Minor League round up, May 4

Four games to cover for the San Francisco Giants Minor League affiliates. Let’s jump in.

Link to the 2022 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AAA Sacramento (14-12)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 5-0
Box score

A very boring game for Sacramento. The offense had just 2 hits all game, and both came off the bat of the new guy: second baseman Isan Díaz, who was making his second appearance for the team and his first start after the Giants acquired him in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

Center fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 4 CPL) drew 2 walks, which, given the game, qualifies as a notable offensive performance. Ramos isn’t having a good offensive season yet, as he has a .650 OPS and an 80 wRC+. But he has a 16.0% walk rate and a 21.3% strikeout rate, and that likely has the attention of the front office.

Right fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and designated hitter Evan Longoria both made rehab starts and played the full 9 innings. I would expected Wade to be activated in the next day or two, and hopefully we’ll see Longoria play a full 9 innings in the field soon.

So-so pitching game, with starting LHP Michael Plassmeyer giving up just 2 hits and 1 walk in 5.1 innings, but hitting 3 batters and allowing 3 runs (2 earned). RHP Gregory Santos (No. 32 CPL), who has been struggling, had a perfect inning with a strikeout, while RHP Matt Carasiti had another tough outing to keep his ERA in the double digits.

AA Richmond (15-8)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 7-3
Box score

First baseman Frankie Tostado has really been swinging the bat well lately, and he put a run into one on Wednesday with a home run that raised his OPS to .908 and his wRC+ to .152. Despite his position, Tostado has had success this year thanks to high contact — he’s not hitting for much power or drawing many walks. So seeing him put a ball over the fence is great.

Also good to see shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, who had 19 home runs for High-A Eugene last year, hit a dinger. He also drew a walk as he slowly but surely turns around an awful start to the season. He now has a .590 OPS and a 69 wRC+ (nice ... but also, not nice).

A tough day for designated hitter Franklin Labour, who followed up a 4-strikeout day on Tuesday with a 3-strikeout day on Wednesday.

On the pitching front, RHP Bryan Brickhouse had a nice start in what’s been a slow year for him, allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings while striking out 7.

But my favorite stat of the day goes to RHP Ryan Walker, who made his 7th relief appearance this season and picked up his 6th win in the process. 6 wins in 7 appearances for a reliever takes all kinds of funny luck, but doubly so when that pitcher has a 5.63 ERA.

High-A Eugene (11-9)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 7-6
Box score

The Emeralds took a page out of the Giants book and realized that the best way to score runs is by hitting the ball over the fence. Eugene had only 5 hits on the day ... but 4 of them cleared the wall.

The big star was third baseman Casey Schmitt (No. 24 CPL) who hit a pair of dingers. Schmitt is widely seen as the best defensive player in the Giants system, and one of the top defensive players in Minor League Baseball. The question surrounding him is if his offense can be good enough to get his glove on the field. This year is a very positive data point, as the righty has a .960 OPS and a 168 wRC+.

Also homering were two outfielders who are trying to turn their slow seasons around: Jairo Pomares (No. 7 CPL) and Hunter Bishop (No. 10 CPL).

Pomares, who also drew a walk, raised his OPS to .705 and his wRC+ to 104 as he’s starting to find his groove a little. Bishop now has a .475 OPS and a 40 wRC+. Here’s hoping this can kick start him.

Not much of note on the pitching front. RHP Ty Weber had a poor outing, giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings with just 1 strikeout.

Low-A San Jose (13-10)

San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports (A’s) 3-2
Box score

Just 6 hits for the Baby Giants, but that was just enough. Left fielder Vaun Brown, a 10th-round pick a year ago, continued his quietly strong season, hitting 2-4 with a home run and his 7th stolen base of the year, raising his OPS to .767 and his wRC+ to 111. Right fielder Najee Gaskins also had 2 hits.

But most exciting was the performance from RHP Mason Black (No. 42 CPL), last year’s 3rd-round pick. Black pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits, 0 walks, and striking out 6. He now has 28 strikeouts to 5 walks in 18.2 innings, good for a 2.89 ERA and a 2.28 FIP.

RHP Mat Olsen struck out 2 in 2 perfect innings, giving him 15 strikeouts in 11.2 innings ... with just 9 baserunners allowed, and 1 earned run.

Home runs

AA Tyler Fitzgerald (3)
AA Frankie Tostado (3)
High-A Casey Schmitt, 2 (5)
High-A Hunter Bishop (3)
High-A Jairo Pomares (2)
Low-A Vaun Brown (3)

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: vs. Las Vegas Aviators, 6:45 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Akron RubberDucks, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. Hillsboro Hops, 7:35 p.m. PT
San Jose: @ Stockton Ports, 7:05 p.m. PT