After a hiatus for the trade deadline, it’s time to show some love to the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates with a roundup of Thursday’s games. Only 5 of the organization’s 7 teams were in action, as the Arizona Complex League season is over, while AA Richmond was rained out (they’ll make it up with a doubleheader today).
Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.
News
Needless
to say, lots of news on the farm after the trade deadline, which saw the Giants add a lot of players to the system.
The Giants assigned all of their traded-for players to the levels they were in at the time of the trade: LHP Carlos De La Rosa to the DSL, RHP Yunior Marte to Low-A San Jose, infielder Parks Harber to High-A Eugene, RHP Trystan Vrieling to AA Richmond, and outfielder Drew Gilbert, RHP Blade Tidwell, and catcher Jesus Rodriguez to AAA Sacramento.
There were also a bazillion promotions over the last few days, in large part because the ACL season ended and bodies needed to move around. RHPs Argenis Cayama (No. 28 CPL), Keyner Martinez, Melvin Pineda, Fernando Vasquez, and shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL) were promoted from the ACL to San Jose. LHP Charlie McDaniel, RHP Darien Smith, and third baseman Zander Darby were promoted from San Jose to Eugene. RHPs Shane Rademacher and Cameron Pferrer were promoted from Eugene to Richmond. LHPs Seth Lonsway and Helcris Olivárez were promoted from Richmond to Sacramento, while RHP Tyler Vogel headed in the other direction.
Meanwhile, Sacramento activated catcher Sam Huff from the IL, while placing RHP Juan Mercedes on the 7-Day IL. And if you missed it, the Giants signed catcher Diego Cartaya — once a top-10 prospect in baseball — and assigned him to the ACL. He’ll get caught up in extended games, then likely head to Sacramento.
Finally, the organization said goodbye to 6 players, as they released San Jose infielders Elian Rayo and Javier Francisco, San Jose RHP Elijah Pleasants, Eugene LHP C.J. Widger, Eugene outfielder Guillermo Williamson, and Richmond RHP Mat Olsen. Best of luck to all of them.
AAA Sacramento (53-52)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) 8-4
Box score
Fans of Sacramento are all too familiar with “scratch watch.” Last week, following Hayden Birdsong’s optioning, RHP Kai-Wei Teng was scratched from a start, leading to speculation that he would be called up. A few days later, after Landen Roupp’s injury, LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 2 CPL) was scratched from his start, leading to more speculation. The speculation hit 1-2, with Teng staying put while Whisenhunt was called up for his MLB debut.
Thursday offered more scratch watch, and probably with better certainty. After the Giants traded a pitcher (Camilo Doval) and an outfielder (Mike Yastrzemski), both a pitcher and an outfielder were pulled from Sacramento’s lineup: Teng and Grant McCray. They’re both reportedly in New York with the Giants right now, though it’s unclear if Teng will be used as a starter or reliever. Infielder Christian Koss is also in New York, though he’s just on the taxi squad.
As to the game that was? Well, it wasn’t immediately clear who would be called up to replace Yastrzemski, and it seems that left fielder Marco Luciano felt he should have earned the nod. Luciano had a dynamic day, hitting 3-3 with a home run, 2 doubles, and a walk.
Marco Luciano BARREL.
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) August 1, 2025
His 20TH HOMER of the season!!!
416 feet
⚡ 107.2 MPH EV (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
41 degrees pic.twitter.com/io4ZfNa7xI
As has been the case all year, Luciano hit the ball extremely hard, with a pair of balls hit in excess of 107 mph. The batting average (.225) and learning-on-the-fly defense are probably why he’s not getting a look in the Majors now, but the elite exit velocities and bat speed, as well as the organization-leading 20 big flies, should hopefully get him a look at some point.
Luciano hit a HR last night that encapsulates why I’ve been pounding the table all year for him. The metrics on the HR, 107 mph, 41 degree launch angle. It’s very hard to hit a ball that hard (>=107) at that launch angle (>=41 deg). These are the guys who have done it in MLB this year, ++power group
— GPT (@giantsprospects.bsky.social) 2025-08-01T16:46:03.333Z
The former top prospect has just an .800 OPS and a 108 wRC+ this year, but Thursday was a bow on a brilliant July, in which he hit 15-59 with 8 home runs, 4 doubles, and 17 walks, good for a 1.150 OPS.
While Luciano was perhaps fueled by being passed over, another player used the promotions as an opportunity: LHP Antonio Jimenez. With Teng a late scratch, the Giants turned to Jimenez, normally a bullpen piece, to eat some innings in a start. And he was superb, pitching 4 shutout frames with just 1 hit, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts, while throwing 40 of 66 pitches for strikes. What a showing!
Jimenez, who only recently turned 24, has a 3.71 ERA with 10.7 strikeouts per 9 innings in his 1st year with the organization. However, he also has a 5.17 FIP and 6.8 walks per 9. But this was a brilliant day, and hopefully more to come.
The River Cats couldn’t hold onto the lead Jimenez helped them have, though, as LHP Raymond Burgos and RHP Trent Harris (No. 20 CPL) both got roughed up in relief. RHP Ryan Watson calmed the storm with a perfect inning featuring a strikeout, as his strong season continued.
While Luciano had the best day on offense, a few other players shined as well. Right fielder Hunter Bishop (No. 34 CPL) had a very nice game, hitting 2-5 with his 7th homer of the year. Bishop has had plenty of great moments this year, but time sure is running out. Even with McCray SF-bound, the Giants still have Luciano, Wade Meckler, Daniel Johnson, and Jerar Encarnación playing the outfield in Sacramento while occupying spots on the 40-man roster, and newcomer Drew Gilbert, while not on the 40, will surely be near the top of the depth chart.
Hunter Bishop's homer gets us on the board!
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) August 1, 2025
Solo HR
401 feet
⚡ 99.1 MPH EV
33 degrees pic.twitter.com/nBjzhkc07t
Meckler (No. 13 CPL) got the start at designated hitter, where he went 2-3 with a walk. A lack of power (he has just 8 extra-base hits and 0 home runs in 215 plate appearances this year) has given Meckler a mediocre line — .724 OPS, 105 wRC+. But he has a .274 batting average and more walks than strikeouts this year.
Second baseman Thomas Gavello continued his lovely story, hitting 2-5 with a triple and 2 strikeouts. He has a 1.089 OPS and a 173 wRC+ in 18 games since being a fill-in promotion ... he sure has run with it!
High-A Eugene (56-43)
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 6-1
Box score
A very uninteresting game for the Emeralds, who really didn’t do much on either side of things. Third baseman Zane Zielinski had the most notable game, hitting 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Last year’s 9th-round pick had spent most of the year at shortstop, but has moved to third base as his primary position to facilitate the arrival of shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL). Zielinski has a .610 OPS and a 77 wRC+, and while those numbers aren’t good, it’s worth noting that he’s a debuting player who skipped the ACL and Low-A, and he also has 28 stolen bases in 34 attempts.
RHP Josh Bostick (No. 27 CPL) had some nice moments in a mediocre start. Bostick gave up just 5 hits in 5.2 innings, but 3 of those hits were home runs. That, combined with a walk and a hit batter, tagged him for 4 runs. He also struck out 5, as his up-and-down season continued.
Low-A San Jose (64-35)
San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports (A’s) 6-1
Box score
The big news for the Baby Giants was that a pair of their top Rookie Ball performers who recently joined the squad started Thursday’s game. On offense it was shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL), who had a rude introduction to the level, hitting 0-5 with 2 strikeouts in his Low-A debut.
But on the mound, it was a different story. LHP Luis De La Torre, the rare international free agent who was born in the states, took the mound for his 3rd start with San Jose. After 2 years in the DSL, De La Torre opened eyes this year in the ACL, where he had a sensational 62 strikeouts in just 38.2 innings, with only 16 walks, though his ERA was just 3.72.
Somehow the move up a level has only made him better. The 21-year old threw 5 shutout innings for San Jose, allowing just 5 baserunners (3 singles and 2 walks), while striking out 7 Ports hitters.
De La Torre’s performance with the Baby Giants has been nothing short of staggering: 3 starts, 14 innings, 6 hits, 3 walks, 0 runs, 19 strikeouts. My goodness!
They’re not empty numbers, either. De La Torre’s stock has been rising all year, as his velocity and stuff have drawn raves from prospectors and from the team itself. He’s one to keep a very close eye on.
LHP Ricardo Estrada, who also began the year in the ACL, also had a fantastic game, tossing 3 no-hit, no-run innings, though he did walk 3 while striking out just 2. Estrada has a 3.10 ERA since moving up to San Jose, though he has just 12 strikeouts against 12 walks in 20.1 innings.
On offense, the excitement might have been the newcomer Level, but the stars were a pair of players who have been doing it all year: left fielder Jean Carlos Sio and first baseman Robert Hipwell (No. 25 CPL). Sio, who has been on an absolute tear lately, hit 1-2 with a home run and 3 walks, bumping his OPS up to .816 and his wRC+ to 130. Add in that he’s a lefty who only recently turned 21, plays all over the diamond, and has a minuscule 12.4% strikeout rate, and Sio is a name we should all be paying more attention to. He wrapped up a brilliant July in which he hit .364/.453/.515.
Play of the Game: Jean Carlos Sio hit a BIG fly to get the Giants on the board first. For the month, Sio had a .968 OPS with 9 XBH and 12 RBI. pic.twitter.com/G7MDNhL0wD
— San Jose Giants (@SJGiants) August 1, 2025
Hipwell also went deep, smacking his 10th homer of the year as part of a 2-3 day that also featured a walk. The Giants probably want to see more contact from last year’s 6th-round pick, as he has a 30.7% strikeout rate and just a .248 batting average. But thanks to a whole bunch of power — his .236 isolated slugging ranks 3rd out of 79 Giants prospects with at least 100 plate appearances this year — the Santa Clara product has an .880 OPS and a 142 wRC+ this year.
Right fielder Ryan Reckley (No. 35 CPL) continued to look like a new man since a reset stint in the ACL, as he hit 1-3 with a walk and 2 stolen bases. Nice to see him turning his season around.
Dominican Summer League Black (28-14)
DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Blue Jays Red 3-2
Box score
Shortstop Josuar González (No. 5 CPL, 17 years, 2025 IFA) is flying up prospect boards. He’s the clear-cut No. 2 prospect in the system now, and even appeared at No. 27 on the Fangraphs midseason update. And the tools keep showing up: on Thursday he hit 2-3, drew a walk, and stole 2 bases.
González’s debut numbers aren’t overwhelming, as he has a .775 OPS and a 112 wRC+, more good than great. But the primary reason those numbers aren’t higher is a lack of extra-base hits, and that’s not something to worry about. His exit velocities are outrageous for someone his age, and scouts are raving about his bat speed. The power will translate. As it is, he has more walks than strikeouts, a very tidy 15.3% K rate, and 24 stolen bases in 28 attempts ... and just 39 games. Add in the awesome shortstop defense and there’s only one conclusion to make: he’s the real deal, folks!
RHP Alberto Laroche (19 years, 2024 IFA) has also been earning great reviews in the DSL, and his talent was on display in this game. Laroche gave up just 1 hit and 1 walk in 4 innings, though he hit 2 batters and allowed 2 runs. But, notably, he struck out 6 batters. The performance may have raised his ERA to 1.51 (he has a 3.07 FIP), but he now has a brilliant 32 strikeouts against just 5 walks in 35.2 innings this year. He’ll surely be Papago bound in 2026.
Dominican Summer League Orange (29-13)
DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Cubs Blue 5-4 (7 innings)
Box score
Center fielder Djean Macares (17 years, 2025 IFA) was viewed as one of the top players in the Giants international class this year, but the results haven’t always been there. They were on Thursday, though, as the left-handed hitter from Aruba had a beautiful game, hitting 2-2 with a double and a hit by pitch. He has just a .663 OPS and an 86 wRC+ in his debut year, but also a tiny 11.4% strikeout rate. More days like this are surely ahead.
RHP Omar Calcurian (20 years, 2024 IFA) had a dynamic game, pitching 2 perfect innings with a strikeout. It’s been a funny season for Calcurian, who has a 2.28 ERA ... but a 6.01 FIP. He has a 53.2% groundball rate, but just 13 strikeouts in 27.2 innings, which won’t cut it.
Home run tracker
AAA Marco Luciano (20)
AAA Hunter Bishop (7)
Low-A Robert Hipwell (10)
Low-A Jean Carlos Sio (5)
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 5:35 p.m. PT at Albuquerque (SP: Seth Lonsway)
Richmond: 3:00 p.m. PT doubleheader at Somerset (SP: Jack Choate)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Everett (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Stockton (SP: TBD)
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