A whole lot of San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball to get to … so let’s get to 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
A ton of late season movement to get to. AA Richmond infielder Nate Furman, who has been rehabbing for a while with High-A Eugene, saw his rehab come to a close and was activated by Richmond. Joining him in the move from Oregon to Virginia is RHP Manuel Mercedes,
who began the season with Richmond, but was demoted to Eugene for a while. Meanwhile, Richmond infielder Dayson Croes and LHP Nick Zwack were promoted to AAA Sacramento. Tremendous success stories for each: Croes, a 25-year old undrafted free agent, is in his debut season after signing from an indy league, while Zwack missed all of 2024 with an injury.
A handful of players have jumped from the ACL to Low-A San Jose: catcher Diego Cartaya, and RHPs Mauricio Estrella and Jose T. Perez. They push RHPs Junior Flores and Ubert Mejias from San Jose up to Eugene. And Richmond RHP Cameron Pferrer was placed on the 7-Day IL.
Also some awards to hand out! Furman may be leaving Eugene, but he’s taking hardware with him, as he won the Northwest League Player of the Week. Up in Sacramento, infielder Brett Wisely took home Player of the Week honors in the Pacific Coast League.
And finally, stand out shortstop Josuar González (No. 5 CPL), the consensus 2nd-best prospect in the system, has arrived in the states! After a dynamic debut season in the DSL, González is in Papago, playing the post-season (not to be confused with “postseason”) Complex League games.
AAA Sacramento (70-62)
Saturday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Reno Aces (D-Backs) 5-0 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces 9-7 [box score]
Some very bad days on Saturday, and some very good days on Sunday. And the stars on Sunday were a pair of players who may see some time in San Francisco this month. The star was left fielder Marco Luciano, who sat on Saturday but on Sunday hit 2-4 with a mammoth home run, a double, a walk, and 2 runs batted in. The dinger was initially reported as being 508 feet, a staggering number even in Reno. Unfortunately, a retraction was issued, and it later was corrected to a still-very-impressive 436 feet to dead center.
Luciano is heating up when it matters most, unless it’s too little, too late. He’s played in 6 games since suffering a minor injury, and in those games has hit a gorgeous 10-25 with 3 home runs, 2 doubles, 6 walks, and just 5 strikeouts. After a slow start to the year, Luciano has turned it around in the summer, sporting an eye-popping 1.150 OPS in July, and an .855 mark in August. Crucially, that August performance came with a .250 batting average, as that’s been the biggest weakness for Luciano this season … he has just a .229 average on the year, though he’s up to an .810 OPS and a 111 wRC+ this season. Hopefully the Giants can find a way to get him some time this year, though it’s not all that easy to see how they’d do that.
It’s easier to see how they could find playing time for catcher Jesus Rodriguez. Like Luciano, Rodriguez didn’t play on Saturday but exploded on Sunday, hitting 3-5 with a home run and a strikeout. It was his 1st home run as a River Cat that didn’t come off of a position player.
Rodriguez is getting more and more comfortable behind the dish, and the Giants are enamored with his bat. Given that he’s on the 40-man roster, I would expect an MLB debut later this month so he can get his feet wet. I’m guessing they want him to hit the ground running as the backup catcher in San Francisco come March.
Rounding out the Sunday dinger party was shortstop Osleivis Basabe. Unlike Rodriguez and Luciano, Basabe played both days of the weekend and didn’t perform particularly well, hitting 1-8 with a walk, but his home run was the biggest swing of the weekend, as it was a go-ahead 3-run blast in the 7th inning.
Designated hitter/center fielder Wade Meckler (No. 13 CPL) and second baseman Brett Wisely both had strong weekends, and were also the bright spots in Saturday’s loss, when they combined for all 5 of Sacramento’s hits. Across the weekend, Meckler hit 4-8 with 2 doubles, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout, while Wisely hit 6-9 with a double and a strikeout. Both players are fighting an at-times uphill battle to get back in the team’s plans. Meckler, who has hit 14-36 with 5 doubles over the last 7 games, is up to a .738 OPS and a 104 wRC+, while Wisely, who will be out of options after this year, has a .727 OPS and a 90 wRC+.
But a trio of high profile players had absolutely brutal Saturdays, as first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts, while right fielder Tyler Fitzgerald and center fielder Grant McCray both hit 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. All 3 of those players got Sunday off to reset.
Not the best days on the mound. Everyone who pitched for the River Cats allowed runs (plural), with, funnily enough, the lone exception of the one person who pitched in both games, RHP Miguel Díaz, who pitched a perfect inning on Saturday (with a strikeout), and struck out the only batter he faced on Sunday. Díaz has now pitched 12 consecutive games without allowing an earned run, and in that time has thrown 14 innings and given up just 3 (3!!!) hits, 5 walks, and 1 unearned run, with 14 strikeouts. With that, the 30-year old — who has tons of MLB experience — is down to a 3.81 ERA on the year, albeit with a 5.08 FIP.
RHP Hayden Birdsong started on Sunday, and his struggles with finding the strike zone unfortunately continued. Birdsong threw just 47 of 89 pitches for strikes, which resulted in 4 walks in just 4 innings. Add in 4 hits, and the youngster got tagged for 3 runs, while striking out just 3 batters. Since getting optioned to figure out his command issues, Birdsong has walked 20 batters in 28.1 innings, while hitting 3 more. It’s going to be a very critical offseason and Spring Training for the 24-year old, as we — and the Giants — all expected him to a be a staple of the rotation by the end of this season.
RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 15 CPL) started on Saturday and had a funny game. He made it 7 innings into the contest, and needed just 96 pitches to get there. And in those 7 innings a double was the only extra-base hit he allowed, which is an impressive feat in the hitting environment that is Reno. But he did give up 8 hits total, while also walking 4 batters, and only struck out 2. Worse yet, he allowed 5 runs (4 of which were earned, though the unearned run was due to his own error). It’s just been a weird season for McDonald, who has shown off a remarkable repertoire all year, but has never really made it work, and has just a 5.57 ERA and a 5.75 FIP. It will be interesting to see if the Giants move him to the bullpen next year to try to get things working before he’s out of options … he only has 1 option year left going into 2026.
RHP Sean Hjelle also had a day to forgot, giving up 7 hits and 2 runs in just 3 innings on Sunday.
AA Richmond (51-72)
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 7-2 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks 13-2 [box score]
The Squirrels are playing their best baseball of the season, as they’ve won 5 straight games, and 7 of their last 8. Salvaging the season, a little bit!
Unlike the team, catcher Drew Cavanaugh doesn’t have a season to salvage, as he’s been a breakout performer this year. And that was once again the case on Saturday, where the lefty hit 2-3 with a home run, a double, a hit by pitch, 3 runs batted in, and a strikeout.
With that, Cavanaugh has now homered at all 4 A-Ball affiliates this year. What a fun stat! It’s only been 8 games with Richmond, but the 2023 17th-round pick has a .930 OPS and a 179 wRC+, showing the same shocking dominance that defined his time in Low-A and High-A this year. After 2 home runs total in 253 plate appearances over his 1st 2 seasons, the 23-year old has 14 dingers this year in 377 plate appearances across the 4 levels. What an awesome story he’s been!
While Cavanaugh shined on Saturday and didn’t play on Sunday, third baseman Justin Wishkoski did the opposite, resting on the 1st day of the weekend and cruising on the 2nd, hitting 1-3 with a home run, a walk, and a strikeout. The dinger was a big swing of the bat, as it was a 3-run blast that capped a 7-run 1st inning, and turned a great inning into an early-game blowout.
Like Cavanaugh, Wishkoski is a late-round pick (he was taken 1 round ahead of Cavanaugh, in the 16th-round of 2023) who advanced to AA quickly in large part to aid roster logistics. Unlike Cavanaugh, the 24-year old righty hasn’t exactly excelled with Richmond, but he has certainly held his own over 76 games, sporting a .679 OPS and a 103 wRC+.
Right fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) and first baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 18 CPL) both had strong weekends as they continue to end somewhat disappointing years on high notes. Bericoto hit 5-8 with a walk and a strikeout, boosting his OPS to .765 and his wRC+ to 126. Those are strong numbers for the 23-year old, though he certainly wishes he had stuck in AAA. I’m guessing he’ll be back there as soon as Bryce Eldridge is in the pros, so probably at the start of 2026. Ceballos, who interestingly has been playing a lot of first base lately (despite being a strong defensive third baseman) also hit 5-8 with a walk and a strikeout, though he added a double as well. After a brutal start to the year, he’s gotten himself right up to league average, with a .662 OPS and a 99 wRC+. He ended August with 6 multi-hit outings in 7 games, going 13-28 with 2 home runs, 4 doubles, 1 walk, and just 2 strikeouts, which gave him a .933 OPS for the month.
On the mound, LHP John Michael Bertrand had a delightful Sunday, tossing 6 strong innings and allowing just 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while striking out 9. Strikeouts have not been a source of strength for Bertrand, who has just 6.2 per 9 innings this year. So that performance probably wasn’t sustainable, but it was fun to see. Bertrand’s 2nd pass through AA has resulted in a 2.94 ERA, though the lack of strikeouts has given him a 4.27 FIP. I’m excited to see the 2022 10th-round pick, who is already 27, play in AAA next year (or get a little bit of run there at the end of this season, as he did a year ago). He’ll probably have to move to the bullpen at some point though, given the lack of Ks.
Speaking of moving the bullpen, that’s what has happened to LHP Jack Choate (No. 29 CPL), though he started on Saturday, albeit pitching just 4 innings. They were decent innings, though, as the funky southpaw didn’t give up any walks and struck out 4, though he allowed 6 hits and 2 runs. Taken 1 round ahead of Bertrand, Choate also likely will have to be a reliever to succeed in the Majors, though he has much better strikeout stuff, with 11.0 per 9 innings this year, leading to a 3.27 ERA and a 3.92 FIP. He’s a highly intriguing arm.
Richmond used 4 relievers over the weekend, all RHPs. And all 4 of them shined: Cole Hillier gave up just 2 walks in 3 no-hit innings, with a strikeout in his AA debut; Ian Villers tossed 2 perfect innings with a strikeout, lowering his ERA to 5.72 and his FIP to 5.16; Dylan Hecht allowed 1 hit in 2 shutout innings with 1 strikeout, dropping his ERA to 5.40 and his FIP to 6.96; and Shane Rademacher, who was a starter in High-A earlier this year, gave up a walk in a scoreless frame, which lowered his ERA to 5.09 and his FIP to 8.08. Those bloated numbers come from players who haven’t been at the level for very long.
High-A Eugene (75-51)
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 15-8 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox 7-5 [box score]
Eugene won the 1st 5 games of the series before dropping the finale. They’ll see Everett again soon: each team has their final regular season series this week, and then they’ll meet in the playoffs next week.
The weekend was defined by a whole lot of offense and not much pitching or defense. The bats mustered 25 hits, 15 walks, and 20 runs, while the arms and gloves gave up 19 hits, 10 walks, and 15 runs, while committing 4 errors.
One of the stars on offense was a player continuing an encouraging trend. The player? Designated hitter/left fielder Parks Harber. The trend? Players the Giants have traded for recently performing well. Harber went 3-8 over the weekend, homered in both games, and added a double and 3 walks (he also struck out 3 times). The 24-year old righty, who went undrafted in 2024, has been brilliant since coming over in the Camilo Doval trade, sporting a 1.076 OPS and a 184 wRC+ in 19 games. It’s not just small sample size shenanigans, either: he had an .884 OPS and a 158 wRC+ in 34 games with the Yankees High-A affiliate this year, and his strikeout rate has been quite solid (22.4% and 23.0%, respectively). I think it’s very safe to say that he’ll be beginning 2026 on the East Coast.
Speaking of players bound for the East Coast, second baseman Nate Furman played his final games with Eugene as he wrapped up a lengthy rehab stint and returns to AA. And he left no question that AA is where he belongs, as he hit 3-8 with a home run, 4 walks, and a stolen base, leaving him with a 1.139 OPS and a 209 wRC+ in 21 games with the Emeralds. Even though AA is Furman’s natural level, he’ll be making his Richmond debut now that he joins the Squirrels, as injuries kept him from playing for the Giants AA affiliate after coming over last year in the Alex Cobb trade.
Shortstop Jean Carlos Sio had another delightful day on Saturday, hitting 2-5 with a home run and 3 runs batted in, though he also had a strikeout and an error. Sunday went less well for the 21-year old lefty, as he hit 0-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Still, his time in Eugene has been a success following a well-deserved promotion: he has a .718 OPS and a 103 wRC+ through 23 games at the level.
And speaking of recently-promoted players, right fielder Jakob Christian (No. 30 CPL) only played on Sunday, but made the most of it by hitting 3-5 with a double and a strikeout. The 2024 5th-round pick has put up gaudy numbers through 18 games at the level, with a .925 OPS and a 147 wRC+. The Giants will certainly need to see the 31.5% strikeout rate come down at some point, though.
All of those players are coming or going, but first baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL) has been here all year. He had another excellent Sunday (after sitting on Saturday), going 2-5 with a home run and a strikeout. Szykowny has been finding his home run power (and offense in general) throughout the year … just check out his monthly splits:
April: .713 OPS, 2 home runs
May: .635 OPS, 2 home runs
June: .892 OPS, 5 home runs
July: .790 OPS, 4 home runs
August: .946 OPS, 8 home runs
That’s 3 months of looking like a really good hitter, and it’s brought his OPS up to .804, with a 116 wRC+. It will be fun to see the 2023 9th-round pick in AA next year.
As previously mentioned, the pitching struggled, so there’s not a lot to highlight. LHP Charlie McDaniel got the start on Saturday and had a great strikeout game, K’ing 7 batters in just 4.1 innings, but he also allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs. That exploded his ERA to 7.24 and his FIP to 5.55, though it’s only been 6 games at the level for the undrafted free agent, who is in his debut season.
LHP Cesar Perdomo was pretty solid on Sunday, as he only gave up 3 baserunners in 4.1 innings, with 5 strikeouts, and threw 40 of 62 pitches for strikes. Those 3 baserunners did result in 2 runs though, giving the 23-year old a 4.13 ERA and a 3.96 FIP. He’s blended great starts with awful ones over the last few months, and this outing was somewhere in the middle.
Another brutal outing for RHP Liam Simon as he tries to work his way back from injury: he recorded just 1 out, but gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 earned runs. It was Simon’s 3rd straight outing recording just 1 out, and in that time he’s allowed 4 hits, 9 walks, and 10 runs. He just doesn’t have his command even close to back post-Tommy John.
Low-A San Jose (79-48)
Saturday: San Jose Giants lost to the Visalia Rawhide (D-Backs) 4-3 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Visalia Rawhide 4-3 [box score]
Monday: San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 5-0 [box score]
The Baby Giants were the lone affiliate to play on the holiday, and thank goodness they did. It allowed them to wash out the bad taste from their mouth after a crushing weekend. They lost 4-3 on both Saturday and Sunday, and in each game gave up runs — including walk-offs — in both the 8th and 9th innings.
Monday’s game featured the official organizational debut of catcher Diego Cartaya, who made a splash. The 23-year old righty only hit 1-4 with a strikeout, but he smacked a 2-run home run.
Cartaya was once a borderline top-10 prospect in the Dodgers organization, but he flamed out at the upper levels and the Dodgers DFA’d him to make space on their roster for free agent signings. The Giants have been trying to get him back to his glory days, and he’s been in Papago for a while, getting up to speed and playing in extended Complex League games. Now he’s getting a look in affiliated ball before the season winds down. He could be a fascinating player to watch next year.
Also homering on Monday was second baseman Lorenzo Meola, the team’s 4th-round pick in July. It was a strong holiday weekend for Meola, who sat on Saturday but hit 4-8 with a solo bomb, a walk, and 2 strikeouts on Sunday and Monday. Through 12 games he has a .733 OPS and a 95 wRC+ as he tries to find his bearings in professional ball.
The player taken before him, third-round pick Trevor Cohen, has been adjusting to life as a professional baseball very gracefully. The lefty, who played center field and DH over the weekend, hit 3-9 with 1 double, 4 walks, 1 hit by pitch, and 3 stolen bases, while also getting caught stealing once, and striking out once. The 21-year old has an .808 OPS, a 136 wRC+, and 7 stolen bases, and has struck out just 12 times in 111 plate appearances, while drawing 19 walks. What an introduction!
First baseman Jeremiah Jenkins only played once over the weekend, as playing time has been hard for him to find. But he made the most of it, hitting 2-5 with a home run on Sunday. The 2024 14th-round pick now has a .717 OPS and a 101 wRC+ in 48 games with the Baby Giants.
Unfortunately, more struggles for third baseman Walker Martin (No. 14 CPL), as he hit just 0-8 with a walk and 3 strikeouts. It’s really been a season of 3 acts for Martin, who was brilliant in the 2nd act but has struggled mightily in the bookending sets. Just look at it:
April 4 – May 8: 12-69, 1 home run, 23 strikeouts
May 9 – July 23: 60-216, 10 home runs, 68 strikeouts
July 24 – Sept. 1: 20-105, 1 home run, 41 strikeouts
All in all, it’s a .736 OPS and a 107 wRC+ for the 2023 2nd-round pick … numbers that look a lot worse when you factor in the .231 batting average, the 28.7% strikeout rate, and the fact that it’s his 2nd season in A-Ball.
RHP Hunter Dryden shined in a Labor Day start, throwing 6 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter, with 6 strikeouts, while throwing 49 of 68 pitches for strikes. It’s been a successful debut season for last year’s 17th-round pick, as he has a 2.90 ERA and a 3.81 FIP, but he was in dire need of a start like this, after giving up 5 earned runs in back to back starts. Still, even with all those runs, Dryden has 21 strikeouts against just 1 walk in his last 3 games, which is really something.
Sunday’s game was the dynamic piggybacking duo of RHPs Argenis Cayama (No. 28 CPL) and Keyner Martinez, who have emerged as 2 of the best pitching prospects in the system this year. Cayama, as has been the norm for him since getting recently promoted, struggled a bit, as the 18-year old gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in just 3.2 innings, while only striking out 2. After sporting a 2.25 ERA, a 3.58 FIP, and 10.3 strikeouts per 9 innings in the ACL, Cayama has a 9.00 ERA, a 6.81 FIP, and just 4.9 strikeouts per 9 in 5 games with San Jose. That’s a big jump in opponent talent, especially for a teenager!
As has been the case, things went smoother for the just-turned-21-year old Martinez, who took down 4 innings while allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, with 4 strikeouts. Through 5 games, Martinez’s numbers in Low-A have been virtually identical to what they were in the ACL, as he has a 1.93 ERA, a 3.19 FIP, and 12.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. Just a phenomenal year for a tremendously exciting pitcher.
Saturday featured one of the best outings of the year for RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 36 CPL), as he threw 3 no-hit, no-run innings, with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Maldonado has been a little bit rusty in his return from Tommy John surgery, but hopefully can end the season strong. There’s still some serious heat in that arm.
Home run tracker
23 — Marco Luciano — [AAA]
21 — Charlie Szykowny [High-A]
14 — Drew Cavanaugh — [1 in AAA; 1 in AA; 6 in High-A; 6 in Low-A]
13 — Parks Harber x2 — [10 in High-A; 3 in Low-A]
11 — Osleivis Basabe — [AAA]
7 — Jesus Rodriguez — [AAA]
7 — Nate Furman — [6 in High-A; 1 in Low-A]
7 — Jean Carlos Sio [2 in High-A; 5 in Low-A]
7 — Jeremia Jenkins [4 in Low-A; 3 in ACL)
5 — Justin Wishkoski — [AA]
3 — Lorenzo Meola — [Low-A]
1 — Diego Cartaya — [Low-A]
Tuesday schedule
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Las Vegas (SP: Seth Lonsway)
Richmond: 3:00 p.m. PT at Altoona (SP: Joe Whitman)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Spokane (SP: Greg Farone)
San Jose: Off day
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be viewed on MLB TV.
