Down on the Farm: 4/5/2018

It wasn't a great start for the Giants farm teams as all 4 full season teams lost on Opening Day.

AAA  Tacoma Rainiers topped the Sacramento River Cats 5-0:

Austin Slater RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .500.
Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.
Chris Shaw LF- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250
Mac Williamson DH- 1 for 3, HBP.  BA= .333.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.00.

Tyler Beede was apparently supposed to start this game but got sent south to San Bernardino due to concerns about the weather in Tacoma while Suarez got the start here.  This may tell you something about how the Giants view Beede vs Suarez.  More on Beede later.

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AA  Trenton Thunder rolled over the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-2:

Aramis Garcia C- 2 for 4.  BA= .500.
Dylan Davis LF- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .333.
Cory Taylor RHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.86.
Dusten Knight RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Dan Slania RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Davis had a terrible season last year.  Off to a good start for a possible bounceback here.  Knight got stretched out at the end of last season but is back in a multi-inning relief role to start this season.

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A+  Inland Empire 66'ers edged out the San Jose Giants 3-2:

Tyler Beede RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Melvin Adon RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.00.
Griffin Canning RHP(66'er's)- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

I attended this game expecting to see a start by Melvin Adon.  I got there early so wandered down to the bullpen area to see him warm up.  Then I noticed a big guy who looked a whole lot like Tyler Beede making some shadow throws from the bullpen mound.  He then went over and was talking to the pitching coach and catcher.  The more I looked the more I was convinced it was Beede.  That he was starting this game was soon confirmed when he starting warming up with the catcher.

Beede came out wild, walking the first 2 batters he faced.  The lead runner scored after a long flyout advanced the runners and a ground out drove in the run.  After that, Beede settled down and looked sharp with a FB that varied from 90-95 MPH on the stadium gun and a mixture of sliders, curves and changeups.  He allowed another walk in the 4'th inning and his only hit with 2 outs in the 5'th inning.

Melvin Adon pitched the final 3 innings.  He's a big sturdy looking guy who appears to be carrying about 20 lbs of unnecessary weight right now.  He looked dominant at times with a 96-99 FB and a nice mix of offspeed pitches which he used effectively.  He was also wild at times which contributed to the 2 runs he allowed.

I wanted to see Brandon Van Horn make some plays at SS.  He did not have to make any throws from the hole, but had at least 3 chances where he had to charge slow rollers.  He made terrific plays on 2 but threw another hurried throw past 1B.  Overall, he looks very athletic and rangy.  At the plate, he looked overmatched on a couple of K's, but had a solid line drive basehit to CF in 5 AB's.

Sandro Fabian had a quiet night looking overmatched on a couple of K's.  He came up in the 8'th with a runner at 2B and no outs.  Manager Lipso Nava called him down from the 3B coaching box and had him bunt the runner over to 3B which was disappointing to me.  I don't think that was the right call there for multiple reasons.  Wander Franco drove in the run with a ringing double into the L-CF gap.

IE starting pitcher was former first round draft pick Griffin Canning.  He came out looking very sharp with a FB that sat 94-95 and a wicked looking slider.  He seemed to tire a bit in the 4'th inning and was lifted for a reliever.

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Low A  Columbia Fireflies defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 4-2:

Heliot Ramos CF- 0 for 5.  BA= .000.
Orlando Garcia 2B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .667.
Jason Bahr RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Peter Lannoo RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Tough opening night for Ramos who K'd twice.  Looks like Augusta is going to go with tandem starters early in the season.