Down on the Farm: 8/15/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Las Vegas Aviators 4-2.

Andrew Knapp C- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .245.  

Assuming Joey Bart does not let go of the starting catcher gig in SF, Andrew Knapp becomes an interesting candidate for back up.  He is hitting .306 for the River Cats since being acquired by the Giants.

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Complex Watch:  

Giants must be serious about getting as many PA's as possible for Will Wilson SS/DH.  He played in two games today, one for Giants Black and one for Giants Oranges teams at the ACL.  His composite line for the day:  1 for 3, 2B, 4 BB.  

Game Wrap 8/15/2022: Giants 6 D'Backs 1

Alex Cobb has pitched like a near-ace this season but was finally credited with a W for the first time since May 17.  Evan Longoria and Joey Bart were the offensive heroes in support of Cobb's strong start.

Alex Cobb RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R 3 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 6/2.  ERA= 3.99.    Ironically, that last W on May 17 may have been Cobb's worst start of the season as he allowed 7 ER in 5.1 IP in Coor's Field.  He allowed 6 ER in 6 IP in his next start when his ERA peaked at 6.25.  He's been lowering it every since.  Going into this game his xERA was 2.96, FIP 2.92 and xFIP 2.83 against an ERA of 4.15.  Also ironically, FIP was not impressed by tonight's start giving him a 5.12 against an ERA of 1.50.  It didn't like the 3 walks and only 5 K's in 6 IP.  As Vin Scully would say, "Go figure!".  

Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB.  BA= .245.  Longoria drove in the first two runs of the game with a HR in the 4'th inning.  A healthy and productive Longo the rest of the way would go a long ways toward getting back in the Wild Card race.

Joey Bart C- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .233.  Bart has really turned his season around.  He is 14 for 28 in his last 7 games and is hitting .303 over his last 30.  For me, the season is a success if Joey Bart gets established as the starting C going forward.  Add in Camilo Doval RHP settling in as Closer and FZ's job this offseason will be so much easier.

J. D. Davis DH- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .252.  Let's not forget the newcomer.  Davis had two hits and scored two runs.  He is slashing .345/.424/.690 since his trade to the Giants. Giants control his contract for one more season and he looks like a keeper for next year.

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Jake Junis RHP goes for the Giants 5'th straight win tomorrow evening facing Merrill Kelly RHP.  Kelly has been tough on the Giants so far.

Down on the Farm: 8/15/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats smothered the Salt Lake City Bees 9-2.

Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .287. 

Jhonny Pereda C- 3 for 4.  BA= .272.

Sam Long LHP- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.61.

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AA:  Portland Sea Dogs outscored the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-7.

Tristan Peters LF- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .235.

Carter Aldrete 2B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .217.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .400.

For a guy who was supposed to be a defense-first 3B and a project at the plate, Schmitt has been impressive at every level he's played so far.  AA is historically the toughest hurdle in the Giants minor league system for hitting prospects.

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A+:  Vancouver Canadians topped the Eugene Emeralds 5-2.

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 5, SB(6).  BA= .193.

Carter Williams RF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .264.

Andy Thomas DH- 2 for 4.  BA= .255.

Nick Zwack LHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 6.48.

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A:  San Jose Giants outlasted the Stockton Ports 6-5(10 innings).

Grant McCray CF- 1 for 4, BB, SB(35).  BA= .290.

Jared Dupere LF- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .301.

Victor Bericoto DH- 2 for 3, HR(11), BB.  BA= .263.

Anyesber Sivira 2B- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .256.  

Trevor McDonald RHP- 4.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.38.

Yoniel Ramirez RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Tempering my enthusiasm for Sivira until I see him sustain it, but I've always thought he had potential to be a dynamic player.

Game Wrap 8/14/2022: Giants 8 Pirates 7

 Thairo Estrada hit a walk-off 2-run HR to give the Giants the win in a see-saw game and sweep the 3-game series against one of the weaker teams in the league.

Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 5, HR(11), SB(16).  BA= .268.  Estrada has a shot at a 15/20 season and played himself into an essential piece of next year's team.  Is he the frontrunner for the Wilie Mac Award?  Gotta think it's down to him or Wilmer Flores from the position players.  Logan Webb has to be a consideration on the pitching side.

Wilmer Flores 3B/1B- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .258.  Speaking of Wilmer Flores, he says hot with 3 hits.  He's hitting .381 over his last 7 games, .240 over his last 15 and .307 over his last 30.

Lamonte Wade Jr RF/LF- 1 for 5, HR(7).  BA= .200.  The Giants need to pay for Lamonte's family to attend every game because he sure knows how to make their day when they come to the park.  He may be hitting just .200 but is at .333 over his last 7 games with 4 HR's.  I really need to see what Lamonte can go if he's healthy for a full season.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4.  BA= .221.  Bart was back behind the plate after being DTD for several games with a bad ankle.  The two hits were both bloops but they are knocks in boxscore.  He scored on Wade Jr's HR after one of them.

Alex Wood LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 9 K.  ERA= 4.18.  Wood gave up a 3-spot in the 5'th inning.  Dominated the other 5 innings he pitched.

Jarlin Garcia LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.86.  Garcia probably saved the game for the Giants as John Brebbia RHP stared the 7'th inning and failed to record an out while allowing a 3-run bomb to Bryan Reynolds DH followed by a single.  Garcia came in and struck out the side while allowing a harmless single.  

Joc Pederson LF left the game after taking a pitch off his right pinky finger.  X-rays reportedly negative.

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The Giants start a 4-game series against the D'Backs tomorrow evening with Alex Cobb RHP facing TBD.

Down on the Farm: 8/13/2022

 AAA:  Salt Lake City Bees stung the Sacramento River Cats 8-4.

Isan Diaz 2B- 3 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .286.

Tristan Beck RHP- 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 9 K's, GO/AO= 8/2.  ERA= 5.71.

Tristan Beck has gotten progressively stronger over the season.  The overall ERA does not look great but he gave up 24 ER in 21.1 IP over his first 5 AAA starts and has progressively lowered his ERA since.  This was probably his most impressive start of the season, especially considering it was in Salt Lake City, one of the more notorious PCL launching pads.  I could see him contributing to the 2023 Giants but he will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Portland Sea Dogs 8-6.

Diego Rincones DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(8), SF.  BA= .259.

Armani Smith 1B- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .250.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .313.

Nick Avila RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.93.

Chris Wright LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.98.

Cole Waites RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.80.

Casey Schmitt is off to a nice start after promotion to AA.  Avila, Wright and Waites all look like future big league bullpen arms.  They were all drafted in 2019 and now face a Rule 5 Draft 40-man roster crunch.  Waites seems to be the most likely to be added due to his triple digit FB.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds blanked the Vancouver Canadians 3-0.

Luis Matos CF- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .189.

Carson Seymour RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

John Gavin LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Seymour was recently acquired from the Mets for Darin Ruf.  He was drafted in 2021 by the Mets.  Big dude:  6'6", 260 lbs.  Could be a fast mover.  Needs to cut down on walks.  I've been John Gavin fan since he was in college at Cal St. Fullerton.  Good to see him healthy and pitching well at any level.

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A:  San Jose Giants pounded the Stockton Ports 11-5.  

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 4, SB(34). BA= .291.

Jared Dupere LF- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .303.

Victor Bericoto 1B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .259.

Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 2 for 5, HR(12).  BA= .265.

Alexander Suarez RF- 2 for 4, 2 2B, SF.  BA= .238.

Anyesber Sivira 2B- 5 for 5, 2B, 2 HR(2).  BA= .256.

Seth Lonsway LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 4.01.

Grant McCray has a shot at a 20/40 season.  Can he also hit .300?  Alexander Suarez has made impressive progress over the course of the season.  We've seen flashes from Sivira in the past but he's never had sustained success at the plate.  Going back to college at Ohio St., when Seth Lonsway commands his pitches, he is dominant, but he has games where he is wild.

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Complex Watch:

Elian Rayo 3B(ACL, 19 yo- 1 for 2, HR(6), BB.  BA= .239.  6 HR is pretty good pop for the ACL. Rayo is an extreme true outcomes guy with a 14 BB% and 35 K%.  

Will Wilson SS- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .625.  Wilson continues to rake in his rehab assignment.

Jose Astudillo 1B(DSL, 18 yo)- 3 for 4, BB, 3 SB(5).  BA= .286.

Estanlin Cassiani CF(DSL, 19 yo)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .413.  Cassiani has a chance to hit .400 for the DSL season.

Game Wrap 8/13/2022

The Giants honored the 2012 Championship alumni with win that as not as close as the score appears.

Lamonte Wade Jr DH- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(4), BB.  BA= .200.  Lamonte is finally healthy and heated up.  He is batting .385 over his last 7 games with 3 HR's.  He was the offensive hero in this games as he accounted for both Giants runs.  He doubled in first inning and scored on Joc Pederson LF's double then hit a solo HR in the 3'rd for an insurance run.  That was all Logan Webb RHP and Camilo Doval RHP needed to cruise to the win. 

Logan Webb RHP- 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's, GO/AO= 10/1.  ERA= 3.00.  A dominant start for Webb both in K's and groundballs.  In the process, Webb surpassed last year's IP total(150 vs 148.1) and lowered his ERA under last year's(3.00 vs 3.03).  

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(17).  ERA= 2.81. I know I've said this before and had it come back to bite, but Doval is looking a lot more comfortable in the 9'th inning lately. Seems to correlate with the addition of the 2-seam FB.

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The Giants try for a series sweep tomorrow afternoon with Alex Wood LHP facing Zach Thompson RHP.

Down on the Farm: 8/12/2022

 AAA:  Salt Lake City Bees outscored the Sacramento River Cats 8-6. 

Jason Vosler 3B- 3 for 4, SB(3).  BA= .236.

Steele Walker RF- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .276.

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AA:  Portland Sea Dogs defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-2.

Diego Rincones DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .255.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .273.

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 4.93.

Teng has 123 K's in 104 IP on the season.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds topped the Vancouver Canadians 7-4.

Jairo Pomares LF- 2 for 4, HR(14).  BA= .258.

Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 4, 2 HR(20).  BA= .212.

Nick Swiney LHP- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.41.

Juan Sanchez LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.03.

Pomares is hitting .475 in August so far.  Toribio is hitting just .220 in August but has hit 3 HR's in his last 3 games and is up to 20 on the season.  5 perfect innings from Swiney.  He had 5.1 no-hit innings earlier the season and had one start with 0 ER and 12 K's in 6 innings.  Some ups and downs but overall a successful season for the 2020 compensation draft pick.

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A:  Stockton Ports beat the San Jose Giants 4-1.

Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 1 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .263.

Grant McCray DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(33).  BA= .289.

Nick Sinacola RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.45.

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Complex Watch:

Guillermo Williamson DH(DSL, 18 yo)- 1 for 4, HR(6), BB.  BA= .230.

Mauricio Estrella RHP(DSL, 18 yo)-  5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.50.  53 K's, 11 BB's in 54 IP.

Estanlin Cassiani CF(DSL, 19 yo)- 3 for 3, Sac.  BA= .404.

Jorge Martinez RHP(DSL, 20 yo)- 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 3.19.  64 K's in 48 IP.