Minor League round up, September 13

Three games on Tuesday for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates, as AAA Sacramento had their game postponed due to weather. Let’s dive in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AA Richmond (63-69)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 7-2
Box score

Not a good day for the River Cats, but they did their scoring the exciting way, with a pair of solo home runs, with designated hitter Diego Rincones (No. 15 CPL) and second baseman Will Wilson (No. 18 CPL) going back-to-back in the 4th inning.

Rincones has been having a very disappointing year after being one of the organization’s stars last season, and is sitting on a .681 OPS and an 85 wRC+, after being .878 and 140, respectively, at the same level last year.

But there’s still a lot to like. His strikeout rate is an exceptional 12.8%, and since August 5 he’s hitting 15-46 with 2 home runs, 4 doubles, 3 walks, and just 2 strikeouts. Just 2 strikeouts! The man can put the ball in play.

Wilson is trying to end the season on a high note after injuries cost him about 2 months of playing time. He was having a really nice bounce back year before the injury, and had even been promoted to AAA — he could have been making his MLB debut right now were it not for the season getting derailed. Hopefully he can hit more homers and end the year on a high note, as he has a .792 OPS and a 116 wRC+ in Richmond.

Speaking of players who have tasted AAA this year, center fielder Shane Matheny had an excellent game, hitting 1-2 with a double and 2 walks, bumping his OPS to .805 and his wRC+ to 125.

The bad news was first baseman Sean Roby, who has battled a few injuries this season, left this game with another injury before even taking his first at-bat. Hopefully 2023 is healthier for him.

Right fielder Jacob Heyward and left fielder Tristan Peters, who have both been swinging the bat better after slower starts to the season, both hit 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.

RHP Matt Frisbee had a very meh game, with 5 hits, 3 walks, 1 hit batter, 4 runs, and 3 earned runs in 4 innings, with 4 strikeouts. He’s shown some upside, as with his 13-strikeout game earlier this year, but has just a 5.28 ERA and 4.91 FIP on the season, which is a step backwards from his performance in AA last year (which earned him a late-season promotion to AAA).

RHP Melvin Adon pitched 2 scoreless innings, striking out 3 batters. Him returning from injury and making it to the Majors would be an awesome story.

Also, Casey Schmitt (No. 24 CPL), everybody.

High-A Eugene

Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 6-5)
Championship Series Game 2 — Eugene leads 2-0 (best of 5)
Box score

It’s always a good sign when your best players shine in the biggest moments, and that happened with shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL). The Emeralds scored 2 runs in the 6th inning to tie the game, and then Luciano stepped up and delivered what would be the game-winning hit, smashing a 3-run home run.

The organization’s top prospect, who also walked in this game, finished the regular season with a .798 OPS and a 121 wRC+. Injuries kept him from seeing AA time, but he’s still an electrifying prospect.

Speaking of electrifying prospects, right fielder Luis Matos (No. 3 CPL) continues to put his tough start to the season in the rear view mirror. He hit 2-5 and stole a base in this game, and we shouldn’t let his rough overall numbers distract us from how good his 2nd half of the season has been. Since July 13, and including postseason, Matos is hitting 52-196 with 9 home runs, 1 triple, 10 doubles, 10 walks, and 32 strikeouts. That’s quite solid for a player who is still very young.

And another great game for designated hitter Hunter Bishop (No. 10 CPL), who hit 2-3 with a double, 2 walks, and a stolen base. He also struggled with injuries this year, but still put forth a .726 OPS and a 104 wRC+. Not exactly excellent numbers, but a big step in the right direction for the 2019 1st-round pick.

LHP Nick Swiney (No. 17 CPL) and RHP Trevor McDonald, who have both had nice seasons, struggled a little, with the former giving up 3 runs in 4 innings, and the latter 2 runs in 2.1 innings. But RHP Tyler Myrick and LHP Juan Sanchez had strong outings, each striking out 3 batters (Myrick in 1.2 scoreless innings with 2 walks, and Sanchez in 1 scoreless innings with 2 hits).

The recently-promoted Myrick had a 1.00 ERA and a 2.77 FIP in Eugene, with 10 strikeouts to 4 walks in 9 innings. Sanchez ended the regular season with a 3.76 ERA, a 3.21 FIP, and 75 strikeouts to 29 walks in 52.2 innings.

The Emeralds now have 3 chances to win the championship. They should be feeling confident, as their last 8 games have come against Vancouver, and they’re 7-1 in those 8 games.

Low-A San Jose

San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 12-3
Championship Series Game 1 — Fresno leads 1-0
Box score

It was an up-and-down season for RHP Nick Sinacola, the organization’s 7th-round pick last year, as he finished the regular season with a 3.86 ERA, a 4.60 FIP, and 116 strikeouts to 39 walks in 102.2 innings. And unfortunately for the Baby Giants, his postseason debut was the “down” part of “up-and-down.”

Sinacola started the game and got destroyed, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 6 runs, while only recording a single out. It put San Jose in a hole they couldn’t get out of. The bullpen was better, but not by a ton. Recently-drafted RHPs Liam Simon and Spencer Miles both struggled. RHP Yoniel Ramirez, who was excellent in the ACL but struggled in 9 Low-A appearances, had the best outing, striking out 2 batters in 1.2 scoreless innings.

The offense didn’t do much. The big hit of the day came from third baseman Yorlis Rodriguez, who homered.

It hasn’t been a particularly good year for him — he had a .716 OPS and a 79 wRC+ — but he’s starting to flex his power. After just 9 home runs in his first 3 seasons, Rodriguez has 17 this year.

Catcher Adrian Sugastey (No. 27 CPL) had a 2-hit day.

Home runs

AA Will Wilson (10)
AA Diego Rincones (9)
High-A Marco Luciano (11)
Low-A Yorlis Rodriguez (17)

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: doubleheader @ the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks), 4:35 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers), 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: Off
San Jose: Off
ACL Orange:
ACL Black:
DSL Orange:
DSL Black: