Minor League roundup, May 22: Tyler Fitzgerald would like to come back

The San Francisco Giants ACL team was not playing on Wednesday, but their four Minor League Baseball A-Ball affiliates were all in action. Let’s dive in!

Link to the 2024 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.

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News

A little bit of news from the last few days to catch up on, since I haven’t written a roundup in a few days. Most notable is that Low-A San Jose shortstop Cole Foster (No. 30 CPL) was placed on the 7-Day Injured List, retroactive to May 20. I’m not sure what the injury was — he left in the middle of a game over the weekend — but hopefully it’s minor.

With AAA Sacramento starting to get more players — both by free agent signings and players optioned — some of the emergency promotions have returned home. The Giants sent catcher Drew Cavanaugh back to Low-A San Jose, with outfielder Turner Hill returning to High-A Eugene. Infielder Justin Bench, who had been in Eugene prior to his stint in Sacramento, is now headed to San Jose, just to add to his 2024 jersey collection.

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AAA Sacramento (28-19)

Sacramento River Cats beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 10-6
Box score

I have no clue how much coaches and organizations value intangibles with prospects. The Giants broadcasters have talked a lot about how outfielder Heliot Ramos (No. 13 CPL) was disappointed to be an early camp cut, but instead of moping dug in deeper and, with motivation behind him, performed very well in AAA. Is that merely a broadcaster’s observation? Or is that something that the organization is actually paying attention to, admiring the mental elements of a player’s game?

If that’s the case, then the organization has to be ecstatic about what they’ve seen from shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 15 CPL) who was recently optioned. Fitzgerald made his Minor League season debut on Tuesday and had an almost-laughably good game, hitting 4-5 with 2 home runs, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. But it wasn’t just a one-off. Fitzgerald nearly replicated that success in his 2nd AAA game of the year on Wednesday, hitting 2-4 with 2 more home runs and another walk.

Holy smokes.

It goes without saying that AAA pitchers are not the same as MLB pitchers and that Pacific Coast League ballparks are not the same as MLB ballparks (Coors Field not withstanding). But Fitzgerald is certainly yelling loudly and clearly that he wants to be back in the Majors, where he impressed as a super-utility player, but made a few rough mistakes.

I’m not sure whether the Giants optioned Fitzgerald rather than Brett Wisely because of those mistakes, because they wanted a left-handed bat, or because they just wanted him to get some everyday at-bats for a while to stay sharp. Either way, he’ll be back ... and if he keeps hitting like this, he’ll be back very soon.

Fitzgerald isn’t the only player in that situation. Third baseman Casey Schmitt was also recently optioned, and he also is on a mission to prove that his future lies with the Giants, not with their Minor League affiliates. And on Wednesday he made quite a statement, hitting 3-5 and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

Schmitt hit just 3-22 during his San Francisco stint, and the Giants are hoping he can prove to be a better hitter than that before returning. So far he’s doing a good job proving that: Schmitt has recorded a hit in all 4 of his games since getting optioned, and is 6-18 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 2 walks. Perhaps most importantly, he’s only struck out once during that time ... and that came after not striking out in his final pair of games before getting optioned. Limiting swings outside of the zone is a necessity if Schmitt wants to turn into a quality Major League hitter.

I’m not sure if catcher Jakson Reetz quite fits into that same grouping as Fitzgerald and Schmitt, though he was also recently optioned. And he also had a “why am I not in the Majors?” type of day, hitting 3-5 with all 3 of his hits being doubles.

Reetz has been absolutely fantastic with the bat this year, sporting an .876 OPS and a 121 wRC+. The signing of Curt Casali certainly moves Reetz even further back on the emergency catcher depth chart, but there’s a reason he’s still on the 40-man roster.

First baseman David Villar also homered, which was his first homer since April 24. It was quite a slump for someone who once looked like quite a slugger ... between those 2 homers, Villar hit just 11-73 with 1 double, 7 walks, and 24 strikeouts. Villar, who hit 1-5 on the day, is someone who can put up crooked numbers in a hurry, so let’s hope that’s on the horizon.

A very uneventful pitching day. RHP Tommy Romero didn’t pitch very well, and RHP Justin Garza had one of his very rare “allow a run” days, giving up 1 run in 2.1 innings, raising his ERA to 1.38, inching closer to his 4.81 FIP. LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 36 CPL) continues his little slump after his brilliant start to the season, as he gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 2 innings of work, with a strikeout. Sánchez has a 4.22 ERA and a 5.09 FIP, and is sitting at 8.02 walks per 9 innings after showing excellent command in the early parts of the season.

AA Richmond (19-22)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) 9-3
Box score

Talk about a team turning things around. After losing 8 consecutive games, the Squirrels have responded by winning 7 of their last 8.

As was the case for Sacramento, it was all about the long ball for Richmond. And leading the charge was someone who has been heating up in a hurry: center fielder Grant McCray (No. 12 CPL).

McCray put on a show once again, hitting 2-4 with a home run, a triple, and a walk.

It’s been pure electricity for McCray lately who, in his last 7 games, is hitting a blistering 11-23 with 2 home runs, 1 triple, 4 doubles, 6 walks, and, most importantly, just 4 strikeouts. Just as was the case last year with High-A Eugene, McCray is shaking off a rocky debut month with a brilliant May. In 2023 he had just a .554 OPS in April, with 31 strikeouts in 74 at-bats ... then he put forth a .909 OPS in May, with 35 strikeouts in 105 at-bats. This year it was a .528 April OPS, with 29 strikeouts in 68 at-bats. And so far he’s rocking a .978 May OPS with 18 strikeouts in 59 at-bats. Kind of funny, and kind of outstanding!

A pair of other hitters had phenomenal days as they, too, look to overcome rough starts to the year. First baseman Victor Bericoto (No. 19 CPL) had a fantastic outing, reaching base in all 4 of his plate appearances, with a 3-run home run, a single, and 2 walks.

It’s been a very tough start to the year for Bericoto, who had a breakout 2023. He led the organization with 27 home runs, 11 of which came in 51 Richmond games after a midseason promotion. But he’s been unable to build on that this year. He’s not hitting for average (.203), and he’s not hitting for power, either: this was just his 2nd home run, and 6th extra-base hit, in 35 AA games this season. You’ve got to think that more days like this are ahead for Bericoto ... and as soon as they start coming in waves, he’ll be someone to keep a very close eye on.

And shortstop Will Wilson rounded out the dinger party, hitting 2-5 with a big fly.

It’s been a pretty disappointing season for Wilson, after a pretty disappointing 2023. But he’s now hit homers in back-to-back days, and in his last 7 games is hitting 7-26 with 2 homers, 1 double, 2 walks, and just 3 strikeouts. There’s still a whole lot of talent in the former 1st-round draft pick, and given his defensive competence up the middle of the dirt, he doesn’t even need to tap into all of the talent to become an exciting prospect again. But time is definitely running out for the soon-to-turn 26-year old.

On the less-pretty side of things, third baseman Luis Toribio and designated hitter Vaun Brown (No. 17 CPL) both hit 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. It was the 3rd time in his last 4 games that Brown had that exact hitting line, and he’s now up to 39 strikeouts in just 81 plate appearances this year ... which has, in turn, cratered his numbers (.415 OPS, 19 wRC+).

The pitching was much more exciting than in Sacramento, with RHP Hayden Birdsong (No. 9 CPL) taking the mound and showing off a bit. Birdsong had one of his more strike-heavy games, finding the zone on 51 of 79 pitches ... not a huge number, but a solid one, especially relative to some recent performances. As a result, the 2022 6th-rounder only walked 1 batter in 5 innings, while giving up 3 hits and 2 runs and striking out 7. That’s a delight for Birdsong, who has lowered his ERA to 2.29 and his FIP to 3.88.

If he can keep the walks low — this was just his 2nd time in 8 starts with only 1 walk — there’s no telling how good Birdsong can be. In his last 3 games, he’s pitched 15 innings and allowed just 10 hits, 4 runs, and 3 earned runs, while striking out 18 (but walking 7). As he keeps finding the strike zone more and more, the results are likely to be mesmerizing. I’m curious to see whether the Giants wait for that walk rate to come down before promoting Birdsong to AAA, or if they at some point decide that he’s learned what he can in Richmond, and to take his talents up a level.

Speaking of players taking their talents up a level, RHP Ben Madison pitched the 9th inning in his 2nd game since getting promoted. Madison started 2023 in High-A Eugene, dominated, was promoted to Richmond, and struggled mightily. He began this year again in Eugene, and once again dominated, and finally got promoted a 2nd time. His 1st AA game of the year didn’t go well, but his 2nd game? Well, he pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. That works just fine, Ben!

High-A Eugene (23-17)

Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane (Rockies) 8-3
Box score

I haven’t talked about left fielder Alexander Suarez much this year ... or in his career, really. The 22-year old right-handed hitter has so many tools to use all over the field, but has really struggled in his career to put things together. He spent 2 full seasons with Low-A San Jose, with fairly discouraging numbers: his walk rate was very low (5.2% and 5.4%), his strikeout rate was awfully high (29.2% and 27.2%), and it led to an uninspiring OPS (.708 and .663) and wRC+ (79 and 82). A huge sap of power year-over-year — his .182 isolated slugging in 2022 dropped to .107 in 2023 — was only further discouraging, as it took away the one part of his game he had at least been showing good signs in.

His start to 2024, which featured a promotion he needed more than he earned, unfortunately looked like more of the same. Suarez got a late start to the year (he debuted on April 18), played sporadically, and didn’t show many signs of life. Through his first 12 games of the year, Suarez was hitting just 6-30, with a double representing his only extra-base hit, and 11 strikeouts.

And then he turned a corner. Or at least we hope he turned a corner. Sometimes it’s just a temporary hot streak, but until proven otherwise, I’m going to assume a corner was turned. On Tuesday, in a game I tragically didn’t recap, Suarez hit a Fitzgeraldian 3-4 with 2 home runs, a double, and a walk. And on Wednesday followed it right up, hitting 2-4 with a 3-run home run.

Following those ice-cold 12 games, here’s what Suarez has done in his 7 games since: 10-27, 4 home runs, 2 doubles, 1 walk, and 11 strikeouts. Yes, the walks (3.3% rate) and strikeouts (36.7% rate) are still fairly awful, and Suarez will need to turn at least one of those rates around. But the power is highly encouraging, and has built up an .844 OPS and a 134 wRC+.

Minor League baseball is full of players who, if they could just eliminate their weaknesses, would be really good. But it’s still worth noting that Suarez has turned his season into “hey, if he can just stop striking out quite so much...”

As was the case in AA and AAA, Suarez was 1 of 3 different players to hit a ball over the fence, joining designated hitter Rodolfo Nolasco and first baseman Garrett Frechette. Nolasco, who came over in the Daulton Jefferies trade, had a 2-hit day but struck out twice, and that’s exactly what things have looked like since he donned an Emeralds jersey. He’s 12-36 (amazing!) with 3 home runs (amazing!) and 17 strikeouts (terrifying!). As with Suarez, the Giants are hoping they can find a way for Nolasco to keep the good and start to cut back on the bad, but they’re certainly working with extremes: in 2 years of Low-A ball, Nolasco hit 31 home runs in 765 plate appearances ... while striking out 261 times. Wowzers.

As for Frechette, it was his 1st High-A home run, and the Giants are still waiting to see power befitting the first base position for the lefty. The 2019 5th-round pick has just 11 home runs in 1,129 career plate appearances in the pros. Like Suarez, Frechette made it to High-A despite not putting up good numbers in Low-A ... though he got 3 chances at that level. The good news is that his performance in Eugene is better than any of his 3 years in San Jose. The bad news is that the numbers are still pretty ugly: he has a .618 OPS, a 78 wRC+, a 30.3% strikeout rate, and a 3.0% walk rate.

And more good days for a quartet of players: center fielder Quinn McDaniel hit 2-4 with a double, a walk, and 2 strikeouts, bringing his OPS to .827 and his wRC+ to 146; shortstop Diego Velasquez (No. 21 CPL) hit 2-3 with a walk and his 10th stolen base, raising his OPS to .848 and his wRC+ to 146; catcher Onil Perez (No. 24 CPL) hit 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, but drew 2 walks and stole his 11th base (while getting caught for the 1st time), and now has a .733 OPS and 118 wRC+; and third baseman Justin Wishkoski hit 2-4 with a strikeout and his 9th stolen base, bringing his OPS up to .730 and his wRC+ to 116.

Dominance on the mound for RHP Dylan Cumming, an undrafted free agent last season. And dominance was great to see, because Cumming had been sensational in April but had been struggling in May up to this point. But “struggle” is not a word he was familiar with on Wednesday, as the 6’4 righty struck out 9 batters in 5 excellent frames, giving up just 4 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run, while throwing 51 of 79 pitches for strikes (hey, those pitch and strike numbers are exactly the same as Birdsong!).

Despite his May hiccups, Cumming has been making short work of High-A batters: he has a 1.87 ERA and a 2.25 FIP, and among 36 Northwest League pitchers with at least 20 innings thrown, he’s 2nd in strikeouts per 9 innings (13.37), 9th in walks per 9 innings (2.67), and 5th in groundball rate (56.3%). He just turned 25, so he’s fairly old for the level, but he’s putting up excellent numbers, and doing it while starting. He’s quickly turned into an exciting prospect to follow.

Low-A San Jose (22-18)

San Jose Giants lost to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 6-5 (10 innings)
Box score

Heartbreak for the Baby Giants, who scored twice in the 9th inning to force extra innings, scored in the 10th, and then gave up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. So it sometimes goes!

San Jose couldn’t match their older siblings in the home run department. While the other affiliates all had a trio of dingers, the Baby Giants not only didn’t have a home run, but didn’t have an extra-base hit, period. Whoops!

As a result, their weren’t many days to highlight on offense, though a pair of players reached base twice. Center fielder Jonah Cox continued his majestic debut season with the organization (a 6th-round pick last year by the A’s, Cox came over in the Ross Stripling trade), as he hit 1-3 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout. He also stole his 25th base of the year, while being caught for the 2nd time. Cox, who has an .877 OPS and a 149 wRC+, has a 13-game hitting streak ... and has reached base safely in a staggering 21 consecutive games.

His line during that time? 35-88 with 1 home run, 2 triples, 2 doubles, and 10 walks to 19 strikeouts (with 17 stolen bases). He may never be a big power guy but ... my goodness! What a fun ballplayer!

And designated hitter Drew Cavanaugh, playing in his 1st San Jose game since returning from Sacramento, hit 1-3 with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Cavanaugh’s numbers haven’t been great in Low-A, but he sure impressed in AAA, so hopefully he can parlay that into success at a more appropriate level.

The pitching wasn’t particularly strong, but there was an important thing of note: RHP Will Bednar got the start. This was Bednar’s 4th rehab appearance, and he’s started in 3 of those games. That might not mean anything notable — perhaps the Giants just want Bednar at the beginning of games so that he knows exactly when to warm up. But it certainly might point to the fact that they still believe in him as a starter, which was a question I had going into the season.

Bednar wasn’t lights out, but the 2021 1st-round pick was solid, giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run in 2 innings of work, while striking out 3 batters. He pounded the strike zone with 17 of 26 pitches, which was really nice to see.

It’s just a rehab appearance, but Bednar’s start to the year is encouraging: in 8 innings he’s allowed just 6 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while striking out 11 batters. This is both the good news and the bad news, but it’s the best that Bednar has pitched since turning pro. For comparison, in his injury-riddled 2023 — spent entirely rehabbing at the Complex League — Bednar pitched 10.2 innings and gave up 9 hits, 7 walks (plus 2 hit batters), 7 runs, and 5 earned runs. Pulling for you, Will!

LHP Dylan Carmouche was the piggybacking starter, and again struggled, giving up 8 baserunners and 3 runs in 4 innings of work. Severe splits aren’t exactly shocking this time of year, but look at how extreme the month-to-month splits are for the 2023 15th-round pick:

April: 17 innings, 9 hits, 8 walks, 7 runs, 4 earned runs, 20 strikeouts
May: 17.2 innings, 18 hits, 12 walks, 11 runs, 9 earned runs, 15 strikeouts

More Aprils, please!

RHP Austin Strickland, the return in the Joey Bart trade, kept his perfect professional ERA in check, striking out the side in an inning of work but walking 2 batters. It’s a pretty funny line to start his career: 6.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 walks, 1 unearned run, and 10 strikeouts. Some good, some bad!

Not sure I’ve had a chance to talk about LHP Michael Rodriguez, last year’s 18th-round pick, yet this year. It’s been a tough season for him, but you wouldn’t know it by Wednesday’s outing, when he struck out 2 batters in 2 perfect innings. It was his 2nd consecutive scoreless outing, and while he’ll need more to correct his numbers (6.92 ERA, 7.31 FIP), the season — and his career — are both very young.

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Home run tracker

AAA Casey Schmitt (7)
AAA Tyler Fitzgerald, 2 (5 total, 4 in AAA)
AAA David Villar (4)
AA Grant McCray (6)
AA Will Wilson (4)
AA Victor Bericoto (2)
High-A Rodolfo Nolasco (5)
High-A Alexander Suarez (4)
High-A Garrett Frechette (1)