SF Giants Minor Lines 4/17/19: Slater is Getting On Base

Yes, the days without Joey Bart will last some time. But we can still talk about him. Especially on days like today when the farm system was just bad.

Highlights: Um…Not really much. Jacob Gonzalez had two hits and no errors. Austin Slater got on base four times.

Sacramento lost to Las Vegas (Athletics) in 10 innings, 5-4

The bullpen featured a bit of a collapse in this loss. Switch-slinger Pat Venditte took the hit, coming into the 9th inning with a 1-run lead, and giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, Seth Brown, to put the game into a tie. In the 10th, after already allowing one run, andwith a runner on third and Brown up again, Venditte struck him out but Aramis Garcia let the pitch get by him, allowing Brown to get to first and the runner to score. Although Michael Reed had a double to get the River Cats on the board and the score 5-4, it wasn’t enough.

Shaun Anderson had a solid start, bouncing back from getting trounced by Las Vegas last week. Although Anderson’s ERA is an ugly 4.85, he has 15 strikeouts and just three walks over 13 innings so far this season.

The offense got a couple of home runs in support of Anderson, although they both were solo shots. Mike Gerber, who suffered his first hitless game of the season on Tuesday, bounced back with a second inning home run, his second of the season, breaking a 1-1 tie. Henry Ramos hit his first home run in the fourth, breaking a 2-2 tie.

Also notable was Austin Slater’s day, getting on base four times in five plate appearances, and also picking up his first stolen base of the season. Slater is only batting .222 on the season, but has had only one game in which he hasn’t drawn a walk. He has 11 walks against 13 strikeouts, which gives him a .475 OBP.

Richmond lost at Hartford (Rockies), 4-3

Logan Webb could not put away the Yard Goats with two outs in this game, and it cost him. After getting two groundouts, Webb walked the next batter, and gave up three straight hits, including a double, to allow two runs. It was nearly worse, but Johneshwy Fargas nailed the runner at the plate to end the inning and keep the damage at just two runs. In the third inning, again with two outs and no one one, Webb gave up three straight singles to let another run in. It was capped off with a leadoff home run in the sixth against Webb.

It was Johneshwy Fargas’ day otherwise, at the plate and in the field. Fargas was 2-for-4, breaking a 3-game hitless streak and getting his batting average off the interstate. He hasn’t walked yet this season, however, in nine games.

It’s been a rough season for the Squirrels offensively, especially for Heath Quinn, who was 0-for-3 today with a walk, and is batting an awful .074/.188/.111 over ten games. But believe it or not, the Richmond .231 batting average is 4th best in the 12-team Eastern League. The .650 OPS is 6th best. That’s offense in the Eastern League in spring.

San Jose lost to Stockton (Athletics), 9-1

Okay, this game was ugly.

Let’s just start with the pitching. When was the last time Cave threw just one inning in a start? How about exactly April 17th of last season. In that game, he walked six, but in this game, it was two hit batters, on top of three hits and a walk that allowed Stockton to score five runs. JJ Santa Cruz did not put the fire out in relief either, allowing his first runs on the season in one big burst of three runs in three innings of work.

Jean Angomas was the only real offensive force for San Jose, picking up his first home run in the ninth to help the Giants stay out of a shutout. That home run ties Angomas’ season-high in home runs (he had just one home run in each 2015, 2016, and 2017.

In this day’s top prospect watch Heliot Ramos was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. That toes the line for him with batting average, but it gives a little slip in the impressive BB/K ratio that he’s been racking up this season. He still has 11 BB to 13 K in 13 games, however, so it’s not like he’s slipping back into bad habits yet.

Augusta lost to Greensboro (Pirates), 3-1

Wrapping up a day of futility on the farm is the GreenJackets, who had a pretty punchless loss to the Grasshoppers. An Aaron Bond double (his third) followed by a Shane Matheny single gave Augusta a brief 1-0 lead, but it would not last.

On the mound, Matt Frisbee made his first start of the season (and his pro career), taking the spot that belonged to the injured Gregory Santos. He acquitted himself well, giving up just one hit in four innings, and keeping Greensboro off the board. He also added to his strikeout total, now giving him 17 in 11 innings, with five walks. The only downside to Frisbee was that he was only able to go four innings. Reliever Preston white gave up three runs, two unearned thanks to a Matheny error.

On offense, the only multi-hit performance for the GreenJackets was the much maligned Jacob Gonzalez, who was 2-for-3 with a walk. The two hits got Gonzalez above .200 for the first time in a week and a half, and it was his first multi-hit game of the season. While Gonzalez has been having a down season, one bit of light has been that he’s kept the strikeouts down, just four in 34 at-bats after 107 strikeouts in 459 at-bats last season. He’s also collected four walks to match those K’s.

Today’s Scheduled Starters

Sacramento (Ty Blach) vs. Las Vegas (Tyler Alexander), 7:05 PM PDT

Richmond (Conner Menez) vs. Altoona (Scooter Hightower), 6:35 PM EDT

San Jose (Aaron Phillips) at Ranco Cucamonga (TBA), 7:05 PM PDT

Augusta (Jake Wong) vs. Charleston (Tanner Myatt), 7:05 PM EDT

Conner Menez has had a nice start this season, yet to allow a run while striking out 11 with just three walks. Wong’s coming off of a rough first two starts, the worst ERA of the Augusta starters with a 6.35 ERA over his first two starts. Meanwhile, Ty Blach is going to try and break the hold that Las Vegas seems to have on the River Cats.

Let’s wrap up with something from yesterday, with Kyle Haines talking about the farm system with Joe Ritzo and Justin Allegri.