Minor League round up, July 27

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

All eight San Francisco Giants affiliates were in action Tuesday, which means we’ve got a lot of prospects to write about.

Let’s jump straight into it.

Link to the 2021 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List

AAA Sacramento (30-42)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Tacoma Rainers (Mariners) 6-4
Box score

The River Cats may have lost (funny how we’ve talked all year about the Giants spectacular depth, yet their AAA team can’t buy a win), but it was an exciting game nonetheless, as right fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 3 CPL) had his best game since being promoted, slapping a pair of doubles that rose his OPS to .726, and having a beautiful outfield assist at second base, despite playing out of position.

Other than that though, it wasn’t a very good game, as Sacramento gave up 5 runs in the eighth inning for the loss, with LHP Caleb Baragar responsible for 4 of them in 0.2 innings. Baragar is continuing a weird trend that we’ve seen with some of the Giants depth arms: he has a 0.49 ERA at the MLB level, and a 10.24 ERA in AAA.

Speaking of funny pitching anecdotes, RHP Gerson Garabito had a throwback game that would have looked perfect in a box score from a few decades ago: 6 innings, 4 hits, 4 walks, 1 earned run, 1 strikeout.

The offense had just 6 hits, with first baseman Joe McCarthy joining Ramos on the 2-hit day train, but no one joining Ramos on the extra-base hit train. Sacramento did draw 7 walks though.

Designated hitter Tommy La Stella drew 2 walks and center fielder Jaylin Davis (No. 20 CPL) had a single in their rehab assignments.

AA Richmond (38-35)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) 6-1
Box score

Not too much of note for Richmond, who gave up a 3-spot in the first inning and never recovered. RHP Caleb Kilian (No. 43 CPL) got the start and had some good and some bad, pitching 4 innings and allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned), with 6 strikeouts. On the whole, Kilian’s numbers look brilliant since being promoted earlier in the season: 2.43 ERA, with 64 strikeouts to 8 walks in 63 innings.

The offense struck out 16 times, with hat tricks for second baseman Simon Whiteman, left fielder Vince Fernandez, and shortstop Will Wilson (No. 10 CPL), whose OPS is just .575 since his promotion. He’s struck out 31 times in 86 AA plate appearances.

First baseman David Villar and designated hitter Sandro Fabian (No. 31 CPL) both hit 2-3 with a walk, with both of Villar’s hits being doubles to raise his OPS to .791. Center fielder Luis Alexander Basabe (No. 33 CPL) had a single, a walk, and a pair of stolen bases as he continues to rehab.

High-A Eugene (41-31)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 5-4
Box score

Well, so far in this daily recap of the Minor Leagues things have been boring. It’s been all losses, and limited exciting performances. Thankfully we can always count on Brett Auerbach to help us out.

Playing at second base on Tuesday, Auerbach was once again the star of the show, hitting 3-5 with a home run and a stolen base. Auerbach now has a .937 OPS at High-A after a quick promotion from Low-A. His first professional season is going swimmingly.

Eugene had 10 hits on the day, with 5 of them going for extra bases, though they struck out 13 times to just 3 walks. Third baseman Sean Roby (No. 32 CPL) had a funny day, with a walk and a double, but also 3 strikeouts.

LHP Jake Dahlberg made his organizational debut after being signed from an indy league, and was awesome, pitching 4 innings and allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs, while striking out 9.

Low-A San Jose (47-26)

San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) 9-0
Box score

After 3 losses we finally arrive at the first win of the day for the organization, and what a win it was. We just highlighted Brett Auerbach, who is helping the Giants 2020 draft class look good by providing tremendous excitement and value as an undrafted free agent (that still counts as a draft class in my book, given the 5-round silliness of last year).

So now we need to highlight the oft-forgotten member of the class: RHP Ryan Murphy. Murphy was the Giants seventh and final selection in 2020, and was largely viewed as a player who would have been drafted a bit beyond the fifth round in a more conventional draft. But the Giants needed to save some slot money for Kyle Harrison, and Murphy helped.

And now Murphy has flipped the script, and is already starting to look like the fifth round was an undervaluation. He got the start and went 6 brilliant innings, with 2 hits, 2 walks, 0 runs, and 11 strikeouts. It’s his fifth consecutive game with double-digit strikeouts, and he’s got 56 punchouts in 31 innings this month.

Speaking of 2020 draftees, first-round pick catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 8 CPL) had the best day of his tumultuous and injury-riddled first year, hitting a perfect 4-4 with a walk and a double. His OPS has sneakily risen to .845.

Center fielder Luis Matos (No. 5 CPL) was the offensive star though, hitting 3-5 with a home run.

But there were no shortage of nice offensive showings, as designated hitter Jairo Pomares (No. 14 CPL) went 2-4 with a double and a walk to raise his OPS to 1.096, while second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 34) had a double and 2 walks to push his July OPS to 1.034.

Marco Luciano (No. 1 CPL) missed another game as he battles a minor injury, and Alexander Canario (No. 7 CPL) was a last-minute scratch, prompting trade speculation, but it turned out to be a back issue.

ACL Orange (10-10)

ACL Giants Orange beat the Athletics 10-5 (7 innings)
Box score

It feels like it’s been a little while since we got to talk about shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 28 CPL, 18, 2019 J2), but we can certainly talk about him now, as he went 2-3 with a home run to raise his OPS to 1.151. Given his age, the Giants might keep him at the Complex League for a while, but I’m certainly excited to see how he performs at Low-A.

Arteaga was great, but right fielder Kwan Adkins (23, 2018 30th round) was the biggest star of the day, hitting 2-3 with a walk, a triple, and a home run to raise his OPS to .963. Left fielder Garrett Frechette (No. 27 CPL, 20, 2019 5th round) had a 3-hit day with a double.

The team’s most exciting pitcher started, with RHP Manuel Mercedes (18, 2019 J2) allowing just 1 hit and 0 earned runs in 5 innings, but issuing 5 walks. He struck out 5 batters, though, to give him 24 in 23.1 innings this year.

ACL Orange was listed on the schedule as playing a doubleheader, but the box score on the MiLB website for the first game is from a game a week ago so … I’ll be honest, I don’t know what’s up there.

ACL Black (11-9)

ACL Giants Black beat the D-Backs 8-4 (7 innings)
Box score

The Giants Black squad exploded for a 7-run first inning, and finished with 8 runs despite having just 5 hits. Center fielder Alexander Suarez (19, 2018 J2) was 2-4 as the only Giant with multiple hits, and second baseman Dilan Rosario (20, 2019 6th round) had a triple for the team’s only extra-base hit.

They did draw 8 walks however, with a whopping 4 drawn by first baseman Jean Pena (20, 2017 J2).

RHP Rafael Martinez (21, 2016 J2) had a decent start, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs in 4.1 innings, with 7 strikeouts.

DSL Orange (3-7)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the Mariners 6-5 (7 innings)
Box score

The Giants Orange team had just 4 hits on the day, with the noteworthy one coming off the bat of left fielder Eliam Sandoval (17, 2020 J2), who had his first homer of the year to raise his OPS to .650. The Giants drew 4 walks to just 6 strikeouts.

No noteworthy pitcher performances, though there were some decent strikeout numbers: 5 in 3 innings for RHP Miguel Mora (19, 2019 J2); 3 in 2 innings for LHP Carlos Lopez (18, 2019 J2), and 2 in 1 inning for RHP Junior Flores (19, 2019 J2).

DSL Black (5-7)

DSL Giants Black lost to the Brewers1 3-1 (7 innings)
Box score

A very rough offensive day for the Giants Black team, as they had just 2 hits, though they did draw 6 walks to 6 strikeouts. The only two players who did anything offensively were third baseman Elian Rayo (18, 2019 J2), who was 1-1 with 2 walks to raise his OPS to .950, and second baseman Gustavo Cardoza (17, 2020 J2) who had a double and a walk to raise his OPS to .726.

LHP Ricardo Estrada (19, 2020 J2) have up 7 baserunners in 3.2 innings, but had just 1 earned run. He has a nice ERA of 1.69, but just 9 strikeouts to 8 walks in 10.2 innings.

Home runs

High-A Brett Auerbach (7)
Low-A Luis Matos (8)
ACL Aeverson Arteaga (7)
ACL Kwan Adkins (4)
ACL Adrian Sugastey (1)
DSL Eliam Sandoval (1)

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: Off
Richmond: vs. Bowie Baysox, 9:35 a.m. PT
Eugene: @ Everett AquaSox, 5:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. Inland Empire 66ers, 1:00 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: Off
ACL Black: Off
DSL Orange: Off
DSL Black: Off