Minor League round up, July 13

A round up of the San Francisco Giants Minor League affiliates.

We’ve got a lot to talk about, as all eight teams in the San Francisco Giants farm system played on Tuesday. So let’s dive right in.

Link to the 2021 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

AAA Sacramento (26-33)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 9-4
Box score

The Giants optioned second baseman Mauricio Dubón to Sacramento because he wasn’t getting much playing time in San Francisco, and seemed to have lost his rhythm at the plate. They were hoping that consistent playing time would help him find his swing again.

It seems they were right.

Dubi had a 4-hit day to raise his OPS to .954. He hasn’t been showing the power that he talked about in Spring Training — just 3 of his 21 AAA hits have been extra-base hits, all doubles — but whatever. He’s finding timing, rhythm, and success.

And would it really be a AAA game if it didn’t feature a home run from shortstop Arismendy Alcántara (who also had a single and a walk)?

It’s a champagne problem for sure, but the Giants are in a tough spot with Alcántara. They’ve got Brandon Crawford, Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano, Jason Vosler, and Thairo Estrada all on the active roster. They’ve got Tommy La Stella working on his rehab assignment and expected to return seen. Evan Longoria is not long behind.

Making room for yet another infielder won’t be easy, but at the same time … Alcántara is hitting .333/.393/.724 in 135 plate appearances.

The River Cats bullpen was strong, as Luis González, Camilo Doval (No. 16 CPL), and Sam Selman combined for 4 scoreless innings. But the Giants pitchers as a whole had just 5 strikeouts.

AA Richmond (33-28)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 3-2
Box score

A rather uneventful day for Richmond as they started a new series. The Flying Squirrels struck out 15 times, while registering just 5 hits. First baseman Andres Angulo had the only multi-hit day, and also the only home run.

Shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL) continues to struggle since his promotion to AA, going 0-5 with a pair of strikeouts to lower his OPS to .328. It’s just 7 games though, so no need to panic (though if Wilson could Panik, that would be good…)

It was a bullpen day for Richmond, with all 5 pitchers giving up exactly 1 hit, but the offense not doing quite enough to get them a win.

High-A Eugene (35-25)

Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane (Rockies) 12-4
Box score

The Emeralds started out mellow but turned it up late, with 8 runs in innings 6 through 8, thanks to a home run in each of those innings.

Right fielder Franklin Labour continued his strong season, which has been remarkably consistent, going 3-5 with a 2-run home run. And designated hitter Heath Quinn, who is just 9 games into his season, cleared the wall for the first time this year.

RHP Aaron Phillips had a bit of a rough start, with 7 hits, 2 walks, 3 earned runs, and just 1 strikeout in 3.1 innings, but the bullpen was stellar.

Low-A San Jose (38-23)

San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) 9-2
Box score

Good stuff all around for the Baby Giants, highlighted by right fielder Jairo Pomares (No. 14 CPL), who continues to tear the stitches off the ball since starting his season in Mid-June. Pomares had another home run, which gives him 8 on the year, as well as 18 extra-base hits in just 23 games, good for an OPS of 1.080.

Second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 34 CPL) continues to find his groove, going 3-4 with a pair of doubles. Glowenke, a 2020 Competitive Balance Round 2 draft pick, had an OPS of .545 in May, and .470 in June. He’s at 1.228 in July.

Catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 8 CPL) made his San Jose debut after starting the season in Eugene, suffering an injury, and making a brief appearance in the Complex League. He went 0-4 and struck out twice.

A strong performance for RHP Prelander Berroa, who allowed 7 baserunners in 6 innings, with 1 unearned run and 5 strikeouts. He now has a 2.83 ERA, though his FIP is lagging a bit behind.

ACL Orange (5-7)

ACL Giants Orange lost to the Angels 7-1 (7 innings)
Box score

Not much to report for ACL Orange, as they scored a run in the first inning and then never scored again. They drew just 1 walk on the day, and right fielder George Bell (23 years old, 2018 13th round) had the only multi-hit game, with a pair of singles. First baseman Garrett Frechette (No. 27 CPL, 20 years old, 2019 5th round) had his third double of the young season to raise his OPS to .867.

ACL Black (7-5)

ACL Giants Black beat Royals Gold 10-3 (7 innings)
Box score

A great offensive day for ACL Black, scoring 10 runs in 6 innings thanks to a pair of 5-run innings. The team had two standouts: first baseman Jacob Gonzalez (23 years old, 2017 2nd round) and third baseman Yorlis Rodriguez (21 years old, 2017 J2), who both hit 2-3 with a walk, and had back-to-back home runs in the third inning. Gonzalez now has an 1.109 OPS since moving from Eugene to the Complex League.

RHP Rafael Martinez (21 years old, 2016 J2) was hot and cold in the start, with 3 hits, 4 walks, and 1 earned run in 5 innings, while striking out 5.

DSL Orange (0-2)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the Yankees2 9-6
Box score

Good and bad for the DSL Orange squad, who had 10 hits and just 7 strikeouts, but also had just two extra-base hits: doubles by third baseman Derwin Laya (17 years old, 2020 J2) and right fielder Samuel Reyes (18 years old, 2019 J2).

RHP Miguel Mora (19 years old, 2019 J2) showed off his strikeout ability by punching out 8 hitters in 5 innings, while allowing 4 hits, 0 walks, and 3 earned runs.

DSL Black (1-1)

DSL Giants Black lost to the Cardinals Red 14-12 (7 innings)
Box score

Bit of a wild 7-inning game for the DSL Black team. They appeared in command twice, thanks to a 7-run fourth inning and a 5-run sixth inning, but the Cardinals Red team countered with a 4-run fifth inning and a 9-run sixth inning.

Despite scoring 12 runs in 7 innings, the Giants had just 3 extra-base hits. But first baseman Javier Francisco (18 years old, 2019 J2) put on a show, going 2-2 with a home run, a double, and a pair of walks. Shortstop Yeison Lemos (18 years old, 2019 J2) had a 3-hit game, and is now 4-6 with a home run and 3 walks to start the season.

There were some pitching shenanigans, as you would expect from a team that gave up 14 runs in 6 innings. The Giants used 5 relievers, and none of them pitched a full inning. Fun with small sample size: RHP Anderson Azor (17 years old, 2020 J2) has a 108.00 ERA, RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (17 years old, 2020 J2) has a 135.00 ERA, and LHP Luis Castillo (18 years old, 2018 J2) has an infinite ERA.

Maldonado’s appearance was particularly forgettable, as he gave up 5 earned runs without allowing a hit, thanks to 2 walks and 3 hit batters.

Home runs

AAA Arismendy Alcántara (13)
AA Andres Angulo (2)
High-A Franklin Labour (7)
High-A Brett Auerbach (2)
High-A Heath Quinn (1)
Low-A Jairo Pomares (8)
ACL Jacob Gonzalez (2)
ACL Yorlis Rodriguez (1)
ACL Dilan Rosario (1)
DSL Javier Francisco (1)

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: Off
Richmond: vs. Somerset Patriots, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: @ Spokane, 6:30 p.m. PT
San Jose: @ Modesto Nuts, 7:05 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: Off
ACL Black: Off
DSL Orange: Off
DSL Black: Off