Yesterday’s action on the farm.
All four of the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates were back in action on Wednesday, so let’s break down the games!
Link to the 2024 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions are the positions played in that game.
AAA Sacramento (11-6)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Oklahoma City Baseball Club (Dodgers) 4-3
Box score
Well, certainly not a good game for Sacramento’s high-profile prospects, who will all want to forget about Wednesday and skip straight to Thursday, with hopes of better days. That was the case for the pitchers and hitters alike, as LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 4 CPL) once again struggled mightily.
Whisenhunt is spinning his wheels a bit trying to get acclimated to AAA as, aside from injuries, he’s dealing with his first struggles since turning pro. He has been struggling with command, and in this game walked 3 batters of the 16 batters he faced, with just 39 of his 66 pitches being strikes. And he’s been struggling with having the ball hit hard against him, as 2 of the 3 hits he allowed went for extra bases, including a home run.
The final damage was 2 runs against Whisenhunt in 2.2 innings, though he did do what he does best: miss bats. He tallied 6 strikeouts, and got a very impressive 11 swing-throughs on the day.
It’s not even close to worry time for Whisenhunt, who was drafted less than 2 years ago and is already in AAA despite having thrown just 77 innings in his pro career. But after a solid AAA debut, his last 3 games have been a rude awakening: 7.2 innings, 15 hits, 9 walks, 4 home runs, 15 runs, 14 earned runs, and 11 strikeouts.
After RHP Cody Stashak got roughed up a little bit, the bullpen settled down with delightful outings from RHPs Sean Hjelle and Clay Helvey. Hjelle, making his 5th rehab appearance (and 3rd with Sacramento), struck out 2 batters in a scoreless inning, giving up just a hit. Helvey, recently promoted after RHP R.J. Dabovich (No. 40 CPL) was placed on the IL, pitched 3 scoreless frames, giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk, with 3 strikeouts. He’s having a fantastic start to the year: in 4 outings (2 each in AA and AAA), Helvey has allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk in 8.1 scoreless innings, while striking out 11 batters.
On the hitting side of things, the top prospects had slightly better days than Whisenhunt, but nothing particularly notable. The best outing from that crew belonged to center fielder Luis Matos, who hit 1-4 with a double and an outfield assist. Matos continues to hit quite middlingly following a fantastic spring and a brilliant debut game: he’s sitting at just a .698 OPS and a 74 wRC+. Shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 2 CPL) and left fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 13 CPL) both hit 0-4 with a strikeout, and third baseman Casey Schmitt hit 1-4 with a strikeout.
The best day on offense belonged to right fielder Chase Pinder, who hit 1-3 with a home run and a walk. Always love dingers!
Pinder powers his first homer of the szn pic.twitter.com/YUVWJH7Hgi
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 17, 2024
And first baseman Blake Sabol hit 2-4, marking his 2nd consecutive multi-hit game, after not having any in the season to that point. He also stole a base, though he’s still looking for his first extra-base hit of the season.
AA Richmond (4-7)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 5-4 (11 innings)
Box score
I feel like I’ve said this a few times this year, but while one exciting pitcher named Carson was struggling in AAA, another was excelling in AA. It was yet another standout outing for RHP Carson Ragsdale (No. 32 CPL), who continues to prove that the questions about him surround his arm health, not his arm talent.
Thankfully he’s in good health right now, and the results are fairly magnificent. He gave up just 1 hit and 1 run in 5 innings in this game, while striking out 5 batters, though he did struggle with command at times, issuing 3 walks.
Walks have been the only problem for Ragsdale this year, as he’s allowed 9 of them in just 13 innings of work … but he’s given up only 6 hits, and struck out 17 batters. Not bad at all for the AA debut of someone who was limited to just 33.1 innings over the last 2 seasons.
Another encouraging outing for RHP Eric Silva (No. 41 CPL), who is continuing to show a bounceback to his 2022 levels of life and velocity on his pitches. It wasn’t a very clean game for Silva, as he gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run in 1.1 innings, but he struck out 4 batters. His 12.0 strikeouts per 9 innings is much more in line with his 2022 Low-A figure (10.4) than his 2023 High-A mark (8.6).
ER-IC SIL-VA
More baseball! pic.twitter.com/KT1tqPdDiW
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 18, 2024
Not a very notable offensive game for the Squirrels, who had 9 hits but just 1 extra-base hit. That extra-base hit did some damage though, as first baseman/catcher Andy Thomas cleared the loaded bases with a 1st-inning double. It’s been a slow start to the year for Thomas, who is repeating the level, as he has just a .472 OPS and a 41 wRC+. So that hit had to feel good!
SEND ‘EM ALL HOME, ANDY!
A four-run cushion for the Squirrels in the third! pic.twitter.com/x48jwllZIP
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 17, 2024
A trio of hitters reached base multiple times: second baseman Jimmy Glowenke (No. 39 CPL) hit 2-5, raising his OPS to .702 and his wRC+ to 103; left fielder Hunter Bishop hit 1-4 with a walk and a stolen base, giving him a .701 OPS and a 101 wRC+; and third baseman Luis Toribio went 2-4, pushing his OPS to .619 and his wRC+ to 81.
High-A Eugene (9-1)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 5-0
Box score
It really does seem like the Emeralds took offense to being labeled as the least interesting and least prospect-heavy Giants affiliate. Not only have they opened their season by winning 9 of 10 games, but on Wednesday they did the remarkable, notching the first no-hitter in the young Minor League season.
And that’s pretty freaking cool.
It was, as is customary, a combined no-hitter, with a trio of pitchers all combining for hilariously similar lines. RHPs Dylan Cumming and Nick Sinacola, and LHP Seth Corry, pitching in that respective order, all tossed 3 frames with no hits, no runs, and 4 strikeouts.
There were varying levels of control, with Cumming walking just 1 batter, Sinacola 2, and Corry 2 with a hit batter thrown in as well. But all 3 pitchers kept hits off the board, resulting in a night they’ll never forget. Too cool.
Each of those pitchers is having a strong start to the year. Cumming, an undrafted free agent last year, has been lights out in his debut High-A season, allowing just 4 hits and 3 walks in 11 innings, with 13 strikeouts, good for a 0.82 ERA and a 1.58 FIP. Sinacola, a 7th-round pick in 2021, is showing dramatic improvements in his repeat of the level, with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 10 strikeouts in 9 innings, leading to a 1.00 ERA and a 2.75 FIP. And Corry, a former top prospect who has battled extreme injury and walk issues, has yet to allow a hit in 6.1 innings this year, though he’s issued 5 walks and hit 2 batters. He has 7 strikeouts, a 0.00 ERA, and a 3.96 FIP. How fun it will be if he stays healthy this year!
The first no-hitter of 2024 is in the books!
Dylan Cumming, Nick Sinacola + Seth Corry pitch the @EugeneEmeralds to their 6th no-no in franchise history and second in as many years! pic.twitter.com/uneY5wQC2e
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 18, 2024
It goes without saying that the offense was not quite as noteworthy, but there were still some good performances, including home runs from a pair of under-the-radar prospects: right fielder Scott Bandura and left fielder Matt Higgins, who both hit 1-4 with 2 strikeouts and a solo dinger.
Bandura, a left-handed hitter taken in the 7th round of July’s draft, drew an aggressive assignment to High-A to start his first full season, and has been off to a slow start — he has a .632 OPS and a 91 wRC+. So it was great to see him blast his first High-A home run. Higgins has been a hit and on-base machine this year, rocking a 1.081 OPS and a 228 wRC+, even though this was his first extra-base hit of the season.
First baseman Andrew Kachel, a 16th-round pick back in 2022, continues to draw walks at an impressive pace, earning free passes in all 3 of his plate appearances in this game, and stealing his 3rd base of the year. Kachel has 9 walks to just 4 strikeouts this season which, combined with a .348 batting average, has resulted in a .936 OPS and a 198 wRC+.
Low-A San Jose (5-5)
San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 5-4
Box score
Another great outing for LHP Dylan Carmouche, who is playing in his debut professional season. A 15th-round pick in the 2023 draft, Carmouche — a 6’6 southpaw — got absolutely rocked in his debut, but has put forth back-to-back sensational outings since.
Last week he pitched 4 no-hit innings in his start, allowing just 1 walk while striking out 5. And on Wednesday he kept the good times rolling, with 4 scoreless innings in which he gave up just 2 hits (both singles) and 2 walks, while striking out 3. I think everyone will be more than happy with those numbers! Except, you know … the teams facing Carmouche.
Not much of note on offense, but a few good days. Shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 27 CPL), one of the talks of Minor League camp, had one of the best games of his young debut season, hitting 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base. He also committed his 3rd error of the year, though I wouldn’t really worry about that, even for a glove-first prospect. Errors are silly, especially in A-Ball.
Ahuna has just a .605 OPS and a 66 wRC+, but it’s just 8 games and he skipped rookie ball. Definitely nothing to be worried about there.
First baseman Javier Francisco, who is certainly an intriguing if not overwhelming bat, had a nice game, hitting 1-3 with a triple and a hit by pitch. He has a .707 OPS and a 79 wRC+ in his first full season, after a brief taste of A-Ball to end last year.
B5: Giants 5 | Modesto 1
Things are getting with a 2-run triple off the bat of Javier Francisco! pic.twitter.com/9Q3fDfZ4bU
— San Jose Giants (@SJGiants) April 18, 2024
Also a nice game for right fielder Cesar Quintas, which is great to see. Quintas, who just turned 21, hit 1-2 and drew 2 walks, while also notching an outfield assist. Quintas has been off to a slow start in his A-Ball debut after being an on-base machine in 2023: among 108 Giants prospects with at least 100 plate appearances last year, Quintas — who spent the season in the Arizona Complex League — was 1st in both batting average (.372) and on-base percentage (.506). Mighty impressive stuff, but he has just a .182 batting average so far this year … albeit with a .400 on-base percentage thanks to all the walks he draws.
But there was a bit of bad news for the Baby Giants, as catcher Drew Cavanaugh, last year’s 17th-round pick, left the game early due to an injury. Hopefully he’s OK.
Home run tracker
AAA Chase Pinder (1)
High-A Scott Bandura (1)
High-A Matt Higgins (1)
Thursday schedule
AAA Sacramento: @ the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, 5:05 p.m. PT
AA Richmond: @ the Harrisburg Senators, 3:30 p.m. PT
High-A Eugene: vs. the Vancouver Canadians, 7:05 p.m. PT
Low-A San Jose: vs. the Modesto Nuts, 6:30 p.m. PT
Reminder that Minor League games can now be watched on MLB TV.