geraldo picked up his eighth double of the season, as did Orlando Garcia.

Joey Marciano had a solid start for Augusta, bouncing back from giving up ten hits in his last start, ten days ago (over the All-Star Break, where he pitched). Marciano now has 65 strikeouts against 18 walks, a 3.61 K/BB ratio. That’s a lot nicer than the 2.17 ratio he had last season.

Finally, a nice award for John Gavin after his week last week.

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Salem-Keizer Volcanoes were defeated by Hillsboro (Diamondbacks), 6-5

The top of the Volcanoes lineup looked good, and the middle provided some power, but there was some concern in the #3 spot of the lineup, belonging to Diego Rincones. Rincones was 0-for-3 (his first hitless game of the season), but also was lifted in the fifth inning after popping up in his third at-bat. No reason was listed.

Let’s talk the good news. Robinson Medrano hit his third home run of the season, and is batting .257/.381/.571 in his first ten games of the season. Trevor Abrams hit his first home run of the season (and career!) in his 11th game (9th in S-K, two in Augusta back in April). At the top of the order, Mikey Edie had a 3-hit game, and is 9-for-19 in the five games played at home this season (2-for-14 on the road). And Nico Giarratano had his first 2-hit game of the season.

Stetson Woods was on the mound, and gave up four runs for the second straight start. It’s been a rough start to the season for Woods, with 18 hits given up in 15.1 IP with four walks. Keenan Bartlett took the loss in relief, giving up two runs for the second time in his last three appearances.

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AZL Black was defeated by the AZL Royals, 11-9

The big news here was the rehabbing Malique Ziegler making his first appearance since April 29th. Ziegler played five innings before being lifted, but was 2-for-2 in his two at-bats. Ziegler was batting .275/.405/.522 before his injury with Augusta.

Among the regulars, 20-year old Frankie Tostado has gotten a hit in each of the five games he’s played, but keeps getting hotter. He’s gotten a pair of hits in each of his last two games, and picked up his first career home run. Meanwhile, fellow 20-year old Francisco Medina got his first home run of the year in his fourth game of the season.

However, Alexander Canario’s cold start continued, with an 0-for-6 day. It was his first day without drawing a walk. He’s 2-for-20 on the season, and has six walks against eight strikeouts.

On the mound, well, it was rough. Conner Nurse gave up four runs for his second straight start, this time in just four innings. He’s given up 13 hits in nine innings of work. But Ben Strahm got the loss, giving up four earned run on three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning.

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AZL Orange defeated the AZL Athletics, 7-5

The heart of the Orange Order picked up a pair of 4-hit games, and 20-year old Beicker Mendoza continues to tear things up in his third go-around in the AZL. Mendoza picked up three doubles in his best game yet, and now has four doubles in five games. He now has four straight games with multiple hits, and has a batting line of .556/.619/.944 in five games. Tyler Flores got the other 4-hit game, and is batting .500/.579/.563 over four games.

Also in the box, #2 overall pick Joey Bart picked up his first hit as he was the DH after his first game catching.

Francis Pena took the start, and struggled in the Arizona sun, giving up nine hits in four innings. In the bullpen, 19-year old Jorge Labrador had two quiet innings after giving up a pair of runs in his first appearance. Yoel Veras got the win after blowing the save, and has nearly identical lines of giving up a run in two innings in each of his two appearances.

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The DSL Giants were defeated by the DSL Pirates2, 9-3

It was one of those days in the DSL. Starter Melvin Martinez had a rough start, giving up six runs in 3.2 IP, despite giving up two hits. Martinez walked five, and three of the runs came in unearned, thanks to two errors by Martinez himself. It’s the second time he’s walked five in four starts this season, and he has 16 in 11.1 IP (with just six strikeouts). Perhaps this game came because of the sudden replacement of starting catcher Keyberth Mejias during the first at-bat of the game by Rodolfo Bone. (It wasn’t reported whether this was due to injury, but one has to assume so.)

The offense had an off day…other than Luis Toribio. Toribio had a 2-hit game after a pair of hitless games, as the early hot hitter of the team has begun to cool off a little. He did pick up his fourth double of the season, and now nine of his 17 hits have been for extra bases. Another early hot hitter, Samuel Jorge, has also cooled off. Although he picked up a single in this game, he’s gone 2-for-16 over his last six games.

Today’s Scheduled Starters

Sacramento: Jeff Samardzija vs. Brett Oberholtzer

Richmond: Jordan Johnson vs. Ryan Castellani

San Jose: Melvin Adon vs. Matt Milburn

Augusta: TBD vs. Tyler Phillips

Salem-Keizer: TBD vs. Eury Ramos

Sacramento gets another rehabbing starting pitcher, as Jeff Samardzija is trying to come back again. He’ll face former major leaguer Oberholzer, in his first season with the Padres. He has a 4.36 ERA over four seasons in the Majors. Meanwhile, the Squirrels will be facing the Rockies 2nd round pick in 2014, who is struggling with a 4.99 ERA.