Down on the Farm: 9/3/2024

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats smothered the Salt Lake City Bees 13-0:

Will Wilson 3B- 2 for 4, BB, HBP.  BA= .231.

Wade Meckler CF- 4 for 6.  BA= .303.

David Villar 1B- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB, HBP, SF.  BA= .254.

Trenton Brooks DH- 2 for 5, HR(8), BB.  BA= .314.

Hunter Bishop LF- 3 for 5, SB(8).  BA= .236.

Donovan Watson 2B- 3 for 6, 2B, 3B.  BA= .297.

Christian Koss SS- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .262.

Trevor McDonald RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 10/2.  ERA= 4.68.

Spencer Howard RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.75.

Austin Warren RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.91.

The Giants are starting to develop a bit of a logjam at the top of their farm system blocking the path to the majors for most of these players.  McDonald is probably the top prospect here.  Meckler may need Grant McCray to show he needs more salt before he gets another shot.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels shut out the Akron Rubber Ducks 1-0:

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 0 for 3.  BA= .000.

John Bertrand LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.   ERA= 4.03.

Wil Jensen RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.79.

Travis Kiest RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(5).  ERA= 2.77.

Bryce Eldridge makes his AA debut.  Reports on X say he hit the ball hard twice.

A+:  Vancouver Canadians defeated the Eugene Emeralds 8-5:

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .206.

James Tibbs III- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .065.

Scott Bandura LF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(18).  BA= .233.

Quinn McDaniel CF- 2 for 4, 2B, 2 SB(37).  BA= .238.

Dylan Carmouche LHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.53.

Trent Harris RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.09.

A+ is a fairly aggressive placement for a new draftee, even a first rounder.  They used to go to short season A ball which doesn't exist anymore.  Still, .065 is a little disappointing for a first rounder from a major college conference.  Where have we heard that before?

Game Wrap 9/3/2024: D'Backs 8 Giants 7

Kyle Harrison got blown out early and a late Giants comeback once again fell short.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, HR(13), BB.  BA= .242.  YtY's slash line since moving into the leadoff position in the lineup:  .269/.406/.577.  The only place in the order where he has a better split is 8'th.

Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 4, 2B, SF, SB(5).  BA= .277.  Every time I think Heliot has hit a wall he pushes through with a game like this.

Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 5, HR(22).  BA= .247.  3 more to 25.

Patrick Bailey C- 2 for 4.  BA= .230.  Signs of life in Bailey's bat.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.56.  It seems pretty clear that Harrison has hit his limit for this season and should be shut down.

Tristan Beck RHP- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.70.  Amazing comeback from a subclavian artery aneurysm repair. Yikes!  Gives me a near panic attack just thinking about it.  Happy to have you back Tristan but stay safe!

Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.91.  Did anyone catch what Kruk and Kuip were talking about when they said Hjelle would set a record if the next batter hit a comebacker?  The batter grounded out to 1B with Hjelle covering instead.  Beck and Hjelle are a couple of interesting guys for next season.

Hayden Birdsong RHP tries to push through his wall tomorrow facing Zac Gallen RHP.

Churn Watch:

Marco Luciano IF and Luis Matos OF were finally called up with Blake Sabol C/OF and Casey Schmitt IF optioned to AAA Sacramento.  Does FZ really want to get a long look at Luciano and Matos or is this another case of him doing what the blog....KNB....er, fanbase wants? Hey! It worked out for Heliot Ramos!

Down on the Farm: 9/2/2024

Just one game on tap for Labor Day.

A:  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the San Jose Giants 5-1:

Lisbel Diaz RF- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .268.

Walker Martin SS- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .183.

Ryan Reckley 2B- 1 for 3.  BA= .212.

Ryan Vanderhei RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.63.

Brayan Palencia RHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.08.

Lisbel Diaz continues to show impressive extra-base power.  33% of his hits have been for more than singles both for San Jose and the ACL.  For reference, MLB average is under 10%.

....and just like that, Bryce Eldridge gets the late-season promotion to AA Richmond.  I am generally in favor of giving prospects who are in line for a next-season promotion a head start by giving the some exposure to what they can expect to see next season and possibly what they need to work on during the offseason.  My hesitation with Eldridge is he's already had a tremendous season with a midseason promotion. Why take a chance on messing with his head?  I just hope the coaches have admonished him to look at is as a learning experience and not stress over results.  But yes, I am very happy and excited for him.

Down on the Farm: 9/1/2024

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Las Vegas Aviators 11-9:

Cavan Biggio DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .226.

Will Wilson 3B- 3 for 4. BA= .208.

Luis Matos RF- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .256.

Trenton Brooks 1B- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .313.

Marco Luciano SS- 3 for 5.  BA= .250.

Hunter Bishop LF- 1 for 4, HR(9), BB.  BA= .231.

Clay Helvey RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

Justin Garza RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.60.

Hard to believe Cavan Biggio is 29 yo and has over 1500 MLB AB's under his belt.

AA:  Eries Seawolves topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5:

Ismael Munguia CF- 1 for 3, HR(5), BB.  BA= .311.

Victor Bericoto 1B- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .257.

Diego Velasquez SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .307.

Nick Morreale RHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.00.

Nick Garcia RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.41.

Will Bednar RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 3/0.  ERA= 7.76.

Does Bednar get another season to try to find some traction on his career?

A+:  Eugene Emeralds defeated the Everett Aquasox 6-4:

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 1 for 1, HR(12), 2 BB, SF.  BA= .335.

Cesar Perdomo LHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 4.41.

Not much more to say about Eldridge.  As tempting as it is to say he should promoted to Richmond for the last two weeks of the season, it's probably best to let him finish on a high note for Eugene and start next season in AA.  

A:  San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5-2:

Zander Darby 2B- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .233.

Cesar Quintas CF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(12).  BA= .236.

Robert Hipwell 3B- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB. BA= .218.

Ubert Mejias RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.63.

Elijah Pleasants RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 1.78.

Game Wrap 9/1/2024: Marlins 7 Giants 5

Logan Webb was dealing with what looked like elite stuff and a 2-run lead then hit a wall in the 5'th inning after he misfired a potential GIDP ball and gave up 6 runs over the next two innings and went on to take the Loss.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, HR(12), BB.  BA= .239.  YtY's HR came on the second pitch he saw leading off the Giants half of the first inning.  He later led off the 5'th inning with a walk and scored on a ground out.  

Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 13/0.  ERA= 3.43.  Webb was electric through 4 innings, so much so that before the #9 hitter got a groundball single in the 3'rd inning I was already thinking no-hitter.  After Griffin Conine singled on another groundball to lead off the 5'th, Otto Lopez lined out.  Jose Devers then hit a comebacker Webb fielded cleanly with plenty of time to complete an inning ending GIDP.  Instead he threw high to Tyler Fitzgerald who managed to get a tag on Conine but had no chance to get the trailing runner.  The next 3 batters went GB single, LD single, 3-run HR.  Poof!  The Giants trailed 4-2 and never caught up.  Was Webb distracted by his errant throw?  Did he run out of gas?  After giving up those 4 runs in the 5'th he gave up 2 more in the 6'th.

The Giants get Labor Day off before hosting the D'Backs on Tuesday with TBD facing TBD.

Down on the Farm: 8/31/2024

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats edged out the Las Vegas Aviators 4-3:

Luis Matos LF- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(14), SB(8).  BA= .257.

Wade Meckler RF- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .292.

Blake Sabol C- 1 for 4, HR(9), SB(11).  BA= .241.

Cavan Biggio 2B- 1 for 3, BB, SB(2).  BA= .200.

Carson Seymour RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 8/3.  ERA= 4.80.

What does the future hold for Matos, Meckler, Sabol and Seymour?  4 intriguing prospects whose futures are unclear.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels outscored the Erie Seawolves 10-6:

Ismael Munguia DH- 3 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .310.

Justin Wishkoski 2B- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .273.

Luis Toribio 3B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .195.

Jimmy Glowenke SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .196.

Dylan Cumming RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.84.

Cumming is another undrafted FA signed out of indy ball.  In his last 4 starts he allowed 5 ER in 20.2 IP(2.18 ERA) with 23 K's and 10 BB's.  Ismael Munguia carries a similar profile as Wade Meckler. Does he have enough power to stick at the MLB level?  Luis Toribio and Jimmy Glowenke have had some good games but over all disappointing and probably candidates for release over the winter.

A:  Rancho Cucamonga Quakes defeated the San Jose Giants 6-4:

Cesar Quintas RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .233.

Ryan Reckley 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .206.

Game Wrap 8/31/ 2024: Marlins 4 Giants 3

A controversial call by the 2B umpire on what looked like a CS play by Patrick Bailey and Tyler Fitzgerald resulted in the Marlins scoring the winning run in a close ballgame.  Key Lines:

Michael Conforto DH- 2 for 4, HR(15).  BA= .231.  Conforto's HR in the 8'th inning narrowed the gap to 4-3 but as so often the case, that's as close as the Giants got.  Teams that depend on walkoff heroics are not going to win many games.  Despite the two hits, Conforto is still batting just .154 over his last 7 games and .204 over his last 15.   He's had a disappointing season and as a pending free agent will almost certainly not be back next season.

Patrick Bailey C- 0 for 4.  BA= .228.  Bailey's bat continues to slump but the D is solid.  He gunned down one runner at 2B on a strike out/throw out.  It looked like he got another CS on former Giant Otto Lopez in the 7'th inning but Tyler Fitzgerald was called for blocking 2B apparently on a technicality.  Fitz' foot was temporarily parallel to the front edge of the bag but he moved it to give Lopez a lane well ahead of the slide.  Lopez ended up coming around to score the winning run.

Jerar "Why Do I Want To Call Him Juan?" Encarnacion RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .259.  We tend to forget Jerar when we list the Giants graduated prospects and future cornerstones but he continues to states his case for a role on next year's team.

Mason Black RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 7.45.  Pretty good start with excellent secondary ratios.  Black is a guy who has an opportunity to make his case for next year's rotation with his performance the rest of this season.

Taylor Rogers LHP- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.61.  ERA= 7.45.  Was Taylor's mind on how much his employer wishes he would go away?

Logan Webb RHP tries for a series win today against Darren McCaughan RHP. 

Churn Watch:  

Austin Warren RHP was optioned to AAA Sacramento to make room on the roster for Mason Black.  Andrew Knapp C cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Sacramento.