Minor League roundup, June 27: So many home runs

Yesterday’s action on the farm.

Six games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Thursday, with everyone but the Arizona Complex League team playing. 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

After some time getting up to speed and/or healthy in the Complex League, the Giants have assigned a trio of RHPs to A-Ball affiliates. Mikell Manzano (who started the season injured) and Billy Sullivan (who was signed in May after the A’s organization released him) are headed to Low-A San Jose, while Wilkelma Castillo (who started the year injured) is off to High-A Eugene.

The Giants made the promotion of first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 3 CPL) official, and are giving him a buddy on the flight from San Jose to Eugene: RHP Austin Strickland, the player the Giants received in the Joey Bart trade.

And RHP Tyler Myrick was promoted from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento where, as the saying goes, you’re only one call away from the big leagues. Congrats, Tyler!

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AAA Sacramento (46-32)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 14-8
Box score

Holy hit and homer goodness!! Bats often go wild in the Pacific Coast League, but Thursday’s performance was outrageous even by those standards. The River Cats “only” had 15 hits, but 6 of those 15 hits left the park, and a whopping 12 of those 15 hits went for extra bases. That’s a pretty solid equation for scoring a lot of runs.

Let’s start not with the best performance, but with the best thing to see: a home run from second baseman Marco Luciano (No. 2 CPL). Roll the tape on the 444-foot blast!

A single home run isn’t enough to erase the otherwise disappointing performance we’ve been seeing from Luciano as of late. He finished the day 1-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and an error, and since returning from the IL is just 8-44 with 2 extra-base hits, 9 walks, and 20 strikeouts. Despite being, in most people’s eyes, the 2nd-best power prospect in the system, Luciano’s power has really evaporated this year: even with Thursday’s dinger, his isolated slugging percentage of .081 ranks 124th out of 130 PCL hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this year. And, going back to last year (and including time in the Majors), Luciano’s big fly on Thursday was just his 2nd home run in his last 59 games. Roger Munter was musing on his site a few days ago that perhaps Luciano is suffering from ye olde AAAitis, given that he had fantastic numbers in his (admittedly tiny) stint in the Majors this year. That’s a pretty reasonable explanation, though perhaps not one that the Giants would be happy with.

Either way, this wasn’t meant to turn into a downer section on Luciano, it was meant to celebrate his home run and the hopeful fire he’s about to catch! It is worth noting, however, that he once again played second base.

Speaking of electric infielders, third baseman Casey Schmitt had himself a day, hitting 2-5 with 2 home runs and 2 strikeouts. My goodness does he have a gorgeous swing when he makes good contact.

Brett Wisely’s emergence at the MLB level, and LaMonte Wade Jr.’s impending return make it a little harder for Schmitt or Luciano (or Tyler Fitzgerald, who is struggling a bit) to find a clear path to the Majors anytime soon, but playing excellent baseball always seems to make that path easier for an organization to discover. After hitting 0-10 in his 1st 4 games back in Sacramento following a mid-June optioning, Schmitt has rediscovered his swing: in 4 games since, he’s 6-15 with 2 homers, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

An equally good day for catcher Jakson Reetz, who hit 3-5 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 2 strikeouts.

Reetz is another player with a very difficult path back to the Majors, seeing as how the Giants have 3 healthy catchers on the 40-man roster, are anticipating the return of Tom Murphy at some point, and have already outrighted Reetz this season. Still, he’s burning up AAA — he has an .883 OPS and a 120 wRC+ on the year. He’s not the only catcher shining, though: first baseman Logan Porter, who often plays behind the dish, bopped another home run, though he finished the day just 1-5 with 3 strikeouts.

And rounding out the dinger party was designated hitter Jerar Encarnación, who reached base 3 times, hitting 2-4 with a big fly and a hit by pitch.

Not surprisingly, the powerful righty slugger is taking a little bit of time to get re-acclimated after re-joining the Minors, but we’re seeing him start to find his rhythm now. In his 1st 5 games he hit 3-18 with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. In 4 games since, he’s 6-15 with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

Because of all the homers, we’ve talked about a lot of players already, and we haven’t even gotten to the dynamic performance from center fielder Grant McCray (No. 12 CPL), who hit a magnificent 4-5 with a triple, 2 doubles, and a strikeout. McCray is hitting quite well following an extremely aggressive promotion to AAA, and given that the Giants will almost surely feel the need to protect him from this year’s Rule 5 Draft, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make his MLB debut this year if he keeps putting up numbers like this.

Also, right fielder/left fielder Brett Auerbach continues to look surprisingly comfortable in AAA, as he hit 1-3 with a double and 2 walks.

But for all the fun of the bats, the most important performance might have taken place on the mound. RHP Mason Black (No. 10 CPL) got the start and, as you can probably surmise from what the offense did, he got the start in an environment where you expect a whole lot of hits and runs. But Black did a masterful job keeping that from transpiring, with one of the best outings of the year: 6 innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, and 6 strikeouts. Absolutely elite given the park factors!

With the Giants still facing uncertain health situations with Kyle Harrison, Blake Snell, Robbie Ray, Alex Cobb, and Tristan Beck, Black re-emerging as a viable option in the rotation would be massive. He’s really been struggling ever since making his MLB debut (or rather, ever since the 5th inning of his MLB debut), so this was a wonderful performance to see. Another outing like this and he might be back to patching a hole in the San Francisco rotation.

AA Richmond (34-38)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 6-2
Box score

Thursday was an exciting game in Richmond because it featured the AA debut of RHP Will Bednar. Certainly when the Giants drafted Bednar in the 1st round of the 2021 Draft — when he was viewed as a fairly polished prospect — we all expected that he’d be in Richmond far before now. But injuries had other plans in store for Bednar. I think it’s probably still fair to say that he made it to AA in his 1st healthy season, and that’s an accomplishment!

Bednar looks significantly more like the player who earned a 1st-round selection 3 years ago than like the player who struggled mightily the last 2 years. And it will be fun to see how he does with this next assignment. It certainly won’t be surprising at all if he’s in AAA Sacramento by year’s end, at which point he’d probably need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

It was an up-and-down debut for Bednar, who gave up just 1 hit in 2 innings, but walked 3 batters and gave up an unearned run. He struck out 4 though, so the life on his pitches is definitely playing. Excited to see where he goes from here.

RHP Dylan Cumming followed Bednar and showed off his strikeout stuff, whiffing 7 batters in 5.2 innings. But other than that, it was his worst outing of the year, as he gave up 9 baserunners, 5 runs, and 4 earned runs. It’s still been a wildly successful season for Cumming, who was pitching in his 5th game since a recent promotion.

And finishing the game was RHP Ben Madison, who struck out 1 batter in 1.1 perfect innings. Just like he did last year, Madison has been struggling mightily in AA after thoroughly dominating High-A, so great to see him have such a good outing.

No real standout offensive days. Catcher Andy Thomas hit 1-2 with 2 walks and a strikeout. He had gone hitless the last 4 games, but is still having a substantially better June than he had in April or May. Right fielder Ismael Munguia hit 1-3 with a double and a walk, and continues to look good since getting demoted back to Richmond. He’s 10-29 with, remarkably, 0 strikeouts since heading back to the Squirrels following a so-so stint in AAA.

High-A Eugene (36-35)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 8-4
Box score

No, Bryce Eldridge is not in town yet, sorry! The Emeralds are about to become must-see TV, but it will have to wait.

A pair of home runs from fairly unlikely sources, as catcher Zach Morgan and third baseman Thomas Gavello both went deep, the former hitting a 3-run shot and the latter a grand slam. That’s a good way to put up a lot of runs! Neither player is having a particularly strong season — Morgan, who hit 1-2 with 2 walks has a .687 OPS and a 103 wRC+, while Gavello, who hit 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout, has a .612 OPS and an 83 wRC+.

But Morgan is still hanging onto a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio (33 Ks against 30 BBs), while Gavello is starting to find some momentum: in his last 9 games, the 2022 13th-round pick is 10-30 with 3 home runs, 3 doubles, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts.

Adding to the back-of-the-order fun was first baseman Garrett Frechette, who hit 3-4, though he also struck out and was caught stealing. Frechette has a .273 batting average, which is a delight, but everything else is fairly awful: he’s drawn just 1 walk in 74 plate appearances, while striking out 21 times, and only has 4 extra-base hits on the year.

Center fielder Jonah Cox still looks comfortable since his recent promotion: he hit 2-4 and stole yet another base.

LHP Cesar Perdomo made his High-A debut following a promotion and it’s hard to imagine it going better: he tossed 5 shutout innings in which he gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks, albeit with just 2 strikeouts. Perdomo might be having the most underrated season on the farm: he has 52 strikeouts to 13 walks in 48 innings, along with a 1.04 WHIP, and he’s yet to allow multiple earned runs in an outing all year. That explains the 1.26 ERA and 2.57 FIP in Low-A San Jose, and it definitely explains the promotion.

While Perdomo has been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the system all year, he’s turned it up a level lately: in his last 8 games, he’s pitched 31.1 innings and allowed just 20 hits, 7 walks, and 2 runs, while striking out 37. Ummm …. HELLO?!!!?

He also only turned 22 in February, making him 1.3 years younger than the average Northwest League pitcher.

LHP Matt Mikulski had a nice showing in relief, giving up just 1 walk in 1.2 scoreless innings, with 2 strikeouts. He hasn’t had the success that his draftmade Bednar has had, but he does look healthy for the 1st time in his career, and there’s a lot to like in how he’s pitching.

Low-A San Jose (41-30)

San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 6-1
Box score

And so the post-Eldridge era begins in San Jose. It ain’t pretty, folks!

The offense really did nothing of note. Catcher Luke Shliger had the best day, hitting 2-3 with a double and a walk. Shliger, the team’s 6th-round pick last year, has earned a lot of praise from the organization. It hasn’t been a very good year for him yet, but he’s been an on-base machine lately: in his last 8 games, the lefty is hitting 8-29 with 8 walks and 2 hit by pitches.

Designated hitter Charlie Szykowny hit 2-4 as he continues to pile up the hits. Last year’s 9th-round pick is up to a .293 batting average this year, and has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games.

A 2-pitcher affair on the mound, with RHPs Josh Bostick and Mikell Manzano handling business. Bostick gave up 6 hits and 3 runs in just 4 innings (with only 2 strikeouts), but for the 2nd straight game he didn’t walk any batters. That’s good progress with how many walks the 2023 8th-round pick had issued earlier in the year. Manzano, who was pitching in Low-A for the 1st time this year after rehabbing in the ACL, also didn’t gave up a walk, though he got tagged for 8 hits and 3 runs in 5 innings of work.

DSL Orange (8-10)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL Rangers Blue 8-4
Box score

The star of this game was the backup catcher! Jorge Ramirez (18 years, 2023 international signing) replaced Fernando Pena (17 years, 2024 international signing) before Pena’s first at-bat of the game. I would assume that means the youngster got injured, so hopefully he’s OK. Ramirez sure made the most of his opportunity though, hitting 2-4 with both a home run and a double. Ramirez had a decent debut season last year, but really didn’t show any power. So far this year he’s showing a notable improvement on that front!

Another strong game for shortstop Yosneiker Rivas (18 years, 2023 international signing), who continues to build on his super strong (albeit truncated) debut season. Rivas hit 1-3 with 2 walks in this game, and the lefty now has a .992 OPS and a 158 wRC+.

After an exciting debut last year, designated hitter Keiberg Camacaro (17 years, 2023 international signing) made his 2024 debut on Thursday. It was great to see him back on the field, where he hit 1-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. Ks were a huge issue for Camacaro last year — though he was just 16 years old — so let’s hope we soon see improvement on that front.

A fantastic start from RHP Jose Bello (19 years, 2023 international signing), who dealt 4 shutout innings with just 3 hits allowed, while striking out 5 batters. Bello has been nothing short of dominant to start the season: in 4 games, he’s pitched 14 innings and allowed just 10 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs, with 20 strikeouts. Outstanding.

DSL Black (15-3)

DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Padres Gold 10-7
Box score

Sometimes players have games that highlight why people are so high on them. It was that sort of a game for the star of the most recent signing class, shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 38 CPL, 17 years, 2024 international signing). Despite hitting leadoff, Level nearly carried the Giants Black team to victory on the back of his RBI total, as he hit 2-5 with both a grand slam and a 3-run home run. 7 runs with 2 swings of the bat!

Level, an up-the-middle switch-hitter who only turned 17 at the end of March, has exhibited the sort of tenacity that we know coaches love. After starting the season decently (in his 1st 9 games he hit 7-30 with 1 home run, 1 double, 9 walks, and 4 strikeouts), he hit an ice cold slump, going 0-19 with 0 walks and 10 strikeouts over his next 5 games.

But in the 2 games since then? Just a casual 4-10 with 3 home runs, a double, and just 1 strikeout. He’s worth being very excited about.

A pair of hitters reached base 3 times: catcher Alessandro Duran (18 years, 2022 international signing) hit 1-3 with 2 walks to bump his OPS to .725 and his wRC+ to 114, while first baseman Diego Villegas (20 years, 2021 international signing) hit 0-1 with 3 walks and a strikeout, moving his OPS to .912 and his wRC+ to 147. Villegas is likely a casualty of the shrinking domestic reserve, as he’s back in the DSL for a 4th year, despite hitting fantastically there last year.

A bad pitching day, with the team combining for 13 walks against just 5 strikeouts. We don’t need to talk about it any more.

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Home run tracker

AAA Casey Schmitt, 2 (13 total, 11 in AAA)
AAA Logan Porter (8)
AAA Jakson Reetz (5 total, 4 in AAA)
AAA Marco Luciano (2)
AAA Jerar Encarnación (1)
High-A Thomas Gavello (4)
High-A Zach Morgan (3)
DSL Jhonny Level, 2 (4)
DSL Jorge Ramirez (1)

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Friday schedule

Sacramento: @ Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Somerset, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. Tri-City, 6:35 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. Fresno, 7:00 p.m. PT

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