Minor League roundup, 7/2: Kai-Wei Teng!

Four games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Sunday. Let’s dive in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

Notes

I didn’t do a Minor League round up over the weekend because I’m trying to be better about not working on my off days. I’m not working today either, but I missed having some MiLB coverage up, so this one is a (relatively) sparse roundup.

But I did want to highlight some performances from Friday and Saturday before we cover what happened on Sunday, because there were three very notable performances.

First off, RHP Mason Black (No. 11 CPL) pitched 5 perfect innings for AA Richmond on Saturday, with 8 strikeouts. He is the hottest pitcher in the system right now, and maybe in the Minors. Just look at the last 5 starts for the 2021 3rd-round pick: 22.1 innings, 8 hits, 5 walks, 0 runs, and 29 strikeouts. Gotta think a promotion is in his near future with another few games like this.

Second off, outfielder Heliot Ramos (No. 12 CPL) had a blistering rehab game for Low-A San Jose on Saturday, hitting 3-4 with a home run, 2 doubles, and a walk. In about 2 weeks, Ramos will be eligible to come off the 60-day IL and his maximum 20-day rehab stint will be up, so the Giants will have to make a move to either get him back on the 40-man roster or get him out of the system. Would love to see this hot start lead to some confidence when he’s back in AAA Sacramento.

And finally, RHP Landen Roupp (No. 20 CPL) called for the trainers and left his AA Richmond start on Friday after 3.1 no-hit innings. Haven’t heard any updates, but here’s hoping that Roupp — who missed the start of the year with an injury — is OK. He’s been pitching incredibly well.

AAA Sacramento (37-42)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks) 3-2
Box score

A very exciting and encouraging start from RHP Kai-Wei Teng. By now you probably all know Teng’s story: he was a strikeout machine in AA last year, but he was also a walk machine, so the Giants had him repeat the level. He still walked a decent amount but made dramatic improvement (5.6 per 9 last year, 3.8 this year), and the Giants gave him a mid-June promotion.

The move from AA to AAA for a pitcher is brutal, as you go from a pitcher-friendly environment to a batter-friendly environment with RoboUmps, and Teng’s 1st 2 outings showed it: he walked 9 batters in 7 innings.

But his 3rd start? Now we’re cooking! Teng was excellent on Sunday, pitching 5 scoreless innings and allowing just 1 walk. He limited the rest of the damage to just 3 hits and a hit batter, and struck out 7. That’s exciting stuff, especially when you consider that Teng’s 12.4 strikeouts per 9 innings ranks 21st out of 429 Minor League pitchers with 50 innings thrown this year.

Also exciting on the mound was a rehab appearance by LHP Scott Alexander, who pitched a scoreless inning. There’s optimism that he could be activated this week.

Not much on offense but a few things to note. Catcher Joey Bart hit 2-4 as he continues to settle in. After compounding his rough start in the Majors with a brutal start to Sacramento (after starting a rehab assignment and getting optioned, Bart hit 5-42 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 21 strikeouts in his 1st 12 games), Bart has found rhythm. Since then, he’s on a 6-game hitting streak and is 9-25 with 2 home runs, 1 walk, and just 3 strikeouts.

Patrick Bailey (No. 10 CPL) may be the Giants starting catcher now and for the foreseeable future, but Bart is a good enough defender that any signs of offensive life would make him an elite backup.

Second baseman Will Wilson (No. 21 CPL) hit 2-2 with a walk. His overall numbers are still bad — .720 OPS and 68 wRC+ — but after his power surge subsided he’s started to get his on-base numbers up, as his OBP has gone from .262 in April to .304 in May, to .354 in June, and he’s started July 4-6 with a walk.

Some funny positions in this game. Dalton Guthrie, traded for recently to provide outfield depth, played shortstop. Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 18 CPL), a strong middle-infield defender, played center field. Jakson Reetz, signed for catcher depth, played left field.

And Mike Yastrzemski DH’d in his 2nd rehab, going 0-3 with a walk.

AA Richmond (37-37)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Reading Fightin Phils (Phillies) 6-1
Box score

Unfortunately, the person who replaced Teng when he was promoted inherited the walk problems, as LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 9 CPL) came down sick with a severe case of bases on ballitis.

It was, however, a reminder as to how difficult it is to hit the Giants young southpaw, who has been flying through the system. He faced just 11 batters in this game: he walked 5 of them and struck out 4 of them. The 2 lone souls who put the ball in play were retired. This was just Whisenhunt’s 4th outing in Richmond, and so far he’s had mixed results: 12.2 innings, 11 hits, 10 walks, 9 runs, 7 earned runs, and 19 strikeouts.

A reminder that Whisenhunt hasn’t even hit the 60-innings pitched mark. Not this year, in his career. So, you know ... don’t overreact to a bad start. Also there was a rain delay, so it’s unclear whether Whisenhunt was pulled so early due to the walks or due to the delay.

RHP Ben Madison made his AA debut after a recent promotion and did the ultra rare: he pitched a perfect inning while only facing 2 batters. He inherited a runner from Whisenhunt and promptly got a double play and a flyout, so his line is 1 inning pitched, 2 batters faced.

On offense it was yet another extra-base hit by catcher Andy Thomas, who hit 1-2 with a home run and a walk.

Thomas started the year slow but has been on absolute fire lately. He has a 6-game hitting streak during which time he’s 8-23 with 2 home runs, 1 triple, 3 doubles, and 3 walks. He’s up to a .691 OPS and a 91 wRC+.

Also homering was second baseman Jimmy Glowenke.

Glowenke was promoted on May 31 and really struggled to find power. Through his 1st month in Richmond, a trio of doubles were his only extra-base hits. But this was his 2nd consecutive day hitting 2-4 with a home run. Go Jimmy!

High-A Eugene (37-37)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 5-0
Box score

Bad game all around. No extra-base hits for the Emeralds, who struck out 17 times. Their top 2 prospects, center fielder Grant McCray (No. 6 CPL) and designated hitter Aeverson Arteaga (No. 7 CPL) both had a strikeout hat trick, though McCray also singled and walked.

Third baseman Luis Toribio hit 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. After starting the year on a “maybe it’s time to promote this guy who’s repeating the level” tear, Toribio has gone ice cold and racked up the Ks. Since June 10, he’s 6-58 with 1 home run, 1 double, and 22 strikeouts. The lone silver lining is that he has 11 walks in that time.

The pitching wasn’t much better. RHP Nick Sinacola got rocked, though he struck out 7 batters in 3.2 innings. LHP Matt Mikulski gave up 3 runners in an inning, and allowed his 1st run since moving to a single-inning relief role.

Low-A San Jose (42-32)

San Jose Giants lost to the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 9-8
Box score

A funny day on the mound for the Baby Giants. The exciting news was that LHP Reggie Crawford (No. 8 CPL) started. Crawford hadn’t played on either side of the field in more than 2 weeks, which is always a touch concerning, especially given his medical history.

But he opened this game and pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a walk and recording a strikeout. He has 16 strikeouts to 4 walks in his 10 innings. Nice.

Not nice was what followed: another disaster performance from RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 40 CPL). Normally a starter, Maldonado took the mound for the 2nd inning to presumably play a bullpen starter role. But he never made it out of the inning. Hurt by his defense and his lack of control, Maldonado gave up a hit and 4 walks in just 0.2 innings, ceding 6 runs (albeit just 1 earned).

Maldonado was the hottest pitcher in the system for a little while: over a 4-start stretch from late-May to mid-July, he pitched 16 innings and allowed just 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs, and 1 earned run, with 22 strikeouts. In 3 games since, he’s pitched 8.1 innings and given up 11 hits, 9 walks, 18 runs, and 13 earned runs, with 13 strikeouts.

He remains one of the more exciting arms in the system though, and won’t turn 20 until December. Bad stretches happen.

RHP Daniel Blair ended up being the innings-eater and had a funny game. He pitched 5 scoreless innings, but didn’t have a strikeout. He has a 1.89 ERA but a 4.58 FIP in his debut season.

A great game for catcher Onil Perez (No. 44 CPL), who hit 3-5 with a double, bringing his OPS to .830 and his wRC+ to 125. His calling card on offense is his bat-to-ball skills and control of the zone, as he has a .320 batting average (without a sky-high BABIP), and the best strikeout rate (10.3%) of any Giants Minor Leaguer (minimum: 100 plate appearances) not named “Luis Matos.” Also, he’s 20.

Center fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 12 CPL) had a nice game in his 5th rehab appearance, hitting 1-4 with a double, a walk, and an outfield assist. On his rehab assignment Ramos is now 6-17 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, and 2 walks. Will be very cool if he can keep this up back in AAA.

His namesake also had a great game, as second baseman Jose Ramos went 2-2 with 2 walks.

Ramos has really fallen off after a brilliant start to the season, so hopefully he can get things going again.

Home runs

AA Andy Thomas (8)
AA Jimmy Glowenke (2)

Monday schedule

Sacramento: vs. the Reno Aces, 6:45 p.m. PT
Richmond: @ the Reading Fightin Phils, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: @ the Everett AquaSox, 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. the Modesto Nuts, 6:30 p.m. PT

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

Injured List

A round up of all the prospects who are on an Injured List.

40-man prospects (60-day IL)

OF Heliot Ramos (No. 12 CPL) [on rehab assignment]
LHP Thomas Szapucki

Sacramento

RHP R.J. Dabovich (No. 17 CPL) — Full-Season
RHP Clay Helvey — Development List
C Brett Cumberland — 60-Day
LHP/1B — Ronald Guzmán — 60-Day
RHP Ljay Newsome — 60-Day
LHP Darien Nuñéz — 60-Day
RHP Joe Ross — 60-Day
RHP Kade McClure — 7-Day
RHP Logan Shore — 7-Day
INF Donovan Walton — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)

Richmond

OF Hunter Bishop — 60-Day
RHP Conner Nurse — 60-Day
RHP Michael Stryffeler — 60-Day
INF Carter Aldrete — 7-Day
OF Ismael Munguia — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)
INF Sean Roby — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)
INF Brady Whalen — 7-Day

Eugene

RHP Will Bednar — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)
LHP Seth Corry — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)
OF Jairo Pomares — 7-Day (on rehab assignment)
RHP Carson Ragsdale — 7-Day
INF Michael Wielansky — 7-Day

San Jose

RHP Sam Bower — Full-Season
INF/RHP Connor Cannon — Full-Season
RHP Davis Hare — Full-Season
RHP Ian Villers — Full-Season
LHP Rohan Handa — 60-Day
INF Abdiel Layer — 60-Day
RHP Spencer Miles — 60-Day
OF Mauricio Pierre — 60-Day
RHP Liam Simon — 60-Day
RHP Mikell Manzano — 7-Day

ACL

C Braden Frankfort — Restricted List
RHP Kanoa Pagan — Restricted List
INF Irvin Murr III — 7-Day

DSL

LHP Ricardo Estrada — Restricted List
RHP Ruben Ortiz — Restricted List
RHP Anderson Azor — 60-Day
LHP Luis Custudio — 60-Day
C Alessandro Duran — 60-Day
RHP Fernando Estrella — 60-Day
LHP Antonio Millan — 60-Day
RHP Jose T Perez — 60-Day
RHP Christopher Torres — 60-Day
RHP Fernando Vasquez — 60-Day
OF Fabio Villadiego — 60-Day
INF Franco Willias — 60-Day
RHP Luis Yepez — 60-Day