Weekend Minor League roundup: James Tibbs III is flying high

The weekend action on the farm.

For the last weekend for a while, the San Francisco Giants had five affiliates in action. That’s because, starting today, they’ll have six teams who are in season! That’s right, the Dominican Summer League gets underway today, so check back tomorrow to see how Josuar González did in his profession debut (spoiler: very well)

Until then, let’s recap the action on the farm over the weekend…

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

As happens this time of year, the Giants released a handful of players in recent days. Most notably, AAA Sacramento released utility player Brett Auerbach and corner infielder Jake Lamb.

Lamb is not surprising. The veteran, signed over the offseason, failed to break camp with the team, and hasn’t been showing too much in Sacramento. Even with David Villar gone, Lamb’s path to the Majors with the Giants is very slim: Jerar Encarnación has returned, Marco Luciano is making a shift to first base, and Devin Mann is performing very well in, essentially, the same role as Lamb. I’m guessing Lamb had an opt-out date and triggered it.

Auerbach is a little more surprising. He was an undrafted player in the truncated 2020 draft, and plays all over the diamond. He’s not a notable prospect, but had been hitting decently in Sacramento. He seemed like a player who would possibly get a cup of coffee at some point this year or next to fill a hole on the roster.

It is interesting that the Giants released a pair of AAA players on the same day that Encarnación is headed back to San Francisco (though admittedly, Luis Matos is headed back to Sacramento). When they resume action on Tuesday, I’d assume that Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) takes one of those spots, but could Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) take another? Could they be adding a player who another team let go of? We’ll see.

The Giants also released a pair of AA Richmond RHPs: Dylan Cumming, an undrafted free agent from 2023, and Nick Garcia, a Minor League Rule 5 Draft selection in 2023.

In unfortunate injury news, High-A Eugene LHP Hayden Wynja and Low-A San Jose RHP Junior Flores were transferred from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. ACL outfielder Donovan McIntyre was placed on the 60-Day IL, and Low-A San Jose catcher Ty Hanchey was placed on the Full-Season IL. In more fortunate injury news, AA Richmond outfielder Carter Howell and High-A Eugene LHP Dylan Carmouche were activated from the IL.

And finally, High-A Eugene RHP Josh Wolf was placed on the Development List.

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AAA Sacramento (27-30)

Saturday: Sacramento River Cats beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 8-1 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the El Paso Chihuahuas 6-5 [box score]

The big story in Sacramento right now is that first baseman/right fielder Jerar Encarnación is healthy and eligible to come off the IL. He played what should be his final games in a Minor League jersey (for the foreseeable future) over the weekend and hit quite well, going 2-6 with a home run, 2 walks, a hit by pitch, 2 strikeouts, and a caught stealing. He’s 8-23 with 4 extra-base hits and 3 walks with the River Cats … let’s hope that can translate to the Majors, because the Giants sure need it!

Encarnación’s dinger happened on Saturday, when the River Cats had a 3-homer day. Center fielder Grant McCray bopped his 3rd of the year as he went 2-4, though he struck out twice and went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts on Sunday. He’s been hitting better lately, though it’s still just a .666 OPS and an 80 wRC+ on the year for him.

Right fielder/designated hitter Daniel Johnson had an eerily similar weekend, hitting 2-4 with a home run and a strikeout on Saturday, but going 0-5 with 2 strikeouts on Sunday. Johnson has been really good since recently signing with the Giants, and is sporting an .846 OPS and a 115 wRC+. As a soon-to-turn 30-year old journeyman, he’s more emergency depth than prospect, but emergency depth gets called on sometimes!

Not much else over the weekend on offense. Shortstop/second baseman Brett Wisely played well, hitting 3-7 with 2 doubles and a walk, while catcher Andrew Knizner continued his surprisingly hot season, going 2-4 with a double and a strikeout. Marco Luciano returned on Sunday after a few days away with a minor ailment, and also returned to left field (where he had an outfield assist), though he hit 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.

RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 15 CPL) had a dynamic start on Saturday, pitching 6 brilliant innings and allowing just 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, while striking out 9. McDonald gave up a home run to the 1st batter of the game, and then settled in to a thoroughly dominant game, though he didn’t live in the strike zone as much as the K and BB totals would suggest. It was good to see McDonald have a bounce-back after getting destroyed his last time out, though he’ll need a few more games like that to get back to the Majors.

RHP Carson Seymour (No. 21 CPL) did not have as nice of an outing, as he gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs in just 4 innings of work, while striking out only 3, and needing 93 pitches to get through those 4 innings. It was the 2nd straight bad start for Seymour, and in his last 8 games he has an ugly strikeout-to-walk ratio of 40-to-23 in 38.2 innings. That’s seen his ERA and FIP rise to 4.61 and 4.59, respectively, after a strong start to the year.

Good if not dominant performances out of the bullpen. RHP Miguel Díaz was fantastic, striking out all 3 batters he faced. He’s not having a good season, but his May was significantly better than his April, so moving in the right direction.

AA Richmond (15-37)

Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 4-2 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators 5-1 [box score]

It’s been a mostly uninteresting year for Richmond and it was a mostly uninteresting weekend. The Squirrels offense didn’t have a single extra-base hit, while their starting pitchers, LHPs Jack Choate (No. 29 CPL) and Seth Lonsway both had very poor outings. So, there’s not a lot to talk about!

On offense, second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 16 CPL) had an awesome game on Saturday, hitting a perfect 3-3 while drawing 2 walks and stealing a base. What a day! Unfortunately, he followed it up by going 0-4 with a strikeout on Sunday. Still, it’s a .721 OPS and a 119 wRC+ for the 21-year old switch-hitter, who has had a very nice year.

Left fielder Jairo Pomares (No. 41 CPL) has struggled to get on base at all lately, but that changed over the weekend, as he went 3-5 with 2 walks. After a 13-game stretch in which the lefty hit just 2-44 with 3 walks, he’s gone 6-20 with 3 walks in his last 6 games. Baby steps!

A quiet weekend for first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL), who hit 1-8 with a walk and 4 strikeouts.

RHPs Evan Gates and Tyler Myrick had some nice relief appearances after Choate’s short start on Saturday. Gates struck out 4 batters in 3 shutout innings, while allowing just 1 hit. He’s really turned his season around after a slow start:

First 6 appearances: 9.2 innings, 11 hits, 3 walks, 6 runs, 15 strikeouts
Next 7 appearances: 15 innings, 10 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs, 16 strikeouts

On Sunday, RHP Trent Harris (No. 20 CPL) had another scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts, though he gave up a hit and a walk. It’s now 25 strikeouts against 4 walks in 16 innings for Harris, who has allowed runs in just 1 of the 13 games he’s pitched in.

High-A Eugene (26-25)

Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) 6-5 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Tri-City Dust Devils 9-0 [box score]

Sunday was one of the best all-around pitching performances the farm system has had this year. It started with someone who has been taking off lately: RHP Josh Bostick (No. 27 CPL). Bostick had the best game of his young career, giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks in 6 shutout innings while striking out 10 batters. That came after a fantastic start his last time out, in which he gave up just 1 hit in 5 innings, with 9 strikeouts against 2 walks (and 3 runs, but all unearned). It wasn’t a very good start to the year for the 2023 8th-rounder, but now it looks like everything is coming together for him, which is very exciting.

Finishing off the game was a trio of RHPs who all threw a perfect inning: Austin Strickland, Dylan Hecht, and Marques Johnson. Strickland, who came over in the Joey Bart trade, struck out 1 batter, and lowered his ERA to 4.26 and his FIP to 3.95. Hecht, the 31-year old who was just signed to make his Minor League debut, struck out a pair of batters and has impressed to the tune of a 1.93 ERA and a 3.30 FIP. And Johnson, who was the player the Giants received for Mauricio Llovera, also struck out 2, dropping his ERA to 2.66 and his FIP to 3.37.

Saturday’s pitching wasn’t as dynamic. LHP Dylan Carmouche returned from the IL and made his 1st High-A appearance of the year, but got rocked. RHP Tyler Vogel, on the other hand, was exceptional in relief, giving up just a walk and a hit batter in 2.2 shutout innings, while striking out 5. The 2022 12th-round pick is down to a 2.52 ERA and a 3.55 FIP on the season.

On offense, the biggest star of the weekend was the top prospect in Eugene: right fielder/designated hitter James Tibbs III (No. 3 CPL). Tibbs, who has been on fire lately, hit 3-7, smashed a home run in each game, drew 3 walks, and nabbed an outfield assist (he also struck out twice).

With the pair of homers, Tibbs — generally viewed more as a contact hitter than a big power bat — is now leading the system in home runs, and even tied for the lead in the entire organization if you include the Majors. What a phenomenal bounce-back he’s had after his rough stint in Eugene last year following the draft. Since May 15, the lefty has hit 17-53 with 7 home runs, 1 triple, 3 doubles, 11 walks, and 14 strikeouts, which has seen his OPS rise to .869 and his wRC+ to 140, all while maintaining a 16.4% strikeout rate. The Giants have to be utterly thrilled with what he’s shown in his debut full season.

No one else had a standout weekend, though plenty of players were very solid. Center fielder/designated hitter Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL) went just 1-6, but drew 4 walks against just 1 strikeout. Center fielder/left fielder Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL) hit 4-10 with a double, a stolen base, 2 strikeouts, and a caught stealing. Second baseman/third baseman Dayson Croes, who only just joined Eugene, hit 4-8 with 2 doubles, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout.

Low-A San Jose (30-21)

Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) 4-3 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Inland Empire 66ers 8-6 [box score]

A dramatic weekend! On Saturday, the Baby Giants blew a 2-run lead in the top of the 9th, before walking it off in the bottom of the inning. On Sunday they blew a late lead and couldn’t quite complete a 9th-inning comeback, which saw their 6-game winning streak come to a close.

A welcome sight came on Sunday, when center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 8 CPL) left the park as part of a 3-5 day (that’s the good; the bad is that he was caught stealing, and that he went 0-4 with a strikeout on Saturday).

Jordan has had a year that should give us all a lot of reason for optimism, but it’s also been a fairly confounding year. He was drafted in the 4th round last year as an all-power hitter. Fangraphs, for instance, in their preseason prospect rankings, gave Jordan just a 20/30 present/future grade for his hit tool, but a 60/70 grade for his raw power.

Yet despite that hit grade, Jordan is currently rocking a .309 batting average in what is essentially his debut season — that mark ranks 2nd among the 44 Giants prospects with at least 100 plate appearances this year. And despite striking out at a 29.0% clip in his final year at Mississippi State, he’s down to just 22.9% this year. But while those negatives have turned to positives, the inverse has happened with his stupendous power. This was just Jordan’s 3rd home run of the year, and his isolated slugging mark of .105 ranks 29th out of those 44 prospects … tucked right behind mild-hitting catcher Adrián Sugastey.

Jordan has flipped the script entirely (including on the basepaths where, despite getting caught on Sunday, he’s 18-20 this year, after going just 7-11 in his entire college career). Ultimately, that’s a good thing. While the Giants would love to see the power play sooner rather than later, I’d say it’s only a matter of time, and we should mostly just be encouraged by the fact that he’s so successfully addressing his weaknesses.

Speaking of surprising profiles, catcher Drew Cavanaugh homered again, going 1-4 with a 2-run blast and a strikeout on Sunday in his only game of the weekend. The 2023 17th-round pick now has 6 homers on the year, after just 2 in his 1st seasons. More importantly, he has a 1.039 OPS and a 176 wRC+, which is mighty, mighty fine for a catcher, though it is worth noting he’s a 23-year old in his 3rd pass through the level and isn’t playing every day.

Cavanaugh also wasn’t the only catcher to homer, as Fernando Gonzalez went deep on Saturday as part of a 1-3 day with a walk, before taking Sunday off. Like Cavanaugh, Gonzalez is a 23-year old late draft pick, as he was taken in the 20th-round last year. The right-handed hitter has more modest numbers — a .735 OPS and a 109 wRC+ — but has just an 18.2% strikeout rate. Not bad for a debut season!

It unfortunately wasn’t a good weekend for shortstop Walker Martin (No. 14 CPL), who has been cooling down after his red-hot stretch. He went 0-6 over the weekend with 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, a caught stealing, and an error. It was his 11th error of the year, though it’s worth noting that he did remain at shortstop on both days, while Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL) moved to second base when he played on Sunday.

RHP Gerelmi Maldonado had a strong start on Saturday, pitching 3 innings and giving up 1 hit, 1 walk, and 0 runs, while striking out 5 batters. Maldonado will likely stay in that short-start range for a while — possibly the whole season — as this is his 1st year back from Tommy John surgery. As one should expect post-TJ, Maldonado is still struggling a bit to find the strike zone, with 13 walks in 22.2 innings. But he was much better in this game, throwing 29 of 38 pitches for strikes, and his electricity doesn’t seem to be lessened by major surgery: he’s up to 31 strikeouts on the year. He’s also quickly rounding back into form, as evidenced by the month-by-month splits:

April: 4 games, 9.2 innings, 14 hits, 7 walks, 11 runs, 6 earned runs, 13 strikeouts
May: 5 games, 13 innings, 11 hits, 6 walks, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 18 strikeouts

Delightful!

He was relieved by RHP Darien Smith, an undrafted player in his debut season. Smith allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings, though he walked 2, hit 1, and gave up a run. But he struck out 6, which was nice to see as he hasn’t been much of a strikeout artist early in his career.

Arizona Complex League (15-7)

Saturday: ACL Giants beat the ACL Angels 11-4 [box score]

Saturday was yet another day of RHP Jose Bello (No. 44 CPL, 20 years, 2023 IFA) proving how special his arm just might be. Bello was dominant once again, giving up just a hit in 2 shutout innings, while striking out 4. Ready to see some ridiculous numbers? Here’s Bello’s line on the year:

6 games, 12 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 21 strikeouts

Last year, Bello was the rare player who began the year in the DSL and ended the year in the ACL. This year, he’ll surely be a player who starts the year in the ACL and ends the year in A-ball. What a fun player he is shaping out to be.

But the game was won on offense, and the best day belonged to Low-A San Jose’s Jeremiah Jenkins, who was rehabbing with a half-game at designated hitter, where he went 2-2 with a home run.

Jenkins, who was the team’s 14th-round pick last year, was fantastic in a short stint with San Jose last year, but has yet to play there this year. He’s 9 games into a rehab assignment though, so hopefully he’s back in San Jose soon.

A nice day for left fielder Rayner Arias (No. 4 CPL, 19 years, 2023 IFA), which was very good to see, as he hit 2-5 with a double and a sacrifice fly. It hasn’t been the season we were hoping Arias would have, but it’s still very early. Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL, 18 years, 2024 IFA) proved you don’t need hits to have a productive game, as he went 0-2 with a strikeout, but drew 3 walks, hit a sacrifice fly, and stole a base. So far, so good for the electric young left-hander in his debut stateside season, as he has an .839 OPS, a 114 wRC+, a 15.2% strikeout rate, and 7 stolen bases in 9 attempts.

The backend trio of the lineup all reached base 3 times, as right fielder Oliver Tejada (No. 39 CPL, 18 years, 2024 IFA) went 3-5 with a double and a walk, bringing his OPS to .752 and his wRC+ to 100; center fielder Andy Polanco (20 years, 2024 11th-round) went 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base, pushing his OPS to .712 and his wRC+ to 95; and second baseman Ryan Reckley (No. 35 CPL, 20 years, 2022 IFA) went 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base in his 5th game since getting demoted back to the ACL.

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Home run tracker

AAA Daniel Johnson (6)
AAA Grant McCray (3)
AAA Jerar Encarnación (2)
High-A James Tibbs III x2 (10)
Low-A Drew Cavanaugh (6)
Low-A Dakota Jordan (3)
Low-A Fernando Gonzalez (3)
ACL Jeremiah Jenkins (1)