Minor League round up, July 25

It wasn’t the best day on the San Francisco Giants farm, as the four A-ball affiliates all had the day off, while the four rookie/summer ball teams lost. But still some performances to highlight, so let’s dive right in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

ACL Orange (8-26)

ACL Giants Orange lost to the ACL Rockies 7-4
Box score

Despite the loss, some good performances in this one. Home runs aren’t easy to come across in rookie ball, but right fielder Tyler Forner (20, 2020 UDFA) found one. It was his first home run in professional baseball! Way to go Tyler. It moved his OPS to .633 and his wRC+ to 75. More dingers, please.

Nice days from 2 other hitting prospects. Shortstop Diego Velasquez (18, 2020 J2) hit 2-5 with a triple. Still a slow year for him — he has a .617 OPS and a 76 wRC+, but hey ... he’s 18. And first baseman/second baseman Irvin Murr III (19, 2021 19th-round), who has had a tough season, had one of his better performances of the year, hitting 2-4 with a walk to bring his OPS up to .535 and his wRC+ to 50. More days like that, please.

On the pitching front, RHP Mikell Manzano (19, 2019 J2) had a hot and cold game, but continues to open some eyes. He gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs in just 3.2 innings, which obviously isn’t good, but he struck out 7 batters, which obviously is. His 3.96 ERA isn’t jaw-dropping, but his 3.36 FIP is quite nice, and he has 59 strikeouts in 38.2 innings, with just 12 walks. Would be cool if we get to see what he can do in Low-A before the season ends.

ACL Black (23-10)

ACL Giants Black lost to the ACL D-backs Black 4-2 (7 innings)
Box score

Really only one player to highlight in this game, and it’s someone who’s been having a very nice season: center fielder P.J. Hilson (21, 2018 6th-round). In a game where the Giants Black only had 5 hits, Hilson hit 2-3 with a double (their only extra-base hit), reached base by being hit by a pitch, and stole 2 bases. With an .885 OPS and a 133 wRC+, he’s someone we could see in San Jose before season’s end.

The only other Giant reaching base multiple times was left fielder Mauricio Pierre (18, 2020 J2), who hit 1-2 with a walk, and stole a base. Pierre has a .685 OPS and a 91 wRC+ on the year, decent enough numbers for someone who won’t turn 19 for another 4 months.

RHP Roberto Monegro (20, 2018 J2) struggled with baserunners (6) and runs (4, 3 earned) in 3.2 innings, but struck out 6 batters. RHP Kanoa Pagan (23, 2019 19th-round) struck out 3 in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving him 25 strikeouts to 4 walks in 15.1 innings this year.

DSL Orange (15-21)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL Cardinals 11-5
Box score

If you want to feel better about the bad defense that has been on display in San Francisco, look no further than the DSL Giants Orange squad. They gave up 11 runs, and, wait for it ... 10 of them were unearned, thanks to 6 errors.

Wow.

But it wasn’t all bad. And we can start the fun with shortstop Dennys Riera (17, 2021 J2). It’s been a very tough year for Riera, though that’s understandable: he’s dealt with injuries, and he only turned 17 in mid-February, so he’s very young even for the DSL. He’d only played in 12 games prior to Monday, and hit just 4-37 with 1 home run, 1 double, and 1 walk. It’s gonna take a lot of good days to fully turn that around, but he got started on Monday, hitting 1-2 with a homer, 2 walks, and a stolen base. Though he did commit 3 of the aforementioned errors, but ... baby steps.

Second baseman Jhosward Camacho (18, 2020 J2) also had a nice offensive day, hitting 3-5 with a triple, which raised his OPS to .770 and his wRC+ to 118. And first baseman Lazaro Morales (18, 2021 J2) hit 2-5 with a double and a stolen base, giving him an .811 OPS and a 117 wRC+ in his first season of professional ball. Quite a nice year for him.

Catcher Juan Perez (17, 2021 J2), one of the biggest names in the team’s recent international signing period, had a multi-hit game. His fellow star of the signing class, Ryan Reckley (No. 11 CPL) remains on the injured list.

RHP Ismael Mota (20, 2019 J2) had a very nice start, giving up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit by pitch in 5 innings, with 8 strikeouts. Thanks to the bad defense he allowed 4 runs, but all of them were unearned. Mota has a 2.38 ERA and a 3.62 FIP, with 44 strikeouts to 17 walks in 34 innings.

DSL Black (14-23)

DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Marlins 12-6
Box score

The Giants Black team got beat by quite a bit, but there were still some nice offensive performances on a day when they had 12 hits (albeit with just 1 walk). Center fielder Fabio Villadiego (18, 2020 J2) had the team’s only home run, which helped bring his OPS up to .710 and his wRC+ to 95.

Left fielder Saul Bautista (18, 2020 J2) also had a nice game, hitting 2-5 with a double to raise his OPS to .762 and his wRC+ to 111, and DH Javier Castillo (18, 2020 J2) hit 3-5, bringing his OPS to .766 and his wRC+ to 107.

The pitching had a bad day, as they not only gave up 12 runs (albeit just 8 earned), but also had a mere 5 strikeouts to 11 walks issued. RHP Alfonso Perez (16, 2021 J2) had the only solid appearance, striking out 2 in a perfect inning. He’s understandably had a tough start to his career given how young he is, but that’s his 2nd straight excellent performance.

Home runs

ACL Tyler Forner (1)
DSL Fabio Villadiego (2)
DSL Dennys Riera (1)

Tuesday schedule

Sacramento: @ Round Rock Express (Rangers), 5:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Somerset Patriots (Yankees), 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks), 6:35 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers), 6:30 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. ACL D-backs Red
ACL Black: vs. ACL Rockies
DSL Orange: vs. DSL Nationals
DSL Black: vs. DSL Angels