Minor League round up, July 31

Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Sunday, as the ACL and DSL were off, while AA Richmond was rained out. 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 (42-57)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Round Rock Express (Rangers) 9-4
Box score

Andrew Knapp is starting to look like one heck of a Minor League free agent signing. He’s only appeared in 7 games since the Giants signed him, but the catcher (who played first base in this game) hit 1-3 with a homer and a walk. It was his 4th straight game with a home run.

Despite having been hitless in his last 4 games when he joined the organization, Knapp has recorded a hit in all 7 games with the River Cats, and during that time is hitting 11-27 with 4 homers, 2 doubles, and 2 walks.

Still, he faces an uphill battle, since not only are Joey Bart and Austin Wynns playing decently in San Francisco, but Curt Casali is working his way back. Casali started this game and struck out in both of his plate appearances ... he’s now 0-7 with 7 strikeouts in his rehab assignment. Might need a few more games.

Center fielder Bryce Johnson hit 2-4 with a triple, which was his 2nd straight nice game after he drew 3 walks on Saturday.

But the back of the lineup struggled to keep rallies going, as left fielder Ka’ai Tom and third baseman Shane Matheny struck out 3 times, while shortstop Arquímedes Gamboa struck out 4 times. Matheny now has the strikeout hat trick in both of his games since getting promoted, though he also has 2 hits.

Another tough start for RHP Sean Hjelle (No. 30 CPL), who gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 6 runs — albeit just 2 earned — in 4 innings. He continues to be one of the more odd pitchers in the organization. A lot of the advanced analytics suggest he’s a lot better than his numbers, which is good, because here are the numbers: 5.22 ERA, 5.43 FIP, 57 strikeouts, 28 walks, 70.2 innings. Hmm.

Also another tough outing for RHP Gregory Santos (No. 32 CPL), who allowed 2 runs in an inning of work, driving his ERA up to 4.10 and his FIP to 5.65.

High-A Eugene (57-36)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 9-1
Box score

A very nice sight in Eugene, where we were treated to an excellent game from second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 43 CPL). It’s been a very tough year for the middle infielder, who has just a .630 OPS and an 81 wRC+. He struggled out of the gates, suffered an injury, struggled in a rehab assignment in the ACL, and has struggled since rejoining Eugene.

But it’s never too late to get hot, and on Sunday he hit 3-4, smacked a grand slam, and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Way to go, Jimmy.

Also a very nice day for first baseman Robert Emery, who hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit by pitch. He’s having a stellar month, hitting 11-30 with 4 doubles, 7 walks, and just 7 strikeouts.

Third baseman Luis Toribio (No. 39 CPL) doubled, but also struck out 4 times. He was the hottest man on the planet for much of July, but has 11 strikeouts in his last 4 games.

Catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 9 CPL) hit 1-3 with 2 walks, raising his OPS to .686 and his wRC+ to 99.

On the pitching front it was a nice performance from LHP Nick Swiney (No. 17 CPL), who gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 4 innings, with 4 strikeouts. Swiney now has a 3.41 ERA and a 3.52 FIP, with 81 strikeouts to 35 walks in 66 innings. Excellent work from RHP Brett Standlee, who struck out 3 in 2 innings of 1-hit ball.

Low-A San Jose (56-40)

San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) 7-3
Box score

Good offensive days from a few players. Not surprisingly, left fielder Carter Williams was one of them, as he continues to treat Low-A pitching like batting practice. He hit 2-4 with a double and a walk, which gives him a 1.140 OPS and a 189 wRC+ in 37 games since getting demoted. Yeesh.

DH Hayden Cantrelle has also been doing good things since joining San Jose, and he continued that trend on Sunday with a home run, which gives him an .864 OPS and a 130 wRC+. And rounding out the excellent offense was catcher Adrian Sugastey (No. 27 CPL), who hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Sugastey only has a .674 OPS and an 83 wRC+, but those numbers are still a little exciting for a 19-year old catcher.

RHP Nick Sinacola continues to tally up the strikeouts, as he had 7 in 4.2 innings, though he also allowed 7 baserunners and 2 runs. That brings his ERA up to 3.20 and his FIP to 4.11, with 92 strikeouts to 26 walks in 76 innings.

RHP Zack Littell allowed 2 baserunners in a scoreless inning of rehab work.

Home runs

AAA Andrew Knapp (8)
High-A Jimmy Glowenke (6)
Low-A Hayden Cantrelle (2)

News

Andrew Knapp and Tristan Beck earned Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week recognition, respectively, in the PCL.

Monday Schedule

Sacramento: Off
Richmond: Off
Eugene: Off
San Jose: Off
ACL Orange: vs. ACL D-backs Black
ACL Black: vs. ACL Angels
DSL Orange: vs. DSL Giants Black
DSL Black: vs. DSL Giants Orange