Four games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Tuesday, and half of them were playoff games. Let’s dive into the action!
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
Just a little bit of news, as catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) and outfielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) are scheduled to begin rehab assignments with AAA Sacramento.
AAA Sacramento (77-59)
Sacramento River Cats beat the
Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 11-1 Box score
This was about as dominant of a baseball game as you’ll see, and it certainly didn’t feel as close as the not-close-at-all score would suggest.
It was a stunning offensive performance which, well … tends to happen in Las Vegas, though that doesn’t negate the impressiveness of the day, which featured 18 hits, half of which went for extra bases.
There were a trio of offensive stars, but none bigger than right fielder Will Brennan. The lefty was tasked with hitting cleanup, and he played the role perfectly.
In the 3rd inning, he smacked a 2-run home run.
In the 7th inning, he bashed a solo home run.
And in the 8th inning, he knocked another 2-run home run.
All in all, a 3-5 day with a trio of home runs and a strikeout, which brought Brennan’s OPS all the way up to .820 … a single-game raise of 31 points, which is pretty darned impressive this late in the season!
While Brennan was the biggest star, it’s understandable if you’re not as excited seeing him succeed as you are with some of the other players on Sacramento’s roster, given that Brennan is a 28-year old with MLB experience who was designated for assignment earlier in the year and will almost certainly be playing for a different organization next year.
So, if prospects are what you’re looking for, then allow me to introduce you to a pair who joined Brennan on the podium of offensive stars on Tuesday: center fielder Scott Bandura and left fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL). The 2026 season has been an unequivocal success for the pair of outfielders from the 2023 draft class, the former a 7th-round pick and the latter an undrafted free agent. And they’re making sure to end the year on a high note, following brief dips in performance as the season neared an end.
For Bandura, it was a game where he did a little bit of everything, as he hit 3-5 with a solo home run, a double, a sacrifice fly, and a stolen base. My word!
As for Davidson, he went a sensational 4-5 with both a triple and a double, with 1 strikeout. As we’ve grown accustomed to, the contact for Davidson (who is 93rd percentile in both average exit velocity and 50th percentile exit velocity), was loud: a 107.3-mph single, a 102.7-mph single, a 95.9-mph double, and a 101.3-mph triple.
It seems unlikely that Bandura (who has a .901 OPS) or Davidson (who has a .912 OPS) will debut this year, as we’re running out of time and the Giants are wanting to take a long look at Jonah Cox, Turner Hill, and Drew Gilbert, to make no mention of Grant McCray or Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL), the latter of which is starting a rehab assignment. But I certainly expect both players to be rostered as Rule 5 protections, and to show up to Spring Training (if it occurs) with a chance to win an Opening Day job.
Also nice days for designated hitter Eddys Leonard, who hit 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout; shortstop Aeverson Arteaga, who went 3-5 with 2 strikeouts; and catcher Fernando Gonzalez, who hit 1-3 with a triple, 2 walks, and a strikeout. It was a particularly impressive performance from Gonzalez, given that he’s been called up from Low-A San Jose for emergency duty (he’ll likely head back to San Jose now that Zach Morgan has been optioned to AAA).
Unfortunately, all those hits couldn’t find the bat of third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), whose recent scuffling continued. Harber was the only player in the lineup who failed to record a hit, as he went 0-5 with a walk. Over his last 11 games, the righty has hit just 4-46 with 1 double, 6 walks, and 17 strikeouts, which came after a red-hot start to his AAA tenure. Hopefully he can find a little rhythm and end the year on a high note.
So, I mentioned earlier that the game was in Las Vegas, where baseballs tend to fly. It’s easy to use that as a reason to pump the brakes on any strong performances … but what happens when those performances are on the mound?
You can decide that the offensive environment is, indeed, ludicrous, and then be extra impressed by the pitching, or you can decide that the offensive environment is more tepid than we thought, and then be extra impressed by the hitting. Or heck, do both!
That’s a long-winded way of saying that LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) put on an absolute show in a bandbox. Just a week after an 8-inning start, the southpaw went 7 innings in this one, and didn’t allow a single run. 7 scoreless innings! In the Pacific Coast League! In Las Vegas!
The 2023 comp-round pick wasn’t overpowering, as he only struck out 3 batters on the day, but he limited the Aviators to just 5 hits, all of which were singles, and only walked 1 batter. He needed just 91 pitches to get through the day, and threw 63 of them for strikes.
Whitman, who turns 25 next week, had a bit of a rude introduction when promoted to AAA earlier this year, which resulted in spending some time operating out of the bullpen. But lately he’s really started to figure things out, which perhaps is the natural progression of adjusting to a new level, or perhaps is a chip on his shoulder after watching LHPs Matt Wilkinson and Cesar Perdomo, and RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) get promoted to the Majors ahead of him.
Either way, Whitman is on one hell of a 5-start run: 31 innings, 28 hits, 4 walks, 6 earned runs, and 24 strikeouts. Suddenly, his ERA in AAA is all the way down to 3.84, which is a delightful number in the PCL. And while he’s not striking out a ton of batters (63 in 73 innings), he’s doing a magnificent job at limiting walks (21).
Unfortunately, the shutout was lost by RHP Ryan Walker, who made his Sacramento return after being optioned. Walker gave up 2 hits, including a solo home run, while striking out 2 batters in 2 innings.
AA Richmond (73-58)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Chesapeake Baysox (Orioles) 11-3
Box score
The Squirrels are really ending the season with a thud, as they’ve been piling up both losses and uninteresting performances. This game was, sadly, an exception to neither rule.
How bad was this game? Well, the best performance belonged to catcher Onil Perez … who didn’t catch at all, but instead tossed a perfect 9th inning in his role as reliever, a gig he’s now reprised thrice in the last handful of games.
That was easily the best pitching performance, as 4 of the 5 arms who came before Perez gave up runs, and the 5th (RHP Tyler Vogel) allowed 3 baserunners in 1.2 innings. Most notable, unfortunately, was how much RHP Miguel Mendez struggled, as the 24-year got knocked out in the 2nd inning after allowing 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs, while recording just 5 outs (3 by way of strikeout, though). Mendez, who was part of the Robbie Ray trade, had pitched well in his 1st 3 outings for Richmond, so this game was hopefully an outlier. But it sure was an ugly outlier!
The offense mustered just 3 hits on the day, all of them singles. Only 1 player reached base multiple times, as third baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL) hit 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout. I think we can move on now.
High-A Eugene (0-1)
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 8-7
Box score
Into the playoffs we go, but Eugene immediately finds themselves in a hole after losing the 1st game in the best-of-5 championship series. The good news is, after tonight, the games return to Oregon for the rest of the series.
As was the case with Richmond, this loss was largely due to a rough start by an exciting talent acquired at the deadline, LHP Henry Lalane. The 6’7 22-year old, who came over in the Heliot Ramos trade, couldn’t find the strike zone in this one, as he threw just 51 of 91 pitches for strikes, while walking 6 batters in just 4.2 innings. Lalane only allowed 3 hits in the game but, paired with those 6 walks, that put 4 runs on the board for the Canadians.
Lalane is going to be a fascinating Rule 5 decision for the Giants. He’s certainly not a player they want to risk losing, but they have to feel like the risk is fairly minimal, given that he only made it to High-A recently, and has really struggled there: in 8 official starts at the level (5 with the Giants and 3 with the Yankees, and not including this playoff outing), Lalane posted a 3.86 ERA and a 4.78 FIP and, if you include the playoffs, had just 35 strikeouts to 18 walks in 42 innings. I suspect, given those numbers and the team’s roster crunch, that Lalane will go unprotected, but you could understand if the Giants have hesitations.
Unfortunately, Lalane set the tone, as the rest of the pitchers struggled as well.
The offense was quite a bit better, and once again led by just-signed catcher Charlie Muniz. The Giants signed Muniz — college baseball’s all-time leader in home runs — out of the Pioneer League a week ago, and he put up donuts in his 1st 3 games, before ending the year with his 1st hit: fittingly, a home run.
He was back at it again in this one, hitting 2-4 with a home run and a double, while striking out twice. Muniz, who is 24, was presumably signed to fill out the catching depth when the organization had a strong need for backstops, but I’m guessing the Giants are excited to have him in the system, and look forward to seeing what he can do next year, especially since they didn’t use any of their draft picks on catchers this year.
Muniz had the best game, but second baseman Kaedon Kent had the most hits, as the lefty, who just turned 23, went a nearly-perfect 4-5 with 2 runs batted in, though he did strike out once and was caught stealing. Kent, who was drafted in the 3rd round last year out of Texas A&M, spent the entire year in High-A, where he also spent his debut action a season ago. Across 86 games between the Giants and Yankees, he posted a .790 OPS and a 107 wRC+ in the regular season, with just a 16.0% strikeout rate. He’ll certainly head to AA next year, to play second next to Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), who struggled in this game, hitting 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and a sacrifice bunt.
Right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and third baseman Isaiah Barkett both had strong games, with the former (taken in the 7th round last year) going 1-3 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout, while the latter (taken in the 10th round a year ago) hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Maldonado was sensational following a late-season promotion to Eugene, as he posted a 1.023 OPS and a 154 wRC+ in 22 games with the Emeralds. Barkett quietly had a strong season as well, with an .886 OPS and a 125 wRC+ with Low-A San Jose, then a 10-game stint in Eugene where he had a .786 OPS and a 114 wRC+. Barkett posted sub-10% strikeout rates at both level, and showed some fantastic defensive versatility.
Low-A San Jose (1-0)
San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports (A’s) 10-5
Box score
A great start to the playoffs for the Baby Giants, who won the lone road game in their best-of-3 series, and now will get 2 chances to finish off the Ports at home, and earn a shot in the championship series. Then again, it shouldn’t be surprising that San Jose started the playoffs on the right foot, as they ended the year having won 20 of their final 22 games.
Sometimes things in baseball can’t be explained. Or perhaps that red-hot streak by San Jose is what explains things. When you’re hot, you’re hot, and it’s contagious.
All of that is to say that center fielder Andy Polanco, an 11th-round pick in 2024, wrapped up his 2nd pro season with 2 career home runs: 1 last year in the ACL, where he played 47 games, and 1 this year in Low-A, where he appeared in 98 contests.
And so, naturally, the 21-year old homered in his 1st at-bat of this playoff game. And then he homered in his 2nd at-bat, as well.
It was a star showing all around for Polanco, as he ended the day 3-4 with a stolen base and an outfield assist. Hard to do much more than that! Polanco only posted a .728 OPS and an 83 wRC+ this year, but he played incredible defense, and stole 38 bags. There’s a lot to like there, but the power-to-strikeout ratio (1 home run in 393 plate appearances with a 30.5% strikeout rate) is deeply concerning. We’ll see what improvements he can make next year.
Designated hitter Drew Smith, a 15th-round pick in July who only got into 3 official games (but hit a home run), had a delightful introduction to the playoffs, as he went 2-5 with a 2-run home run and 2 strikeouts. Smith had 16 home runs for Oregon this year and a .280 isolated slugging percentage, so the Giants are certainly hoping to see a lot of that next year!
Rounding out the home brigade was second baseman Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL), who hit 2-4 with a 2-run blast and a walk.
Meola has to feel a little disappointed that he spent the entire year in San Jose, after also playing 16 games there last season following being drafted in the 4th round. He really struggled early on, but turned his season around in the second half, which was enough to push him past league average (.821 OPS, 103 wRC+). The glove plays, even if the bat is lagging, so it’ll be fun seeing him in Eugene next year, turning two with shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL). Speaking of González, he had a solid game, hitting 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Between injuries and beginning the year in the Arizona Complex League, González had just a 31-game sample in San Jose (plus these playoff games). And I still think that was easily enough to get him to Eugene to open 2027.
While the 4 home runs from the hitters stole the show, it was a fabulous pitching performance from RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL). Cayama showed both the control and the electricity that make him such an exciting prospect, as he struck out 5 batters in as many innings, with just 1 walk. Cayama, who also allowed 4 hits and a hit batter, got tagged for just 1 run, which came on a solo home run.
It was great seeing Cayama have such a nice outing, because he ended the regular season with an absolute clunker of a performance. It was an odd season for the Venezuelan, who turns 20 next month, as he posted a 4.87 ERA and a 4.27 FIP, while missing a chunk of the season with an injury. But he also had 73 strikeouts in just 57.1 innings, with only 17 walks. That counts as a very nice year in my book.
RHP Eric Nachtsheim, the team’s 6th-round pick in July, made his 2nd pro appearance. He got roughed up in his pro debut, and the only official outing of the year, since postseason stats aren’t counted. But he sure responded with his playoff performance, as he retired all 5 batters he faced, with 3 strikeouts. Nachtsheim, a 22-year old out of McNeese State, threw 16 of 23 pitches for strikes.
Home run tracker
16 — Lorenzo Meola — [Low-A]
13 — Scott Bandura — [10 in AAA; 3 in AA]
10 — Will Brennan x3 — [AAA]
3 — Andy Polanco x2 — [Low-A]
2 — Charlie Muniz — [High-A]
2 — Drew Smith — [Low-A]
Wednesday schedule
Sacramento: 7:05 p.m. PT at Las Vegas (SP: TBD)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Chesapeake (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Vancouver (SP: Jordan Gottesman)
San Jose: Off day
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be viewed on MLB TV
