Minor League round up, July 15

All eight of the San Francisco Giants affiliates were in action on Thursday, so let’s dive straight into it.

Link to the 2021 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List

AAA Sacramento (26-34)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Round Rock Express (Rangers) 5-1
Box score

A rather unexciting game for the River Cats, who fell behind early and never found the bats to get back into it. RHP Matt Frisbee (No. 39 CPL) made his ninth appearance since being promoted to AAA, and once again struggled, with 7 hits, 4 walks, 5 earned runs, and 6 strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Given how dominant he was in AA this year (32 strikeouts to 1 walk in 29 innings), it’s probably way too soon to be worried about the 8.31 ERA in Sacramento.

LHP Conner Menez, who has been struggling since being optioned, had a decent relief appearance, with 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 runs, and 4 strikeouts in 2 innings.

But the offense couldn’t do much, with a double by second baseman Peter Maris representing the team’s only extra-base hit. Catcher Joey Bart (No. 2 CPL) struggled in his return to Sacramento, going 0-4 with a strikeout hat trick. First baseman Will Toffey (whom the Giants received in the Anthony Banda trade) had the same stat line, giving him 13 strikeouts in 23 plate appearances since joining the organization.

AA Richmond (34-29)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 6-5 (10 innings)
Box score

The Flying Squirrels lost, but the story with every Richmond game is less the outcome and more what center fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 3 CPL) does. Ramos only hit 1-5, but the “1” was a beauty of a dinger.

That’s a swing worth being excited about. Ramos now has 4 home runs at the halfway mark of the month, after just 2 in June.

Only one Giant had a multi-hit day: second baseman Simon Whiteman, who had a pair of doubles. Whiteman was ice cold in his first few weeks with Richmond after getting promoted in mid-June, but he’s starting to find his groove.

It was a solid day for RHP Caleb Kilian (No. 43 CPL), who allowed 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings, while striking out 5. He now has a 2.21 ERA and 52 strikeouts to 7 walks in 53 innings since his AA promotion.

High-A Eugene (36-26)

Eugene Emeralds lost to Spokane (Rockies) 14-11
Box score

The Emeralds did something truly impressive on Thursday, albeit not good. They took an 11-4 lead into the eighth inning, and lost. More impressively, Spokane didn’t even need to use their ninth inning for the run. They just put up a 10-spot in the eighth and that was that.

You can probably predict that it was a bullpen disaster, and it came from LHP Bryce Tucker, RHP Taylor Rashi, and RHP Ryan Walker, who combined to issue 7 walks in the inning, with all 10 runs being earned.

Things were prettier on the offensive side, especially with left fielder Heath Quinn. A day after having a 3-hit game with 2 home runs, Quinn again had 3 hits, and again went deep, albeit just once. He also added a walk for good measure to raise his OPS to 1.203. Might be time to see how much space there is in the Richmond outfield.

The Emeralds had 4 homers on the day, including one from second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 40 CPL), who now has a .790 OPS. Fitzgerald had a stellar June, but has fallen off a bit in July, so hopefully this gets him going.

And the ever versatile Brett Auerbach, starting at catcher this game, had 2 hits and 2 walks. He’s awesome. And third baseman Carter Aldrete had a grand slam!

Low-A San Jose (40-23)

San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) 10-3
Box score

I think it’s safe to say that shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL) should definitely be on watch for a call from Eugene. Luciano continued his tear, hitting 2-3 with a pair of walks and yet another beautiful and impressive home run.

That’s 15 dingers on the year for Luciano, in just 253 plate appearances. His OPS is .933, though it’s worth noting that he committed his 13th error of the season.

Catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 8 CPL) also had a 2-hit day, and is starting to find some rhythm, which is great.

It was an encouraging start for RHP Ryan Murphy, the Giants fifth-round pick in 2020. He allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs in 5 innings, but struck out 10 batters. He’s now at 93 strikeouts to 16 walks in 63 innings.

ACL Orange (6-7)

ACL Giants Orange beat the Royals Blue 5-4 (7 innings)
Box score

The offensive star of the day for the ACL Orange team was right fielder Kwan Adkins (24, 2018 30th round), who hit 2-2 with a 3-run home run, a walk, and a stolen base. His OPS is sitting at .976.

No one else had a multi-hit day, though shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 28 CPL, 18, 2019 J2) had a double to move his OPS to 1.243.

The Giants pitchers issued 12 walks on the day, despite it being a 7-inning game. LHP Jesus Gomez (20, 2017 J2) had a particularly funny day out of the bullpen, with 3 innings, 0 hits, 4 walks, 0 runs, and 4 strikeouts. RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 23 CPL, 20, 2019 11th round) had a rough start, with 4 hits, 5 walks, and 4 earned runs in just 2 innings.

ACL Black (8-5)

ACL Giants Black beat the Padres 6-5 (7 innings)
Box score

A good day for right fielder Luis Alexander Basabe (No. 33 CPL) who hit 3-4 with a double as he continues his rehab assignment following a Spring Training injury. He has an OPS of 1.042.

Also a nice day for designated hitter Rayner Santana (No. 41 CPL, 18, 2018 J2), who had his first homer of the year and drew a walk.

DSL Orange (0-3)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the Pirates Gold 7-5 (7 innings)
Box score

The Giants took a 5-4 lead into the final inning, but couldn’t do anything with it. It was a weird offensive day, as they struck out just 4 times, but also drew just 4 walks and had just 4 hits. Third baseman Derwin Laya (17, 2020 J2) had a double, which was the team’s only extra-base hit of the day, and raised his OPS to .854.

They were done in by a pair of errors, which resulted in 4 unearned runs. But their counterparts had 6 errors (6!!), so ...

RHP Cristofer Valenzuela (19, 2019 J2) had a nice season debut, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing 0 hits, 3 walks, and 1 unearned run, with 4 strikeouts.

DSL Black (2-1)

DSL Giants Black beat the Tigers 10-3 (7 innings)
Box score

The Giants put up 8 runs in the first inning, which is usually a solid way to win, especially in a 7-inning game. And win they did.

Third baseman Javier Francisco (18, 2019 J2) had another strong game, with a single and a triple. He’s now 4-7 with a home run, a triple, a double, 3 walks, and 0 strikeouts this season.

Decent start for RHP Yonathan Ochoa (18, 2020 J2), who pitched 4.2 innings and allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs, with 3 strikeouts.

Home runs

AA Heliot Ramos (9)
High-A Tyler Fitzgerald (9)
High-A Ismael Munguia (5)
High-A Heath Quinn (4)
High-A Carter Aldrete (4)
Low-A Marco Luciano (15)
ACL Kwan Adkins (3)
ACL Rayner Santana (1)
DSL Elian Rayo (1)

Friday schedule

Sacramento: vs. Round Rock Express, 7:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Somerset Patriots, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: @ Spokane, 6:30 p.m. PT
San Jose: @ Modesto Nuts, 7:05 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. Dodgers, 6:00 p.m. PT
ACL Black: vs. Reds, 6:00 p.m. PT
DSL Orange: vs. Pirates Gold
DSL Black: vs. Tigers