Minor League roundup, September 3: Richmond gets a new star and a new home

Yesterday’s action on the farm.

Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Tuesday, as we start to wrap up the season. Low-A San Jose had the day off, and the seasons are over in the ACL and DSL, but High-A Eugene, AA Richmond, and AAA Sacramento all had excitement to recap. Let’s get into it.

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

The big story is one that’s already been well covered — including here — but we’ll mention it again because it’s that exciting: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 3 CPL) has been promoted from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond at the ripe age of 19, making him more than four-and-a-half years younger than the average hitter in the Eastern League.

Between the struggles of LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 4 CPL) and shortstop Walker Martin (No. 7 CPL), the injury and short season of outfielder Rayner Arias (No. 5 CPL), and the graduations of LHP Kyle Harrison (No. 1 CPL), infielder Marco Luciano (No. 2 CPL), and RHP Hayden Birdsong (No. 9 CPL), and, of course, the dominance of Eldridge, the 2023 1st-round pick has become the organization’s No. 1 prospect by a country mile. And now he’s closer to the big leagues, and a debut in 2025 is looking very likely.

Eldridge takes the spot of outfielder Vaun Brown (No. 17 CPL) on Richmond’s roster, as Brown was placed on the Development List for the 2nd time this season, seemingly putting an end to a season that was equal parts disappointing and confounding. His month-long stint on the Development List earlier in the year did nothing to quell his massive contact issues, and needless to say, it will be a critical winter for someone who took the system by storm just 2 years ago.

Low-A San Jose infielder Jean Carlos Sio was activated off the 7-Day IL, so he’ll get to play the final week of the season (plus playoffs!).

Some awards to get to! Eldridge capped off his final week of High-A by taking home Northwest League Player of the Week honors, while Low-A San Jose RHP Josh Bostick was awarded California League Pitcher of the Week.

And finally, AA Richmond announced a new stadium! Very, very exciting.

Now, onto the games!

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AAA Sacramento (72-61)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 13-0
Box score

An utterly dominant game for the River Cats. How dominant, you ask? Well, Sacramento had 28 baserunners in this game … Salt Lake had 2. The River Cats had more players reach base by being hit than the Bees had baserunners, total. So that dominant.

The tone was set on the mound, because pitching dominance stands out more than hitting dominance in the Pacific Coast League, where every game begins with a free goodie bag of runs. And it was a very exciting pitching performance that we were treated to courtesy of RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 20 CPL), who dominated in the start. McDonald went 6 strong innings in the game, giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs, while striking out 5 batters.

The Giants took a slightly unconventional approach in rostering McDonald last offseason, given that he was an injury-prone pitcher who had never pitched above High-A. But it was a testament to just how ludicrously talented his arm is that they felt the need to protect him and, as with all rostered players, it was fair to anticipate an MLB debut this year.

Injuries may have cost him that opportunity. McDonald didn’t make his season debut until mid-May, didn’t make it to an A-Ball affiliate until June, and didn’t make his AAA debut until July 27. But now he’s in Sacramento and proving that not only is he healthy and talented, but that he can pitch deep into games (he threw 81 pitches in this game). McDonald has had a few rough outings in Sacramento, as one would expect, so I don’t anticipate him getting a cup of coffee to end the year, but he should factor into the Giants plans in 2025 … perhaps in the bullpen, but perhaps as a starter.

The bullpen picked up where he left off, with RHP Spencer Howard tossing 2 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts, and RHP Austin Warren striking out 2 in a perfect 9th inning. What a pitching performance!

But the offense sure was great, too. All 9 of the players in the lineup reached base multiple times, and a whopping 7 of them had multi-hit games. Only 1 of the team’s 19 hits cleared the fence, so shoutout to designated hitter Trenton Brooks, who hit 2-5 with a 2-run homer and a walk.

Brooks didn’t let his tough MLB debut or subsequent DFA’ing bring him down, as he’s remained one of Sacramento’s strongest hitters, sporting an .890 OPS and a 129 wRC+. He still faces an uphill journey to get a Major League role, but someone has to see him as decent Minor League depth, be it the Giants or a different organization. Pulling for him to get an extended opportunity in 2025.

Speaking of opportunities, Michael Conforto was a late scratch on Tuesday due to a small ailment, which means there’s a non-zero chance that he has to go on the IL. If that happens, well … it seems likely that the Giants would turn to center fielder Wade Meckler (No. 11 CPL), who had himself one heck of a day, going 4-6. All of his hits were singles, but I’m not here to pick nits with a 4-hit day!

It was a good bounce-back for Meckler, who had been in a mini-slump lately, having gone 3-21 over his last 6 games. Whether in the Majors or the Minors, it will be great to see Meckler end the year with some momentum after losing so much of the season to injuries. This game put him at an .854 OPS and a 109 wRC+ in Sacramento this year.

First baseman David Villar had a fantastic game, which we unfortunately haven’t been able to say much lately. Villar, who had a brilliant summer but has slowed down lately, hit 2-3 with 2 doubles, a walk, and a hit by pitch.

This is his final year with an option, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants try to find a way to get him a few Major League at-bats before the offseason begins. He has a .796 OPS and a 99 wRC+, and while he’s shown plenty of flashes, that 2022 PCL MVP campaign sure feels in the distant past these days.

Perhaps the most impactful offensive performance came from second baseman Donovan Walton, who hit 3-6, finished a home run shy of the cycle, and knocked in a team-high 4 runs. Walton is ending the season on an absolute tear: since August 3, he’s gone 26-69 with 1 home run, 2 triples, 9 doubles, 11 walks, and just 13 strikeouts. Like Brooks, he’s a player who could factor into someone’s depth plans in 2025.

Shortstop Christian Koss hit 2-5 with a double and a walk, bringing his OPS to .759 and his wRC+ to 90; left fielder Hunter Bishop hit 3-6 with a stolen base, raising his OPS to .715 and his wRC+ to 76; and third baseman Will Wilson hit 2-4 with a walk and a hit by pitch, bumping his OPS to .609 and his wRC+ to 70. Neither player in that group began the year in AAA, so hopefully after getting some seasoning this year, they’ll be ready to have breakout campaigns next year.

AA Richmond (58-69)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 1-0
Box score

The big news in Richmond was the debut of 19-year old power phenom Bryce Eldridge (No. 3 CPL). Statistically, it wasn’t a very good game for Eldridge (who grew up a few hours northeast of Richmond), as the first baseman went 0-3 with a strikeout and an error in his AA debut.

But the Giants are more interested in the process than the results (please remember that every time you’re confused about why a player has or hasn’t been promoted!), and the process was good for Eldridge. He worked counts, showed a good eye and good patience, and the 2 balls he put in play were hit quite hard. It’s only one game but, results be damned, he certainly looked like he’s swimming, not sinking.

Unfortunately, it was just a bad offensive game. No players to highlight.

Not so much on the mound, though. As with Sacramento, it was a dominant night for Richmond’s pitchers, starting with a standout performance from LHP John Michael Bertrand. Bertrand made Akron’s hitters look uncomfortable all night long, as he force fed his defense a series of softly-hit baseballs. In all, he pitched 6 shutout innings with just 6 baserunners allowed (3 singles, 1 double, and 2 walks), while striking out 6. Bertrand, a small-slot 10th-round pick in 2022, has had decent if not remarkable results in Richmond this year, sporting a 4.03 ERA and a 3.89 FIP.

It’s hard to know what role he’ll play if he makes it to the Majors, since he’s not exactly an overpowering pitcher. His low-90s fastball is much more about command than about life, and he’s striking out just 7.5 batters per 9 innings this year … and has just 218 strikeouts in 269.1 innings for his Minor League career. You don’t see many pitchers in this day and age succeed with that profile, but he’s certainly a throwback, as he’s allowing just 2.5 walks per 9 innings, and sporting a 51.1% groundball rate. Hey, it’s worked for Logan Webb….

Bertrand will likely start 2025 in AAA Sacramento where, as they say, you’re only ever a call away.

Coming out of the bullpen were RHP Wil Jensen, who tossed 2 scoreless frames, and RHP Tanner Kiest, who struck out all 3 batters he faced.

In his last 8 games, Kiest has pitched 10.1 innings and allowed just 5 hits, 6 walks, and 0 earned runs, while striking out 11. He’s heating up!

High-A Eugene (57-69)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 8-5
Box score

Hello and welcome to right fielder James Tibbs III! After dominating Low-A San Jose in his tiny 9-game stint after being a 1st-round selection in July, Tibbs was aggressively moved to Eugene, where he hit the struggles that one should expect from a debuting player.

Coming into Tuesday’s game, the lefty was just 1-41 with no extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts with the Emeralds. Ouch!

But Tuesday was a reminder as to what we should expect from the No. 13 pick going forward, as Tibbs had a delightful day, hitting 2-5 with a double and no strikeouts. There are only 5 games left in Eugene’s season, but hopefully Tibbs can use those 5 games to find some rhythm and momentum, so he can hit the ground running in his 1st full season next year.

Speaking of finding rhythm, shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 14 CPL) is doing exactly that. The 21-year old defensive wizard had another nice game, hitting 2-5 without a strikeout. After missing almost all of the year due to thoracic outlet syndrome, Arteaga rejoined Eugene in mid-August, and had the rust that one should expect. But he’s shaking that rust off in a hurry, and has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games.

First 5 games: 0-18, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Next 12 games: 14-50, 1 triple, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts

That’s the Arteaga we know and love. Excited to see him in the AFL and then in Richmond next year. Would the Giants consider giving him a week in AA to end this year after Eugene’s season comes to a conclusion on Sunday? Given that he spent all of 2023 with Eugene, it wouldn’t be shocking.

Good and similar games for left fielder Scott Bandura and center fielder Quinn McDaniel who both hit 2-4 with a double and a stolen base (2 stolen bases in McDaniel’s case). Bandura, last year’s 7th-round pick, has a .712 OPS and a 104 wRC+ with Eugene, and has stolen 23 bags in 28 attempts across Low-A and High-A. McDaniel, last year’s 5th-round pick, has a .736 OPS and a 110 wRC+, with 37 stolen bases in 44 attempts. A very solid 1st full season for him, albeit one that still has a lot of strikeouts.

Unlike in the upper Minors, it wasn’t a good pitching game for the Emeralds. LHP Dylan Carmouche didn’t help his ERA, but the 2023 15th-round pick actually pitched quite well, giving up 5 hits, 0 walks, and 3 runs in 5 innings of work, while striking out 7 batters and throwing 59 of 79 pitches for strikes. He gave up 2 singles and then a home run in the 1st inning, but after that he settled into brilliance.

RHP Trent Harris also gave up a home run, which put an earned run on his ledger, but in 2 innings he struck out 3 batters and threw a whopping 18 of 20 pitches for strikes. Harris, who has a 2.09 ERA and a 3.11 FIP with Eugene, now has a sensational 102 strikeouts to 23 walks in just 74.2 innings across Low-A and High-A this year.

Unfortunately, LHP Tommy Kane and RHP Hunter Dula got beat up to end the game. I hate to end there, but that’s the end.

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Home run tracker

AAA Trenton Brooks (8)

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Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: at Salt Lake, 5:35 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Akron, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: at Vancouver, 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: at Fresno, 6:50 p.m. PT

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