Minor League round up, Sept. 9

There was so much action on the San Francisco Giants farm on Thursday that I’m not going to waste any time with a lede. Let’s jump in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AAA Sacramento (47-59)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Tacoma Rainers (Mariners) 10-4
Box score

Yet another rough outing for RHP Sean Hjelle (No. 11 CPL), who lasted just 3 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 9 runs, while striking out just 3 of the 19 batters he faced. Admittedly 6 of the 9 runs were unearned ... but the result of a Hjelle error.

The 2018 2nd rounder was OK but not great in AA before his promotion, and so far things haven’t gone smoothly in Sacramento. In 6 starts and 32 innings, Hjelle has allowed 45 hits, 16 walks, 29 runs, and 22 earned runs, while striking out just 17 batters.

But the bullpen was very nice, especially RHP Yunior Marte, who struck out 2 in a perfect inning to lower his ERA to 3.59.

Not much offense, with just 6 hits and 4 walks to 15 strikeouts. But left fielder Braden Bishop had half of those hits, going 3-4 with a double (which would have been a home run were it not for the most bizarre of outfield fences) and 3 RBI to raise his OPS to .886. He’s starting to look like a sneaky good pickup.

Speaking of pickups, recently-signed first baseman Wyatt Mathisen hit 1-3 with a home run and a walk. While Mathisen struggled in his stops before joining the organization, he’s sporting a 1.015 OPS in eight games with Sacramento. It’s also worth noting that Tacoma is the team that recently waived Mathisen, so hooray for revenge.

AA Richmond (53-51)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland) 11-7
Box score

Another rough pitching performance by an intriguing prospect, this time RHP Matt Frisbee (No. 39 CPL). Frisbee got knocked around, though he didn’t suffer from the strikeout issues that Hjelle did. He lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 7 earned runs, while striking out 7.

Even with the rough outing, Frisbee still has just a 3.83 ERA in AA, with 58 strikeouts to 8 walks in 54 innings. But his poor pitching, and the pitching of the bullpen — they combined to give up 9 unanswered runs — doomed the Flying Squirrels.

On offense, thing were much nicer, with plenty of strong showings to go around. Center fielder Jacob Heyward was the biggest star, hitting 2-3 with a home run and 2 walks, raising his OPS to .749.

Shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL), who has really had a hard time finding his grip since getting promoted, hit 2-4 with a double and a walk, which bumped his OPS to .649. Good to see him have a strong game.

And it’s another day that ends in “Y,” so it was another great showing from designated hitter Diego Rincones (No. 37 CPL), who hit 3-4 with a walk, raising his OPS to .931. He only recently turned 22; I’m fascinated to see where he ends up on prospect lists next year.

High-A Eugene (64-48)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 4-1
Box score

Good pitching prospects Hjelle and Frisbee may have struggled on Thursday, but in Eugene we find an interesting pitching prospect who made it all worth it by absolutely dominating: RHP Kai-Wei Teng (No. 18 CPL). Teng pitched 6 innings, allowing just 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 earned run, while striking out 13 batters. That’s one of the best pitching performances in the Giants organization this season, and it gives him 130 strikeouts to 52 walks in 88.2 innings this year. The walks and run prevention need some work, but it’s always good to start from a place of being able to strike out everyone.

Speaking of which, two of the Giants better strikeout artists were part of a 3-man bullpen showing that produced 3 perfect innings. RHP Austin Reich struck out 2 in his inning, lowering his ERA to 1.63 and giving him 47 strikeouts to 5 walks in 32.2 innings. LHP Chris Wright had 1 strikeout in 1 inning, and now sports a 1.03 ERA, with 56 strikeouts to 18 walks in 35 innings.

Good offense, too, with notable hits from two of the team’s top prospects. Designated hitter Jairo Pomares (No. 14 CPL) homered, moving his outstanding OPS to .884, while struggling shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL) tripled to raise his OPS to .558.

Luciano may be having a hard time finding his footing right now, but my goodness what a gorgeous swing. That contact is LOUD.

And great days from catcher Ricardo Genovés (No. 29 CPL) and center fielder Ismael Munguia, who both had 2 hits and a double. The former added a walk, and rose his OPS to .672, while the latter now has a sterling .845 OPS.

Low-A San Jose (69-42)

San Jose Giants beat tho Stockton Ports (A’s) 16-6
Box score

Whoa. We’ve got some good hitting performances to cover here. The 16 runs might have been your first clue.

The middle of the lineup was made up of two hitters who have been tremendous lately, and continued that trend on Thursday. Batting third was third baseman Yorlis Rodriguez, who hit 2-5 with a home run to raise his OPS to .834. His power has been on full display lately.

Hitting cleanup was catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 8 CPL), who hit 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk, knocking his OPS up to .990. He is absolutely on fire right now, with 16 extra-base hits in his last 19 games.

But they were far from the only stars, as first baseman Luis Toribio (No. 12 CPL) hit 1-3 with a home run and 2 walks, moving his OPS to .719.

Right fielder Luis Matos (No. 5 CPL) was the only player in the lineup to not record a hit, but made up for it with 3 walks. Designated hitter Carter Williams and shortstop Ghordy Santos both hit 2-4 with a walk, with Williams adding a double to boost his OPS to .761.

Good stuff.

RHP Prelander Berroa had a hot and cold start, but RHP Wilkelma Castillo was a star out of the bullpen, allowing 1 hit, 0 walks, and 0 runs in 1.2 innings, while striking out 4. He has 40 strikeouts to 17 walks in 35 innings this season.

ACL Orange (30-22)

ACL Giants Orange beat the D-backs 5-3
Box score

The Giants Orange team only had 4 hits on the day, but they drew 7 walks, which is always a nice sign. Left fielder Donovan McIntyre (18, 2021 11th round) hit a double and drew a walk, bumping his OPS to .662, and catcher Adrian Sugastey (19, 2019 J2) drew 3 walks to move his OPS to .830.

A decent start for RHP Trevor McDonald (20, 2019 11th round), as he still works back from injury. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 6 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, and 1 earned run, but struck out 8.

ACL Black (25-27)

ACL Giants Black lost to the Cubs 6-0 (7 innings)
Box score

Admittedly it was just a 7-inning game, but the Giants Black team had just 3 baserunners, with 2 singles and a walk constituting their offense. Lovely.

The pitching wasn’t much better, but it was another nice appearance by recent draftee RHP Nick Sinacola (21, 2021 7th round), who pitched 1.1 innings and gave up 0 hits, 0 walks, and 1 hit batter, with 2 strikeouts.

The hit batter was the first baserunner Sinacola has allowed in 3.1 innings, and he has 5 strikeouts.

DSL Orange (17-18)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the Brewers2 12-10
Box score

Lots of good offense for the Giants Orange, as they pieced together 11 hits and 8 walks to 9 strikeouts. First baseman Jediael Maduro (17, 2020 J2) drew a whopping 4 walks, raising his OPS to .668, and third baseman Samuel Rodriguez (17, 2020 J2) had a single and 3 walks, bumping his OPS to .534. That’s a good way to get the attention of this organization’s front office.

But second baseman Wueslly Lespe (18, 2019 J2) was the star, hitting 2-4 with a home run, raising his OPS to .689. The homer was of the solo variety, but he still had 4 RBI on the day.

Unfortunately the pitching was awful, so the great offense was not enough.

DSL Black (14-20)

DSL Giants Black lost to the Phillies White 9-2
Box score

Well, nothing to see here. The pitching was bad, and gave up a lot of contact and runs while just registering 6 strikeouts. The offense was also bad, with just 3 hits and 2 walks to 13 strikeouts.

So I guess shoutout to one of the team’s best offensive players, second baseman Jose Ramos (18, 2019 J2), who doubled for the team’s only extra-base hit. He has a .901 OPS, which stands out quite a bit in the DSL.

Home runs

AAA Wyatt Mathisen (4)
AA Jacob Heyward (10)
High-A Jairo Pomares (5)
Low-A Luis Toribio (7)
Low-A Yorlis Rodriguez (4)
DSL Wueslly Lespe (1)

Friday schedule

Sacramento: @ Tacoma Rainers, 7:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Akron RubberDucks, 3:35 p.m. Pt
Eugene: vs. Everett AquaSox, 4:05 p.m. PT (doubleheader)
San Jose: vs. Stockton Ports, 6:30 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. Rockies
ACL Black: vs. Athletics
DSL Orange: vs. Brewers2
DSL Black: vs. Phillies White