Weekend Minor League roundup: So many home runs!

The weekend’s action on the farm.

I apologize that I’ve been slacking on the Minor League Baseball roundups lately! I’ll try to keep that from happening as much as I can. For now, here’s what the San Francisco Giants’ affiliates did 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

A few bits of news on the farm. AAA Sacramento LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 2 CPL) has been named as the Giants representative in the Futures Game. That would have been Bryce Eldridge’s spot, but he’s injured.

In exciting but surprising news, outfielder Rayner Arias (No. 4 CPL) was promoted from the ACL to Low-A San Jose, even though he’s been struggling this year.

The Giants signed veteran catcher Austin Barnes to a Minor League deal and sent him to the ACL, and they signed RHP Matt Dunaway and sent him to High-A Eugene to make his professional debut.

Eugene RHPs Shane Rademacher and Cameron Pferrer have been sent to Sacramento as emergency depth following Carson Seymour’s promotion to the Majors.

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AAA Sacramento (38-43)

Saturday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers) 7-4 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Comets 6-2 [box score]

Well, the week certainly ended for the River Cats better than it started. Between last Sunday and Wednesday, Sacramento played 3 games and lost all 3 by a combined score of 40-3. Doesn’t get much worse than that, but thankfully better days emerged.

Sunday’s game was started by LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 2 CPL), and the good news is that he had one of his better recent outings. The bad news is that it still wasn’t that good.

Whisenhunt, who had been rocked his last time out, went 5.2 innings in this one, while allowing just 2 runs. On the surface, that’s pretty impressive for the Pacific Coast League. But it was fairly ugly below the surface. He needed 94 pitches to get through those 5.2 innings, and threw just 55 of them for strikes. He gave up 6 hits, which isn’t horrible, but walked 3 batters while striking out just 5.

While he remains a very exciting prospect, Whisenhunt’s short-term stock has taken a massive tumble. Since a brilliant 4-start stretch to open May, which resulted in some rumblings about a potential MLB call-up, Whisenhunt has been nothing short of awful. In those subsequent 7 starts, he’s pitched 38 innings and allowed 44 hits, 18 walks, and 28 earned runs, while striking out just 27 batters. Never a good sign when you’re accumulating more runs than strikeouts, and it’s brought his ERA up to 4.55 and his FIP to 4.80.

As a result, Whisenhunt has fallen on the depth chart, as evidenced by Carson Seymour getting called up this weekend. The 3rd player in that name triad has also probably surpassed Whiz, and he certainly out-pitched him this weekend, as RHP Carson Ragsdale (No. 19 CPL) gave up just 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 5.1 innings on Saturday, while striking out 7. Like Whisenhunt, Ragsdale struggled a bit to find the strike zone (he threw 48 of 82 pitches for strikes), and that’s been a theme all year for the duo.

Ragsdale has been pitching well following a brutal April. Since the start of May, he’s pitched 30.2 innings and allowed 23 hits, 16 walks, and 9 earned runs, with 30 strikeouts. Needless to say, the walks need to come down.

On Sunday, RHPs Trent Harris (No. 20 CPL) and Tristan Beck had nice outings. Harris, who is still adapting to AAA life after a recent promotion, tossed 1.1 no-hit innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts, while Beck needed just 14 pitches to get through 2 no-hit innings, despite allowing a walk and hitting a batter.

Plenty of decent offensive weekends, but no standout ones. Designated hitter/right fielder Hunter Bishop (No. 34 CPL) played very well, hitting 4-6 with a home run, a double, and a walk.

Bishop, who now has 3-straight multi-hit games with an extra-base hit, used June to turn his season around, as he went .302/.362/.528 in the month. That brought him up to a .714 OPS and an 86 wRC+ on the season.

Also homering was center fielder Grant McCray, though that was the only highlight of his weekend, as he finished 1-8 with 4 strikeouts. He’s starting to come back to earth following a hot streak.

The other young 40-man hitters who are trying to prove they belong: second baseman/left fielder Wade Meckler (No. 13 CPL) hit 3-7 with a double and a walk; right fielder/designated hitter Luis Matos went 1-9 with a stolen base; and left fielder Marco Luciano hit 2-7 with a walk, 2 strikeouts, and an error.

AA Richmond (23-49)

Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Reading Fightin Phils (Phillies) 4-2 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Reading Fightin Phils 5-3 [box score]

As per the usual, a fairly uninteresting weekend for the Squirrels. The starting pitching performances were fairly poor: LHP John Michael Bertrand made it through 6 innings on Saturday, but gave up 4 runs in the process, while RHP Manuel Mercedes gave up 10 baserunners and 5 runs in just 3.2 innings. Mercedes walked 3 and struck out just 1, furthering his hilarious (in the bad way) strikeout-to-walk ratio, which now sits at 31 to 35. Among the 1,259 Minor League pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings this year, Mercedes is 1,255th in strikeouts per 9 innings (4.62), and 995th in walks per 9 innings (5.22). It’s getting very difficult to see how he’ll be able to have success at the MLB level with that profile (or even at the AA level, where he has a 7.91 ERA and a 5.95 FIP).

A trio of notable relief appearances, though: on Saturday, RHP Dylan Hecht pitched a scoreless, no-hit inning with 2 strikeouts, though he issued a walk and hit a batter. On Sunday, RHPs Marques Johnson and Braxton Roxby both struck out a pair of batters in perfect innings. For Hecht, it was his 2nd appearance since getting promoted to AA, and the made-for-TV story has yet to allow a hit at the level. For Johnson, it was his 3rd appearance since a promotion, and he’s been spectacular. And for Roxby, who has spent all year with Richmond, it lowered his ERA to 1.20 and his FIP to 1.95. Got to think a promotion might be near!

A quiet offensive series. Center fielder/designated hitter Carter Howell and right fielder/designated hitter Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) both homered, but otherwise didn’t do much. Howell finished the weekend 1-7 with a walk, and has a .577 OPS and a 75 wRC+. Bericoto, who went 1-7 with a hit by pitch and 2 strikeouts, now has a .773 OPS and a 128 wRC+, though he’s been struggling since retuning from the IL.

High-A Eugene (38-36)

Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 9-3 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox 19-8 [box score]

Hey, those are some mighty fine scores! Holy offense!

The outfield remains supreme in Eugene. They opened the year with an exceptionally exciting trio: James Tibbs III (No. 3 CPL), Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL), and Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL). Like Timon and Pumbaa, the trio was down to two after Tibbs was included in the Rafael Devers trade, but Scott Bandura stepped in to save the day. Bandura has been playing as the regular 3rd in the trio, and all 3 had utterly spectacular weekends.

Let’s start with Bandura, who played in right field. He went 4-9, smashed a home run and a triple, was hit by 2 pitches, drew a walk, and didn’t strike out. My goodness!

Not to be outdone, Cox, playing in left field, put on a clinic, hitting 2-6 with a home run, a double, 2 hit by pitches, 4 walks, and 2 stolen bases. That’s getting it done in every way imaginable!

And rounding out the electric trio is the youngest and best prospect of the group, the center fielder Davidson. He had a relatively quiet Saturday, hitting 1-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts, but showed off his superstar chops on Sunday, when he went 4-5 with 2 home runs, a double, 2 walks, and 5 runs batted in. Holy cannoli as a Bay Area legend once said!

Bandura, a 7th-round pick in 2023, now has an .845 OPS and a 134 wRC+; Cox, a 6th-round pick by the A’s in 2023 has a .705 OPS and a 94 wRC+, but has stolen 34 bases; and Davidson, an undrafted free agent from the 2023 class is sitting on a .938 OPS and a 153 wRC+.

But while that trio shined, they were far from the only stars, as 3 other hitters dominated. Catcher Drew Cavanaugh continued his ascent and his tremendous story, as he hit a staggering 7-11 over the weekend with 2 home runs (including a grand slam on Sunday!), as well as 1 walk and 1 strikeout.

Cavanaugh, a 17th-round pick in 2023, was a completely unheralded and mostly unheard of prospect entering the year, but dominated in Low-A San Jose to the tune of a 1.006 OPS and a 172 wRC+. That earned him a promotion to High-A where, through 7 games, he has a 1.228 OPS and a 227 wRC+. If you’re new to stats, those are extremely good ones.

Also popping a dinger on both days was first baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL), who went 5-10 on the weekend with 2 homers, a hit by pitch, and a caught stealing. He has had an average season with the bat (.751 OPS, 101 wRC+), but there’s so much talent there.

And finally, third baseman Dayson Croes, a 25-year old from Aruba who was signed 2 months ago, hit 3-7 with 2 doubles and 4 walks. He has a .932 OPS and a 154 wRC+, and while he’s quite old for the level, he’s doing this after just 9 games on the Complex League and skipping Low-A altogether.

Speaking of older players making their debuts, RHP Matt Dunaway did exactly that. Dunaway, a 26-year old who was signed a few days prior, made his professional debut and pitched 2 innings, giving up 3 hits and 1 run in the process. Welcome to the pros, Matt!

Otherwise, it was a mostly uneventful pitching performance. LHP Nick Zwack, who is still working his way back after nearly 2 years on the sidelines, started on Saturday and pitched 4 innings, ceding 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 1 run, with 3 strikeouts. It was the 2nd rehab appearance in Eugene for Zwack, who is on AA Richmond’s roster, after 6 rehab games in the ACL.

LHP Dylan Carmouche started on Sunday and pitched 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter, but 2 of the hits were homers, so he got tagged for 4 runs, which is also how many strikeouts he had.

Low-A San Jose (49-26)

Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) 12-4 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 20-2 [box score]

What blissful offense the Low and High-A affiliates treated us to this weekend!

It probably goes without saying that there were some good offensive performances in these games. It’s up for debate who had the best weekend, but center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 8 CPL) most certainly had the best game. After going 0-5 with a walk and a strikeout on Saturday, the team’s 2024 4th-round pick exploded on Sunday, hitting 3-5 with a grand slam, 2 doubles, a walk, a strikeout, and 6 runs batted in. I’ve talked endlessly about Jordan flipping the script by sporting a great average, stealing a ton of bases, and keeping his strikeouts down but not hitting for much power, so it was nice to see his behemoth power show up on Sunday. He’s sitting on an .832 OPS and a 129 wRC+, which is about where he’s been all year.

First baseman/designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins had a similar weekend. He went 0-2 with a walk and 2 strikeouts on Saturday, but on Sunday hit 2-4 with a home run and 2 walks. Jenkins, a 14th-round pick last year, has only played in 27 games this season due to injury, and more than half of those games were in the Complex League. But he’s hit very well when he’s been on the field.

Speaking of people who have been hitting well, first baseman/designated hitter Robert Hipwell (No. 25 CPL) showed out over the weekend, hitting 3-7 with a home run, a double, 3 walks, a hit by pitch, and 3 strikeouts. The strikeout rate (29.6%) is still much higher than the Giants would like to see from the 2024 6th-rounder out of Santa Clara, and the batting average is lower (.232), but he has an .824 OPS and a 129 wRC+ thanks to a sky-high walk rate and isolated slugging percentage (16.5% and .216, respectively).

And speaking of people with low averages, high strikeout rates, and a lot of power, shortstop Walker Martin (No. 14 CPL) added to that profile over the weekend, hitting 3-11 with 4 strikeouts … and all 3 of his hits being doubles. Martin’s season has been a “on the one hand … on the other hand” season. He has just a .225 batting average …. but 44% of his hits have gone for extra bases. He has a 28.9% strikeout rate … but that’s down from 46.3% at the level last year. Put it all together and it’s a .770 OPS and a 113 wRC+ for the 2023 2nd-round pick.

Right fielder Jean Carlos Sio was a hit machine, going 6-11 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. His season has flown under the radar, in part because he doesn’t have much power, but the lefty, who just turned 21, has a .747 OPS, a 112 wRC+, and just a 13.0% strikeout rate.

Meanwhile, second baseman Zander Darby was unstoppable, hitting 4-5 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 3 sacrifice flies (all on Saturday). Last year’s 12th-round pick has sneakily put up an .874 OPS and a 140 wRC+, and had success in every offensive area.

And finally, it was a great weekend for catchers who have been struggling. On Saturday the start went to Nomar Diaz, the team’s 14th-round pick in 2022, who was playing in just his 8th game of the year (and 43rd in his career). He had been struggling entering the game, but went 2-3 with a home run, 2 walks, and a strikeout. On Sunday the start belonged to Juan Perez, a 20-year old playing in essentially his 1st year of A-ball and having a hard time finding hits. He went 2-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

We’ve spent hours talking about the hitters, but there’s not much to mention with the pitchers. We’ll just highlight one arm: Sunday’s starter, RHP Drake George, who was sensational in 4.2 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7 batters. George, who was the team’s 13th-round pick a year ago, has a 3.20 ERA and a 2.85 FIP in his debut season, and is really starting to click. In his last 4 starts, he’s pitched 18.2 innings and allowed just 12 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs, while striking out 21.

Arizona Complex League (30-12)

Saturday: ACL Giants beat the ACL Angels 5-4 (7 innings) [box score]

Not much to talk about here. An awesome game from shortstop Dario Reynoso (20 years, 2023 IFA), who hit 1-2 with a home run and 2 walks. After a subpar debut stateside season a year ago, Reynoso has been a destructive offensive force this year, sporting a .998 OPS and a 160 wRC+. The 29.0% strikeout rate is something the Giants will want to see come down, but a .223 isolated slugging from someone who primarily plays the middle of the infield and just turned 20 is pretty exciting.

And a great performance on the mound from RHP Marlon Franco (22 years, 2019 IFA). Franco was nearly perfect in 4 shutout innings, giving up just 1 hit and 0 walks, while striking out 3. After 4 years in the DSL, Franco is making the most of his Arizona opportunity with a 3.40 ERA, albeit with an accompanying 5.08 FIP.

Dominican Summer League Black (17-3)

Saturday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Pirates Black 3-2 [box score]

No good hitting days in this one, but a pair of nice pitching performances to highlight, as the DSL Black squad continues to thrive. RHP Dilan Fernandez (20 years, 2023 IFA) started and gave up just 1 hit and 1 run in 4 innings, albeit with just 1 strikeout. Fernandez only has 7 strikeouts in 14 innings this season, but he has a 0.57 WHIP and a 1.93 ERA.

Next up was RHP Alfonso Perez (19 years, 2022 IFA), who tossed 3 shutout innings with just 1 hit and 3 strikeouts. He has 14 strikeouts against 3 walks in 12 innings this year, to accompany a 3.75 ERA in his 4th pass through the DSL.

Dominican Summer League Orange (14-5)

Saturday: DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Blue Jays Blue 10-2 [box score]

This game was the resumption of a game that was postponed halfway through a few weeks ago. There were a pair of home runs, from catcher Miguel Caraballo (16 years, 2025 IFA) and first baseman Franco Willias (20 years, 2023 IFA). Caraballo, who hit 1-4 and also drew a walk and struck out twice, now has a .935 OPS and a 147 wRC+ … pretty sensational numbers for a debuting 16-year old who plays catcher. He should be proud!

As for Willias, he now has a .952 OPS and a 132 wRC+ in his 2nd pass through the level, and has dropped his strikeout rate by more than 10 percentage points, all the way down to 11.4%.

Left fielder Brandon Vasquez (18 years, 2024 IFA) hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout, while right fielder Carlos Concepcion (19 years, 2023 IFA) hit 3-4 with a double and a strikeout.

On the mound, RHP Iverson Paulino (18 years, 2024 IFA) had a 6-inning start, which is a huge rarity in the DSL …. but he did it by starting the game that was delayed after a few innings, and then starting it again when it was resumed many days later. Either way, he gave up just 2 hits and 2 runs during that time, but walked 4 while striking out 5.

RHP Kendry Castro (18 years, 2024 IFA) struck out 2 batters in a perfect inning. He has a 1.74 ERA, but has just 6 strikeouts against 6 walks in 10.1 innings this year.

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Home run tracker

AAA Grant McCray (11)
AAA Hunter Bishop (5)
AA Victor Bericoto (9) [6 in AA]
AA Carter Howell (5)
High-A Drew Cavanaugh x2 (10) [3 in High-A]
High-A Bo Davidson x2 (9)
High-A Charlie Szykowny x2 (9)
High-A Scott Bandura (5)
High-A Jonah Cox (4)
Low-A Robert Hipwell (7)
Low-A Dakota Jordan (6)
Low-A Jeremiah Jenkins (4) [1 in Low-A]
Low-A Nomar Diaz (1)
ACL Dario Reynoso (5)
DSL Miguel Caraballo (3)
DSL Franco Willias (2)