Minor League round up, Sept. 6

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

The San Francisco Giants affiliates only had one win in five games on Monday, with their AA, High-A, and Low-A teams all getting the days off. But lots of good performances to highlight.

Let’s jump in.

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

All listed positions are the positions played in that game.

AAA Sacramento (46-58)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 10-3
Box score

The Giants liked what they saw in the Minors from veteran pitching reclamation projects José Quintana and Tyler Chatwood, but RHP Matt Shoemaker is having a difficult time following that formula. The 9-year MLB vet got the start for Sacramento on Monday and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 6 earned runs in 5 innings, with just 3 strikeouts. It was his fifth start with the River Cats, and the third time he’s given up at least 5 earned runs. He has an 8.10 ERA with the team, and just 18 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.

Even if he had pitched well, the Giants were unlikely to win given their lack of offense. Still, two players hit well. Second baseman Jason Krizan hit 2-4 with a home run, raising his OPS to .903.

Krizan and Arismendy Alcántara have been the odd men out in the Giants infield shuffle this year, as neither has earned a call up, but that shouldn’t distract from how well they’ve both played.

Designated hitter Mike Tauchman also hit 2-4, and had a triple and a double. He’s starting to find his bat again (.788 OPS) after struggling at the MLB level and after being reassigned.

Catcher Joey Bart (No. 2 CPL) has been a tiny bit better at suppressing strikeouts lately, but his issues there were on display on Monday, as he hit 1-4 with a hat trick, giving him 71 strikeouts to 17 walks in 243 plate appearances this year.

Right fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 3 CPL) hit 1-4 with a double and 2 strikeouts. As a team, the River Cats didn’t draw a single walk.

But check out this awesome defense from center fielder Bryce Johnson:

ACL Orange (28-22)

ACL Giants Orange lost to the Cubs 9-2
Box score

The Giants Orange offense struggled big time, with just 6 hits and 18 strikeouts, but there were two strong performances from two players who have had standout seasons.

Center fielder Vaun Brown (23, 2021 10th round) hit 2-3 with a triple, raising his OPS to 1.096. Admittedly you want a 23 year old to be able to dominate the Arizona Complex League, but it’s still exciting. Especially since the Giants recent draft class was extremely pitcher heavy, it’s fun to see a hitter from the draft performing nicely.

Shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 28 CPL, 18, 2019 J2) hit 1-4 with a home run and a walk, and is finding his swing again. Arteaga was one of the organization’s best performers through the first few months of the season, but then hit a dry spell. He’s rebounded very nicely, and now has a 12-game hitting streak going on, during which time he’s hitting 17-46 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 4 walks, albeit with 17 strikeouts.

Not much of note with the pitchers. LHP Seth Lonsway (22, 2021 6th round) made his second pro appearance and got roughed up a bit, allowing 2 hits and 2 earned runs in 1 inning, though he recorded 2 strikeouts.

ACL Black (24-26)

ACL Giants Black lost to the Rockies 5-2
Box score

The Giants Black team had just 7 hits, 2 extra-base hits, and 1 walk on the day, with almost all of that damage coming from two players. Center fielder Alexander Suarez (19, 2018 J2) hit 2-3 with a double and a walk to raise his OPS to .886, while catcher Max Wright (23, 2021 UDFA) hit 2-4 with a double to bump his OPS to .796.

RHP Tristan Beck (No. 13 CPL) made another rehab start, and definitely still isn’t back to his pre-injury sharpness. In 3 innings he allowed 6 hits, 0 walks, 3 runs, and 2 earned runs, with 2 strikeouts.

DSL Orange (17-16)

DSL Giants Orange beat the Orioles2 6-2
Box score

Hey, finally a win. That’s fun! The pitching did a great job limiting runs, despite only registering 3 strikeouts on the day. Not a sustainable strategy, but hey, whatever works. After RHP Miguel Mora (19, 2019 J2) allowed 2 runs in 5 innings, it was a shutout bullpen performance by LHP Carlos Lopez (19, 2019 J2), RHP Marlon Franco (18, 2019 J2), and RHP Junior Flores (19, 2020 J2).

Two strong offensive games. Center fielder Fabio Villadiego (17, 2020 J2) hit 2-3 with a double and a walk, while also stealing a base and having an outfield assist at home. He raised his OPS to .679 and wins this writer’s unofficial award for player of the game. Third baseman Derwin Laya (17, 2020 J2) hit 2-5 with a double to bump his OPS to .757.

DSL Black (14-18)

DSL Giants Black lost to the Rangers2 17-8
Box score

I think we should just avoid talking about the Giants Black pitching here. The team gave up 17 runs, remarkably without allowing a home run. But 18 hits, 4 walks (against just 5 strikeouts), and 3 errors will usually mean a lot of runs are scored, and that was the case here.

So let’s just focus on the offense, where two players were spectacular. Center fielder Mauricio Pierre (17, 2020 J2) hit 2-3 with a home run, a double, and 2 walks, bumping his OPS up to .901. It’s been a strong debut season for Pierre, who also stole a base.

Catcher Onil Perez (18, 2019 J2) was a perfect 3-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base, raising his OPS to .681.

The offense had 12 hits and 3 stolen bases, but it’s hard to do enough damage when you give up 17 runs.

Home runs

AAA Jason Krizan (15)
ACL Aeverson Arteaga (9)
DSL Mauricio Pierre (4)

Tuesday schedule

Sacramento: vs. Salt Lake Bees, 7:05 p.m. PT
Richmond: vs. Akron RubberDocks, 3:35 p.m. PT
Eugene: vs. Everett AquaSox, 7:05 p.m. PT
San Jose: vs. Stockton Ports, 6:30 p.m. PT
ACL Orange: vs. Athletics
ACL Black: vs. D-backs
DSL Orange: vs. Orioles2
DSL Black: vs. Rangers2