Yesterday’s action on the farm.
Tuesday wasn’t the best day for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates, but it sure wasn’t the worst day, either. 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
A few small transactions around the farm. Infielder Devin Mann, signed just last week, was moved from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento. Mann, a 5th-round pick in 2018 by the Dodgers, was excellent in 5 games with the Flying Squirrels, and gives the River Cats some infield depth after Brett Wisely was called up. Mann replaces Jose Ramos, who was returned to Low-A San Jose after a weekend stint in emergency duty.
Sacramento also activated RHP Juan Mercedes, a very intriguing pitcher who had spent the last few weeks on the Development List.
Speaking of being activated, San Jose shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL) was sent on a rehab assignment in the Complex League. Ahuna has struggled mightily with injuries since being taken in the 4th round of the the 2023 draft. He hasn’t appeared in a game since July 20, and what little time he played last year was mostly as a designated hitter rather than in the field. Here’s hoping he’s finally healthy!
In less happy news, High-A Eugene RHP Cale Lansville, who has really struggled so far this year, was demoted back to San Jose.
AAA Sacramento (17-17)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 4-2
Box score
A fairly uninteresting game for the River Cats, but a very encouraging start from RHP Carson Ragsdale (No. 19 CPL). Ragsdale, in his 2nd pass through the Pacific Coast League, has really been struggling, and with Sacramento’s crowded rotation he had been moved into some sort of relief/piggybacking starter hybrid role. But with Kyle Harrison back in the Majors, there’s more of an opportunity for Ragsdale, and he started on Tuesday with very good results.
The powerful righty pitched 3.2 innings and only gave up 1 hit (a triple), though that ultimately resulted in an unearned run after first baseman Jake Lamb committed an error. Most importantly, Ragsdale didn’t issue any walks, threw 41 of 65 pitches for strikes, and struck out 4 batters. Free passes had been a huge issue for Ragsdale this year, as he entered the game with 13 of them in 16.2 innings. So it was great to see him avoid freebies in this one, and also have his 1st outing of the year without an earned run, which lowered his ERA to 6.64 and his FIP to 7.43.
RHP Juan Mercedes has also had a rough start to the year, but he made his return from the Development List on Wednesday and pitched quite while, tossing 3 shutout innings with just 1 hit and 1 walk allowed, to go with 1 strikeout. Hopefully he can find some rhythm here, as he’s an intriguing arm.
No one had a standout offensive day, but the River Cats steadily scored some runs thanks to 5 of their 7 hits going for extra bases. Lamb had the best offensive day, hitting 1-2 with a double and a walk, but he also was replaced in the 5th inning, so he perhaps sustained an injury.
We’re seeing double another RBI double brings our score up to 3, courtesy of Mr. Lamb pic.twitter.com/Vn7cI3VrFj
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) May 7, 2025
Third baseman/first baseman Devin Mann made his Sacramento debut after recently getting signed and warming up in AA, and he hit 1-4 with a double.
Our new Mann on the block starts strong with an RBI Double ✌️ pic.twitter.com/Xh1kfrdofo
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) May 7, 2025
AA Richmond (8-20)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 19-0
Box score
Ouch. Yikes.
Do you actually want more words than that? Do “ouch” and “yikes” not suffice for a 19-0 loss?
Fine. The offense was the “star” of the game, despite having 4 hits and no extra-base hits. First baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) and designated hitter Jairo Pomares (No. 41 CPL) were the only players to reach base multiple times, as each hitter went 0-2 but drew 2 walks. Yet even with that, it wasn’t exactly a good day for either of the powerful lefties, as Eldridge (who has an .854 OPS and a 152 wRC+) committed 2 errors while Pomares (who has a .757 OPS and a 118 wRC+) struck out twice.
The pitching was god awful, as you can probably imagine. RHPs Manuel Mercedes, Nick Morreale, Will Bednar (No. 42 CPL), and Michael Stryffeler all got absolutely destroyed. RHP Braxton Roxby didn’t get the memo, though, as he finally stopped the bleeding by striking out 2 batters in 1.1 scoreless innings, while allowing just a walk. It’s been a really nice 1st season in the organization for Roxby, a Minor League Rule 5 selection, who has a 2.25 ERA and a 2.39 FIP, with 20 strikeouts against 6 walks in 12 innings.
Moving on.
High-A Eugene (15-13)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 9-7
Box score
While the Emeralds have a notable and exciting top of the order, it was the bottom of the order that got the job done on Tuesday. The star of the show was designated hitter Scott Bandura, who hit 3-5 with a 1st-inning grand slam. What a way to start a game!
Scott Bandura is the man for the moment. His 2-out Grand Slam puts the Ems up 4-0 early tonight#Ems70 pic.twitter.com/hR4CoW6jSS
— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) May 7, 2025
Bandura, a 7th-round pick in 2023, is flying a little under the radar, in part because he’s back in Eugene after spending a large chunk of time there last year, and in part because he’s in his age-24 season. But he’s been having an excellent campaign, with a .931 OPS and a 161 wRC+.
He’s more of a control and contact hitter than a power bat, despite Tuesday’s home run, as the lefty is sporting a .348 batting average, a 14.7% walk rate, and a 20.2% strikeout rate, but just a .124 isolated slugging percentage. But at the moment he sure looks too good for the level.
Bandura was the 6th-place hitter, and the start of a trio of hitters who won the game for the Emeralds: the 7th-place hitter was shortstop Zane Zielinski, who hit 3-4 with a stolen base, and the 8th-place hitter was catcher Luke Shliger, who hit 1-3 with a double and a walk. Zielinski is having a season befitting a middle infielder, as the 2024 9th-round pick has a .297 batting average and 9 stolen bases, but just 1 extra-base hit (a double) in 85 plate appearances. You don’t often see a .687 OPS or a 99 wRC+ for a guy who’s a rounding error away from hitting .300!
The pitching was highly mediocre and not worth dwelling on. The positive standout was RHP Nicholas Herold, recently promoted from San Jose, who gave up a hit and a walk in 1.1 shutout innings, with 2 strikeouts.
How good has Herold been? That not only qualifies as his worst outing of the year, but doubled both his hit and his walk totals this year. Yes, through 8 innings, Herold has given up just 4 baserunners and no runs, while striking out 17 batters. What a start to the year!
Low-A San Jose (16-12)
San Jose Giants lost to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 4-3
Box score
A fairly listless performance for the Baby Giants, but a pair of hitters near the top of the lineup had strong games, with right fielder Carlos Gutierrez and center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 8 CPL) both hitting 2-4, knocking in a run, and stealing a base, which accounted for 67% of the team’s hits, 100% of their RsBI, and 100% of their swiped bags.
Gutierrez, who doubled as one of his hits, continues to have one of the most impressive seasons on the farm, even if it’s gone under the radar. As a refresher, the 20-year old left-handed hitter was given a surprising A-ball assignment to start the season, after an injury limited him to just 3 games in the ACL in 2024, his first stateside season (and after playing a mere 22 games in the DSL in his debut season in 2023).
You would assume a player in that position would have some rust, but if Gutierrez does have rust, then I’m very intrigued to see what he looks like when it’s washed away! Because he has fit right in. He’s unlikely to ever be a huge power hitter (he has 0 homers, 3 triples, and 3 doubles), but has hit safely in 19 of 23 games, and has a delightful .302 batting average. He has very nice walk and strikeout rates, and his speed has allowed him to steal 10 bases in 11 attempts, while playing strong defense. It’s all been good, and it’s made San Jose’s outfield — where he plays alongside Jordan, Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL), and the currently-injured Jose Ortiz (No. 22 CPL) — one of the most exciting groups of Giants prospects this season.
Jordan’s 2-hit day wasn’t quite as impressive as Gutierrez’s, as both of his hits were singles and he added a strikeout. But hitting 2-4 with a stolen base is still a damn fine day, and Jordan has been having a whole lot of those in what essentially amounts to his debut season (he played less than 2 games after being drafted in the 4th round last year). Like Gutierrez, Jordan continues to be a hit machine despite not showing much power, at least in the box scores. He has a delightful .298 batting average, and has hit safely in 21 out of 27 games … which looks even more impressive when you realize that some of the games where he hasn’t recorded a hit are games where he’s barely had any official at-bats because he keeps getting walked.
Yet despite having arguably the most raw power in the entire system and a high batting average, Jordan has just 7 extra-base hits in 125 plate appearances this season, and has now gone 10 straight games without an extra-bagger. That’s nothing to complain about when he’s hitting this well, though: he has a 9-game hitting streak, during which time he’s gone 13-34 with 5 walks.
Most notably for the Giants is that Jordan’s athleticism is playing like never before. Despite his Fitzgerald-esque speed, Jordan was used almost exclusively as a corner outfielder in college, yet he’s been mighty impressive in center field this year. And after stealing just 7 bases in 11 attempts in 107 games at Mississippi State, Jordan already has 11 thefts in as many attempts through 27 games this year. Basically everything about his game is clicking except the one part that felt like a given, the power. When that inevitably shows up … well, I’ll try to contain my excitement, but I make no guarantees.
RHP Hunter Dryden had a so-so start, giving up 7 baserunners and 2 runs in 4.1 innings, while striking out 4. It’s been a delightful debut season for last year’s 17th-round pick, who has a 1.69 ERA and a 3.03 FIP, though the strikeout stuff has dipped after a strong start: he K’d 13 batters in 8 innings in his 1st 2 starts of the year, but has just 11 in 13.1 innings in 3 starts since. Perhaps 5 starts is a bit too few to try to identify meaningful trends!
Delightful relief appearances from RHPs Cade Vernon and Ben Peterson, another pair of pitchers in their debut seasons. Vernon, a 10th-round pick, took over a sticky situation that Dryden created and got out of it, and gave up just a hit batter in 2.2 otherwise perfect innings, which lowered his ERA to 2.13, though he has a 5.89 FIP. Peterson, who went undrafted, pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. A great recovery after Peterson gave up 7 runs while recording just 1 out his last time out.
ACL (0-3)
Monday: ACL Giants lost to the ACL Rockies 12-3 (7 innings) [box score]
Tuesday: ACL Giants lost to the ACL D-backs 10-6 [box score]
It sure is nice to have Complex League baseball back, but it sure is a silly brand of baseball. How silly? The Giants played 16 innings over the last 2 games, and committed 11 errors. Early season form!
On the “2 game” note, we’re recapping a pair of ACL games because there was no roundup yesterday, since the ACL Giants were the only affiliate in action on Monday.
The top prospects in the desert are, thankfully, off to a nice start. Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL), who hit a trio of extra-base hits in the season-opener, continues to play well, as he went 2-8 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, though he also had 2 strikeouts and an error. Level’s talent is tantalizing, so it’s great to see him fitting in during his debut stateside stint.
The person I’m keeping the closest eye on is left fielder Rayner Arias (No. 4 CPL), who I’m hoping can have a strong bounce-back after a rough 2024 in which he was both injured and struggling to perform well post-injury. Arias had a very strong pair of days, hitting 4-7 with a triple, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. We’ll have to wait to hear some reports from Arizona about if he’s back to smashing the crap out of the baseball.
But the best performance belonged to first baseman Angel Guzman. He didn’t play on Monday, but on Tuesday Guzman hit 1-2, drew 3 walks, and smashed a home run (though he also committed a pair of errors). Guzman, a left-handed hitting 19-year old, had a fantastic 2nd pass through the DSL last year, when he had a 174 wRC+ and more walks than strikeouts. Great to see him carrying that over to the ACL.
Not a lot to be excited about on the pitching side of things. RHP Jose Bello (No. 44 CPL), an extremely exciting pitcher who turns 20 later this month, made his season debut on Tuesday. He gave up 4 hits and an unearned runs in 2.2 innings, with 2 strikeouts and no walks. Bello was the rare midseason promotion from the DSL last year, so the Giants are seemingly quite high on him.
RHP Keyner Martinez, a 20-year old who made his professional debut last year with the ACL Giants — and with mixed results — started his season with a bang on Tuesday, tossing a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.
LHP Luis De La Torre, a 20-year old, made his stateside debut on Monday and was a strikeout artist, K’ing 7 batters in 3.2 innings, though he also gave up 3 hits, 3 walks, and an earned run. Still, quite an electric start!
Home run tracker
High-A Scott Bandura (2)
ACL Angel Guzman (1)
Wednesday schedule
Sacramento: at Tacoma, 6:05 p.m. PT (SP: Carson Whisenhunt)
Richmond: at Harrisburg, 8:00 a.m. PT (SP: Jack Choate)
Eugene: at Hillsboro, 6:05 p.m. PT (SP: Shane Rademacher)
San Jose: vs. Lake Elsinore, 6:00 p.m. PT (SP: Niko Mazza)