Some exciting action for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball teams on Thursday. Let’s jump straight into it!
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
Award season arrived in the Arizona Complex League, and the ACL Giants were very well represented. They had 3 All-Stars, led by their 1-2 punch of riveting young arms, RHPs Keyner Martinez and Argenis Cayama (No. 28 CPL). Infielder
Dario Reynoso was also named an All-Star after a very strong year. Not only was Martinez an All-Star, but he was also given Pitcher of the Year honors. And in perhaps the category most indicative of success, shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL) was given the league’s Top MLB Prospect award. And finally, the ACL Giants manager, former prospect Jacob Heyward, was named Manager of the Year. Very well deserved, one and all.
AAA Sacramento (69-60)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (D-Backs) 21-7
Box score
Sacramento is on fire and their offense is downright explosive. They’ve now won 8 of their last 10 games, and have taken the 1st 3 games of this series and scored a jaw-dropping 49 runs along the way. Even in Reno that’s outrageous!
It probably goes without saying that there were some good offensive performances in the 21-run game and, indeed, there were, as Sacramento had 31 baserunners and smacked 6 home runs. So let’s talk about those great performances!
To the surprise of no one, the most impressive swing belonged to first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL), who hit 2-6 with a walk and opened the scoring with a baseball that was beyond obliterated, and went … wait for it … 470 feet.
That is just … I don’t care if it’s in Reno, which is the Coors Field of Minor League Baseball, that is one of the more impressive swings you’ll see. Total annihilation of the baseball.
It was the 3rd inning where things really got interesting, as Sacramento piled on a laughable 13 runs in the frame, and it was a trio of homers that led the way. Third baseman Thomas Gavello got in on the action, hitting the 1st of 2 homers that he would knock, as part of a 2-4, 5-RBI game that also included a walk and a hit by pitch. His second home run came off of first baseman Matt Mervis, making it 3 consecutive games in which the River Cats have homered off of a position player.
Gavello is hotter than hot: in his last 5 games, he’s hit 9-19 with 4 home runs, 3 doubles, and 3 walks. My goodness! That’s brought him up to a .990 OPS and a 147 wRC+ in 36 games with Sacramento and, like Brett Auerbach this year, it’s made it so that Gavello has a decent chance of sticking in AAA when the 2026 opening assignments roll out.
Also homering in that massive 3rd inning were a pair of players trying to get back to the Majors in September: center fielder Grant McCray and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald. McCray hit 2-5, drew 2 walks, and knocked in 5 runs in what was far and away his best performance since returning to Sacramento a week ago. He’s sitting on a .759 OPS and a 97 wRC+ in 108 AAA games this year, and it’s a little hard to know where he stands with the organization at present. Given his defensive abilities and baserunning, that offense is just good enough that he might be able to provide value as a center fielder if the Giants needed one … but they don’t. He’ll need to pump up the offense if he wants to be a successful corner outfielder, especially since it appears that he’s fallen behind both Luis Matos and Drew Gilbert on the depth chart. The nice thing is, he’s still just 24 years old and has 2 more option years after this one, so there’s no rush to figure out a role for him.
As for Fitzgerald, he hit 2-5 with a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. He’s been scuffling at both levels for quite a while now (he has a .697 OPS and an 87 wRC+ in Sacramento, and a .606 OPS and 73 wRC+ in San Francisco), so nice to see him have a good game. Like McCray, his role with the Giants going forward is a little tricky to figure out, though unlike McCray he’s about to turn 28 and only has 1 more option year.
Rounding out the dinger party was second baseman Brett Wisely, who hit 3-6 with a 2-run blast and a strikeout. Wisely has been hitting the ball well lately, though it does feel like his time with the organization is nearing an end. Given the way that Casey Schmitt has run with the second base position and Christian Koss with the backup infielder role, plus the presence of Fitzgerald, and then add in the fact that Wisely has just a .705 OPS and an 84 wRC+ in AAA this year and will be out of options next year, and it’s hard to see a future for him that includes a Giants jersey.
But home runs weren’t the only way to have offensive success. Designated hitter Hunter Bishop (No. 34 CPL) had a brilliant day, hitting 5-6 with a double and a strikeout. Bishop, the team’s 1st-round pick in 2019, is probably in his final stretch with the organization. He’ll be a Minor League free agent and I would assume will look elsewhere for opportunities, as he’s certainly buried on the depth chart with this team. As is, the 27-year old lefty has a .764 OPS and a 96 wRC+ in his 1st full season at AAA.
Right fielder Wade Meckler (No. 13 CPL) hit 3-6 with a double and a walk. He’s been starting to access his doubles power a little more lately, as this was his 3rd-straight game with a 2-bagger. He’s also been finding the hits more and more lately, and looking more like the Meckler of old: this was his 4th-straight multi-hit game, and his 8th since August 14. That’s more like the Meckler we know and love! Still and all, his .282 batting average this year isn’t quite enough to prop up his lack of power … even with the increase lately, he has just 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 0 home runs in 309 plate appearances, which has really suppressed his OPS (.734) and wRC+ (103), while also making it hard to see how he might fit in at the Major League level.
And left fielder Marco Luciano had a quiet day relative to the names we just rattled off, but still hit 2-6 with a walk, though he struck out twice. But he continued his theme of hitting the ball hard, as his singles came off the bat at 107.0 and 111.7 mph. Luciano is now 8-18 with 2 homers, 1 double, and 4 walks since returning from a small injury, and has an .801 OPS and a 109 wRC+.
That’s 8 of the 9 position players that we covered! So it’s kind of funny that the only position player that didn’t have a good day was the one who we all expect to be in San Francisco soon: catcher Jesus Rodriguez, who didn’t provide any of the team’s 21 hits, as he went 0-5, though he drew 2 walks.
The pitching was less interesting. Veteran RHP J.T. Brubaker made his 3rd appearance with the River Cats and pitched 5 strong innings in the start, allowing just 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while striking out 4. Brubaker has only allowed 6 hits and 2 runs in 11 innings with Sacramento, though he also only has 7 strikeouts. I’ll be curious to see if the Giants give him a look at the end of the season, or if they just attempt to re-sign him to a Minor League deal this offseason.
RHP Tyler Myrick, who is fairly new to the level, got rocked, but strong relief showings from LHP Helcris Olivárez and RHP Miguel Díaz.
Oh, and also, this happened:
AA Richmond (48-72)
Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 6-0
Box score
Despite a bad season overall, the Squirrels are also rolling, as they’ve now won 4 of their last 5 games, and are playing some of their best baseball of the season.
I mentioned in the Sacramento portion that Thomas Gavello has played well enough that he’ll probably get to stay in AAA next year, and part of that equation is that the Giants don’t have a prospect who should be taking the reps at third base in Sacramento next year. But when the year began, they were hoping that Sabin Ceballos (No. 18 CPL) would emerge as that. Ceballos was tremendous in High-A last year after coming over in the Jorge Soler trade, and he opened a bunch of eyes in Spring Training. The hope was surely that he would keep the success going in the Eastern League, and be in AAA either by the end of the year or by Opening Day 2026.
It hasn’t gone according to plan, as he really labored through the opening months of the season. But he’s starting to find his rhythm, and he was the star on Thursday when he hit 3-4 with a solo home run, while playing first base.
Ceballos is a very strong defensive player at third base, so it’s just a matter of conquering the level with his bat. Overall, the numbers are still nothing exciting to look at: despite running a very nice 18.2% strikeout rate, Ceballos has just a .220 average, a .646 OPS, and a 95 wRC+. After sporting just a .515 OPS in May and a .414 OPS in June, Ceballos has recovered with an .826 OPS in July and now a .901 OPS in August. I’m guessing he’s still ticketed for a repeat in Richmond next year, but if he keeps this up and ends the year on a high note, the Giants will certainly have to consider starting the 2023 3rd-rounder in Sacramento.
Center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL) also had a trio of hits, finishing the day 3-4. He’s had some bumps and bruises as he adjust to the new level, but is finding a rhythm: he now has a 5-game hitting streak, and has gone 9-20 with 3 extra-base hits and 3 walks during that time. That’s brought his OPS up to .718 and his wRC+ to 112, and has really helped make his prospect shine feel real. We’ve seen so many breakout prospects struggle once they reach the upper Minors, but Davidson, so far, has resisted that!
The shutout performance was led by an awesome start from LHP Nick Zwack, who took down 4.1 scoreless innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Zwack is still working the rust off after so much time sidelined by an injury, but has been excellent since making it back to Richmond, where he has just a 2.53 ERA and a 2.91 FIP in 32 innings. He’s definitely a name to keep an eye on.
After Zwack it was RHP Shane Rademacher who, after a dominant season as a starter in High-A, has started to work as a reliever for the Squirrels. Rademacher gave up 2 hits and 1 walk in 2.2 shutout innings, while striking out 3. After really struggling in his 1st 3 games following a promotion, Rademacher has been strong in his last 3, allowing just 1 run in 10.1 innings of work.
And rounding it out was RHP Will Bednar (No. 42 CPL), who allowed 2 hits and a walk in 2 shutout innings. It was just the 3rd time in his 32 appearances this year that the 2021 1st-round pick didn’t record a strikeout, as he’s been mowing down batters all year. But more importantly, he’s figuring out how to keep runs off the board, and has had a thoroughly electric August, ceding just 9 hits, 6 walks, and 1 run in 12 innings, with 17 strikeouts. That’s brought his ERA down to 4.87 and his FIP to 3.49. There’s definitely something exciting there, and he’s throwing gas.
High-A Eugene (73-50)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 4-0
Box score
A brilliant pitching performance by the Emeralds, as they allowed just 2 hits — both singles — in a combined shutout, which gave them 3 straight wins to open the series.
The star was, obviously, the starter, which was LHP Tyler Switalski. The recently-turned 22-year old, taken in the 16th round of last year’s draft, took down 6 scoreless frames with just 1 hit and 1 walk allowed, while striking out 4 and throwing just 70 pitches. This is the debut season for the 6’4 Switalski, and while he wasn’t particularly noteworthy in Low-A San Jose, he’s been awesome in Eugene, where he has a 1.08 ERA and a 2.92 FIP through 5 outings. Switalski isn’t much of a strikeout pitcher — he has just 77 in 90.1 innings across the 2 levels — so I’d assume he’ll be ticketed for a move to the bullpen at some point.
And then it was RHP Darien Smith, who took down the final 3 scoreless innings with 1 hit and 1 walk allowed, plus 3 strikeouts. Smith is a 25-year old undrafted free agent in his debut season and, like Switalski, is fairly new to the level. Through 6 games he has a 3.26 ERA and a 3.66 FIP, with 9.3 strikeouts per 9 innings.
A pair of strong offensive days. First baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL) hit 3-4 on the day and smacked his 20th home run, making him just the 3rd prospect on the farm to get to 20 dingers this year, along with Bryce Eldridge and Marco Luciano, who are both benefitting from the Pacific Coast League environment (though they’re also a bit younger than Szykowny, and playing 2 levels higher).
After a slow start to the year, Szykowny has really started to find his groove, especially in the home run department, where he has 7 in August. That’s brought the OPS up to .799 and his wRC+ to 115 for the 2023 9th-rounder.
The other big day belonged to designated hitter Nate Furman, who went 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Furman has been nothing short of dominant through 18 games with Eugene, which is exactly what you want to see from a AA player rehabbing down a level.
Low-A San Jose (77-46)
San Jose Giants lost to the Visalia Rawhide (D-Backs) 7-1
Box score
Quite a bust of a game for the Baby Giants. Uncompetitive, and really lacking in notable performances. In fact, really only a single name to talk about: LHP Luis De La Torre, who got the start. De La Torre was pretty wild, needing 77 pitches to get through 3.2 innings, and walking 3 batters. But he only gave up 2 hits, didn’t allow any runs to score, and struck out 6 batters.
De La Torre burst onto the prospect this year with a dominant performance in the ACL, where he struck out 62 batters in just 38.2 innings. The 21-year old got the call to try A-Ball when the ACL season ended, and he’s kept the good times rolling, with 44 strikeouts (against just 9 walks) in 31.2 innings, while sporting a 1.99 ERA and a 2.26 FIP. The stuff matches the results, as De La Torre is nothing short of electric on the mound, and he’s currently the rare blend of strikeouts, groundballs, and command. Expectations should be tempered about starting pitchers with 7 appearances in Low-A, but my goodness he sure looks like the real deal.
Home run tracker
23 — Bryce Eldridge — [16 in AAA; 7 in AA]
20 — Charlie Szykowny — [High-A]
15 — Grant McCray — [AAA]
13 — Thomas Gavello x2 — [8 in AAA; 3 in AA; 2 in High-A]
8 — Brett Wisely — [1 in MLB; 7 in AAA]
7 — Tyler Fitzgerald — [4 in MLB; 3 in AAA]
6 — Sabin Ceballos — [AA]
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 6:35 p.m. PT at Reno (SP: Mason Black)
Richmond: 3:35 p.m. PT vs. Akron (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Josh Bostick)
San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT at Visalia (SP: Jacob Bresnahan)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV.
