Minor League roundup, 6/17: Bryce Eldridge leads the homer brigade

Yesterday on the farm.

After some much-needed time off, the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball roundups are back! I won’t recap everything that happened while I was on vacation, so we’ll just jump in as if no time was missed … with a few exceptions, of course.

Most of the Giants affiliates were in action on Tuesday, but not all of them. AA Richmond had their game postponed due to poor weather — they’ll make it up with a doubleheader on Thursday.

Now let’s get 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.

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News

The big news, of course, is that the Giants traded for Rafael Devers over the weekend, which not only cost them a pair of Major Leaguers, but a pair of exciting prospects having strong seasons: High-A Eugene outfielder James Tibbs III (No. 3 CPL) and ACL RHP Jose Bello (No. 44 CPL). Best of luck to both of them!

A few other bits of news. AA Richmond outfielder Vaun Brown, who had been placed on the 7-Day IL in May, and recently started a rehab assignment in the ACL, moved his rehab to Eugene. Joining him there is Richmond LHP Nick Zwack, who was dominant in his ACL rehab after missing all of 2024.

Also moving to Eugene is infielder Jose Ramos, who was promoted from Low-A San Jose. Catcher Jorge Ramirez received the rare in-season DSL-to-ACL promotion, while San Jose RHPs Cale Lansville and Darien Smith were placed on the 7-Day IL.

And finally, San Jose LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 31 CPL) was named the California League Pitcher of the Week!

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AAA Sacramento (34-36)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 12-10
Box score

After back-to-back games with just 1 run scored, the River Cats offense finally broke out on Tuesday, and they did it with the long ball, smacking 4 home runs on the day, which accounted for half of the team’s runs. And each of the 4 was exciting!

The big story in Sacramento is, of course, first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL). But that story has changed a little bit in the last few days. The Giants promoted Eldridge to Sacramento at about the same time that they designated LaMonte Wade Jr. for assignment, which seemed to signal that Eldridge was close to debuting.

But the addition of Rafael Devers — who will play some first base, notably — changes the equation a little. There’s still plenty of space for Eldridge when he forces the issue, but there’s no longer pressure for him to make his way to San Francisco and fix the offense. He can take things at his own pace.

Perhaps it was that freedom, or, more likely, just coincidence that led to Eldridge having a dynamic day on Tuesday, hitting 2-4 with a home run and a walk.

The home run is as beautiful as it gets, but the Giants are likely just as excited by the fact that Eldridge didn’t have a strikeout. And for you underlying metric freaks out there, 1 of Eldridge’s 2 outs was hit at a whopping 109.3 mph.

There’s a lot to love about what Eldridge is doing in Sacramento, even if he has just a .620 OPS, a 51 wRC+, and questionable defense. Give it time!

Just 2 pitches after Eldridge went deep, designated hitter Marco Luciano did the same, as part of a 2-5 day that also featured a double and a strikeout.

It’s easy to view Luciano’s season as a disappointment, and I’m not here to tell you to feel otherwise. But, with James Tibbs III having been traded, Luciano’s bomb — his 12th of the year — puts him in solo 1st place on the farm (Eldridge, with 10, is the only other Giants prospect with double-digit dingers). Yes, Luciano is getting his blasts in the Pacific Coast League, and yes, his .224 batting average is extremely worrisome, and sure, this being his final option year matters a lot. But he’s still provided a lot of reasons to think that maybe the bat will come together in the next few weeks, months, or years. But a .758 OPS, a 99 wRC+, and a 30.2% strikeout rate means that Luciano still has a bit to prove before he’s making his 2025 MLB debut.

The arrow keeps trending upwards for center fielder Grant McCray, who has put his slow start way, way, way behind him. It was another dynamic day for the excellent athlete, who hit 2-4 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, and a strikeout.

McCray’s overall numbers — he has a .757 OPS and a 102 wRC+ — are more fine than exciting, but they’ve been electric as of late. The lefty has a 9-game hitting streak, and over his last 13 games he’s hit 21-53 with 6 home runs, 1 triple, 2 doubles, 4 walks, and 4 stolen bases. After forgetting how to get extra-base hits at the start of the season, McCray has been collecting them like Pokémon lately. If he keeps this up, he could steal Daniel Johnson’s spot on the Major League roster … until then, he’s likely back to being someone that the Giants feel comfortable about being the backup plan should anything happen to Jung Hoo Lee, Mays forbid.

Rounding out the dinger party was one of the happy stories on the farm this year, catcher Drew Cavanaugh, who hit 2-5 with a 2-run blast and a strikeout.

Cavanaugh, the team’s 17th-round pick in 2023, is on loan from High-A Eugene given Sacramento’s catcher shortage (Logan Porter and Andrew Knizner got called up to San Francisco, and both Max Stassi and Sam Huff are currently injured). It’s always fun when the emergency promotions play well — Cavanaugh now has a AAA home run before playing a single game in AA!

The lefty entered the year with just 2 home runs in 64 games through his 1st 2 seasons … and he already has 7 big flies this year, in just 42 games. He had just been promoted from Low-A San Jose to Eugene (where he played just 1 game) when the Giants moved him to Sacramento. It’ll be fun to see him back in Eugene, playing everyday, and hopefully keeping this production up.

On the mound, it was another so-so performance for LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 2 CPL), who can’t quite find the form that led to a dominant stretch in May. The 2022 2nd-round pick went 5.2 innings in this one, but gave up 9 hits (including 4 extra-base hits), and got tagged for 4 runs. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was excellent though, with 7 Ks to just 1 free pass, though he threw just 62 of 99 pitches for strikes.

With Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks traded, Whisenhunt is now likely the next man up, and the Giants will surely come calling soon, since Landen Roupp has to be on some sort of innings restriction. I still have my doubts — Whisenhunt has a 4.10 ERA, a 4.44 FIP, and just 8.1 strikeouts per 9 innings — but there’s clearly a boatload of talent in his arm, and the Giants are certainly confident in him. He’s certainly in a tough stretch though. Since his headline-grabbing streak of 4 games with 7 innings pitched, Whisenhunt has made 5 starts and thrown 28 innings, while allowing 32 hits (including 4 home runs), 11 walks, and 19 earned runs, with just 17 strikeouts.

RHPs Miguel Díaz and Kai-Wei Teng got rocked in relief, but at least Teng’s outing was funny. He gave up 3 hits and 3 runs in just 1 inning, but struck out 3 batters. RHP Ryan Watson continued his excellent season, striking out 2 in a perfect inning. In his last 9 appearances, Watson (who has a 2.84 ERA and a 3.03 FIP) has tossed 10.1 shutout innings, while allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 14.

High-A Eugene (31-33)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 12-8
Box score

Rest in peace to Eugene’s star-studded outfield. There are many prices to pay for the right to employ Rafael Devers, and one of them is breaking up the High-A outfield trio of James Tibbs III (No. 3 CPL), Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL), and Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL).

Losing his buddy only seemed to motivate Cox though, as he had an ultra-dynamic game, hitting 3-5 with 2 runs batted in, 1 stolen base, and 1 outfield assist (he also had a strikeout and was caught stealing). Cox’s bat has really been struggling lately (he has a .664 OPS and an 81 wRC+), so nice to see him have a good game. Even when he’s not hitting, he’s a menace defensively and on the base paths, where he leads the system with 30 stolen bases in 35 attempts.

But the star was catcher Jack Payton, who put on a show, hitting 3-4 with 2 home runs (though he got a little help with 1 of them), a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. The 2023 11th-round pick has quietly had an excellent season behind the dish (and beside it), hitting for an .806 OPS and a 118 wRC+. Once Cavanaugh returns to Eugene, the Ems are going to have quite an intriguing contingency of late-round 2023 picks behind the plate!

First baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and 2 strikeouts. He had a slow start to the season but is starting to turn things around.

Not a good day on the mound. RHP Shane Rademacher wasn’t at his sharpest in the start, giving up 6 hits and 3 walks in just 3.2 innings, which tagged him for 7 runs, though just 2 of them were earned. Rademacher, who struck out 4 but gave up a pair of home runs, has been struggling a bit following his utterly dominant start to the year. His 0.38 ERA after his 1st May start has ballooned up to 3.04.

RHP Dylan Hecht continued his strong season, and thus his excellent story, throwing 1.1 shutout innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout. The 31-year old now has 1.42 ERA in his debut pro season, albeit with a 3.45 FIP.

Low-A San Jose (40-24)

San Jose Giants lost to the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 8-5
Box scores

A very uninteresting game for the Baby Giants. No one really stood out on offense, and the pitching was poor. RHP Hunter Dryden, last year’s 17th-round pick, had the worst outing of his young career, ceding 10 baserunners and 6 earned runs in just 3.1 innings.

It’s pretty easy to view this game as an outlier, though. This was Dryden’s 11th start … in his 1st 10, he gave up 2 earned runs once, 1 earned run 4 times, and 0 earned runs 5 times. The result? He entered Tuesday’s game with just 6 earned runs total, before doubling that in the loss.

Bad games happen!

RHP Ryan Slater pitched very well in relief though, tossing 2.2 no-hit innings with 1 walk and 1 strikeout. It was the 2nd consecutive multi-inning no-hit appearance for last year’s 18th-round pick, who has a 2.51 ERA and a 3.41 FIP in his debut season.

Shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 3-4. After starting the year injured, Ahuna has fit right in during his brief stint with San Jose, and it’s great to see him playing the field.

Arizona Complex League (24-10)

ACL Giants lost to the ACL Rockies 4-3
Box score

A bad game for the ACL Giants, with really no standout performers at all. No one in the lineup reached base multiple times, and the only extra-base hit was a double by left fielder Rayner Arias (No. 4 CPL, 19 years, 2023 IFA) … but he struck out in his other 2 at-bats and was also caught stealing.

RHP Keyner Martinez (20 years, 2023 IFA) had his 1st stumble in what has been an excellent season, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) in 4.1 innings. But even though it wasn’t his sharpest outing, he still struck out 5, and it’s been fun seeing him start to get stretched out — it seems the Giants view him as a potential starter now. He has a 2.55 ERA, a 3.10 FIP, and 34 strikeouts against just 6 walks in 24.2 innings. Most importantly, however, are the reports from Papago that his stuff looks amazing.

Dominican Summer League Black (10-2)

DSL Giants Black lost to DSL Arizona Red 3-2 (7 innings)
Box score

Shortstop Josuar González (No. 5 CPL, 17 years, 2025 IFA) just keeps on hitting! One of the top international signings in franchise history continued to look more than comfortable at the plate in the DSL, as the switch-hitter went 2-4 with a double, the only extra-base hit of the game for the DSL Black squad (it wasn’t all good, though, as he also had 2 strikeouts, was caught stealing, and committed an error).

We’re still waiting to see it all come together for González, who only has 4 extra-base hits and no home runs. But his bat skills are as advertised: he’s currently riding a 6-game hitting streak, during which time he’s hit 11-25 with 3 walks and just 4 strikeouts. It will be a learning curve, for sure, but we’re not going to complain about a .933 OPS and a 154 wRC+ from a 17-year old middle infielder!

Designated hitter Yosneiker Rivas (19 years, 2023 IFA) also had a nice game, hitting 1-2 with 2 walks and a strikeout, though he was also caught stealing. The lefty is in his 3rd pass through the DSL and is making a case that it should be his last, as he has a .922 OPS and a 141 wRC+.

Excellent relief outings from RHPs Frainer Mejias (19 years, 2023 IFA) and Jeremiah Jones (17 years, 2025 IFA). Mejias allowed just 1 hit in 1.1 shutout innings, while striking out 2 batters. He’s been strong in his 3rd pass through the level, with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Jones was brilliant, striking out all 3 batters he faced. He’s so far shown uncanny command for a 17-year old, with 8 strikeouts against just 1 walk in 6 innings, to go with a 3.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

Dominican Summer League Orange (8-3)

DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Angels 10-4
Box score

A few fun games in this win. Designated hitter Jose Astudillo (21 years, 2021 IFA) was a hit machine, going 4-5 with a quartet of singles. Astudillo is in his 5th pass through the DSL (though he was limited to just 4 games last year), so it’s go time for him. So far he’s making the most of it, with a .424/.500/.545 slash line. That works!

Catcher Miguel Caraballo (16 years, 2025 IFA) had an awesome game, hitting 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit by pitch, though he also had a strikeout and an error (though he nabbed a runner as well!). Caraballo has an .852 OPS and a 130 wRC+ and while sure, it’s only 9 games, he’s also a 16-year old catcher! Pretty cool stuff.

Center fielder Djean Macares (17 years, 2025 IFA) hasn’t had a great start to his debut year after being a fairly high-profile signing, but the had a good game, going 2-5 with a triple and a stolen base, raising his OPS to .520 and his wRC+ to 48. Third baseman Juan Colorado (18 years, 2024 IFA) hit 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base, boosting his OPS to .823 and his wRC+ to 119 in his 2nd pass through the level.

RHP Elkyns Villarreal (18 years, 2024 IFA) had a funny start. On the bad side, he gave up his 1st earned run of the year. On the good side, he didn’t give up a hit! In 3 no-hit innings he walked 3 batters which, paired with some bad defense, tagged him for 2 runs, 1 of which was earned. That’s been the year he’s having: in 9.1 innings he has an ugly 10-to-7 strikeout to walk ratio, but has allowed just 2 hits!

RHP Jose Meza (19 years, 2023 IFA) tossed 3 shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 3. He’s been strong in his 2nd attempt at the DSL, with 10 strikeouts against 3 walks in 8.2 innings.

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Home run tracker

AAA Marco Luciano (12)
AAA Bryce Eldridge (10 total, 3 in AAA)
AAA Grant McCray (9)
AAA Drew Cavanaugh (7 total, 1 in AAA)
High-A Jack Payton x2 (4)

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Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: 6:05 p.m. PT at Salt Lake (SP: Trevor McDonald)
Richmond: 3:00 p.m. PT at Altoona (SP: Manuel Mercedes)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Vancouver (SP: Dylan Carmouche)
San Jose: 6:40 p.m. PT at Modesto (SP: Niko Mazza)