Minor League round up, August 15

Little bit of a funny day on the San Francisco Giants farm, as the AA, High-A, and Low-A affiliates had the day off, but AAA Sacramento had a rare Monday game, while the ACL teams played doubleheaders.

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 (49-63)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 4-2
Box score

A rather uneventful game for the River Cats. The only offensive day of note came from catcher Andrew Knapp, who hit 2-4 with a pair of doubles.

Knapp has been sensational since the Giants signed him as a free agent a few weeks ago. Despite having a bad AAA season with the Seattle Mariners organization in the first half of the year, the switch-hitter is 19-62 with 4 home runs and 5 doubles, good for a .949 OPS since donning a River Cats jersey. The Giants likely feel pretty comfortable turning to him if Joey Bart or Austin Wynns gets injured.

On the mound, RHP Wei-Chieh Huang continues to perform well since his injury. He was having a tough year before suffering an injury in mid-June, and later rehabbing in the ACL. After allowing 1 unearned run in 3 innings in this game, with 4 strikeouts, Huang has the following line in his 3 appearances since returning to AAA: 10.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 walks, 2 runs, 0 earned runs, 10 strikeouts.

A perfect inning for RHP Gregory Santos (No. 32 CPL), who has been struggling lately. Good to see.

ACL Orange (13-36)

ACL Giants Orange lost a doubleheader to the ACL D-backs Black, 4-3 and 9-8
Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score

Doubleheaders in the ACL to make up for rained out games on Friday. And honestly, not a lot to admire from the Giants Orange club, as has been the case much of the year.

The most notable part of the day came in the form of another rehab appearance from Will Wilson (No. 18 CPL), who played shortstop in the 1st game and was the designated hitter in the 2nd. He hit 1-3 with a double and 4 walks on the day, and has been great throughout his 5-game rehab assignment. He’s been one of the bright spots in the farm this year, so hopefully we see him back in AAA this week, where he only played 7 games after a promotion before going down with injury.

The 2nd game featured some nice performances from players who didn’t play in the 1st game. Center fielder Carter Howell (23, 2022 UDFA) hit 2-3 with a walk and an outfield assist, while left fielder Matt Higgins (23, 2022 UDFA) hit 1-3 with a triple and a walk, as he continues to play excellent baseball.

A pair of recent draftees made their 2nd appearances on the mound, and both went well. RHP Hayden Birdsong (20, 2022 6th-round) allowed a hit and a run in 1.2 innings, while striking out 3 batters. LHP Jack Choate (21, 2022 9th-round) allowed a walk in a hitless inning, while striking out 2.

ACL Black (33-15)

ACL Giants Black won a doubleheader against the ACL Angels, 5-1 and 7-3
Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score

A very different story on the Giants Black side, where the performances and outcomes were better. But, as with the Giants Orange team, the most important bit had to do with a rehab appearance. Shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL) played the 1st game, hitting 2-2 with a home run and a walk. He looks ready to return to High-A.

Also making a rehab appearance was center fielder Hunter Bishop (No. 10 CPL), who hit 0-2. Unlike Luciano, who was playing in his 7th rehab game, this was Bishop’s 1st.

Speaking of exciting players, designated hitter Reggie Crawford (21, 2022 1st-round) made his professional debut, and hit 0-3. Crawford’s injury will keep him from making his pitching debut until 2023, but still good to see him on the field. Him getting at-bats certainly confirms that the Giants plan to develop him as a two-way player.

First baseman/left fielder/designated hitter Tanner O’Tremba (22, 2022 15th-round) had his best day in the pros, hitting 3-6 with a home run and a walk across the 2 games. A nice start to his career, as he has a .961 OPS and a 163 wRC+ after 6 games.

Speaking of players who have nice numbers after 6 games, left fielder/center fielder Wade Meckler (22, 2022 8th-round) hit 3-7 with 2 doubles and a hit by pitch, and now has a 1.046 OPS and a 191 wRC+. Keep that up, please!

A very nice day for third baseman Elian Rayo (19, 2019 J2), who hit just 1-3 in Game 1, but hit 2-4 with a triple and a double in Game 2. He’s rocking an .819 OPS and a 125 wRC+, which is pretty nice considering that he won’t turn 20 until Spring Training.

Some lovely pitching performances. RHP Miguel Mora (20, 2019 J2) continued his strong season, as he started Game 1 and allowed just 4 baserunners and 1 run in 5 innings, while striking out 7. Mora, who has a 3.20 ERA and a 3.27 FIP, has been lights out over has last 4 starts, pitching 20 innings and allowing just 14 hits, 7 walks, and 3 earned runs, while striking out 25 batters.

LHP John Bertrand (24, 2022 10th-round) finished off Game 1 with 2 perfect innings, striking out 2 batters. In 4 games and 5 innings, Bertrand has allowed just 3 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs, with 6 strikeouts.

His college teammate was even better in Game 2, as RHP Liam Simon (21, 2022 5th-round) struck out 4 in 2 perfect innings. It was just his 2nd career outing, and he’s now allowed only 1 hit, 1 walk, and 0 runs in 4 innings, with 6 strikeouts.

DSL Orange (24-27)

DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Tigers 1, 7-6 (7 innings)
Box score

Rough pitching in this one, but a few nice offensive performances, notably the first home run of his career for right fielder Juanel Urena (18, 2020 J2), who also recorded an outfield assist. He’s sitting on a .540 OPS and a 66 wRC+, so still work to do.

Third baseman Jhosward Camacho (18, 2020 J2) had a lovely day, hitting 1-2 with 2 walks and a stolen base, bringing his OPS up to .810 and his wRC+ to 124. And speaking of players having nice seasons, shortstop Jose Ramos (19, 2019 J2) singled, walked, and stole his 20th and 21st bases of the season, bringing his OPS to .802 and his wRC+ to 123.

DSL Black (18-35)

DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Rockies 4-1 (7 innings)
Box score

Not a nice game for the Giants Black team, as they had only 3 hits all day. Doubles by right fielder Saul Bautista (18, 2020 J2) and shortstop Ramon Peralta (18, 2020 J2) were the offensive highlights. Both players are having fairly average seasons.

The pitching did little of note. RHP Melvin Pineda (18, 2021 J2) gave up 3 runs in as many innings, but struck out 6 batters. He’s been heavy on both the strikeouts and walks this year, with 56 and 21, respectively, in 38 innings.

Home runs

ACL Marco Luciano (1)
ACL Tanner O’Tremba (1)
DSL Juanel Urena

Tuesday schedule

Sacramento: vs. the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s), 6:35 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets), 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: @ the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks), 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels), 6:30 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. the ACL Angels
ACL Black: vs. the ACL D-backs Red
DSL Orange:vs. the DSL Nationals
DSL Black: vs. DSL KC Stewart