Giants AFL Week 3 recap

A little Giants baseball for you.

There’s no escaping the reality that it’s not a very good week to be a San Francisco Giants fan. The Giants aren’t playing baseball, and they can’t even get moving on a (hopefully exciting) offseason because the World Series is still going on. And to make matters worse, the hated Los Angeles Dodgers lead that World Series 2-0. It’s no fun!

But while we still have to wait a week for the offseason to begin — and a few months for some Giants baseball — there are still a few players you’re invested in that are playing ball. The Arizona Fall League continues in the desert, and just wrapped up its third week. The Scottsdale Scorpions — the team that the Giants prospects share with the Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets — had a very tough week. They went just 1-4, and now have a 5-11 record, which puts them in fifth place in the six-team league. Not ideal, but as with the Minor League season, the AFL is much more about individual results than team results.

So let’s dive into those individual results! Here’s how all the Giants prospects did last week, and how they’re doing this season.

1B Bryce Eldridge

Week 3: 4-8, 1 home run, 1 double, 1 walk, 3 RBI, 1 strikeout
Season: 12-41, 2 home runs, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 1 HBP, 6 RBI, 16 strikeouts, 2 errors, .860 OPS

Eldridge had a tough first week in the AFL, which was understandable since he was facing quite an uptick in talent, after such short stints in AA and AAA this year. But he made big strides in the second week, and took flight in the third week.

And then he left. After starting the week strong, Eldridge was removed from the AFL. As is usually the case, no reason was given, but it’s certainly nothing to panic about (otherwise we would have heard news by now). The most likely scenario is that the Giants, after giving Eldridge a very heavy workload in his first full season, wanted to shut him down before exhausting him. The second-most likely scenario is that he suffered a mild injury or just some general soreness, and the AFL is emphatically a place where it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It was certainly a successful stint in Arizona for Eldridge. His strikeout numbers were fairly high, but he leaves the AFL having hit .293/.348/.512, while celebrating just his 20th birthday during his short stint. A successful season, from March through October.

OF Bo Davidson

Week 3: 1-9, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 3 strikeouts, 1 stolen base, 1 outfield assist, 1 error
Season: 6-28, 2 doubles, 5 walks, 2 RBI, 10 strikeouts, 1 stolen base, 1 outfield assist, 1 error, .610 OPS

After an electric 2024 season, Davidson has definitely slowed down in the AFL, but that’s to be expected for a player who had never faced pitchers above Low-A until heading to the desert. The AFL is more about learning than proving, and these are valuable reps for Davidson, who will surely start 2025 in High-A.

3B Charlie Szykowny

Week 3: 5-10, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 1 strikeouts, 1 caught stealing, 1 error
Season: 10-27, 2 home runs, 2 walks, 6 RBI, 5 strikeouts, 1 stolen base, 1 caught stealing, 2 errors, 1.007 OPS

A fairly electric week for Szykowny, who has definitely made noise in his first full season, after being a 9th-round pick in 2023. It’s a testament to his talent that the Giants sent him to the AFL, and a testament to his talent that he’s played so well there.

C Drew Cavanaugh

Week 3: 0-4, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Season: 4-16, 1 double, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 5 strikeouts, 1 error, .646 OPS

Cavanaugh, who joined the AFL late, continues to only play sparingly. Still a great learning opportunity for the young catcher, who has certainly outperformed expectations as a 17th-round pick last year.

RHP William Kempner

Week 3: Did not play
Season: 1 game, 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA

While I haven’t heard anything, it certainly would appear that Kempner suffered an injury setback. He made an appearance in the first week of the AFL season, and hasn’t played since then. That’s a mega bummer given that the 2022 third-round pick didn’t pitch at all this year due to injury. Hopefully he’s OK.

RHP Tyler Vogel

Week 3: 1 game, 0.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 earned runs, 0 strikeouts
Season: 5 games, 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 3 walks, 5 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 13.50 ERA

Thus is the life of a reliever. Vogel entered the week having not given up any hits — and just one walk — in four outings, and had clearly been one of the best relievers in the AFL. Then he had one bad outing where he recorded just one out, and now has one of the most unsightly ERAs in the league. So it goes.

RHP Marques Johnson

Week 3: 2 games, 1.1 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 home run, 3 strikeouts
Season: 4 games, 3 innings, 4 hits, 4 walks, 6 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 home run, 7 strikeouts, 6.00 ERA

The results have been just so-so for Johnson, but it’s great seeing him on the field after he missed almost the entirety of the 2024 Minor League season. Hopefully he’s finding his stride so he can hit the ground running in 2025.

RHP Cale Lansville

Week 3: 1 game (1 start), 3 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 6 strikeouts
Season: 3 games (2 starts), 8.1 innings, 10 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs, 3 earned runs, 14 strikeouts, 3.24 ERA

A very nice outing for Lansville this week, as he continues to pile up the strikeouts. That’s an exciting break from the norm for the 2023 14th-round pick, who struck out less than a batter an inning in Low-A this year. He avoids walks and gets a lot of ground balls … if he can also get strikeouts, he’ll really be cooking.

RHP Elijah Pleasants

Week 3: 1 game (1 start), 3.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 earned runs, 3 strikeouts
Season: 3 games (2 starts), 8.2 innings, 10 hits, 4 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 10 runs, 9 earned runs, 12 strikeouts, 9.35 ERA

After the first week, I mistakenly said that Lansville was the only Giants pitcher who would be used as a starter. Turns out Pleasants, who worked primarily in long relief this year in his debut Minor League season, is also getting to start some games. He’s struggled to keep runs off the board but, like Lansville, he’s really bumped up the strikeouts which is great to see.

The AFL gets a little less interesting now, with Eldridge off the roster, but there’s still exciting baseball to be played! Most of the games can be streamed on MLB’s website if you feel like checking them out.