Minor League round up, July 6

All six of the San Francisco Giants affiliates played on Tuesday, and while they only registered a pair of wins, there were a lot of players to highlight. So let’s dive in.

Link to the 2021 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

AAA Sacramento (23-30)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 14-9
Box score

Neither first baseman Joe McCarthy nor shortstop Arismendy Alcántara are on the Giants 40-man roster, so some maneuvering is required to get them on the MLB team. But both players are making their case to be considered should the Giants need to dip into their barrel of depth again ... and let’s face it, they will.

Both players had 2-hit games, with McCarthy (.901 OPS) putting a ball over the fence and Alcántara (1.001 OPS) drawing a walk as well.

Also swinging a hot bat was left fielder Mauricio Dubón, who went 3-5 with a walk. The Giants optioned Dubi with the hopes that consistent plate appearances would help him regain his rhythm, and so far it has: in the 5 games since being optioned, Dubón is hitting 13-24 with 3 walks to 5 strikeouts.

It was not, however, a good day on the pitching side of things, where the Giants gave up 9 runs in the first 3 innings. Right-hander Norwith Gudiño, who had just been promoted from AA, had a forgettable AAA debut, as he gave up a pair of homers and 6 total runs (5 earned) in 1.2 innings.

The Giants used 6 pitchers and Caleb Baragar was the only one to not allow a run, though his ERA still sits at 9.45.

AA Richmond (29-26)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) 9-4
Box score

A bit of good and bad for the River Cats on offense. The good is that they displayed a fair bit of power, with 5 of the team’s 8 hits going for extra bases. The bad is a measly 1 walk drawn against 12 strikeouts.

Given how poorly he has been hitting since the start of June, it feels like we’re on a daily watch with center fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 2 CPL), and he also had a bit of good and a bit of bad. Ramos hit 1-4 with a double, but also struck out twice. His OPS is sitting at .691.

Speaking of hot prospects, shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL) made his AA debut and while it certainly didn’t go as poorly as Gudiño’s, it was still a day to forget, as he went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.

First baseman Frankie Tostado continued his hot season with a home run that moved his OPS to .831.

The Richmond pitchers had the same strikeout/walk issue as the hitters, with 11 Ks and 9 BBs. All 5 pitchers who took the mound allowed at least 1 earned run.

High-A Eugene (34-20)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 9-3)
Box score

It was a tale of two lineups for the Emeralds. Hitters No. 4 through 9 combined to hit 7-25 with 0 extra-base hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts, and 1 RBI. But the top 3 in the lineup — center fielder Ismael Munguia, second baseman Brett Auerbach, and left fielder Armani Smith (No. 44 CPL) — combined to hit 9-13 with 5 extra base hits, 1 walk to just 1 strikeout, and 8 RBI.

The big star was the recently promoted Auerbach, who I feel like I mention at least every other day, because he plays all over the diamond (including at catcher), has been hitting brilliantly, and keeps stealing bases. It was more of the same on Tuesday, as he had a home run, a pair of doubles, and a pair of stolen bases in his fourth game with the Emeralds. He’s on pace to have a very high debut on the CPL next year.

LHP Seth Corry (No. 6 CPL) had one of his stronger starts to what has been a slow season: 5 innings, 2 hits, 3 walks, 2 earned runs, and 7 strikeouts. RHP Chris Wright had a scoreless inning of relief to lower his ERA to 2.03, and, to the surprise of no one, struck out the side. He now has 46 strikeouts in 21.1 innings across two levels this year.

The only downside of the day for the Emeralds was that first baseman Logan Wyatt (No. 19 CPL) exited the game with what seemed to be a hamstring injury.

Low-A San Jose (36-19)

San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 6-3
Box score

It’s always a noteworthy occasion when LHP Kyle Harrison (No. 9 CPL) takes the mound, and the local kid showed why he’s considered such a hot prospect, with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings. He also showed that he’s a 19 year old playing his first year of professional baseball with 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs, and 4 earned runs. At this stage in a prospect’s career, I’ll happily take the good with the bad.

Speaking of good, right fielder Jairo Pomares (No. 14 CPL) had a day to remember, hitting 4-4 with a home run and a double. The 20 year old has only played 17 games this season, but a 1.123 OPS would seem to have him in line for a promotion at some point this year, if he can keep it up.

Strong offensive days from left fielder Alexander Canario (No. 7 CPL) and second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 34 CPL) as well.

ACL Orange (4-3)

ACL Giants Orange beat the A’s 10-1
Box score

A great day for the organization’s 2019 J2 signees, as their top signing from that class, shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 28 CPL) hit a home run, and one of their other top signings, third baseman Anthony Rodriguez, hit 3-4 with a pair of doubles and a walk.

Left fielder George Bell (23, 2018 13th round) continued his hot season, with a homer and a double to raise his OPS to .883. My favorite thing about George Bell is that on his MLB page it lists his notable relationships as being the son of George Bell and the brother of George Bell. Both of these things are true.

Strong pitching day for ACL Orange, beginning with starter Luis Moreno (22, 2016 J2), who allowed just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 6 innings, while striking out 6. The bullpen of Jesus Tona (25, 2016 J2), Jesus Gomez (20, 2017 J2), and Cristian Acosta (21, 2017 J2) combined for 3 hitless innings, with 1 walk to 5 strikeouts.

ACL Black (4-3)

ACL Giants Black lost to the Diamondbacks 8-3 (7 innings)
Box score

Not much going for the Giants bats, as they registered just 4 hits on the day, all singles. But plenty was going on with their eyes, as they drew 7 free passes to 10 strikeouts.

Shortstop Dilan Rosario (20, 2019 6th round) drew walks in all 3 of his plate appearances, and first baseman Jean Pena (20, 2017 J2) was 1-1 with 2 walks.

The Giants used 3 pitchers, and while they had 8 strikeouts to just 1 walk, everyone gave up runs.

News

Lots of movement in the organization, highlighted by the promotions of Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL) and Diego Rincones (No. 37 CPL).

The organization also lost two prospects, one to release and the other to retirement.

Home runs

Tuesday’s dingers:

AAA Joe McCarthy (9)
AA Vince Fernandez (8)
AA Frankie Tostado (7)
High-A Brett Auerbach (1)
Low-A Jairo Pomares (5)
Low-A Jimmy Glowenke (2)
ACL Aeverson Arteaga (2)
ACL George Bell (2)

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: Off
Richmond: @ Bowie Baysox, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. Everett AquaSox, 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. Fresno Grizzlies, 1:00 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: Off
ACL Black: Off