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
Just one small nugget of news: AA Richmond activated RHP R.J. Dabovich off the Injured List. Dabovich, the team’s 4th-round pick in 2020, has really struggled with injuries: he’s thrown just 14.1 innings in the last 3 seasons combined. Hopefully he can get a little run and rhythm before the year ends.
AAA Sacramento (71-64)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators
(A’s) 8-4 Box score
A dinger-fueled victory for the River Cats, who got back on track after dropping the first 2 games of the series. The biggest swing came from third baseman Thomas Gavello, who broke the game open in the 6th inning with a grand slam.
Gavello, who finished the day 1-4, continues to impress while filling in at a level that developmentally he shouldn’t yet be at. Despite posting comfortably below-average numbers in High-A to start the year — and all of last year — he’s now up to 40 games in AAA while still holding a .937 OPS and a 135 wRC+. Remarkable stuff for the 2022 13th-round pick, who turned 24 over the summer. I’m curious to see whether, like Brett Auerbach this year, Gavello starts the 2026 season still in Sacramento, or if they send him to AA Richmond, which he essentially glossed over, playing just 31 games. It’s kind of hard to send a player back down a level when they put up such gaudy numbers, though playing time will also be difficult for him if the team gives Sabin Ceballos (No. 18 CPL) the AAA third baseman job next year.
While Gavello had the most meaningful swing when it comes to winning Thursday’s game, first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) had the most important swing, as every positive data point we get for the team’s top prospect offers further optimism that he can be part of the solution going forward. And Eldridge sure did provide a positive data point, hitting 1-2 with a walk, a sacrifice fly, a strikeout, and yet another opposite-field home run.
Eldridge’s numbers paint the picture of a prospect who still has plenty of work to do, which is very fair for a 20-year old. He has an .841 OPS, a 106 wRC+, and a 30.8% strikeout rate, so there’s stuff to improve on. He’s also hitting a home run once every 14.5 plate appearances in AAA, and once every 12.8 at-bats. He might not be ready yet, but the good outpaces the bad by a mile for the lefty slugger.
Rounding out the homer day was right fielder Tyler Fitzgerald, who hit 2-4 with a solo blast, a strikeout, and an error. Fitzgerald is, unfortunately, past the point of being able to salvage a very disappointing season, and will enter his final option year with a whole lot of question marks. But he’s trying to end the year on a positive note, and so far in September is 4-12 with 2 home runs.
Catcher Jesús Rodríguez saw his remarkable streak of 4 straight 3-hit games come to a close, but it was a dynamic performance nonetheless, as he hit 1-3 with a strikeout, drew 2 walks, and stole 2 bases. He’s up to an .876 OPS and a 138 wRC+ with the River Cats, and playing behind the dish more and more. He sure looks like he’ll be the backup catcher in San Francisco come March.
The other 40-man hitters: center fielder Wade Meckler (No. 13 CPL) hit 1-5; designated hitter Marco Luciano went 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts; and second baseman Brett Wisely hit 1-2 with 2 walks and 2 stolen bases.
On the mound, RHP Mason Black (No. 7 CPL) pitched well, but didn’t really get rewarded for it with good results. Black took down 6 innings on just 81 pitches, and threw 57 of those pitches for strikes. He gave up just a baserunner per inning, with 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 4 hits — all singles. And yet, the combination of sequencing and a less-than-stellar defense resulted in 3 runs against Black.
It’s been a very difficult season for Black who, like Fitzgerald, will enter his final option year in 2026. And it certainly hasn’t been ending well, either. The 25-year old, who has a 5.84 ERA and a 5.66 FIP, has allowed 31 earned runs in 27 innings over his last 7 starts.
RHP Miguel Díaz allowed 2 baserunners in an inning, but didn’t give up any runs. He’s now up to 14 consecutive outings without an earned run, and in that time has allowed just 4 hits in 16 innings.
AA Richmond (51-75)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Altoona Curve (Pirates) 8-2
Box score
A pretty bad game for the Squirrels, all around the diamond. It began with a very wild start from RHP Trystan Vrieling, who had his worst game since coming over the Giants at the trade deadline. Vrieling just couldn’t find the strike zone: he threw exactly half of his pitches for strikes, and in just 3 innings managed to walk 4 batters and hit 3 more. He only allowed 1 hit, but thanks to all those free runners, 4 runs came across to score.
The 2022 3rd-round pick has just a 6.26 ERA and a 4.86 FIP through 6 starts with the Squirrels, though his peripherals are right in line with what he did for the Yankees AA team this year, when he had a 4.50 ERA and a 4.60 FIP.
After Vrieling came RHP Manuel Mercedes, who made his re-debut for Richmond after a few weeks of being demoted to High-A. Apparently that reset worked, as Mercedes had perhaps his best outing of the year, pitching 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts while throwing 17 of 25 pitches for strikes. That’s some welcome improvement for Mercedes, who has been, to be honest, fairly awful with both strikeouts and walks this year: before this game, he had just 49 strikeouts in 78.2 AA innings, with 44 walks.
RHP Dylan Hecht also had a nice game, striking out 2 batters in a scoreless inning, with just a walk allowed. He remains one of the best stories on the farm this year.
Second baseman Nate Furman played in his second game since making his Richmond debut, and, like the first, it went well. He hit 1-2 and drew a walk, before leaving the game early, which hopefully wasn’t due to an injury. First baseman Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) hit 3-4 with a strikeout, as his late-season surge continues: in his last 10 games, the 23-year old righty has hit 17-39 with 1 home run, 1 double, and 4 walks. He hasn’t been flexing his power too much lately, but that contact improvement has bumped his average to .258, his OPS to .765, and his wRC+ to 126. I’m really looking forward to him (hopefully) getting a full season with Sacramento next year.
High-A Eugene (79-51)
Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane (Rockies) 3-0
Box score
An elite pitching performance, led by someone who is ending the season on an absolute tear: RHP Josh Bostick (No. 27 CPL). It was yet another spectacular showing by the 2023 8th-round pick, who pitched 6 masterful innings, allowing just 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs, while striking out 7 batters, and throwing 55 of 82 pitches for strikes.
For pretty much all of last year, and the start of this year, Bostick had been in the “he has so many tools and so much electricity but it just isn’t getting results” bucket. Now he’s in the “holy cannoli this guy is too good for these hitters” bucket.
Since the start of July, Bostick has made 11 starts and pitched 62.1 innings, allowing just 47 hits and 17 earned runs, which works itself out to a 2.45 ERA. But most impressively? In those 62.1 innings Bostick has struck out 76 batters … and walked just 10.
That’s an utterly masterful stretch, and it’s brought his season ERA down to 3.71. Interestingly, he still has a 4.60 FIP, despite 10.5 strikeouts against just 3.0 walks per 9 innings.
Finishing off the shutout were RHPs Brayan Palencia and Junior Flores. Palencia struck out 2 batters in 2 perfect innings while Flores, pitching in just his 2nd game since getting promoted to Eugene, struck out a batter in a perfect 9th inning. What a day on the mound!
In the batter’s box, the star was first baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL), who hit a perfect 4-4 with a double, the team’s only extra-base hit. By now you’re probably used to me saying it every day, but Szykowny is overcoming a slow start to the year with a brilliant closing stretch. He’s currently working on an 8-game hitting streak, during which time he’s gone 16-30 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 2 walks, and just 3 strikeouts. That’s brought him up to an .824 OPS and a 122 wRC+ and, like Bostick, it’s left no doubt that he belongs in AA when the 2026 season rolls around.
Another good game for third baseman Parks Harber, who hit 2-4. Harber has been awesome since joining the Giants in the Camilo Doval trade, as he has a 1.042 OPS and a 179 wRC+ in 23 games. Given that his numbers were very similar with New York’s High-A affiliate, the 2024 undrafted free agent also seems like a lock to make a home in Richmond come April.
Low-A San Jose (79-50)
San Jose Giants lost to the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 8-6
Box score
A quartet of players from July’s draft played on Thursday, and 3 of those 4 players played very well (second baseman Lorenzo Meola, the team’s 4th-round pick, was the lone exception, as he hit 0-5 with 2 strikeouts).
Center fielder Trevor Cohen, the team’s 3rd-round selection, hit 2-5 with a double and a strikeout, bumping his OPS to .812 and his wRC+ to 135. A very successful debut season for the lefty, who has struck out just 15 times in 121 plate appearances. Designated hitter Cameron Maldonado, the team’s 7th-round pick, continued his hot streak, hitting 2-3 with a double, a walk, and 3 runs batted in. He’s up to a .719 OPS and a 106 wRC+, and while his strikeout rate remains high (27.6%), he looks more and more comfortable every day. And catcher Daniel Rogers, an undrafted free agent, hit a perfect 3-3 with a walk, though he also committed 2 errors. Rogers has impressed for a UDFA, as he has a .720 OPS and a 113 wRC+.
Left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) had a good game, as he continues to end the season on a strong note. He hit 3-5 with a double, which saw his OPS climb to .718, and his wRC+ to 96. The just-turned 20-year old hasn’t really boosted his prospect status this season, but it shouldn’t lose any shine, either.
Unfortunately, it was another rough day for third baseman Walker Martin (No. 16 CPL), who hit 1-5 and had both 2 strikeouts and 2 errors. Martin has a .731 OPS and a 106 wRC+ on the year, and while those are OK numbers, they’re not what you’d hope to see from a 21.5-year old 2nd-round pick in his 2nd year at the level, especially when you add in the 28.6% strikeout rate and the 21 errors. After a good summer, it’s been a brutal end to the season for the lefty: since August 21, he’s hit just 3-43 with no extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts.
Not a very good pitching day. RHP Niko Mazza really struggled to find the zone, throwing just 48 of 82 pitches for strikes, and allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, 5 runs, and 3 earned runs in 5 innings, with just 2 strikeouts. Mazza, last year’s 8th-round pick, still has just a 2.22 ERA … but a 4.33 FIP. He’s up over 5 walks per 9 innings now, which is surely what the Giants will want to see him improve going into his 2nd pro season.
Home run tracker
24 — Bryce Eldridge — [17 in AAA; 7 in AA]
14 — Thomas Gavello — [9 in AAA; 3 in AA; 2 in High-A]
9 — Tyler Fitzgerald — [4 in MLB; 5 in AAA]
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Las Vegas (SP: Trevor McDonald)
Richmond: 3:00 p.m. PT at Altoona (SP: Jack Choate)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Spokane (SP: Cesar Perdomo)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Modesto (SP: Jacob Bresnahan)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
