Yesterday’s action on the farm.
All four of the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball A-Ball affiliates were in action on Tuesday. It wasn’t a very exciting day … except for when it was. Let’s dive into the action!
Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.
News
The most exciting news of the Minor League season occurred on Tuesday, as first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) — the consensus top prospect in the system — was activated for the first time this season, and assigned to AA Richmond. More on that in a moment.
Some good injury news. On the latest There R Giants podcast, Roger Munter noted that High-A Eugene center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL) is already back on the field at extended Spring Training in Arizona. Davidson left a game 10 days ago and needed help off the field, so there was concern that his injury was pretty serious. It looks like he’ll be back out there before long.
In other happy news, albeit adjacent to the Giants, former San Francisco infield prospect Will Wilson got his call to the big leagues on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning made his debut and got his first Major League knock. Wilson, a former 1st-round pick by the Angels whom the Giants acquired before the 2020 season, left the organization after being selected in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December.
AAA Sacramento (11-11)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 3-0
Box score
Well, a very uninteresting game for the River Cats. That’s the theme of the day, sadly. RHP Carson Seymour (No. 21 CPL) got the start and, for the 1st time this season, didn’t impress. Seymour has been utterly dominant in April, but struggled with on Tuesday, issuing 5 walks in as many innings, while also giving up 4 hits and 2 runs, with 4 strikeouts. Seymour really struggled to find the strike zone, tossing just 47 of his 85 pitches for strikes. Seymour doubled his walk total in his 5th start of the year, which is both a bad sign for the day and a good sign for the season.
He was relieved by RHP Tristan Beck, who continued his dominant season, allowing just 1 hit in 2 shutout innings, with 2 strikeouts. Beck, who has a 1.38 ERA and a 2.39 FIP on the year, has been nearly unhittable in his last 6 outings, tossing 9.2 innings and allowing just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs, with 12 strikeouts. With Lou Trivino struggling in San Francisco, could we see Beck back in the Majors soon?
There was no offense to speak of. Sacramento mustered just 4 hits, all of which were singles, while getting shut out. A trio of players reached base multiple times, with left fielder Marco Luciano going 0-2 with a strikeout but drawing 2 walks (he has a 15.6% walk rate this year), catcher Logan Porter hitting 2-4, and shortstop Sergio Alcántara going 0-2 with a pair of walks. First baseman Victor Bericoto, playing in his 2nd game following a promotion, hit 1-4 with a strikeout.
AA Richmond (4-12)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 5-1
Box score
A bust of a game for the Squirrels, too, save for one very important moment. In the top of the 2nd inning, first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) came into the batter’s box to lead off the inning. It was Eldridge’s debut plate appearance this year.
And on a 2-1 pitch he took a ball on the outside of the zone and pulled it for one of the easiest-looking home runs you’ll ever see.
BRYCE ELDRIDGE HOMERS IN HIS FIRST AT-BAT OF 2025 ‼️@GoSquirrels | @SFGiants | @SFGProspects pic.twitter.com/fxiRx5kblt
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 22, 2025
Just a sensational swing.
Eldridge grounded out in his 2nd at-bat and struck out in his 3rd, and the game ended with him on the batter’s box. It would have been a great day if he had struck out in all 3 at-bats, just because he’s back. But the home run sure makes it nicer!
No one else did anything of note on offense. On the mound, LHP Joe Whitman (No. 9 CPL) got the start and was so-so. He only gave up 4 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings, with 5 strikeouts, which is pretty solid. But 3 of those 4 hits went for extra bases and, as a result, Whitman got tagged for 3 runs. As was the case last year, the stuff is out-pacing the results for Whitman, who has a 6.17 ERA and a 4.92 FIP on the year, but is striking out 10.8 batters per 9 innings.
RHP Braxton Roxby, one of the team’s Minor League Rule 5 draftees this year, was absolutely sensational. The 26-year old retired all 6 batters he faced, and struck out 5 of them. Elite! Roxby has been a strikeout machine this year, with 12 of them in just 6.2 innings, which has fueled a 2.70 ERA and a 1.75 FIP.
Braxton Roxby gets the reigning No. 1 overall pick to punch out the side in order in the sixth pic.twitter.com/mOBQH2nzNU
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 23, 2025
High-A Eugene (8-8)
Eugene Emeralds lost to Spokane (Rockies) 17-5
Box score
As you can probably surmise, it was an awful day of pitching for the Emeralds, who gave up, on average, more than 2 runs per inning pitched. In 8 frames, Eugene’s pitchers ceded 15 hits, 11 walks, and 1 hit batter, with all 17 runs being of the earned variety. Ouch!
No need to run through the damage, but RHPs Josh Wolf, Brayan Palencia, and Elijah Pleasants, and LHP Tommy Kane all got rocked, none worse than the starter, Wolf, who allowed 10 baserunners and 7 earned runs while recording just 5 outs. Shake it off, Josh!
And since it was such a bad day on the mound, let’s shout out RHPs Ryan Vanderhei and Daniel Blair who, despite having difficult seasons, kept runs off the board in their Tuesday appearances.
The offense was better, but not particularly noteworthy. Shortstop Zane Zielinski had another great day as he gets caught up to speed. The 23-year old right-handed hitter went a perfect 3-3 on the day, and added both a walk and a stolen base. A 9th-round pick last year, Zielinski didn’t make his professional debut until less than 2 weeks ago, when he drew an aggressive opening assignment with the Ems. So far he’s rewarded that assignment, as he’s gone 11-33 with 4 walks and 6 stolen bases in as many attempts. He only has 1 extra-base hit and 10 walks, but still a great start to his career.
Designated hitter Jack Payton had the other good day in the batter’s box, hitting 2-4 with a double and a strikeout. It’s been a slow start to the year for Payton, the team’s 11th-round pick in 2023, so good to see him have a nice day at the office.
Low-A San Jose (9-7)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 9-0
Box score
Hey, a win! And a good one, at that. Thanks, Baby Giants!
It was a great performance through and through, with nearly ever player contributing. Let’s start with the pitchers, who handled a fairly dominant shutout.
RHP Hunter Dryden got the start, and continued a strong trend in San Jose of 2024 draft class pitchers dominating in their debut seasons. Dryden, the team’s 17th-round selection, allowed just 2 singles, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter in 4 sensational innings, while recording 4 strikeouts. Dryden has been sensational in the 1st 3 starts of his career, sporting a 0.75 ERA, a 2.87 FIP, and a 1.08 WHIP, with 17 strikeouts to 3 walks in just 12 innings. What an introduction!
Next up was RHP Ubert Mejias, who has been struggling in his 2nd pass through San Jose. But Tuesday was no struggle for the 24-year old from Cuba, as he handled 4 innings with ease, giving up just 3 hits and a hit batter, though he only recorded 1 strikeout.
And finishing the job was RHP Cade Vernon, the team’s 10th-round pick in July. Vernon only allowed 1 baserunner on a hit by pitch but, thanks to a game-ending double play, still faced the minimum in his lone inning of work. Vernon has given up just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs in 6 innings during his debut season, though he has hit 2 batters and struck out just 5. Still, an awesome start.
The offense was equally strong, and there were quite a few standout days. Left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) hasn’t had the best start to the year after a breakout 2024, but Tuesday was a huge step in the right direction, as the 19-year old went 3-5 with a double, bumping his OPS to .694 and his wRC+ to 89. Even though it hasn’t been the best start for Diaz, he’s hit safely in 13 out of 15 games this year, and 13 of the last 14.
Also having the hit hat trick was second baseman Jean Carlos Sio, who hit 3-4 and stole a base. Sio is having a pretty decent year, though he had a similarly decent year in 2024 at the same level, and didn’t get an advancement this year.
Right fielder Carlos Gutierrez, shortstop Jose Ramos, and first baseman Jakob Christian (No. 30 CPL) all had multi-hit days, with Gutierrez stealing a base, Ramos swiping a pair of bags, and Christian bopping a double. Christian, who has a .953 OPS and a 141 wRC+ this year, is on quite a tear. Over the last 5 games, the 2024 5th-round pick has hit 10-21 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 3 stolen bases, and 11 RBI. Keep it up, Jakob!
Home run tracker
AA Bryce Eldridge (1)
Wednesday schedule
Sacramento: at El Paso, day game almost over already (SP: Mason Black)
Richmond: at Akron, 3:35 p.m. PT (SP: John Michael Bertrand)
Eugene: at Spokane, 6:35 p.m. PT (SP: Josh Bostick)
San Jose: vs. Fresno, 6:00 p.m. PT (SP: Niko Mazza)