This was the most sparse Minor League Baseball weekend roundup in quite a while, as the San Francisco Giants affiliates played just seven games across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That means the season is winding down … but there’s still lots to talk about!
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
A handful of roster moves across the Minors to report. Low-A San Jose outfielder Peyton Bonds,
AA Richmond RHP Manuel Mercedes, and Richmond catcher Onil Perez were all placed on the Development List. Richmond activated shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) and catcher Ty Hanchey off of the 7-Day IL, and sent infielder Zane Zielinski to AAA Sacramento to cover some roster holes. Sacramento also activated RHP Tristan Beck off the IL.
A pair of recent draftees, outfielder Charles Bussey III and LHP Beau Bryans, were assigned to Low-A San Jose.
But the big news is that Jackson Flora has been promoted from San Jose to Richmond. July’s No. 4 overall pick, who pitched twice for San Jose (once in the regular season and once in the playoffs) will head to AA for the playoffs. While it’s probably a move made mostly with logistics in mind, given the different schedules of the teams, it will also be a great opportunity for Flora to prove that he deserves an aggressive assignment to begin the 2027 season.
AAA Sacramento (77-64)
Friday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators 9-6 [box score]
Saturday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators 3-2 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators 4-3 [box score]
The River Cats are limping to the finish line, as they lost the final 5 games of the season’s penultimate series. A winning record has been guaranteed for quite a while, but with so much talent having been siphoned off of the roster to head to the Majors, Sacramento is having a hard time competing down the stretch.
There were still some really good performances, though, particularly from a notable prospect on each side of the ball: LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) and third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL).
Whitman has been ending the best season of his young career in excellent fashion, and Sunday was yet another data point. The 2023 comp-round pick breezed through 6 innings with just 89 pitches thrown, while allowing only 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, and striking out 4 batters.
After a little bit of a hiccup, Whitman has flourished down the stretch. He’s pitched at least 6 innings in 5 consecutive starts, accruing a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 22-to-4 in that span. In 3 September starts, Whitman — who turns 25 on Thursday — has given up 16 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in 21 innings, albeit with just 12 strikeouts. There’s work to do on the strikeout front, but that type of baserunner suppression is very impressive, especially since 2 of those starts were in Las Vegas, where the baseball positively flies.
Whitman is down to a 3.65 ERA in AAA, though the lack of strikeouts (7.6 per 9 innings) has resulted in an FIP lagging at 4.65. Of the 85 Pacific Coast League pitchers with at least 50 innings this year, that ERA ranks 10th, while the FIP is 13th (it’s a hitter’s league!). And while it would be nice to see the Kent State alum add more strikeouts to his tally, his 2.5 walks per 9 innings is 7th best.
The Giants MLB promotions of LHP César Perdomo and RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL), the latter directly from AA, suggested to me that they were leaning towards not protecting Whitman from the Rule 5 Draft. It’s unclear if this hot stretch has changed that equation, but if there is a Rule 5 Draft this year (and that’s admittedly a big “if”), it’s hard for me to see a lefty with those numbers and his draft pedigree getting passed over.
Whitman, who is at a career-high 129.1 innings pitched, is scheduled to make one more start. We’ll see if he can finish the season with a bang.
As for Harber, he had really been struggling lately, but had a great weekend. The righty slugger went 3-8 in this trio of games, while drawing 4 walks, striking out once, and smashing his 1st home run in 29 games.
I’d missed that swing!
Harber came out of the gates firing when he got promoted to AAA, but things have caught up to him over the last month. Even with that nice weekend, in the last 16 games the UNC product is hitting just 9-62 with 2 extra-base hits, 10 walks, and 21 strikeouts. Harber, who turns 25 later this month, has a .757 OPS and a 102 wRC+ in 48 games with the River Cats, and while it’s a bummer to see him cool down after his blistering stretch, it’s still a quality line overall, given that it’s his 1st taste of AAA and that he dominated AA this season. Very much looking forward to seeing what he does next year.
Other than that pair, there weren’t a ton of performances to talk about. Right fielder/left fielder Will Brennan continued his power burst to end the season, as he smacked a 2-run home run on Friday, though he finished the weekend just 1-10 with a stolen base and a strikeout. The veteran has an .813 OPS and a 109 wRC+ with Sacramento this year.
Right fielder/left fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) continued his rehab assignment, and went 1-6 with a double, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) hit just 2-8 with a strikeout, but both of his hits were doubles. Outfielder Darren Baker, who will hopefully be back with the organization next year, went 3-11 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases, and 3 strikeouts.
Whitman’s start was not only the best start, but the only real start, as Sacramento went with a bullpen game on both Friday and Saturday. RHP Duncan Davitt, a 26-year old rostered player who was claimed off of waivers, made his organizational debut and it went excellently, as he pitched 3 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts. What an introduction to the system! Now we’ll see if he can survive the mass exodus of the 40-man roster when the season ends.
Tough outings for a pair of arms who recently made it to AAA, RHPs Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) and Logan Martin. Both pitched on Friday, with Bednar allowing a hit, 2 walks, and 2 unearned runs in just 1 inning of work, with 2 strikeouts, and Martin ceding 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 homers, and 5 runs in just 2.1 innings. Bednar has a 7.23 ERA and a 4.72 FIP in 18.2 AAA innings this year, while Martin was making just his 2nd appearance at the level. RHP Ryan Walker again struggled, giving up 4 baserunners, a home run, and an earned run in 1.2 innings, as his time with the organization appears to be nearing an end.
AA Richmond (74-61)
Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Chesapeake Baysox 1-0 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Chesapeake Baysox 3-1 [box score]
Richmond had a great regular season but it sure didn’t end well. The Squirrels, who had Saturday’s game cancelled due to rain, won just 3 of their final 16 games. But they can still put that in the rearview mirror, as their division series against Erie kicks off on Tuesday. Things can be salvaged!
Just as with Sacramento, Richmond’s weekend was highlighted by a stellar start from a southpaw who is putting the cap on a brilliant season. For the Squirrels, it was LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL), who had far and away his best start since a recent promotion to the Eastern League.
It was a great year for Bresnahan, who has a chance at winning Pitcher of the Year honors in the High-A Northwest League, which would mark the 3rd season in a row that he won the award in his league. But his introduction to AA was fairly rude: in his 1st 2 starts, he gave up 20 baserunners and 9 runs in just 9 innings of work.
But in his 3rd and final (regular season) start at the level? Well, it seems he adjusted and figured it out. Bresnahan was sensational on Friday, tossing 7 shutout innings while giving up just 4 hits (all singles) and 1 walk, and striking out 7 Baysox batters.
The way that the recently-turned 21-year old, who came over in the Alex Cobb trade, controlled the strike zone was outstanding: he needed just 88 pitches to get through those 7 innings, and a whopping 66 of them were strikes.
Bresnahan will be back in AA to start the 2027 season and, if he pitches like this a few more times, it won’t be long before he’s in AAA. And given what we’ve seen from the Giants promotion strategy this year, you would not be blamed for hoping — or even expecting — that the youngster makes his MLB debut sometime next year.
That’s putting the cart ahead of the horse. For now, we have a much more pressing question: where does Bresnahan rank among Giants pitching prospects? He’s right there with RHP Ramon Marquez, LHP Carson Bolemon, and RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) for the top pitching prospect behind RHP Jackson Flora. That will be a fun debate in the Community Prospect List this winter…
The finale was started by LHP Greg Farone, who only pitched 3 innings and they were a little odd. Farone only gave up 1 hit, a single, and kept runs off the board. But he also only had 1 strikeout, while walking 3 batters, and throwing just 27 of 51 pitches for strikes. Farone, a 24-year old who was a 7th-round pick in 2024, ends his 2nd pro season — which was spent entirely in AA — with a 5.48 ERA and a 5.79 FIP. He’ll almost certainly be back in Richmond to start the 2027 season.
Strong relief showings to end the year for RHPs Shane Rademacher, Mitch White, and Tyler Vogel. Flame-throwing RHP Marty Gair, acquired at the deadline, threw a scoreless inning with a hit, a walk, and a strikeout in his 4th appearance since getting promoted.
Very little to mention on offense, as the Squirrels scored just 2 runs across as many games. The excitement came from the return of shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL), who came back from an IL stint for the final weekend. Kilen understandably had some rust, as last year’s 1st-round pick hit just 1-8 with 3 strikeouts, but the hit he did knock cleared the fence! There’s a sight for sore eyes!
After a quality year in High-A, Kilen ends his 33-game AA stint with an .811 OPS and a 112 wRC+. I’m curious to see if the Giants have the 22-year old lefty start 2027 in AAA; given the small games total in AA, it would make sense if he were back in Richmond. But on the other hand, he did very well in those 33 games, and it would keep the star shortstop prospects spaced out, since Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) is certainly bound for AA, Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) is almost certainly headed to High-A, Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) will surely continue in Low-A, and Joniel Hernandez will be headed to the ACL.
Right fielder/left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) has really struggled to acclimate to AA, but ended on a high note. After going 0-3 with a strikeout on Friday, the just-turned 21-year old right-hander hit 2-4 with a double, a stolen base, and an outfield assist in the finale, though he was caught stealing.
After an excellent year in High-A, Diaz finished his AA debut with just a .497 OPS and a 27 wRC+ in 22 games, though he stole 8 bases in 9 attempts. He ends the year 2nd in the system with 26 home runs … not bad for someone his age and with his defensive abilities!
High-A Eugene (eliminated)
Friday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Vancouver Canadians 8-7 (12 innings) [box score]
An excellent season for the Emeralds came to a sad trombone ending. Eugene was swept in the best-of-5 championship series and, just to add a little salt to the wound, did so after blowing a 7-4 lead in the 9th inning (and a 7-3 lead in the 8th). The offending party was RHP Liam Simon, who gave up a single and a 3-run home run, which sandwiched an error, and tagged 3 runs to his name (in the box score all 3 runs are earned, which can’t be correct).
Simon, who struck out 2 batters, ended the year with a 5.51 ERA and a 5.29 FIP, with tons of strikeouts and tons of walks. The 2022 5th-rounder out of Notre Dame has about as much life in his arm as anyone in the system, but hasn’t yet figured out how to harness it.
RHP Nate Nabholz tried his best to keep the Emeralds in the game in extras, giving up just 1 baserunner in 3 innings with 2 strikeouts, but 2 of the 3 Manfred Men scored against him, and the Emeralds hitters just couldn’t keep pace.
As for the start, RHP Hunter Dryden ended his year with a not-so-great outing, as he gave up 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 hit batter, 1 home run, and 3 runs in 4 innings of work, while striking out 2. It will be interesting to see what the Giants do with the 17th-round pick from the 2024 draft. He showed some very interesting things this year, and put up some decent strikeout numbers, but he also finished his age-24 season with just a 4.47 ERA and a 5.47 FIP in High-A. Does he repeat the level as a starter? Does he head to AA as a starter? Does he get moved to the bullpen? We’ll find out in a few months.
Third baseman Isaiah Barkett ended a quality debut season with a bang, hitting 3-5 with a double and a walk. Barkett, who was taken in the 10th round out of Stetson a year ago, demolished Low-A pitchers this year, posting an .886 OPS, a 125 wRC+, and just an 8.2% strikeout rate. The 22-year old righty finished the year with a strong 10-game stint in High-A, where he had a .786 OPS, a 114 wRC+, and a 9.5% strikeout rate, before going 5-11 with 3 walks in the postseason. Barkett mostly played second base this year, but spent some time at third, first, and right field as well.
Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) had one of the best years on the farm, and he ended it well, hitting 2-6 with a double and 3 runs batted in, though he was caught stealing and committed an error. After quickly proving that he was way too good for the California League, the switch-hitting 19-year old posted an .836 OPS and a 119 wRC+ in 69 High-A games. He looks ready for AA if you ask me!
Low-A San Jose (0-1)
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Lake Elsinore Storm 12-1 [box score]
For the first time in a long time, the Baby Giants have their backs against the wall. San Jose ended the year having won 20 of their final 22 games, and then kicked off the playoffs with 2 straight wins to sweep their best-of-3 division series.
But the championship series will not go so smoothly, as San Jose got their butts kicked in the opener of the best-of-3 series. The Baby Giants will now have to win 2 straight games (Tuesday and Wednesday, both at home) in order for their dream season to end with a celebration.
It was a bad game through and through. When you give up 12 runs, you know you did something poor on the mound, and it began with the starter, RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL). Martinez has had a difficult season, and he had a very difficult outing in his final appearance of the year, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs, and 4 earned runs in just 2 innings of work, with only 1 strikeout.
After a breakout 2025, the just-turned 22-year old came back to earth this season, posting a 4.61 ERA and a 4.77 FIP on the year. What really did Martinez in was an abundance of walks and home runs (4.5 and 1.1 per 9 innings, respectively), as he did a great job being hard to hit: he struck out 12.9 batters per 9 innings, and allowed just 73 hits in 93.2 innings. There’s a lot to love there, even if it needs to get back on track in 2027.
LHP Leandro Rodriguez, and RHPs Fernando Vasquez and Cooper McGrath also struggled quite a bit, though RHP Melvin Pineda was decent.
Just as this was a very rough game for a team that otherwise had a nearly-perfect season, it was a very rough game for a prospect that otherwise had a nearly-perfect season: shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL). Other than a better bill of health, it’s hard to draw up a better season for the 18-year old switch-hitter, who posted a .991 OPS and a 146 wRC+ between the ACL and Low-A, with 21 stolen bases. But this was a game he’ll want to forget … or better yet, bounce back from tomorrow. González reached base just once, on a walk, and finished the day 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and 2 errors.
In a more exciting hitless performance, right fielder Charles Bussey III made his professional debut in this game. Bussey is a 22-year old whom the Giants took in the 11th round in July out of a Junior College. The right-handed hitter went 0-4 with a strikeout, but hey … he’s a pro baseball player now!
Strong performances from a pair of 2025 draftees: second baseman Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) hit 1-2 with 3 walks, while left fielder Broedy Poppell went 2-3 with a walk and an outfield assist. Meola, drafted in the 4th round, finished the year with an .821 OPS and a 103 wRC+; Poppell, a 13th-rounder, posted a .767 OPS and a 96 wRC+.
Home run tracker
18 — Parks Harber — [6 in AAA; 12 in AA]
11 — Will Brennan — [AAA]
11 — Gavin Kilen — [2 in AA; 9 in High-A]
