Yesterday on the farm.
Plenty of Minor League Baseball going on for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. All of their stateside affiliates were in action, though the Dominican Summer League teams had the day off.
Let’s jump into it!
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 Giants signed LHP Matt Gage to a Minor League deal and assigned him to AAA Sacramento. Gage has only appeared sparingly in his MLB career, but has great numbers. Catcher/utility player Thomas Gavello was moved up from AA Richmond to Sacramento. It’s unclear if this is a promotion or just some emergency fill-in duty for Gavello, who started the year with High-A Eugene, and only played in 31 games for Richmond.
AAA Sacramento (40-43)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aces (D-Backs) 3-1
Box score
Sometimes an opportunity presents itself where you weren’t expecting, and you take advantage of it. Sometimes you really take advantage of it.
That’s exactly what happened for RHP Kai-Wei Teng on Wednesday. Teng has spent most of his Minor League career developing as a starter, but after a brutal 2024 — which featured an ERA in the 8s in AAA, an ERA in the 9s in his MLB debut, and getting outrighted — the 26-year old from Taiwan has mostly pitched in relief (occasionally long relief) for the River Cats, who have had a very full rotation for most of the year.
But Sacramento needed a fill-in on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, their scheduled starter, RHP Mason Black (No. 7 CPL) was called up to provide reinforcements for the big league squad. And so Teng stepped in and filled the hole in the rotation.
And then he just casually had perhaps the best start of the season for a Sacramento pitcher.
Teng tossed 5 innings and pounded the strike zone — an issue last year when he walked 5.3 batters per 9 innings in AAA — throwing 51 of 72 pitches for strikes. He gave up just 1 hit (a single) and 1 walk. He didn’t allow any runs to score.
And the best part? He struck out 11 batters. 11! In 5 innings! He faced 17 batters and struck out 11 of them!
It’s hard to be more dominant than that, especially since his walk was to the 1st batter he faced. Once he settled in, he was unstoppable. A whopping 22 of his 72 pitches were swinging strikes, which is not just absurd, but represents a wildly encouraging trend for Teng. When he was building a reputation as an intriguing prospect, he did so with a whole bunch of strikeouts — in 2023, he K’d 12.9 batters per 9 innings in AA, and then 10.9 following a promotion to AAA. But last year he not only saw his walk rates leap, but saw his strikeouts plummet, to a confounding 7.3 per 9 innings in AAA.
This year? They’re back. And then some. Teng has boosted his strikeouts per 9 innings to a staggering 14.3 this year (with just 3.3 walks!), and after Wednesday’s performance, you can’t even say that it’s just a boost from pitching in relief.
Still and all, it’s just a 4.54 ERA for Teng, though his FIP sits at a delightful 3.02, and he’s been at his best lately: in his last 7 games, he’s thrown 18.1 innings and allowed just 9 hits, 5 walks, and 4 earned runs, while striking out 33 batters. My goodness.
There have been 61 pitchers in the Pacific Coast League to throw at least 40 innings this year. Out of those 61, Teng ranks 20th in ERA, 1st in FIP, 17th in walks per 9, and 1st in strikeouts per 9 (and, stunningly, almost 3 K/9 better than 3rd place on the list). He’ll probably need to keep this up for a little while longer before he’s in consideration for a role in San Francisco, given that he’s not on the 40-man roster, but he’s sure making a case. I’ll be curious to see if he stays in the Sacramento rotation after this game.
Otherwise, not much to highlight. Third baseman Devin Mann had a very nice game, hitting 1-2 with a home run and a walk. It’s perhaps too little, too late since he didn’t hit well enough to earn a roster spot when the Giants had a trio of third basemen hit the IL, 2 of which are nearing a return, but still nice to see.
He’s the Mann!!
Devin kicked us off with a homer in the 5th tonight pic.twitter.com/kgZnMQXohH
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) July 3, 2025
Center fielder Grant McCray also had a good game, hitting 1-2 with a walk, a sacrifice fly, and a stolen base. I still would like to see him steal more bases, but he’s at 19 on the year.
AA Richmond (24-51)
Richmond Flying Squirrels split a doubleheader against the Chesapeake Baysox (Orioles), winning 6-4 and losing 3-0
Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score
Not a traditional doubleheader, as Richmond’s Tuesday game made it a few innings in before getting postponed, and it was finished up on Wednesday. The offense was fine in the 1st game, with a few nice performances, but it was nonexistent in Game 2, when the Squirrels mustered just 1 hit and 0 walks. Yikes.
The best performances in Game 1 came from a pair of struggling hitters: right fielder Vaun Brown went 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, while shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 12 CPL) hit 3-4. They both are trying hard to get their seasons on track (especially Brown, who is running out of time).
It’s a three-hit day for Arty and we still have a second game to play pic.twitter.com/uuE7eacAPG
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) July 2, 2025
Game 2 was all about the pitching. LHP Seth Lonsway was hot-and-cold in his start, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings while allowing 8 baserunners (6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter). But he showed some nice strikeout stuff, K’ing 7 batters. Lonsway isn’t much of a strikeout artist, but the 2021 6th-round pick has shown an uptick in that category this year, with 8.5 per 9 innings, after having 7.2 during his stint with Richmond last year.
The bullpen that followed him was great. RHP Will Bednar (No. 42 CPL) allowed 2 hits in a scoreless inning, but struck out the side, while RHP Marques Johnson K’d 2 batters in a perfect inning. Bednar’s strikeout stuff has been on display all year long, but he’s really struggled with walks and runs … until recently. Over his last handful of outings, he seems to have figured things out. Check it out:
First 13 games: 16 innings, 16 hits, 22 walks, 17 earned runs, 26 strikeouts
Last 5 games: 7.2 innings, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 14 strikeouts
It’s still a small sample size, but that looks like someone who is putting the pieces together! Bednar’s strikeout numbers have been elite this year. His 14.8 strikeouts per 9 innings ranks 2nd among the 172 Eastern League pitchers with at least 20 innings through this year, and 2nd in the Giants farm. If he can keep controlling the walks, he’ll turn into something very, very, very interesting. As it is, his FIP has dropped to 3.08, though his ERA is still 6.46.
As for Johnson, it was his 4th game since getting promoted, and he still has yet to allow a run. In 5.1 AA innings, he has 7 strikeouts against just 1 walk, with only 2 hits allowed.
High-A Eugene (40-36)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 10-2
Box score
A very nice performance for starting LHP Cesar Perdomo, who shut down the Hops for 5 scoreless innings while allowing just 3 hits and a walk, and striking out 5. The overall numbers are middling for the 23-year old, who has a 4.19 ERA and a 4.72 FIP, but he’s been very strong lately. In his last 3 starts, Perdomo — a Venezuelan in his 3rd season — has pitched 17 innings and given up just 11 hits, 3 walks, and 1 earned run, while striking out 13. He’s definitely moving in the right direction after a slow start to the year.
RHP Liam Simon pitched a perfect inning of relief. It was the 6th time in his last 7 games that he hasn’t allowed a run, and the 7th time in his last 9 games that he hasn’t allowed a hit. You can see the rust starting to rinse off for Simon, who has an electric arm but has been greatly limited by injuries: the 2022 5th-round pick entered the year with just 42.2 innings thrown in his career.
Left fielder Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL) had a nice game in the batter’s box, hitting 2-3 with a triple, a walk, and a strikeout. Cox’s game is built on speed and defense and juuust enough offense (he has a .724 OPS and a 98 wRC+), but he’s been hitting much better lately. In his last 7 games, he’s 9-25 with 1 home run, 2 triples, 2 doubles, and 8 walks. Delightful!
Third baseman Dayson Croes also had a stellar game, hitting 2-3 with a double and 2 walks. All he’s done is hit since the Giants signed him in April, and he’s up to a .927 OPS and a 153 wRC+.
Low-A San Jose (50-27)
San Jose Giants lost to the Stockton Ports (A’s) 8-6
Box score
Not a good pitching day for the Baby Giants. RHPs Niko Mazza and Ryan Slater, who have both been excellent in their debut seasons, got rocked a bit. Mazza gave up 8 baserunners and 4 runs in 5 innings of work, while Slater ceded 7 baserunners and 3 runs in just 2 innings.
RHP Evan Gray, also in his debut season, also didn’t pitch particularly well, but at least his line is a fun one to look at: 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 1 run, 1 earned run, and 1 strikeout. 1s for the win! Or the loss, in this game.
On offense, the bulk of the damage was done by the middle infield duo of second baseman Jean Carlos Sio and shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL). Sio, hitting leadoff, went 2-4 with a triple, a walk, and a stolen base. On a San Jose squad full of notable names, Sio has flown under the radar, but the lefty is having a delightful season, with a .767 OPS, a 117 wRC+, 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts, and just a 12.6% strikeout rate. He’s been on an absolute tear lately: in his last 7 games, he’s a blistering 15-29 with a home run, a triple, 3 doubles, and 5 walks. Stay hot, and then head to Eugene, Jean Carlos!
Ahuna hit 3-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, though he was also caught stealing. It’s great to see him finally healthy and playing both sides of the field, and he hasn’t missed a beat in the batter’s box, with a .796 OPS, a 124 wRC+, and 7 stolen bases in 9 attempts in 25 games with San Jose.
Arizona Complex League (31-13)
ACL Giants lost to the ACL Dodgers 2-1
Box score
An elite pitching performance in Papago. The worst performance belonged to the highest-profile pitcher on the team, as starting RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 28 CPL, 18 years, 2024 IFA) gave up the only 2 runs that the Giants allowed. Still, it was an exciting performance from Cayama, who struck out 5 batters in 4.1 innings, and allowed less than a runner per inning (2 hits and 2 walks). After gaining hype during his debut season in the DSL last year, Cayama has lived up to the billing in his stateside debut, posting a 1.99 ERA and a 3.20 FIP, with 52 strikeouts to 15 walks in 40.2 innings.
After Cayama came pure dominance. AAA LHP Chris Wright continued his rehab and was virtually untouchable, allowing a hit in 1.2 shutout innings while striking out 4 batters. Wright was once one of the top strikeout arms on the farm, but he lost all of 2024 due to injury, and has thrown just 6 rehab innings this year. Here’s hoping he’s back in Sacramento soon.
RHP Melvin Pineda (21 years, 2022 IFA) struck out 3 batters in 2 shutout innings, with 1 hit allowed. Like Wright, Pineda lost all of 2024 due to injury, though unlike Wright, this is the level he’s assigned at, so he’s not rehabbing. He is dominating, however, as he has 16 strikeouts against just 2 walks in 8.1 innings, while also giving up only 3 walks and 0 earned runs. Might be time for A-ball!
Rounding it out was RHP Fernando Vasquez (23 years, 2022 IFA) who faced 3 batters and struck out all 3 of them. Just like Wright and Pineda, Vasquez missed all of 2024 due to injury … except he also missed all of 2023 and 2022, as well. He came back with a vengeance, dominated the DSL for a few games, and then got the rare in-season promotion to the ACL, where he has struck out 11 batters in … wait for it … 4.2 innings, while giving up just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run.
There are some exciting arms in Arizona, that’s for sure!
Which is good because there was no offense in this game. The ACL Giants had just 3 hits and 4 walks, with no one reaching base multiple times. The only extra-base hit came courtesy of designated hitter Cole Foster (23 years, 2023 3rd-round), who went 1-4 with a double and a strikeout in his 1st game of the year on the complex. Foster started the year in High-A but struggled mightily and was placed on the Development List in mid-June. Now he’s back on the field, hoping to find his rhythm in the ACL.
Home run tracker
AAA Devin Mann (4) [2 in AAA]
Thursday schedule
Sacramento: vs. Reno, 7:05 p.m. PT (SP: Juan Mercedes)
Richmond: vs. Chesapeake, 3:35 p.m. PT (SP: Joe Whitman)
Eugene: vs. Hillsboro, 6:35 p.m. PT (SP: Shane Rademacher)
San Jose: at Stockton, 7:05 p.m. PT (SP: Charlie McDaniel)