Minor League round up, May 12-13

It’s a big round up today, as we’re covering both Friday and Saturday’s games on the San Francisco Giants farm. Let’s dive into it.

Link to the 2023 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AAA Sacramento (19-19)

Friday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 8-4
Box score

The buzz around the Giants has centered around infielder Casey Schmitt (No. 3 CPL) and his recent call up. But watch out for the guy behind him, because shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 18 CPL) is cooking.

After earning a quick promotion following a dominant second season in AA, Fitzgerald is finding his groove in a big way. He hit 2-4 in this game, with a walk, a stolen base, and a home run for the 3rd consecutive day.

As my dad always says, you only get one chance to make a good first impression...

Also a nice day for catcher Ricardo Genovés, who doubled and was hit by a pitch. His OPS is now .705 and his wRC+ is 78 as he fights to stay in the Giants catcher depth discussion.

Center fielder Cal Stevenson and first baseman Ford Proctor both reached base 3 times, with Stevenson adding a stolen base.

A pretty decent start for RHP Keaton Winn (No. 16 CPL) who gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 4 innings, with 5 strikeouts. Might we see the Giants swap Winn and RHP Tristan Beck (No. 24 CPL) sometime soon? Winn’s now sitting on a 4.33 ERA and a 4.13 FIP.

RHP Nick Avila had one of his best outings of the year, with 3 strikeouts in 2 perfect innings, while LHP Erik Miller — in just his 4th AAA game — retired all 4 batters he faced, 3 by strikeout.

Saturday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 3-2
Box score

Once again it was shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 18 CPL) who was the offensive star for Sacramento. His three-game home run streak came to an end, but he still had the best day at the plate, hitting 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.

He’s only 10 games into his AAA career, but his .898 OPS and 108 wRC+ sure are encouraging.

Only 2 other batters reached base multiple times: third baseman Ford Proctor, who hit 0-2 but drew 2 walks and stole a base, and catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 10 CPL), who hit 1-3 with a walk and a steal, bringing his OPS to .656 and his wRC+ to 68.

A bullpen game for the River Cats, and LHP Nick Swiney (No. 26 CPL), who received an aggressive promotion, made his AAA debut. He struck out 1 batter in 2 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits. That’s exciting!

AA Richmond (16-15)

Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 6-1
Box score

Another tough day on the mound for RHP Ryan Murphy (No. 19 CPL). Trying to make up for an injury-marred 2022, Murphy has not been able to find his groove this year. He gave up 5 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs in 3.1 innings in this game, with just 1 strikeout. Murphy now has a 6.08 ERA and a 5.79 FIP, and the strikeouts that made him such an exciting prospect after his debut season in 2021 just haven’t been there.

Also a bad day for RHP Blake Rivera, who has been having an excellent season. No excellence on Friday, as he gave up a hit and walked 3 batters, en route to a 2-run (1 earned) inning.

The offense did very little. Center fielder Ismael Munguia was the brightest spot, hitting 2-5 with a double, the team’s only extra-base hit. Third baseman Hayden Cantrelle drew 3 walks, which has been a theme in his Minor League career.

Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 4-2
Box score

Another slow offensive day that was again led by left fielder Ismael Munguia. He hit 1-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a double in this game, which bumped his OPS to .761 and his wRC+ to 115. In his last 9 games, Munguia is hitting 11-34 with 6 doubles, 4 walks, 2 hit by pitches, and 7 strikeouts.

Shortstop Hayden Cantrelle again played well too, getting hit by a pitch and doubling, bringing his OPS to .801 and his wRC+ to 136. What a nice season he’s been having!

Every member of the lineup, including the pinch-hitter, struck out, except for one: center fielder Luis Matos (No. 4 CPL). Matos hit just 1-4, but he has struck out just 12 times this year in 128 plate appearances. Ridiculous numbers for a batter who is very young for the level.

A funny start for RHP Carson Seymour (No. 28 CPL), who gave up just 4 baserunners in 4 scoreless innings ... but didn’t have a strikeout. That’s odd relative to his performance last year, when he had 108 strikeouts in 80.2 innings in High-A. But it’s not odd relative to this year, as he has just 11 strikeouts in 26 innings.

A good rebound performance from RHP Randy Rodríguez (No. 32 CPL), who struck out 4 batters in 2.1 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run.

High-A Eugene (17-14)

Friday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 6-5
Box score

It’s now becoming a thing when LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) starts. Some of the most exciting days in the organization.

Friday was no exception. In Whisenhunt’s 3rd appearance in High-A — and just the 11th total performance for last year’s 2nd-round pick — he again dazzled, striking out 7 batters in 5 scoreless innings, while allowing just 1 hit and 1 batter.

Here’s his line through 3 Eugene starts: 13 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, 16 strikeouts. Elite.

On the offense it was a nice day for designated hitter Logan Wyatt, who hit 1-2 with a home run and 2 walks.

Wyatt has cooled down after his brilliant start to the year, but his power is still something of a revelation — more on that in a minute.

Designated hitter Victor Bericoto also had a nice day, hitting 2-4 with a double, but those two batters — 5th and 4th in the order, respectively — didn’t have any table-setters. The top 3 in the lineup — center fielder Grant McCray (No. 6 CPL), left fielder Jared Dupere, and right fielder Wade Meckler (No. 42 CPL) combined to hit 0-15, with Dupere striking out 4 times and McCray 3 times.

Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 10-2
Box score

Now, onto the fun game. Where were we? We were talking about right fielder Victor Bericoto, right?

What a day he had. He hit 4-5, homered twice, doubled, and added an outfield assist just for good measure. Bericoto now has a .941 OPS and a 149 wRC+. He won’t turn 22 until halfway through the offseason, so every big day from him makes him look more and more like the real deal.

We were also talking about first baseman Logan Wyatt, right? He homered for the 2nd day in a row, and added a walk.

I said his power was a revelation and we’d talk about it later. Now is later. Despite being a first baseman who’s built very much like a first baseman, Wyatt entered this season with 5 career home runs in 612 MiLB plate appearances. He has 6 home runs this year in 123 plate appearances. For someone who walks as much as he does — he has a 14.6% walk rate — that’s exciting.

Joining Bericoto and Wyatt in the dinger party was third baseman Luis Toribio, who also singled, bringing his OPS to .939 and his wRC+ to 149. He is really handling his repeat at the level well.

RHP Carson Ragsdale didn’t have his smoothest outing, as he gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and a hit batter in 3 innings, but he limited the damage to 1 run and struck out 4. But even with those walks, it’s been a brilliant year for Ragsdale, who has a 2.93 ERA, a 2.47 FIP, 13.7 strikeouts per 9 innings, and just under 2 walks per 9 innings.

RHP Mat Olsen has had a tough year, but had his best appearance on Saturday, striking out 5 in 2 perfect innings. RHP Brett Standlee also struck out 5 in 2 innings, though he allowed 2 hits and a run.

Low-A San Jose (21-11)

Friday: San Jose Giants beat the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 5-4
Box score

A very disciplined game for the Baby Giants, who only struck out 5 times ... and scored once in each of the last 5 innings. And one of the strikeouts was something I’ve never seen before ... a walk-off strikeout.

It was the back of the order that had the biggest hits, as catcher Zach Morgan and first baseman Edison Mora both hit 1-4, but the “1” was a home run for each. Morgan is now sitting on a .697 OPS and a 106 wRC+, while Mora is at .684 and 84, respectively. It was the first career dinger for Morgan, who was a 7th-round pick last year.

Also a delightful day for designated hitter Onil Perez (No. 44 CPL), who hit 2-3 with a walk and a stolen base. With a .965 OPS and a 170 wRC+, Perez continues to exceed the expectations that a 20-year old catcher would have.

It was a very odd day for the pitchers, who limited runs but gave up more than twice as many free passes (8 walks and 3 hit batters) as strikeouts (5). LHP Esmerlin Vinicio started and set that tone, giving up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 hit batter in 4 innings, with 0 strikeouts ... but also 0 runs. A very odd season for the 20 year old, who has a 2.41 ERA but has 10 strikeouts to 15 walks in 18.2 innings.

And then a super bizarre line for RHP Miguel Mora, who pitched 2.1 no-hit innings ... but walked 5 batters, resulting in 3 runs. Weirdness abounds!

Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 8-4
Box score

A very nice game for shortstop Diego Velasquez (No. 41 CPL), who continues to shine. He hit 2-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, bringing his OPS to .862 and his wRC+ to 138.

Have I mentioned that he’s a middle infielder who won’t turn 20 until the offseason? I have? Sorry.

Also 2-hit days for left fielder Matt Higgins and designated hitter P.J. Hilson (No. 37 CPL), who also stole a base.

RHP Hayden Birdsong (No. 36 CPL) got the start and it wasn’t his best game, as he gave up 4 hits and 2 walks in 3.2 innings, though he only allowed 1 run and struck out 4 batters. With a 1.93 ERA, a 2.61 FIP, and more than 15 strikeouts per 9 innings, Birdsong’s first full season is going as well as advertised.

LHP Hayden Wynja pitched an immaculate inning!

RHP Sam Delaplane, who had only pitched in 3.2 innings since 2019 due to injury, made his season debut. It didn’t go well, as he gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs while recording just 1 out, but just nice to see him back on the field.

Home runs

AAA Tyler Fitzgerald (3)
High-A Luis Toribio (7)
High-A Logan Wyatt, 2 (6)
High-A Victor Bericoto, 2 (6)
Low-A Edison Mora (2)
Low-A Zach Morgan (1)