A busy day for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Thursday, with all six teams that are still in-season in action. Let’s dive into it!
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
AAA Sacramento (66-48)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 4-3
Box score
There was big news in this game: Marcelo Mayer was beginning his rehab assignment. Mayer, the former top-15 overall prospect
(as recently as last year!) whom the Giants acquired from the Red Sox at the deadline, made his organizational debut on Thursday, playing second base. And he wasted no time making an impression.
Mayer struck out in his first at-bat — understandable given that he hadn’t played in a game in about 3 weeks. But in his 2nd at-bat? He smoked an absolutely gorgeous home run. He drew a walk in his 3rd plate appearance, before exiting the game. We’ll call that a smashing success and quite an introduction!
The Giants will need to ramp up Mayer to full games before bringing him to San Francisco, but it’s safe to say that his AAA stint won’t be long at all. He’ll be back in the Majors soon enough.
While Mayer was the big news — and certainly a star in his own right — the biggest star was left fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), who is really starting to find his groove in AAA after a very slow start. A day after hitting his 1st AAA homer, Davidson was back at it again, hitting a brilliant 4-5 with a 2-run blast and 3 total runs knocked in.
Davidson’s hits were, in order: a 102.1-mph single, a 103.3-mph homer, a 97.2-mph single, and a 104.2-mph single. What a delight those numbers are! The lefty now has hit safely in 6 of his last 7 games, with 5 extra-base knocks in that time. It seems he’s starting to figure things out!
Also a nice game for center fielder Scott Bandura, who hit 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Bandura continues to excel in AAA following a slow start to his tenure after an early-season promotion. He’s up to an .832 OPS and a 119 wRC+ with the River Cats, and sure feels like a near-lock to be a Rule 5 protection this winter.
A rough day on the mound for LHP Matt Wilkinson, who was struggling to find both the strike zone and fool hitters. Wilkinson needed 101 pitches to make it through 5 innings, while only throwing 58 of them for strikes, which resulted in 4 walks. Tugboat gave up 5 hits in those 5 innings, and 4 of the 5 were doubles which, along with the walks, tagged him for 3 runs. Perhaps most damning, though, was that he only had 1 strikeout on the day, and had just 8 swing-throughs on his 101 pitches.
It’s been a stellar year for Wilkinson, whom the Giants acquired in the Patrick Bailey trade back in May. But questions abound about his ability to miss bats and get outs at higher levels given his low velocity, as his fastball is averaging just 89.9 mph in AAA. Interestingly, his fastball has still been his most successful pitch in the Pacific Coast League, but it has a terrifying hard hit rate of 50.7%. In all, it’s a 5.15 ERA and a 5.40 FIP for the burly southpaw.
RHP Braxton Roxby continued his recent tear, as he pitched 2 nearly perfect innings, giving up just a hit batter while recording 5 of the 6 outs by way of strikes. Despite those 5 strikeouts, he threw just 20 pitches! Absolutely absurd efficiency. Roxby, a 27-year old who came to the Giants in the Taylor Rogers trade, had a rough start to the year, but has been lights out for a few months now. He had an 11.00 ERA after his 1st May appearance, but since then has pitched 43 innings and allowed just 28 hits, 14 walks, and 10 earned runs, with 39 strikeouts. He’s down to a 3.63 ERA on the year, albeit with a 4.90 FIP.
RHP Eric Cerantola had far and away his best outing since joining the organization, as he struck out all 3 batters he faced. He’s been struggling a bit lately, but he has some excellent strikeout stuff.
AA Richmond (65-45)
Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 7-2
Box score
Just as Davidson was showing off his prospect status in AAA, shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) was doing the same in AA. Last year’s 1st-round pick has adapted to life in the Eastern League brilliantly following a promotion last month, but yesterday was his best day yet. The lefty from Tennessee was an on-base machine, hitting 3-4 with not 1, but 2 triples, plus a double and a walk. The only stains on an otherwise perfect day were a strikeout and a caught stealing.
Kilen appears to have put his development in overdrive. You hope for players to come close to matching their numbers at lower levels as they move up the Minor League chain, yet Kilen has improved his across the line from his 1st half performance in High-A. His average is up (.282 to .330). His on-base percentage is up (.350 to .375). His slugging percentage is up (.462 to .527). His isolated slugging is up (.179 to .198). His OPS is up (.811 to .902). His wRC+ is up (114 to 133). His stolen bases are up (0 to 1, so technically true!).
The only things that haven’t improved are his strikeout and walk rates, which have both worsened by what amounts to a rounding error. It’s been a sensational adjustment to AA and, if he keeps this up, he’ll likely start the 2027 Minor League season in AAA, with an eye towards an MLB debut.
A pair of 3-hit days for prospects who have struggled to find hits, as second baseman Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) and first baseman Sabin Ceballos both hit 3-5. Ahuna, a 4th-round pick in 2023, and Ceballos, a 3rd-round pick in 2023 (by the Braves) both have strong defensive chops and flash some good power, but are struggling to collect hits. The 24-year old Ahuna, who also stole 2 bases in this game, has just a .227 average and a 30.3% strikeout rate in his AA debut, leading to a .691 OPS and a 90 wRC+. Ceballos, who turns 24 in a few days and is in his 2nd AA campaign, has a lowly .222 average despite just an 18.2% strikeout rate. He has a .726 OPS and a 100 wRC+ on the year.
A really excellent start for RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL), who was overpowering for 5 innings. Marte needed a lot of pitches (97) to get through those 5 innings, but otherwise was sensational, giving up just 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, while striking out 7 batters. What an outing!
Marte, who turned 23 over the weekend, has been hot and cold since getting promoted to AA at the start of June, and has a 4.32 ERA and a 4.20 FIP. He’s still allowing too many hits and homers (though none of the latter in this game), but he has 10.0 strikeouts to 3.2 walks per 9 innings, and those are stellar numbers for someone as young and electric as he is.
RHP Ben Peterson pitched brilliantly as well, giving up a walk and no hits in 1.1 scoreless innings, with 3 strikeouts. The 24-year old UDFA, who is in his 2nd season, has just a 4.00 ERA and a 4.84 FIP since getting promoted to AA, but has racked up 31 strikeouts in just 18 innings.
High-A Eugene (66-44)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Mariners) 9-1
Box score
The hottest hitter in the system is staying hot! Yes, it was another lovely day for center fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL), who just won’t stop hitting the ball over the fence. Diaz only hit 1-5 in this game, but he didn’t strike out, he stole a base, and he smashed a lovely solo home run.
It was the Diaz’s 4th home run in his last 5 games, his 5th in his last 7, and his farm-leading 23rd big fly of the season. He has a staggering .795 slugging percentage in August, after a .635 mark in July. Not bad for a center fielder who, having just turned 21, is about 2.5 years younger than his average peer in the Northwest League.
The lack of walks — he’s drawn just 12 with Eugene, in nearly 350 plate appearances — are keeping his wRC+ down, but it’s still a 113 mark to accompany his .839 OPS, with some really solid defense and 9 stolen bases (though he’s been caught 7 times). But Diaz has really been a different beast entirely since the summer rolled around: since June 28 (a stretch that includes 6 games with Low-A San Jose), the Cuban has hit 50-150 with 14 home runs, 1 triple, 8 doubles, 7 walks, and just 24 strikeouts. He probbly should be getting a little bit more attention!
A trio of other hitters also had lovely games: left fielder Zander Darby hit 3-4 with a double, a stolen base, and a strikeout, boosting his OPS to .823 and his wRC+ to 117; shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) went 3-5 with a strikeout, raising his OPS to .844 and his wRC+ to 123; and catcher Onil Perez hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, and now has a .726 OPS and a 92 wRC+.
For all of Diaz’s brilliance, the star of the day came on the mound, where LHP Henry LaLane made his second appearance with the organization. A 6’7 22-year old who came to the Giants in the Heliot Ramos trade a few weeks ago, LaLane is a massively intriguing talent, and that was on display Thursday, when he really shut down Hillsboro’s lineup. LaLane went 6 innings into this game, while throwing just 83 pitches, and gave up less than a baserunner per inning, ceding just 4 hits (all singles), 1 walk, and 1 run. It’s pretty clear from those numbers that hitters were not at all comfortable against him, and it certainly looked that way.
LaLane only had 2 strikeouts, which is uncharacteristic, and certainly nothing to worry about. He’s certainly had no issue with strikeouts on the year, as he has 105 in 88.2 innings on the year. His starts are becoming must-watch TV, and even though he’s spent most of the year in Low-A, it seems likely that he’ll be in AA when the 2027 season opens up.
RHP Ubert Mejias had a nice game, allowing just 1 walk in 2 no-hit innings, with a strikeout. Mejias, a 25-year old, has a pretty hilarious profile through 11 appearances since getting promoted. He is absolutely brilliant from a strikeout and walk perspective, but awful from a hits standpoint: in 25.1 innings with the Emeralds, he’s registered 29 strikeouts with just 5 walks … but allowed 35 hits, including 6 home runs.
Low-A San Jose (61-50)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 5-0
Box score
A fantastic pitching performance in this one, by a trio of pitchers who have been having fairly difficult years: RHPs Ben Bybee and Dylan Carter, and LHP Ricardo Estrada.
Bybee, last year’s 8th-round pick, got the start and had one of his best outings of the season, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk in 4.1 scoreless frames, while striking out 3 batters. That was quite a nice bounce back, after he gave up 4 runs in 4 innings with 0 strikeouts in his prior start. Bybee has had a tough debut year, with a 4.96 ERA and a 5.41 FIP, and he’s only striking out 7.4 batters per 9 innings.
Estrada pitched next, and struck out 5 batters in 3.2 innings, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs. That came after 9 runs in just 1 inning his last time out! Other than that blowup outing, Estrada has been much better lately. After posting an 11.70 ERA in April, Estrada settled into a 2.86 May ERA, a 2.53 June ERA, and a 1.77 July ERA. That tough month and his last outing are still really impacting his overall numbers, though, as he has a 4.48 ERA and a 5.99 FIP.
Finishing it out was Carter, an undrafted free agent last year who retired all 3 batters he faced. Carter only has a 5.65 ERA and a 5.14 FIP, but this was his 3rd straight outing without an earned run.
Strong days for the top prospects in San Jose, as second baseman Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) both had strong games. González, who has thoroughly dominated the Cal League during his short stint, hit 1-4 with a triple and a walk, while Hernández, who has struggled adapting to the new level, went 2-5 with a strikeout.
González, an 18-year old switch-hitter, has a 1.014 OPS and a 151 wRC+ through 13 games at the level, while Hernández, a 17-year old right-hander, has a .599 OPS and a 48 wRC+ through 15 games.
Right fielder Tanner Mally continues to look oh so comfortable, as he hit 2-4 with a double. The righty, who turns 22 next week, is still the only player from the team’s 2026 draft class who has debuted. The 17th-rounder has hit safely in all 6 games as a pro, going 10-23 with 3 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Quite a first impression!
Dominican Summer League Black (34-18)
DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Rockies 9-7
Box score
Bit of a funny start from RHP Simon Colmenares, a 20-year old from Venezuela in his 2nd season. For better and for worse, Colmenares barely let anybody put the ball in play: he pitched 4.1 innings and struck out 7 batters without allowing a single hit … but also walked 4 batters and hit 2, which ultimately put 2 runs on his ledger. That’s been quite an issue for Colmenares, as he’s allowed 21 walks and 8 hit batters in 35.1 innings this year, en route to a 7.64 ERA and a 6.13 FIP.
Right fielder Rainer Espinoza, who turns 18 next week, is starting to find his groove, as he hit 3-4 with a double. Espinoza, who had a solid debut season last year, has been limited to just 9 games due to injury, and in the 1st 7 of those 9, he hit just 1-18 with 0 extra-base hits. But this nice game came after smashing a home run on Tuesday, so he’s moving in the right direction!
17-year old shortstop Joniel Hernandez, one of the stars of the deadline deals for the Giants, hit 2-5 with a stolen base and a strikeout, giving him a .941 OPS, a 126 wRC+, and 9 stolen bases in his debut season. Catcher Luis Padron, a lefty in his debut season who turns 17 next week, went 0-2 but drew 2 walks and stole 2 bases. Through 14 career games, he has an .850 OPS, a 104 wRC+, and 3 stolen bases.
Dominican Summer League Orange (28-23)
DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Pirates Black 8-1 (7 innings)
Box score
It was a very DSL game, as highlighted by the fact that the Giants Orange squad scored 8 runs in 7 innings without a single extra-base hit. That’s not easy to do at other levels!
The star on offense was shortstop Israel Alfonse, a 17-year old who started his debut season on the 60-Day IL, but recently debuted. The left-handed hitter from the DR hit 3-4 in this game, with a stolen base, and through 5 career outings is 6-16 with 1 home run, 4 strikeouts, and 2 stolen bases. Not a bad beginning to his career!
A nice outing from 20-year old RHP Frainer Mejias, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings with 1 hit and 3 strikeouts. It was Mejias’ 4th straight game without allowing a run, and during that time he’s thrown 3.2 innings and given up just 2 hits and 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. That said, he has just a 4.71 ERA and a 7.05 FIP on the year, and this is his 4th pro season.
Home run tracker
23 — Lisbel Diaz — [20 in High-A; 3 in Low-A]
21 — Bo Davidson — [2 in AAA; 19 in AA]
4 — Marcelo Mayer — [3 in MLB; 1 in AAA]
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 7:05 p.m. PT at Las Vegas (SP: TBD)
Richmond: 4:00 p.m. PT at Harrisburg (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Hillsboro (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Fresno (SP: TBD)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
