Yesterday on the farm.
Four games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League affiliates to cover from Thursday. AA Richmond was set to resume Wednesday’s postponed game, but again got rained out. They’ll try to finish that game today as part of a partial doubleheader, with an honest-to-goodness doubleheader scheduled for Sunday. Which means, once again, that you have to wait a little longer to hear about Joe Whitman striking out 11 batters!
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
Two small bits of news. AAA first baseman and outfielder Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL), who is on the 7-Day IL, was assigned to the ACL to begin a rehab assignment. And Low-A San Jose second baseman Ryan Reckley (No. 35 CPL) was demoted to the ACL to try and get his bat on track. More on them later.
AAA Sacramento (23-25)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers) 9-5
Box score
The River Cats, a day after signing and debuting Andrew Knizner, went for the famous 3 catcher lineup, starting Max Stassi behind the dish, Logan Porter at first base, and Knizner as the designated hitter. Kind of hilarious!
The best performances came from third baseman Devin Mann and second baseman Osleivis Basabe. Mann hit 2-5 with a 2-run home run and a strikeout, while Basabe went 2-2 with a double, a hit by pitch, and a sacrifice fly, though he also committed an error (as did Porter in his foray at first base). Neither player is having a notable offensive season, but Basabe is close enough to passable on offense (.700 OPS, 87 wRC+), while playing strong defense, that he could potentially get called up if anything happened to Christian Koss, given that he’s on the 40-man roster.
Speaking of players on the 40-man roster, an update on the notable names in Sacramento’s lineup: center fielder Grant McCray hit 2-5 with a triple and 2 strikeouts, and now has a .693 OPS and an 89 wRC+, and left fielder Marco Luciano hit 1-5 with a double and a strikeout, and is sporting a .739 OPS and a 103 wRC+.
an easy triple from grant mccray extends the river cats lead even more ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/k5YAhJ69Fd
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) May 23, 2025
Not a very good pitching day. RHP Mason Black (No. 7 CPL) had a difficult day at the office, and really just didn’t have much control. Black did go 5 innings deep and only allowed 2 runs, but he gave up 4 hits, walked 3 batters, and hit a batter, struck out only 3, and threw just 49 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
Black has really struggled with control lately. In his last 3 starts, he has 10 walks in 15.1 innings, while striking out just 12 batters and giving up 10 runs. And as a result, his ERA has ballooned to 4.74 and his FIP to 4.68.
It’s really hard to figure out what Black’s future is. He’s too good to not be an intriguing prospect still, but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be able to cut it as a Major League starter. And his stuff isn’t overpowering or electric enough to warrant a move to the bullpen. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
High-A Eugene (22-20)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 6-5
Box score
Hey, it’s a 6-game winning streak for the Emeralds! And they did it in dramatic fashion, with a 4-run 8th inning, though they nearly gave it away in the 9th.
A lot of fun offensive performances in this one, but the best belonged to left fielder Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL). Cox had a dynamic all-around game, hitting 2-4 with a home run, a hit by pitch, a strikeout, and a stolen base.
Power is more of a fun added bonus than an expectation with Cox — it was just his 2nd homer of the year, and his .130 isolated slugging is 25th out of 48 Northwest League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances. His offense is right at league average, with a .718 OPS and a 99 wRC+, but he’s now up to 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts, and is playing exceptional defense, even if he’s displaced to a corner rather than his natural home in center.
‼️GET PRANKED ‼️
Jonah Cox hits the first HR in the rebranded Pranksters jerseys. This opposite field missile sneaks just over the fence for his 2nd HR of the season!#Ems70 @JonahCox02 pic.twitter.com/NrgBpreUV5
— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) May 23, 2025
Right fielder Scott Bandura also had a dynamic game, and he’s been having a lot of those lately. He hit a beautiful 4-5 with a double and 2 stolen bases, and don’t look now but the 2023 7th-round pick has an .876 OPS and a 142 wRC+. Bandura has even less power than Cox — his .112 isolated slugging is 32nd out of those 48 hitters — but he has a .328 batting average, is striking out just 21.5% of the time, and now has 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts. What a season the lefty is having!
Mr. Clutch!
Scott Bandura comes through again, tying the game at 2 with a 2-out 2-bagger. 2’s gone wild!#Ems70 pic.twitter.com/ErnEKcLTRN
— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) May 23, 2025
Shortstop Cole Foster hit 1-2 with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. It was, remarkably, Foster’s 1st double of the year, and just his 3rd extra-base hit. It’s been a very tough season for the 2023 3rd-round pick, but he’s been much, much better this week.
LHP Cesar Perdomo had a bit of a funny start. Like Black, he struggled to find the strike zone, tossing just 47 of 78 pitches for strikes. But that only resulted in 2 walks in 5 innings which, combined with 2 hits, tagged him for 2 runs. And the best part? 8 strikeouts!
Perdomo’s numbers aren’t very good this year, as he has a 4.71 ERA and a 5.31 FIP. He’s sure been finding better form lately, though. In April, the 23-year old had 19 strikeouts against 8 walks (and 2 hit batters) in 20.2 innings; so far in May he has 21 strikeouts against just 3 walks (and no hit batters) in 21.1 innings.
RHP Cameron Pferrer pitched a perfect inning of relief with 2 strikeouts. It was Pferrer’s 4th consecutive scoreless outing, during which time he’s pitched 6 innings and given up just 1 hit and 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. He has a 3.38 ERA but just a 6.13 FIP with Eugene following an early-season promotion.
Low-A San Jose (23-19)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 16-2
Box score
What a sensational offensive performance for the Baby Giants, who certainly have a large number of bats capable of having spectacular games. And many of them did exactly that on Thursday, though no one had a better game than catcher Drew Cavanaugh, who remains one of the best stories of the season.
Cavanaugh, a left-handed hitter taken in the 17th round in 2023 had a superstar day, hitting 3-4 with a home run, a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout.
With the blast — his 5th in just 18 games with San Jose this year — Cavanaugh has already surpassed the career mark that he entered the season with. He has matching .313 marks for both his batting average and isolated slugging, which is damn impressive on both counts, and has a 1.062 OPS and a 174 wRC+ with the Baby Giants this year (he also had a 5-game cameo in Sacramento where he served as an emergency fill-in while Max Stassi was on the IL).
Home Run No. 5 for @drewcav1 goes left center on a 3-2 heater! #OppoPop
A solo shot in the top of the 2nd gives the @SJGiants an 8-2 lead. #SjGiants pic.twitter.com/o64tRfwZ2Q
— Tom Cavanaugh (@tcav30) May 23, 2025
Cavanaugh is going to need to keep this up for quite a while to emerge as a notable prospect, but he’s been such a wonderful story in the early going this year.
The players at the corners also had strong games, with first baseman Jakob Christian (No. 30 CPL) and third baseman Robert Hipwell (No. 25 CPL) each reaching base a trio of times with some power. Christian hit 1-4 with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, and 2 strikeouts, while Hipwell went 2-5 with a triple, a walk, and a strikeout. The former has a solid .823 OPS and 116 wRC+, while the latter is trying to get things going, with a .747 OPS and a 106 wRC+. He’s been much better lately.
A trio of hitters were on-base machines: right fielder Carlos Gutierrez hit 3-5 with a walk, bumping his OPS to .855 and his wRC+ to 139; center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 8 CPL) went 4-6, which boosted his OPS to .777 and his wRC+ to 115; and left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) also hit 4-6, albeit with a strikeout, which boosted his OPS to .864 and his wRC+ to 86. He’s been starting to turn his season around well.
It was a 2-player game on the mound, with RHPs Drake George and Cale Lansville handling all 9 innings. George was okay, giving up 8 baserunners and 2 runs in 5 innings, while striking out 3. Lansville, on the other hand, was fantastic, as he tossed 4 shutout innings with just a single and a walk allowed, while striking out 5 batters.
Lansville has really been struggling this year. The 2023 14th-round pick posted a 9.00 ERA and a 6.11 FIP in 5 starts with Eugene, got demoted, and struggled in his 1st 2 outings of the year with San Jose. Hopefully this is the start of him turning things around!
Arizona Complex League (9-6)
ACL Giants beat the ACL Reds 7-4
Box score
The big news out of Papago is that Sacramento first baseman/outfielder Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) started a rehab assignment. Playing at 1st, Bericoto dominated on Thursday, hitting 2-3 with both a home run and a double. There’s a reason he’s in AAA, not rookie ball!
Designated hitter Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL) continued his rehab, and hit 1-3 with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout. He’s been hitting pretty well during his rehab stint, though he’s still mostly a DH, and very rarely playing at shortstop.
Second baseman Ryan Reckley (No. 35 CPL, 20 years, 2022 IFA) made his return to the ACL, after struggling horrifically in San Jose and getting reassigned. It was a nice return, as he went 2-4 with a triple and a strikeout. Hopefully he can start to find some rhythm.
It wasn’t a very good pitching day. RHP Marlon Franco (22 years, 2019 IFA) got the start and pitched well, giving up just 3 hits, a hit batter, and 1 run in 4.1 innings, while striking out 4. After 4 years in the DSL, Franco is getting his chance stateside and he’s been making the most of it so far with a 2.57 ERA, though he has just 11 strikeouts against 5 walks in 14 innings.
Home run tracker
AAA Devin Mann (3 total, 1 in AAA)
High-A Jonah Cox (2)
Low-A Drew Cavanaugh (5)
ACL Victor Bericoto (5 total, 1 in ACL)
Friday schedule
Sacramento: at Oklahoma City, 5:05 p.m. PT (SP: Juan Mercedes)
Richmond: resumption doubleheader at Binghamton, 2:00 p.m. PT (SP: John Michael Bertrand, maybe)
Eugene: vs. Vancouver, 6:35 p.m. PT (SP: Brayan Palencia)
San Jose: at Fresno, 7:05 p.m. PT (SP: Jacob Bresnahan)