Yesterday’s action on the Giants farm.
Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball teams on Tuesday, as High-A Eugene had a rare Tuesday off. Let’s dive into the action!
Link to the 2024 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions are the positions played in that game.
News
Just some small injury news. AA Richmond RHP Mat Olsen, who had struggled in 2 outings this year, was moved to the 7-Day IL, while infielder Dilan Rosario was activated.
AAA Sacramento (11-5)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Baseball Club (Dodgers) 3-2
Box score
It’s not exactly the same as beating the Dodgers at the Major League level, but it’s still fun to beat them in the Minors. I never say no to a Giants affiliate beating a Dodgers affiliate, which is what the River Cats did in their first game against Oklahoma City since the team rebranded as a “Baseball Club” instead of the Dodgers.
Once again, the star of the show was third baseman Casey Schmitt, who has turned his season around in a hurry. Apparently Schmitt is now the best home run hitter alive, and wasted no time reminding everyone of that. He came up to bat in the first inning and gave the River Cats all the runs they would need — and all they would get — with one swing of the bat.
HOLY SCHMITT pic.twitter.com/nb6D3QftUa
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 16, 2024
Schmitt added a single later on, finishing the day 2-4. So here’s how his season looks:
First 9 games: 4-37, 0 home runs, 1 double, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Next 6 games: 12-25, 4 home runs, 3 strikeouts
It’s hard to see how Schmitt will get playing time in the Majors this year. Matt Chapman is one of the most durable baseball players on the planet, and Tyler Fitzgerald fills a super-utility role that Schmitt can’t replicate.
But if Schmitt continues to hit like this — which is a big “if” given that we’re talking about a 6-game sample in the Pacific Coast League — the Giants will need to get him in San Francisco at some point. There’s a pretty good chance that Chapman will opt out of his contract and enter free agency this offseason, and if Schmitt shows any signs of being the heir apparent at third base, the Giants need to end the season with some semblance of an idea as to whether he’s ready to be a big league regular.
Schmitt had the only star day on offense, but more good performances from shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 2 CPL) and right fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 13 CPL) as they continue their strong seasons. Luciano had a delightful day, hitting 2-3 with a double and a walk, though he also had a strikeout and was caught stealing. Ramos hit 2-4, though he struck out twice.
As is seemingly always the case with that pair, some baseballs were dealt serious damage when colliding with the bat. Luciano, who now has a .904 OPS and a 144 wRC+, hit his double at a blistering 107.0 mph, while Ramos, who has a 1.125 OPS and a 174 wRC+, saw his second single leave the bat at 102.3 mph. Both players are still striking out more than the Giants would like to see, with 27.5% and 27.0% strikeout rates, respectively, but it’s hard to argue with the production.
Catcher Blake Sabol also hit 2-4 as he tries to turn it on after a cold start to the season. It was his first multi-hit game of the year, though he’s still looking for his first extra-base hit.
While the River Cats had a clear star on offense, Schmitt might not have had the best day for Sacramento. That distinction might belong to RHP Carson Seymour (No. 22 CPL) who was absolute fire on Tuesday, and continues to seem confused as to what the big fuss about pitching in the CPL is.
Seymour pounded the strike zone, throwing 47 of 69 pitches for strikes, and not issuing any walks. But OKC’s batters couldn’t do much with all those strikes — in 5 innings of work, Seymour allowed just 4 hits, and just 1-extra base hit. The result was just 1 run to his name to go along with 7 strikeouts, as he lowered his ERA to 2.16 and his FIP to 4.38.
Just as he did last year, Seymour was a little slow with the strikeout stuff early to start this season, so it was nice to see him pile up some Ks. He now has 15 strikeouts to 4 walks in 16.2 innings in his debut AAA campaign. Seymour will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, though it seems quite feasible that he’ll already be on the 40-man roster by the time November rolls around.
RHP Randy Rodríguez (No. 33 CPL) and LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 36 CPL), the most exciting relievers on the River Cats, had some hiccups but limited the damage. Rodríguez gave up 1 hit and 1 run in 1.1 innings, with 1 strikeout, bringing his ERA to 1.50 and his FIP to 3.90, while Sánchez allowed a hit and 3 walks in 1.2 innings, but kept runs off the board, giving him a 0.90 ERA and a 5.50 FIP.
AA Richmond (4-6)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 3-2
Box score
There were a few notable performances in this game, but none was more exciting than who stood on the mound for Richmond in the first inning: LHP Reggie Crawford (No. 8 CPL). After missing Spring Training and the start of the season with a mild lat injury, Crawford made his 2024 debut — and his AA debut.
He was, not surprisingly, limited to just an inning of action, but he certainly made the most of that inning. His pitches had life and velocity — he was in the high-90s, per the usual — and a walk was the only baserunner allowed. He hit the strike zone on 11 out of 19 pitches, and notched strikeout. Not only that, but the strikeout was an impressive one, as he punched out Stone Garrett — not only a right-handed hitter, but a quality Major League bat on a rehab assignment.
Got ’em!
Reggie Crawford gets Stone Garrett swinging for his first strikeout in Double-A. pic.twitter.com/Cr7rFaiTk5
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2024
Crawford remains one of the most fascinating prospects I can ever remember following. The 1st-round pick in 2021 has some elite pitches, and the Giants can’t talk enough about him. He’s also hilariously inexperienced — this outing pushed him to 20 innings, total, as a professional pitcher … after just 8 collegiate innings, and another 8.1 in summer leagues.
We just don’t know. But damn if he isn’t exciting.
Crawford’s return pushed LHP John Michael Bertrand into a piggybacking starter role, but the 2022 10th-round pick was unfazed, giving up just 6 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs, and 1 earned run in 5 strong innings, with 4 strikeouts, and finding the zone 55 times in his 82 pitches. Bertrand, who has a 2.40 ERA and a 4.44 FIP, is all about control: he’s sporting a 52.0% groundball rate (which is actually significantly lower than last year), and has walked just 3 batters in 15 innings. He’ll never be a big strikeout guy, and the Giants are likely just fine with that.
Not too much happening on the offensive front, but first baseman Logan Wyatt is starting to find his bat, as he smoked a 2nd-inning solo home run. Wyatt started the season slow, but this was his 2nd consecutive game with a big fly.
SEE. YOU. LATER.
1️⃣0️⃣1️⃣ mph off the bat as Logan Wyatt gives us an early lead! pic.twitter.com/qtdLNayygo
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2024
Center fielder Grant McCray (No. 12 CPL) is also starting to turn his numbers around. He struck out twice, which continues to be a concern, but he also drew a walk and hit a double. After hitting 1-20 with 11 strikeouts and 0 extra-base hits in his first 6 AA games, McCray has gone 3-7 with 2 extra-base hits and 2 strikeouts in his last 2 games.
But the brutal starts continue for shortstop Will Wilson and right fielder Vaun Brown (No. 17 CPL). Wilson hit 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, and on the year has a .389 OPS, a 14 wRC+, and 9 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. Brown hit 1-3 with a strikeout, and now has a .292 OPS, a -23 wRC+, and a terrifying 17 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances, which is only 11 fewer than I would have.
Low-A San Jose (4-5)
San Jose Giants lost to the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 14-2
Box score
A blowout loss, with about as many good performances as you expect in a blowout loss. Let’s not linger on the Baby Giants too long today.
RHP Trent Harris had a sensational game, pitching the 7th and 8th innings. Harris faced the minimum in those innings, and struck out 5 of the 6 batters … with the 6th being a groundout. At 25, Harris — an undrafted free agent last year — is quite old for the level, and he’s doing what you’d hope such a player does: blowing away the competition. He’s allowed just 1 walk in 4 no-hit innings this year and, going back to last year, has 12 consecutive outings without an earned run.
The rest of the pitching was awful, as RHPs Ubert Mejias, Junior Flores, and Alix Hernandez all had games they’ll want to soon forget about.
The offense wasn’t much better, with just 5 walks and 5 hits — all singles. Only a pair of players reached base twice: designated hitter Elian Rayo, who hit 2-4 to bring his OPS to .850 and his wRC+ to 121, and third baseman Jean Carlos Sio, who hit 0-2 but drew 2 walks, bringing his OPS to .583 and his wRC+ to 68. Both players are in their debut A-Ball seasons.
Home run tracker
AAA Casey Schmitt (4)
AA Logan Wyatt (2)