Minor League round up, June 5

The bad news: the San Francisco Giants A-ball affiliates didn’t play on Monday.

The good news: the Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League kicked off their seasons on Monday, so we have more Minor League Baseball teams to talk about! Let’s jump in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

News

The monthly Minor League awards were announced on Monday, and the Giants grabbed a pair of them. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 9 CPL) was named Pitcher of the Month in the Northwest League. He was dominant in 5 starts for High-A Eugene, with the following line: 21.1 innings, 8 hits, 8 walks, 4 runs, and 30 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, outfielder Carter Howell was the Player of the Month in the California League, after the 2022 undrafted free agent hit 35-94 with 11 extra-base hits, 14 walks, and just 13 strikeouts for Low-A San Jose, good for a 1.028 OPS.

Both players earned promotions following their blistering months. Howell is doing very well through 6 games with High-A Eugene, while Whisenhunt is expected to make his AA debut this week.

Onto the games...

ACL Orange (1-0)

ACL Giants Orange beat the ACL White Sox 8-4
Box score

Ahh, it sure is nice to have rookie ball back, and all the excitement that it entails!

Before we dive into this game, I implore you all to read this article by The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, about new Giants Orange manager Jacob Heyward, who was a player in the Giants system up until last year. It’s great.

There were great performances all across the lineup, as all 10 batters who stepped to the plate reached base safely, with 9 of them registering a hit.

Catcher Juan Perez (18, 2022 IFA) had the biggest day, hitting 2-4 with a home run, as he continues his quest to become the best Juan Perez in Giants franchise history.

Perez was widely viewed as the team’s second-best international free agent last year, but didn’t have a very noteworthy season in the DSL, finishing with a .606 OPS and a 74 wRC+, and just 3 home runs in 173 plate appearances. Hopefully this is a sign of him tapping into his exciting prospect status!

Shortstop Ramon Peralta (19, 2021 IFA) hit 2-4 with a double and a walk. He spent 2 years playing in the DSL, and while the numbers weren’t eye-popping (last year he had a .750 OPS and a 111 wRC+), he had exceptional walk numbers. Let’s see if he can work his way into the Giants exciting middle infield conversation.

It was a 3-hit day for third baseman Derwin Laya (19, 2021 IFA), while first baseman Armando Alvarez hit 1-3 with a double in a rehab assignment before he returns to AAA Sacramento.

A happy sight on the mound: the return of LHP Seth Corry (24, 2017 3rd-round). A disastrous 2021 (aided by some injuries), saw Corry drop from the top pitching prospect in the organization to someone not on most people’s radars. And then in 2022 he was shut down due to injuries after just 2.1 innings.

So it’s great to see him pitching again. He struck out 2 batters in a scoreless inning, though the walks that have plagued him to this point were on display, as he issued 2 free passes.

RHP Junior Flores (21, 2020 IFA) had a nice outing, striking out 4 batters in 2 innings, while allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run. He only pitched 9.2 innings in the DSL last year.

ACL Black (0-1)

ACL Giants Black lost to the ACL Dodgers 7-6
Box score

A less fruitful game for the Giants Black team, which had a funny offensive performance: just 4 hits, but 8 walks.

The biggest thing of note for the team was the presence of shortstop Ryan Reckley (No. 31 CPL, 18, 2022 IFA). Reckley was the star of the team’s international signing period last year, but only played 11 games in the DSL before an injury shut him down for the year. It’s exciting that the Giants decided to still start him in the ACL this year. He hit 0-3 but drew 2 walks, which is par for the course — he drew 9 walks in 46 plate appearances last year.

Left fielder Guillermo Williamson (19, 2021 J2) and designated hitter Cesar Gonzalez (22, 2017 IFA) both hit 1-3 with a double and a walk, with Williamson adding an outfield assist. He had some really hot stretches last year in the DSL, and finished the year with a .760 OPS and a 108 wRC+.

Catcher Brandon Martorano hit 1-4 with a walk and a stolen base in a rehab appearance, as he prepares to rejoin AA Richmond.

The first 2 pitchers were dudes in their late 20s. RHP Mauricio Llovera was the opener and struck out 2 in a perfect inning. He’s rehabbing and will be headed back to AAA Sacramento soon.

Then it was recently-signed RHP Tanner Kiest, who gave up 2 hits in a scoreless inning, with a strikeout. Kiest was a 28th-round pick in 2014 who played that year and 2015 for the Philadelphia Phillies. He then played indy ball before spending one season in the Minnesota Twins system in 2018. Then he went back to indy ball before the Giants signed him a few days ago. What a journey!

LHP Cesar Perdomo (21, 2021 IFA) struck out 6 batters in 4 innings, but also gave up 6 baserunners and 3 runs.

DSL Orange (1-0)

DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Twins 5-1
Box score

A nice outing for RHP Alfonso Perez (17, 2022 IFA). Perez debuted last year as a 16 year old, and the results weren’t great — he had a 7.56 ERA, a 5.01 FIP, and just 11 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. But that’s hardly a warning sign given his age.

His 2023 debut went swimmingly, as he gave up just 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 0 runs in 4 innings, while striking out 3 batters. Keep that up, Alfonso!

RHP Angel Sanchez (20, 2021 IFA) pitched 2 perfect innings, while striking out 1 batter.

There were a few intriguing performances among the Giants Orange position players. Right fielder Jose Astudillo (19, 2021 IFA) didn’t have any extra-base hits, but he did hit 4-5 which is a great way to start a season. This is Astudillo’s 3rd season in the DSL, though he had just 100 plate appearances in the first 2. One thing to watch with Astudillo: he now has 105 plate appearances in his career and has struck out just 9 times (while also drawing 9 walks).

Center fielder Luis Frias (18, 2021 IFA) did a little bit of everything: he hit 2-5, stole 3 bases, and had an outfield assist. He’ll need to find some power eventually if he wants to stick — he had a .258 batting average last year but just a .305 slugging percentage — but he clearly has some tools.

Shortstop Anthony Tandron (17, 2023 IFA), a very intriguing name from the Giants recent signing period, made his professional debut and hit 1-3 with a walk, while third baseman Dario Reynoso (18, 2023 IFA) also debuted, and hit 2-5 with a triple.

DSL Black (0-1)

DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Tigers 2, 6-3
Box score

A trio of notable performances from the Giants Black hitters. Catcher Anyelo Gonzalez (18, 2023 IFA) was the star of the day, hitting 2-3 with a home run and a walk. What a way to make a professional debut! It’s hard to keep track of all the recent signings, but if he keeps hitting like that then we’ll definitely remember him.

First baseman Samuel Rodriguez (19, 2021 IFA) had the only other extra-base hit, going 2-4 with a double. Rodriguez had an intriguing debut season as a 17 year old, but injuries limited him to just 5 games last year. Great to see him back out there.

And left fielder Moises De La Rosa (18, 2022 IFA) hit 3-4 and stole a base. De La Rosa was phenomenal in his professional debut last year, with an .846 OPS, a 138 wRC+, a 14.1% walk rate, and just an 18.8% strikeout rate. But he only played in 19 games, so he’ll have to prove that his performance was sustainable ... Monday’s game was a good step in that direction!

Center fielder Rayner Arias (No. 27 CPL, 17, 2023 IFA), the star of this year’s cast of international signings, made his professional debut and hit 0-4 with a strikeout.

A delightful outing from RHP Carlos Gomez (18, 2022 IFA), who struck out 3 batters in 1.2 scoreless innings, with just 1 hit allowed. He gave up 12 walks and 13 earned runs in 13 innings last year, so nice to see him settling into things this year.

RHP Ismael Mota (21, 2019 IFA) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings but hit a batter and walked a batter. That’s what’s kept him in the DSL for a 3rd straight season, as he had just a 3.14 ERA last year, but issued 25 walks and hit 5 batters in only 43 innings.

Home runs

ACL Juan Perez (1)
DSL Anyelo Gonzalez (1)

Tuesday schedule

Sacramento: vs. the Las Vegas Aviators, 6:45 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. the Altoona Curve, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. the Tri-City Dust Devils, 6:35 p.m. PT
San Jose: @ the Visalia Rawhide, 7:00 p.m. PT

Reminder that Minor League games can now be viewed on MLB TV.