Minor League round up, Aug. 26

All eight of the San Francisco Giants affiliates were scheduled to play on Thursday, though poor air quality in Reno led to a cancellation for AAA Sacramento’s game.

Let’s dive into the other seven, though.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AA Richmond (50-49)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Altoona Curve (Pirates) 3-0
Box score

A day after shutting out Altoona, Richmond turned around and let the Curve return the favor.

The Flying Squirrels only had 4 hits all day (and just 1 walk), but 3 of those hits came off the bat of designated hitter Diego Rincones (No. 37 CPL), who had a double and raised his OPS to .922. That’s an exceptional number given the pitcher-friendly environment — it’s good for a 147 wRC+ — and considering that Rincones only turned 22 in June, he’s younger than pretty much everyone he’s facing in AA.

Richmond’s lone other hit was a double by shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL), who now has a .578 OPS.

The pitchers had a better day than the hitters, though they were far from dominant. RHP Matt Frisbee (No. 39 CPL) pitched 5 innings, and allowed 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 earned runs, with 3 strikeouts. Frisbee is still sporting a very nice ERA (2.86) at AA, despite struggling during his AAA stint.

High-A Eugene (57-43)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 10-2
Box score

Well, this was not a good game. The Emeralds hitters didn’t draw a walk all game, but struck out 13 times. They did have a respectable 7 hits though, with 2-hit days for center fielder Ismael Munguia, who had a double and raised his OPS to .820, and catcher Ricardo Genovés (No. 29 CPL) who bumped his OPS to .702.

Designated hitter Jairo Pomares (No. 14 CPL) doubled, giving him 4 extra-base hits in 39 plate appearances since getting promoted to Eugene.

Every Emeralds pitcher struggled, but RHP Blake Rivera (No. 22 CPL) made his High-A debut after missing the first few months of the season with an injury, and then rehabbing in the Arizona Complex League. Rivera pitched 2 innings and allowed 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 runs, and 2 earned runs, with 1 strikeout.

Low-A San Jose (63-36)

San Jose Giants beat the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 10-3
Box score

Finally, a good game! The Baby Giants crushed the Storm thanks almost entirely to the 2nd inning. San Jose scored all 10 of their runs in the 2nd, with the big hit being a 3-run home run courtesy of second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 34 CPL), who now has a .776 OPS in his debut season. The 10-run inning made for this fun tidbit:

There were 2-hit days for center fielder Luis Matos (No. 5 CPL), who now has a .837 OPS, catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 8 CPL), who now has a .863 OPS, and catcher Rodolfo Bone, who also doubled to raise his OPS to .778.

It was a bit of an odd start for RHP Wil Jensen, who went 6 strong innings, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs, but struck out just 2 batters. It lowered his ERA to 3.50.

ACL Orange (22-20)

ACL Giants Orange beat the Brewers Gold 12-0 (7 innings)
Box score

Talk about a funny offensive game. The Giants Orange squad scored 12 runs in 7 innings, despite having just 1 extra-base hit, a double off the bat of outfielder P.J. Hilson (21, 2018 6th round), who also singled to bump his OPS to .570. But it was a steady attack from them, as they had 16 hits, with 5 different players having multiple hits. Third baseman Anthony Rodriguez (18, 2019 J2) went a perfect 4-4, giving him 8 hits in his last 5 games and bumping his OPS to .751.

Second baseman/left fielder Damon Dues (23, 2021 UDFA) had 2 outfield assists (as well as a single and a walk to raise his OPS to .637), and outfielder Donovan McIntyre (18, 2021 11th round) had 2 stolen bases to go with 2 hits, raising his OPS to .938.

An excellent start for a very exciting pitcher as RHP Manuel Mercedes (18, 2019 J2) gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs in 6 innings, with 7 strikeouts (though he hit 3 batters). Mercedes now has 50 strikeouts to 20 walks in 46 innings.

ACL Black (21-21)

ACL Giants Black beat the Brewers Blue 5-4 (7 innings)
Box score

The most exciting news for the Giants black squad was a strong start by RHP Tristan Beck (No. 13 CPL). Beck made his 4th rehab start and pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and 0 runs, with 5 strikeouts. During his rehab stint he’s given up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs in 7.1 innings, with 14 strikeouts.

The Giants Black team had 10 hits on the day, with standout performances from left fielder Richgelon Juliana (21, 2017 J2), who hit 2-3 with a walk to raise his OPS to .833, and designated hitter Jacob Gonzalez (23, 2017 2nd round) who hit 2-3 with a double to bump his OPS to .851.

Third baseman Irvin Murr III (18, 2021 19th round) had a hitless day, and has now started his debut season 1-24 with 11 strikeouts and 0 walks. Given that he just finished high school a few months ago, I wouldn’t read into that, but still a rough way to start a pro career.

DSL Orange (11-12)

DSL Giants Orange beat the D-backs2 5-3
Box score

The Giants Orange team jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, and was able to withstand a late comeback by D-backs2. It was yet another strong pitching performance by RHP Rolfi Jimenez (18, 2019 J2), who gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run in 4 innings, with 5 strikeouts. He’s rocking a 0.95 ERA on the year, with 22 strikeouts to 6 walks in 28.1 innings.

On offense, second baseman Brandy Rosario (17, 2020 J2) had a double for the team’s only extra-base hit, and also drew a walk to raise his OPS to .762.

DSL Black (10-12)

DSL Giants Black lost to the Mets2 4-0 (7 innings)
Box score

And we end with a dud of a game. The Giants Black team had just 5 hits and 1 walk on the day, failing to score a run. Right fielder Oswaldo Ladera (18, 2019 J2) was the only hitter to reach base twice, going 2-3 to raise his OPS to .805. Third baseman Elian Rayo (18, 2019 J2) had the team’s only extra-base hit, a double, moving his OPS to .882.

None of the team’s pitchers had notable appearances, good or bad.

Home runs

Low-A Jimmy Glowenke (10)

News

Due to the air quality issues that postponed Thursday’s game, the Sacramento River Cats’ next three games have been moved from Reno to Sacramento. The series will return to Reno on Monday, if able.

Friday schedule

Sacramento: vs. Reno Aces, 6:00 p.m. PT
Richmond: @ Altoona Curve, 3:00 p.m. PT
Eugene: @ Tri-City Dust Devils, 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: @ Lake Elsinore Storm, 7:05 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. Brewers Blue
ACL Black: vs. Angels
DSL Orange: vs. D-backs2
DSL Black: vs. Mets2