It’s the All-Star break for Minor League Baseball too, but not before a hectic and happening weekend for the San Francisco Giants affiliates. Here’s everything you need to know about the action on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
The biggest news over the weekend was, of course, the 2026 MLB Draft, which saw the Giants add 21 prospects (though they have
some serious work to do to sign all 21). You can see all 21 selections here.
But there was more big news, as a trio of top prospects were promoted: center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) and middle infielder Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) were promoted from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond, while center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) was promoted from Richmond to AAA Sacramento. Huge and tremendously exciting news! Jordan and Kilen celebrated the news by playing in the Futures Game on Saturday, where they each got 1 at-bat. Jordan doubled in his, while Kilen went 0-1.
In other exciting news, Low-A San Jose shortstop Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) won Player of the Week honors in the California League. But in less happy news, the Giants released AAA Sacramento LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL).
AAA Sacramento (49-41)
Friday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake bees 12-5 [box score]
Saturday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees 9-2 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees 11-8 [box score]
Well, the River Cats limped into the All-Star break … they did so with a winning record, but they’re not playing their best baseball at the moment. The highlight over the weekend came from a pair of rehab appearances from catcher Daniel Susac, who hit 4-8 with a 3-run home run, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Quite a performance!
Contrary to popular belief, Susac didn’t actually hit very well in AAA with the A’s last year, as he finished with a 94 wRC+ and a 26.8% strikeout rate. But in 8 rehab games with the River Cats, spanning 2 injuries, he’s rocking a 247 wRC+ and just a 6.1% strikeout rate. Tony Vitello revealed on Sunday that Susac is expected to rejoin the Giants when they return from the break on Friday, and hopefully he can carry his AAA momentum into the Majors, as he was really slumping at the time of his injury.
The other standout offensive weekend belonged to center fielder/right fielder Turner Hill, who hit 7-14 with 2 doubles, 2 stolen bases, and 0 strikeouts. I thought there was a chance the Giants would promote Hill when Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) injured his oblique, but they opted to call up Grant McCray straight from his rehab instead. That’s probably sensible given the proximity to the All-Star break and a desire to not clog up another 40-man spot, but still … hopefully Hill gets his chance in the Jared Oliva/Jonah Cox role some day. The undrafted free agent will never be a blue chip prospect, and he is 27 already, but he also has an .886 OPS and a 135 wRC+ in 67 AAA games this year, with a minuscule 8.2% strikeout rate and 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts. He doesn’t hit the ball hard, but his contact skills are phenomenal: he’s 96th percentile in in-zone contact rate and 97th percentile in whiff rate.
Solid weekends for second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) and first baseman Jake Holton. Furman went 4-14 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and a strikeout, while Holton hit 4-11 with a 2-run home run, a double, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. Furman has a .765 OPS and a 106 wRC+, while Holton now has a .708 OPS and a 95 wRC+. The lefties are both in their AAA debut seasons.
It wasn’t a good weekend on the mound. The only good start came on Saturday, when LHP Matt Wilkinson pitched 4 solid frames, allowing just 1 hit (a single), 2 walks, and 1 unearned run, while striking out 4. It was Tugboat’s 5th start since getting promoted, and there’s been a lot of good (3.93 ERA, 10.3 strikeouts per 9) and some bad (4.88 FIP, 4.2 walks per 9). Personally, I’d like to see him ride out the year in AAA to get as much development as possible, but given that the Giants are likely to trade a handful of pitchers at the deadline — and seeing as how Wilkinson will be Rule 5 eligible this winter — I think we’ll probably see him in the Majors in the second half of the season.
Following Tugboat was LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) who made his 3rd appearance since moving to Sacramento’s bullpen, and gave up 1 hit and 1 run in 1.2 innings, with 1 strikeout. It’s still not entirely clear why the Giants moved Whitman to the bullpen, but it certainly can’t be that they gave up on him as a starter (he’s a significantly better option than some of Sacramento’s rotation pieces right now, and was having a quality season). It could be that they’re gearing him up for an MLB debut (like Wilkinson, he’ll be Rule 5 eligible), but my guess is they’re just giving him a little mid-season break so he doesn’t get worn out, as he’s been quite a workhorse this year. Hopefully he’s back in the rotation soon.
The other starters were bad. On Friday, LHP Seth Lonsway allowed 8 baserunners (including 3 home runs) and 8 runs in 2.2 innings, raising his ERA to 6.75 and his FIP to 6.37. On Sunday they went for an opener, using recently-claimed RHP Eric Cerantola, who made his 2nd appearance with the organization. Cerantola faced 6 batters and walked 5 of them so … yeah.
RHP Ryan Walker also made his Sacramento return after getting optioned and it didn’t go well, as he gave up a home run, 3 walks, and 2 runs in an inning of work. Gotta think his spot on the 40-man roster is getting a little bit toasty.
Nice performances for RHP Marques Johnson and LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL), though. Johnson pitched twice and struck out 5 batters in 2.2 shutout innings, with 2 hits and 1 walk, while Sánchez threw 2 scoreless frames with 2 hits and 3 strikeouts … and then was promptly released.
AA Richmond (53-32)
Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Altoona Curve 5-4 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Altoona Curve 5-1 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve 5-3 [box score]
Center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) is leaving Richmond, and he’s doing so with a bang. The lefty’s final weekend as a Squirrel was yet another dynamic one, as he hit 6-15 with a solo home run, 3 doubles, and 3 strikeouts. It has been one dynamic game after another for Davidson ever since the calendar flipped to June … since the start of that month, he’s hit a staggering 43-138 with 13 home runs, 6 doubles, 16 walks, and 38 strikeouts.
Davidson, who turned 24 last week, departs AA with an .861 OPS, a 122 wRC+, and 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts. Given San Francisco’s outfield issues this year, and considering his upcoming Rule 5 eligibility (where he’ll be a slam dunk protection barring falling on his face in AAA), there’s certainly a path for the undrafted free agent to make an MLB debut this year. The sky is the limit for Davidson, who still has some swing-and-miss and pitch recognition issues to work out, but who really has every tool in the box. Can’t wait to watch him in AAA!
Richmond’s other star hitter is not joining Davidson in AAA — yet — but probably isn’t too far behind, and he had a decent weekend as well. That would, of course, be third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), who hit 4-14 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and 2 strikeouts. After a June swoon, Harber has rebounded brilliantly: in his last 14 games, the 24-year old slugger is 19-57 with 4 home runs, 5 doubles, 4 walks, and 11 strikeouts, bringing him up to an .879 OPS and a 131 wRC+.
Nice weekends for right fielder/center fielder Jean Carlos Sio (No. 44 CPL), shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL), and second baseman/left fielder Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL). Sio hit 3-12 with a home run, a double, and 2 strikeouts, giving the lefty a .775 OPS and a 97 wRC+ since getting promoted; Ahuna went 4-9 with a double, 2 walks, a hit by pitch, a strikeout, and a caught stealing, boosting the lefty’s OPS to .661 and his wRC+ to 71; and Velasquez hit 6-11 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and 3 strikeouts, raising the switch-hitter’s OPS to .795 and his wRC+ to 117. Velasquez, who also has 18 stolen bases, played in the outfield for the first time in his career on Sunday. He’s been on absolute fire lately, hitting 17-37 with 4 extra-base hits, 6 walks, and just 5 strikeouts over his last 12 games.
LHPs Charlie McDaniel and Tyler Switalksi, who are still adapting to AA, struggled in their respective starts on Friday and Saturday, but RHP Trystan Vrieling had another strong outing on Sunday, pitching 6 quality innings with just 1 hit allowed (a single), 2 walks, and 1 run. Vrieling, who struck out 4, struggled a bit to find the strike zone, as just 49 of his 85 pitches were strikes. But being hard to hit is an important skill, and one Vrieling has excelled at lately: in his last 3 starts, the 2022 3rd-rounder has given up just 9 hits (and 3 runs) in 17 innings.
Strikeouts and walks remain a bit of an issue for the 25-year old, who has a 4.04 ERA and a 5.43 FIP … he has just 8.1 strikeouts per 9 innings and 6.1 walks. But great to see him starting to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together.
Yet another dominant relief outing from RHP Christian Alvarado, who struck out a pair of batters in a perfect inning to end the first half of the season for Richmond. Alvarado’s numbers are almost unfathomably good since the Giants signed him to play affiliated ball for the first time in 7 years: in 6 appearances and 6 innings, he’s given up just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs, while striking out 13. The only question is how long the Giants will want to see him do this before testing him in AAA.
RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) has had a disappointing season, but Friday was a good game, as he threw 2 no-hit, no-run innings with 1 walk and 1 hit batter, while striking out 3. The former 1st-rounder’s strikeouts are down quite a bit this year as he repeats AA, from 14.9 to 11.7 per 9 innings, while his walks (6.4 per 9) remain an issue. He has a 4.24 ERA and a 4.53 FIP and, more critically, his fastball velocity isn’t what it was a year ago.
Also a great relief outing from RHP Ryan Vanderhei, who struck out 4 batters in 2 shutout innings, with a walk and a hit allowed. The 2023 10th-round pick has a 4.38 ERA and a 4.64 FIP in 10 relief appearances since getting promoted.
High-A Eugene (52-35)
Friday: Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane 9-4 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds lost to Spokane 7-6 (10 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane 9-5 [box score]
If you think that Davidson had a nice going away party with Richmond, just wait until you see what center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) did with Eugene! Jordan played his final High-A game on Friday, before departing for the Futures Game on Saturday, and then heading to Richmond after the break.
And how did he do in that final game? Thanks for asking! Just a casual 4-5 with 3 home runs and a double. If that’s not a “get me out of here I’m too good for this level” performance than I truly don’t know what is!
While questions about his swing-and-miss issue remain — he has a 27.6% strikeout rate and a 16.1% swinging strike rate on the year — it does seem time for Jordan to square off against better competition, as he had an .879 OPS and a 129 wRC+, while leading the Northwest League with 18 home runs. Jordan departs the Pacific Northwest on a serious heater: in his final 14 games with the Emeralds, he hit a jaw-dropping 23-55 with 9 home runs, 6 doubles, 2 walks, and, critically, just 7 strikeouts. His power has been at a whole new level lately, and it’s going to be so much fun watching him in the Eastern League.
A pair of Jordan’s teammates also had multiple home runs: right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) and first baseman Jakob Christian (No. 40 CPL). Diaz hit 3-12 with 2 home runs, 1 double, and 4 strikeouts, while Christian went 4-8 with a pair of dingers and a quartet of punchouts.
Diaz has been on a heater lately, with 8 home runs in his last 13 games (3 of them came while moonlighting in San Jose when he couldn’t travel with Eugene to Canada). Still, as I’ve written about a few times, Diaz’s season has been funny … despite his 17 home runs trailing only Davidson and Jordan in the farm system, the right-handed Cuban — who turns 21 in a few days — has just a .788 OPS and a 101 wRC+ with Eugene, which is partially the result of having a lowly 3.6% walk rate. Still and all, if you’re a young prospect who is going to hit at a league average clip, I’d much rather it be due to home runs than due to walks, especially since Diaz has just a 17.0% strikeout rate.
Speaking of strikeouts, Christian’s season remains a funny one, as he really only seems to do 3 things: strike out, draw walks, and get extra-base knocks. The 23-year old lefty, taken in the 5th round in 2023, has 199 plate appearances this year, and has struck out 68 times (34.2% rate), walked 23 times (11.6% rate), and registered 21 extra-base hits (.220 isolated slugging). The result is an .827 OPS and a 121 wRC+, but needless to say, the strikeouts need to come down for him to have any chance of success against better pitchers.
And finally, good weekends for the middle infielders, as shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) hit 5-12 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, a stolen base, and a strikeout, pushing his High-A OPS to .798 and his wRC+ to 113, while second baseman Zander Darby went 3-11 with a home run, a double, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts, moving his OPS to .744 and his wRC+ to exactly 100. Another infielder joined the home run party, as third baseman Walker Martin smashed a 3-run shot, but also hit just 2-12 with 7 strikeouts and his 20th error of the season.
Friday featured a great pitching performance, as RHP Niko Mazza showed out in his final start of the half, tossing 7 innings while allowing just 2 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, and 1 run, and striking out 6. What a showing!
Mazza, taken in the 8th round in 2024, has developed a hilarious reputation for ERA/FIP splits. In his debut last year, in Low-A, he sported a glorious 2.22 ERA with a 4.36 FIP. He’s back at it this year, as this start lowered his ERA to 2.50 … but with a 4.12 FIP. That FIP is high primarily because of his 5.1 walks per 9 innings, so very nice to see him issue just one free pass in 7 frames, while throwing 55 of 82 pitches for strikes. Just excellence all around. Mazza is also up to 10.6 strikeouts per 9 innings, after sitting at just 8.7 a year ago. Perhaps most impressive, however, is that he’s allowed only 44 walks in 72 innings.
As is probably evident from those stats, Mazza has some pretty exciting stuff, he just hasn’t fully harnessed it. He ended the half in style though: over his final 6 starts of the first half, the 24-year old pitched 32.1 innings and allowed just 19 hits, 10 walks, and 6 earned runs, with 35 strikeouts. Excited to see what he does in the second half.
LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) started on Sunday and had a game emblematic of his season: he struck out a whopping 9 batters in 5.1 innings while only allowing 3 hits, but also walked 4 and gave up 2 home runs and 4 total runs. That’s been the season for him: he’s only allowed 48 hits in 69.2 innings, and has struck out 93 … but 8 of those 48 hits have been home runs, and he’s issued a stunning 55 walks, leading to a 5.17 ERA and a 5.07 FIP. The magic is there … it just needs to be harnessed.
Not a very memorable weekend for the relievers, though RHP Cole Hillier struck out 3 in 1.1 scoreless frames, while giving up just 1 hit. A good bounceback performance after getting rocked in his previous outing.
Low-A San Jose (53-34)
Friday: San Jose Giants lost to the Visalia Rawhide 12-5 [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants lost to the Visalia Rawhide 2-1 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide 12-5 [box score]
The Baby Giants saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end with a pair of losses, but bounced back to enter the break with a win. As has been the case for much of the year, San Jose showcased the long ball, with 4 different players leaving the yard. We’ll talk about that quartet, and then move to the pitchers.
Shortstop Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) hit 4-10 with a home run, a double, 4 walks, a hit by pitch, and 2 stolen bases, with 2 strikeouts. Last year’s 4th-round pick is up to a .787 OPS and a 96 wRC+, and seems to be relishing being the everyday shortstop with Level promoted (though we’ll see how long that lasts, given who is coming up behind him). He’s still striking out too much, but he’s showing good power, drawing a lot of walks, playing great defense, and has 11 stolen bases on the year.
First baseman Jerimiah Jenkins continued his power year, hitting just 3-13, but bopping both a home run and a double with a walk, albeit with 5 strikeouts. The 2024 14th-round pick has a .912 OPS, a 122 wRC+, and a .270 isolated slugging, a mark that ranks 4th out of the 90 Cal League hitters with at least 150 plate appearances this year. That’s pretty damn impressive, though the 30.8% strikeout rate remains quite concerning.
Corner outfielder Oliver Tejada, who was only recently promoted to A-ball, hit 6-12 with a 3-run home run, a double, a walk, a stolen base, and 5 strikeouts. The 19-year old has a .793 OPS and a 91 wRC+ through 10 games at the level, though he also has a 36.4% strikeout rate.
And finall, catcher Daniel Rogers went 3-9 with a home run, a double, a strikeout, and a caught stealing. After a fairly brutal 11-game stretch with High-A Eugene, Rogers has posted a .857 OPS and a 132 wRC+ in 13 games with San Jose.
Not a very exciting weekend on the mound. The best outing belonged to Saturday’s starter, LHP Ricardo Estrada, who pitched 6 strong innings while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 2 runs, and 1 earned run, with 3 strikeouts. Estrada, a 24-year old, has a 3.92 ERA and a 5.64 FIP on the season, with fairly uninspiring strikeout and walk numbers. He’s been so much better since moving to the rotation, though, and in his last 7 games has pitched 37.1 innings and allowed just 23 hits, 12 walks, and 8 earned runs, with 32 strikeouts.
RHP Samir Chires, a 22-year old, made his 2nd appearance since getting promoted, and allowed just a hit in 2.2 shutout innings, though he didn’t strike anyone out. The Venezuelan has been excellent in a tiny sample since his promotion. Sadly the same can’t be said for RHP Johan Rodriguez, who made his Low-A debut on Sunday and faced 5 batters … and walked 4 of them (though he struck out the 5th).
Arizona Complex League (29-21)
Friday: ACL Giants lost to the ACL Angels 4-2 [box score]
Saturday: ACL Giants beat the ACL Rockies 13-9 [box score]
The big news in the ACL was that Low-A RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) made a rehab appearance. Cayama, who suffered a non-arm injury in late May, kicked off his rehab assignment on Friday with 1 inning of work, giving up 2 hits, a hit bitter, and a run, while striking out 2. Hopefully he’s back in San Jose’s rotation shortly after the All-Star break.
A pair of pitchers continued their rehab on Saturday, with High-A LHP Hayden Wynja allowing 2 hits and a walk in 1.2 scoreless innings, with 2 strikeouts, while AA RHP Logan Martin pitched 1.1 innings and allowed 2 hits and 1 run, with 3 strikeouts.
The best pitching performance belonged to RHP Melvin Pineda, who struck out all 3 batters he faced, while throwing 10 of 14 pitches for strikes. Pineda has some of the most extreme strikeout numbers (complimentary) and walk numbers (derogatory) that you’ll ever see. Across the ACL and Low-A, he’s faced 156 batters and only 59 of them have put the ball in play, as he’s issued a terrifying 28 walks and hit 7 batters, but struck out a staggering 62 … exactly 2 per inning. That number is even higher in the ACL, where the 22-year old has 18.9 strikeouts per 9 innings, albeit with 7.3 walks. If he can just stay in the strike zone…
RHP Kendry Castro, a 19-year old from the DR, made his stateside debut following the very rare international in-season promotion. It was a mixed-bag game, as he struck out 3 batters in 2 scoreless innings, with just 1 hit allowed, but he did walk 3 batters. Welcome to the states, Kendry!
Happy to report a nice weekend for designated hitter Rayner Arias (No. 38 CPL), who hit 2-7 with a 3-run home run, 2 hit by pitches, and 2 strikeouts. It’s been another very brutal season for the former top-10 prospect, who has just a .611 OPS and a 59 wRC+, with a lowly .176 batting average and a 31.7% strikeout rate. He still has so much talent, though, so hopefully he can put it all together.
First baseman Carlos Concepcion and catcher Santiago Camacho had fantastic Saturdays. Concepcion, a 20-year old from the DR, hit 3-4 with a home run and a walk, though he went 0-4 with a strikeout and an error on Friday. Camacho, a 19-year old from Venezuela, only played Saturday, and went 3-5 with a 2-run homer. Both players are hitting well below league average (.652 OPS, 57 wRC+ for Concepcion; .771 OPS, 86 wRC+ for Camacho), though the latter is showing some interesting flashes.
Dominican Summer League Black (15-14)
Friday: DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Blue Jays Red 6-5 [box score]
Saturday: DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Mets Orange 10-6 [box score]
A pair of hitters and a pair of pitchers to highlight. In the batter’s box, it was shortstop Keiberg Camacaro who had the best weekend, hitting 2-6 with a double, a walk, 2 hit by pitches, 2 stolen bases, and 2 strikeouts. The 19-year old right-handed hitter, who has had an inconsistent career, is having far and away his best season in his 4th pass through the DSL, posting a .990 OPS and a 144 wRC+, while lowering his strikeout rate to 14.4% (that’s more than 10 percentage points better than last year, and less than half of what it was his debut season). After stealing 22 bases in 112 games in his 1st 3 years, Camacaro already has swiped 15 bags this year, in just 17 attempts. The other nice day belonged to first baseman/catcher Alessandro Duran, who hit 2-3 with a double and a walk on Friday, though he didn’t play Saturday. It’s been a tough 4th season for the 21-year old, so nice to see him play well.
The pitching stars were RHPs Rainiel Duran and Brayan Cabello, a pair of 22-year olds. Duran struck out 3 batters in 2 shutout innings with a hit allowed, lowering his ERA to 6.08 and his FIP to 6.32 in his 2nd season. Cabello allowed a hit in 1.2 scoreless frames, with 3 strikeouts, dipping his ERA to 1.64 and his FIP to 4.25 in his 5th DSL campaign.
Dominican Summer League Orange (19-11)
Friday: DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Red Sox Red 6-5 (7 innings) [box score]
Saturday: DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Pirates Black 7-1 (7 innings) [box score]
The star in the batter’s box was first baseman Albert Jimenez, who hit 2-5 with a 3-run home run, 3 walks, and a strikeout. A right-handed hitter from the Dominican Republic, Jimenez has made huge strides this year, jumping to a 1.091 OPS and a 151 wRC+ in his 3rd DSL season, while striking out just 13.6% of the time. His 8 home runs this year are 1 off the lead in the DSL, a league that has seen nearly 900 players take at-bats. That’s impressive!
RHP Jhon Leon, a 22-year old, gave up a hit, a walk, and an unearned run in 1.2 innings, while recording all 5 outs by way of strikes. He has 21 strikeouts in 14.2 innings in his 3rd DSL season, but a lot of hits and walks have given him a 6.75 ERA and a 4.11 FIP. RHP Alexis Gallego, arguably the team’s top signing this year after Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) made his professional debut on Saturday, and the 17-year old from Mexico struck out 4 batters in 2 innings, while allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 1 unearned run. Welcome to the pros, Alexis!
Home run tracker
19 — Bo Davidson — [AA]
18 — Dakota Jordan x3 — [High-A]
17 — Lisbel Diaz x2 — [14 in High-A; 3 in Low-A]
13 — Jean Carlos Sio — [8 in AA; 4 in High-A; 1 in ACL]
13 — Jeremiah Jenkins — [Low-A]
11 — Walker Martin — [High-A]
9 — Lorenzo Meola — [Low-A]
8 — Jakob Christian x2 — [High-A]
8 — Albert Jimenez — [DSL]
7 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
6 — Jake Holton — [AAA]
4 — Daniel Rogers — [Low-A]
4 — Carlos Concepcion — [ACL]
3 — Daniel Susac — [AAA]
3 — Oliver Tejada — [2 in Low-A; 1 in ACL]
2 — Rayner Arias — [ACL]
2 — Santiago Camacho — [ACL]
