It wasn’t the best day on the San Francisco Giants farm on Sunday, as the Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League were both off, and the Giants four Minor League affiliates went 1-3. But still some fun performances, so let’s dive in.
Link to the 2021 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
AAA Sacramento (36-46)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 6-3
Box score
RHP Matt Shoemaker made his first start in the Giants organization after the team recently signed him to a Minor League deal. It did not go well, as Shoemaker was tagged for 8 hits and 5 earned runs in 5 innings, while striking out just 1 batter. The Giants have added a handful of veteran starting pitchers to the farm recently, and it’s unclear whether they’re solely for emergency depth or if the team is identifying something they think they can tweak with a few starts. Either way, they’ll be hoping Shoemaker looks better in his second outing.
Sacramento’s offense did little of note, with just 1 walk drawn against 12 strikeouts. Only two players had multi-hit days, with right fielder Jaylin Davis (No. 20 CPL) having a pair of singles as he continues his rehab, and second baseman Jason Krizan having a single and a double.
Shortstop Arismendy Alcántara homered on the day that San Francisco optioned Thairo Estrada, serving as a strong reminder as to just how obscene the Giants infield depth currently is.
HOME RUN
— rivercats (@RiverCats) August 8, 2021
Mendy gives us hope late! @arismendy0529 | #ClawsUp pic.twitter.com/VoqplCUTsR
AA Richmond (42-42)
Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Reading Fightin Phils (Phillies) 2-1
Box score
RHP Matt Frisbee (No. 39 CPL) led the Flying Squirrels to victory with his best Johnny Cueto performance. All Frisbee needed was a shimmy or seven, and an Instagram post of him buying crab legs at Costco, and you would have thought he was Cueto. He allowed a fair number of baserunners (5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings), but limited the runs (1 earned run) and struck out a decent number of batters (6), all while picking off 2 different runners at first base. It was a successful return to Richmond after a recent demotion.
The offense, as evidenced by the 2 runs scored, didn’t do much to help him out. Richmond had just 5 hits on the day, though 3 of them were extra-base knocks: doubles by catcher Bryan Torres, second baseman Mitchell Tolman, and left fielder Jacob Heyward. Torres was the only player with multiple hits, as he added a single to keep his hot streak running.
1️⃣3️⃣ straight games with a hit for Bryan Torres pic.twitter.com/Q6oLgpytuP
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) August 8, 2021
Shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL) went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts as he continues to struggle at the AA level. He’s now hitting .168/.276/.290 with 42 strikeouts in 123 plate appearances since an early July promotion.
High-A Eugene (49-35)
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 6-2
Box score
I’m a little mad at Eugene. Over the weekend, when I wasn’t recapping the Minor League games, the Emeralds exploded for 20 runs, and Tyler Fitzgerald had a 5-hit day that featured 2 doubles, a triple, and a home run.
And then in the first game of theirs that I get to recap this week, the Emeralds mustered just 2 runs, with fewer hits (4) than Fitzgerald had on Friday alone. So it goes.
Fitzgerald (No. 40 CPL) was again one of the offensive stars, though that didn’t mean as much in this game. He and right fielder Armani Smith (No. 44 CPL) were the only Eugene players to register a hit, as both had a pair of singles. Fitzgerald added a walk, which was half of Emeralds’ walk tally. Just a bad day for offense.
Designated hitter Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL) went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts as he continues to search for his High-A footing. He’s 2-18 with 10 strikeouts since getting promoted.
RHP Ryan Murphy made his second start since getting promoted to Eugene and continues to look like a strikeout machine, with 8 Ks in 5 innings, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 unearned runs. After ending his Low-A time with 5 straight games with double-digit strikeouts, Murphy has started his High-A career with 16 strikeouts in 10.1 innings, with 5 hits, 3 walks, and 0 earned runs (though 5 unearned runs). Solid debut season.
It appears that when @rmurph1008 woke up today he chose violence
— Los Monarcas de Eugene (@EugeneEmeralds) August 9, 2021
5 straight K's from Murph to start ⛽️#GoEms x #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/PEeJ03ZNWH
Low-A San Jose (53-31)
San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 4-3
Box score
The Baby Giants lost, but it wasn’t without maximum effort from two highly-regarded prospects. First baseman Luis Toribio (No. 12 CPL) went 3-4 with a pair of doubles, raising his OPS to .766. Left fielder Jairo Pomares went 1-3 with a double and a walk to raise his blistering OPS to 1.103. With Marco Luciano recently getting promoted, it seems that the 21 year old Pomares should also be headed to Eugene soon.
On the pitching front, RHP Wil Jensen had a rough go of it, allowing 10 baserunners and 4 runs in 5.1 innings. Still, Jensen is having a solid season, with a 3.35 ERA and 90 strikeouts to 17 walks in 80.2 innings.
Home runs
AAA Arismendy Alcántara (14)
Monday schedule
Sacramento: vs. El Paso Chihuahuas, 7:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: Off
Eugene: Off
San Jose: Off
ACL Orange: vs. Rockies
ACL Black: vs. Athletics
DSL Orange: vs. Pirates Gold
DSL Black: vs. Tigers