AA Richmond Flying Squirrels 2026 Season Review

 The AA Richmond Flying Squirrels won the Eastern League Southwest Division first half and quite handily with the best record on the EL, 43-25.  They then stumbled to 31-36 and 5'th place in the second half probably due to promotions up to AAA and up from A+.  The Squirrels had a total of 61 players appear in games over the season. They then lost the EL Division Series 2 games to 0.  

Team Stats: 

Batting:

BA:  .264(1)

OBP:  .345(11)

SLG%:  .411(7)

Hits:  1189(3)

Doubles:  .235(5)

Triples:  30(3)

HR:  122(12)

Walks:  503(10)

Strikeouts:  1079(1-fewest)

SB:  204(4)

Runs:  707(6)

My Take:  We again see the Buster Effect:  High contact, low walks, low power.  Mid-pack in run production.  

Pitching:  

ERA:  5.10(10)

Shut Outs:  11(1)

Home Runs:  160(9)

Walks(12- Most)

Strikeouts:  1250(6)

GO/AO:  0.89(11)

My Take:  The 5.10 ERA was well deserved as the pitching gave up the most walks in the league, did not keep the ball on the ground and gave up a lot of home runs.

Individual Stats:

Batting(200+ AB for Rate Stats):

BA:  Trevor Cohen- .300, Diego Velasquez- .295, Parks Harber- .284.

OBP:  Diego Velasquez- .384, Parks Harber- .369, Sabin Ceballos- .356.

SLG%:  Bo Davidson- .521, Parks Harber- .510, Charlie Szykowny- .417.

Hits:  Charlie Szykowny 1B- 109, Sabin Ceballos- 94, Maui Ahuna- 89.

Doubles:  Charlie Szykowny- 21, Parks Harber- 20, Diego Velasquez 2B- 19.

Triples:  Jonah Cox RF- 5, Charlie Szykowny- 4, Maui Ahuna/Dayson Croes/Gavin Kilen- 3

Home Runs:  Bo Davidson 19, Sabin Ceballos- 18, Charlie Szykowny- 14.

Runs:  Sabin Ceballos- 69, Maui Ahuna- 63, Charlie Szykowny- 61.

RBI:  Sabin Ceballos- 57, Bo Davidson- 53, Charlie Szykowny- 53.

Steals:  Maui Ahuna- 31, Jonah Cox- 27, Diego Velasquez- 21.

My Take:  Despite counting stats near the top of several categories, Maui Ahuna and Sabin Ceballos had BA's in the .220's.  Ceballos is a true 3-true outcomes guy but does that play at higher levels?  Bo Davidson is the top prospect here.  Gavin Kilen had a sneaky good season with a slash line of .297/.343/.469 in 128 AB after putting up a similar line in A+ ball.

Pitching(50+ IP for Rate Stats):

Wins:  Tyler Vogel- 9, Jack Choate- 6, 4 pitchers- 5

ERA- Joe Whitman- 3.22, Tyler Vogel- 3.25, Yunior Marte- 3.92.

Saves:  Tyler Vogel- 16, Cristian Alvarado- 5, Mitch White- 5.

Strikeouts:  Greg Farone- 107, Trystan Vrieling- 98, Cesar Perdomo- 89.

WHIP:  Joe Whitman- .97, Cesar Perdomo- 1.11, Shane Rademacher- 1.11.

GO/AO:  Manuel Mercedes- 1.34, Tyler Vogel- 1.31, Joe Whitman- 1.19.

My Take:  Not a super-inspiring group.  Yunior Marte and Cesar Perdomo made it to the Giants and did not embarrass themselves.  Joe Whitman should be added to the 40-man roster over the winter and get a shot next season.  Tyler Vogel is on the Closer Track.  That is often not a successful path to the major leagues.

AAA Sacramento River Cats 2026 Season Review

 The mission of most team's AAA teams is generally 2-fold:  "Finishing school" for prospects and an extended bench for the MLB team.  The Sacramento River Cats fulfilled both parts and did it well as 51 players played for both teams and several of them look to have long term roles for the Giants.  The River Cats started off strong finishing second in the PCL West in the first half with a 42-30 record.  After numerous promotions to the Giants and from AA, they slipped to third place in the second half at 37-38.  Over the full season they had the second best record in the PCL West and the third best overall.  Let's break down the team stats and individual stat leaders for the season. 

Team Stats(league ranking in parentheses):

Batting:

BA:  .278(4)

OBP:  .361(5)

SLG%:  .427(8)

Runs:  822(6)

Hits:  1400(5)

Doubles:  282(5)

Triples:  25(8)

Home Runs:  138(9)

RBI:  773(6)

Walks:  591(10)

Strikeouts:  992(1-fewest). The next fewest K's was 1157 so quite a large gap.

HBP:  91(3)

Sac:  33(3)

Sac Fly:  63(1)

My Take:  We see an even more extreme stat pattern reflecting Buster's image, best in league in K's and worst in walks with lower power numbers.  

Pitching:

ERA:  4.67(3)

HR:  133(2-fewest)

Walks:  643(6)

Strikeouts:  1222(5)

Saves:  34(3)

Save Ops:  51(8).

GO/AO:  1.03(6)  

My Take:  Nothing To See Here.  Kind of middling for all stats probably reflecting the use of 24 pitchers over the season. 

Individual Stats:

Batting:  200+ AB for rate stats.

BA:  Turner Hill- .353, Scott Bandura- .318, Bo Davidson- .309.

OBP:  Turner Hill- .420, Scott Bandura- .398, Bo Davidson- .389.

SLG%:  Bo Davidson- .534, Turner Hill- .529, Scott Bandura- .492.

Hits:  Scott Bandura- 117, Nate Furman- 117, Will Brennan- 114, Turner Hill- 114.

Doubles:  Scott Bandura- 28, Nate Furman- 25, Will Brennan- 24.

Triples:  Turner Hill- 4, Scott Bandura- 3, Will Brennan- 3.

HR:  Will Brennan- 11, Scott Bandura- 10, Bo Davidson- 10

Runs:  Scott Bandura- 71, Turner Hill- 65, Nate Furman- 63

RBI:  Will Brennan- 63, Scott Bandura- 62, Turner Hill- 60.

SB:  Scott Bandura- 24, Turner Hill- 23, Nate Furman- 19.

My Take:  Mostly similar names mostly due to number of AB's.  Of the guys who logged the most AB's, Turner Hill showed the most at the MLB level.  Bo Davidson is the top prospect.  Others who were not on the team as long but impressed at the MLB level include Drew Cavanaugh, Jonah Cox and of course Bryce Eldridge.  

Pitching:  30 IP for rate stats.

Wins:  Cesar Perdomo- 7, Wilkin Ramos- 6, Carson Whisenhunt- 6.

ERA(relievers):  Ryan Walker- 2.52, Michael Fulmer- 2.98, Trent Harris- 3.12.

ERA(Starters):    Joe Whitman- 3.74, Carson Whisenhunt- 4.15, Blade Tidwell- 4.38

Saves:  Michael Fulmer- 10, Eric Cerantola- 6, Carson Seymour- 4.

K/9(relievers):  Trent Harris- 11.60, Michael Fulmer- 11.06

K/9(starters):  Carson Whisenhunt- 9.84, Blade Tidwell- 9.75, Joe Whitman- 7.36, Cesar Perdomo- 6.80.

My Take:  Again, not much in the way of takeaways.  A bit curious why Michael Fulmer never got his shot at The Churn.  Maybe the reason Joe Whitman never got a call was his low K/9 but Cesar Perdomo's was worse.  Beyond that, the cupboard was pretty much emptied out at AAA level.  There are some promising pitching prospects at lower levels, bolstered by the 2026 draft but overall organizational pitching is thinner than hitting.

Giants 2026 Season Review: By the Numbers(Part II)

We'll continue our numbers review with a look at team leaders:

Hitting(300+ AB):

 BA:  Luis Arraez- .324, Jung Hoo Lee- .276, Casey Schmitt- .271.

OBP:  Bryce Eldridge- .364, Luis Arraez- .360, Rafael Devers- .340.

SLG%:  Rafael Devers- .525, Casey Schmitt- .483, Bryce Eldridge- .461.

Hits:  Jung Hoo Lee- 149, Rafael Devers- 144, Luis Arraez- 136.

Doubles:  Rafael Devers- 36, Jung Hoo Lee- 31, Willy Adames- 25.

Triples:  Luis Arraez- 7, Jung Hoo Lee- 4, Drew Gilbert/Heliot Ramos- 3.

HR:  Rafael Devers- 37, Willy Adames- 21, Casey Schmitt- 21.

Runs:  Rafael Devers- 88, Jung Hoo Lee- 65, Willy Adames- 62.

RBI:  Rafael Devers- 98, Bryce Eldridge- 57, Jung Hoo Lee- 57.

My Take(s):  Can we bring Luis Arraez back?  The Giants desperately need Casey Schmitt's righthanded bat in the lineup. They just need to figure out where he's going to play.  Jung Hoo Lee was pretty good until a late season collapse.  Would he benefit from being a platoon player or more of a utility OF?  Willy Adames had an outside shot at another 30 HR season before his elbow injury took him out but severe contact issues and terrible defense, possibly due to a chronic back condition, more than negated his power.  Looking ahead, there is too much uncertainty from too many players making too much money who may be blocking younger, cheaper and better options.

Pitching)50+IP): 

Wins:  Robbie Ray- 10, Landen Roupp- 9, Logan Webb- 8.

ERA:  Robbie Ray- 3.08, J. T. Brubaker- 3.60, Landen Roupp- 4.01.

Quality Starts:  Logan Webb- 17, Landen Roupp- 11, Robbie Ray- 9

Saves:  Caleb Kilian- 8, Erik Miller- 4, Dylan Smith- 4.

My Take:  Beyond the obvious need for a proven Closer, the Rotation is a shambles and there are not enough young pitchers to stand in the gap.  With Ray gone and the miles starting to take their toll on Logan Webb, Roupp might be the staff ace and yikes!  I'm seeing a need for at least 2 above average SP's as possibly more of an offseason need than a Closer.  I mean, a Closer is not going to do much good if the rest of the staff can't give him a lead in the 9'th inning.

Giants 2026 Season Review: By the Numbers(Part I)

Despite hiring a college field manager with no professional experience on any level and a curious lack of upgrades to the bullpen, the Giants came into the 2026 season with an expectation of being no worse than the 2025 team and possibly enough wins more to sneak into a postseason berth.  POBO Buster Posey's stated goal for the offseason was improving team defense and he went after that by hiring defensive coaching wizard, Ron Washington and by signing CF Harrison Bader.  Those moves combined with a full season of Rafael Devers and the expected graduation of Bryce Eldridge plus the contact hitting of Luis Arraez gave hope of both run scoring and run prevention upgrades to the roster.  

Then came Opening Day and the opening series against the Yankees and a near total obliteration in every phase of the game.  The Giants scored just 1 run in 27 innings on 13 hits only 4 of which came in the first two games which were shutouts.  It was the Yankees but the shock and awe of it all left a lot of people, including me, with a deep sense of foreboding about the rest of the season.  The Giants traveled south and took 2 of 3 from the Padres then win the first game of a4-game weekend series agains the Mets and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  Maybe the faceplant in the Yankee series was just a small sample fluke against a tough opponent.  Then they lost the next 3 to the Mets and the first game of the next series against the Phillies. They were now 3-8 and the season went downhill from there.  

The 2026 Giants never won more than 3 games in a row.  There was a sweep in Philadelphia at the end of April including double walk-off losses in a doubleheader followed by a sweep to the Rays in Tampa Bay a dropped series to the Padres at home.  That was a 1-8 stretch and the season was all but over.  Another low point in May came after a double sweep to the D'Backs in successive weeks.  I could go on.....and on and on.  

By the end of the season, the Giants had tied a record for most players used in a season at 71, more than in any of the FZ years and The Churn.  If I am not mistaken, Christian Koss was the only player from the Opening Day active roster who was also on the season finale active roster and even he missed some time with an injury.  At least Buster Posey got a nice prospect haul from a full on sell at the trade deadline.  

Let's break it down and look at some numbers starting with some Team Stats then individual team leaders(League Rankings in parentheses):

Batting:

BA:  .245(15)

OBP:  .306(29)

SLG%:  .400(13)

OPS:  .706(23)

Runs:  669(26)

Hits:  1341(13)

Doubles:  262(9)

Triples:  26(6)

Home Runs:  178(20)

Walks:  449(30)

Strikeouts:  1342(14)

SB:  88(22)

My Take:  Giants batters tested Buster Posey's theory about swinging for contact but paid a brutal price with a cratered walk rate which proved to be the run production killer analytic models say it is.

Pitching:  

ERA:  4.33(23)

HR:  160(4)

Walks:  596(25)

Strikeouts:  1204(27)

WHIP:  1.36(24)

BA:  .248(13)

Saves:  30(29)

Save Ops:  57(27T)

Blown Saves:  27(10)- ranked most to least

My Take:  We see a mirror image of the batting stats with the pitchers doing a decent job limiting hits and home runs but getting killed by too many walks.  And I have mentioned this several times and nobody seems to pay any attention:  Yes, the bullpen was #29 in Saves but they were also tied for #27 in Save Ops so while the bullpen was indeed terrible at saving games, the Giants were also terrible at giving them Save opportunities which I think tells us that the Giants won't be fixed by simply adding a reliable Closer.  The problem is much bigger than that.

Game Wrap 9/27/2026: Dodgers 5 Giants 1(10 innings)

Christian Koss hit an apparent game-winning home run leading off the bottom of the 8'th inning only to have it ruled a foul ball on instant replay.  That allowed the Dodgers to break through for 4 runs in the top of the 10'th inning to complete a sweep of the final series of the season.  Key Lines:

Maybe it's fitting to say Nothing To See Here.  The Giants lineup managed just 5 singles and a walk while the pitching side was a bullpen game with Braxton Roxby's 1.2 innings the longest stint.  

So the Giants awful, very bad, no good 2026 season comes to an end.  This is an organization in need of a lot of soul searching.  It should be an interesting offseason, likely complicated by a lockout starting in December.  

As I have shared, the past year was extremely difficult for me on a personal level.  Despite the Giants discouraging performance this season, the almost daily games and subsequent blog posts and banter in the comments gave me something to look forward to each day and provided structure to my life.  Days with no game could get long and quiet.  I will continue to find things to write about through the offseason and fill the gap with other interests and hobbies and a great circle of supportive friends and family but the end of the season brings another void to fill until it all starts again in the spring.  I love everybody who reads and comments.....well, ALMOST everybody!  You all help me keep going.  

Game Wrap 9/26/2026: Dodgers 4 Giants 3

A home run by long time Giants nemesis Kike Hernandez in the top of the 9'th inning crushed Giants comeback hopes.  Key Lines:

Jonah Cox 2B- 1 for 4, 2B, SB(16), R.  BA= .258.  Cox has a OBP of just .308 and a 38% K rate but he also has 16 SB's and has scored 26 runs in 165 PA's.  That projects to 94 runs in 600 PA's.  That would be tied for 20'th in MLB.  The speed does change the game.  

Turner Hill CF/LF- 1 for 3, 2B, SF, R, RBI.  BA= .223.  Hill should be in the mix for a roster spot next season.

Bo Davidson RF- 2 for 3, SF, RBI.  BA= .375.  So far, so good in the Bo Davidson Era.  

Shay Whitcomb 3B- 2 for 2, SB.  BA= .202.  Whitcomb is 4 for 8 over his last 3 games.

Drew Cavanaugh PH/C- 2 for 2, 2B, 3B, RBI.  BA= .236.  Cavanaugh should be the strong side of a catcher platoon next season.  Daniel Susac would seem to be the front runner for the other RH hitting side.

Matt Wilkinson LHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.58.  Not sure why Wilkinson came out after 3 innings.  I guess the Giants can't afford to have any more young pitchers go down with arm injuries this season.  He has earned a chance to compete for a role next season.  

Tristan Beck RHP- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.21.  Beck allowed an inherited runner to score and allowed 2 baserunners in his full inning of work.  His velocity is up to 97 MPH in the two games since his most recent call up.  Is that enough to survive the coming roster purge?

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.22.  The Pirates made some adjustments in Doval's pitch mix with much heavier use of the slider.  He brought that with him to his Giants homecoming and struck out the side and against the Dodgers.  The Giants probably don't want to got to arbitration with him but he seems very happy to be back and they can likely resign him to a lower contract outside the arbitration process.  

Carson Seymour RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.70.  Seymour starts today's season finale in what is probably a planned bullpen game.

Game Wrap 9/25/2026: Dodgers 2 Giants 0

The Giants got a well-pitched game from Yunior Marte and a 4 relievers but the lineup was overmatched by Dodger's SP Tarik Skubal and the outcome was never really in doubt.  Key Lines:

Yunior Marte RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 6/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.44.  Marte was again a gamer who fared better than his previous game against the same team.  Per Gameday, FB had variable velocity 90-95 MPH.  Is that by design or unwanted variability in mechanics?  He threw more sliders and splitters than FB's and used those pitches to get groundball outs.  He looks like he can compete for a long relief/spot start role next season.  

Tarik Skubal LHP(Dodgers)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 2.72.  The Giants roughed him up a bit in Dodger Stadium but you knew that wasn't going to happen 2 games in a row, not with this lineup.  And yes, the Giants are not currently competitive with the Dodgers with or without Tarik Skubal.  They would not be competitive with the Dodgers even if Skubal transferred off the Dodgers and to the Giants.  That's how wide the talent gap is.  It's a little better with Devers and Eldridge in the lineup but I don't think they are competitive even with them plus a Skubal and that's with the Dodgers suffering their own rash of injuries.  

Just the fact that Skubal is currently a Dodger and the odds favor him remaining a Dodger for 10 more seasons is a testament to how broken MLB is right now.  I have never been a supporter of a hard salary cap but when one team is playing by one set of rules and the rest of the league is playing by another, fans of the rest of the league are going to eventually lose interest.  And it isn't just payroll and it's not just the Dodgers.  When ever year 20% of teams empty out their roster and stop competing at the trade deadline while another 20% load up on top players with one team getting THE best player year in and year out, that gets old after awhile too.  

I don't have much faith it will happen and it doesn't necessarily have to be a hard cap, but I would like to see something done to curb what the Dodgers are doing and I would like to see the trade deadline much earlier in the season.  I think the payroll structure is more likely to change than the trade deadline.  

Matt Wilkinson LHP gets a big test today after a terrific start against the Dodgers last weekend.  He faces exhibit 2,  Blake Snell LHP, who comes in with an ERA of 1.86.  I was musing to my friend who is a Dodgers fan that us Giants fans have a saying that goes, "he was a good Giant".  Blake Snell was not a good Giant!