The Minor League Baseball season is winding down a little, and for the first time in a while, the weekend roundup only has six San Francisco Giants affiliates, as the Arizona Complex League season ended last week. Let’s dive into the action for the teams that did play.
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 big news is the known promotions of shortstops Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and
Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) from the ACL to Low-A San Jose. Joining them is LHP Leandro Rodriguez, while first baseman Hayden Jatczak heads from San Jose to High-A Eugene. Eugene placed first baseman Jakob Christian (No. 40 CPL) on the IL, while the Giants signed infielder Eddys Leonard to a Minor League deal and assigned him to AAA Sacramento.
AAA Sacramento (56-43)
Friday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Oklahoma City Comets 8-2 [box score]
Saturday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Comets 11-0 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Comets 8-6 [box score]
Sacramento ended their weekend and their series with about as much drama and excitement as possible. They entered the 9th inning of Sunday’s game trailing 6-2, but mounted a serious rally, and quickly loaded the bases. Pinch-hitter Dayson Croes drew a walk to score a run, and second baseman Thomas Gavello was hit by a pitch to score another.
And that brought up another pinch-hitter, Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL). The Giants are enamored with Furman due to his contact skills, but in this instance he was ready to show off his power. The lefty stepped into the box and, perhaps inspired by his former teammate Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL), Furman took the very first pitch he saw and launched it over the fence for the ultra-rare, ultra-special, unlike anything else come-from-behind walk-off grand slam. What a thing!
That was Furman’s only hit of the weekend — he went 0-3 with a hit by pitch, a strikeout, and an error on Friday, and didn’t play on Sunday — but my goodness did he make it count!
Funnily enough, the River Cats had 2 home runs over the weekend and both of them were the only hit that the player had. The other came off the bat of the newcomer, first baseman/third baseman Eddys Leonard. It was a mostly quiet weekend for the 25-year old right-handed hitter, as he went 1-10 with 3 strikeouts, though, in addition to a 2-run home run on Saturday, he drew 4 walks.
Leonard is definitely an intriguing player, and it was a nice move by the Giants to sign him after he was released. He was having a very good year for Milwaukee’s AAA affiliate, with an .873 OPS, a 128 wRC+, a sub-20% strikeout rate, and 12 home runs in 69 games. He also has a ton of defensive versatility, having played every position except catcher during his Minor League career, and every position except catcher and center field this season. While the River Cats only played him at the corner infield spots in his debut weekend, Leonard has primarily been a second baseman this year, so this could a move made in mind with what to do after trading Luis Arráez this week … whether it’s to give Leonard a look in the Majors, or fill a hole at second so Furman can get called up. It’s worth noting that, even though he hasn’t made an MLB debut yet, he won’t have options whenever he does get called up.
Speaking of players who could get called up at some point, it was another delightful series of games for Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), who perhaps in a sign of things to come, got a start in left field in addition to two games at his standard position, third base. The righty did nothing but hit, as he went 8-15 over the weekend, with 2 doubles, a stolen base, and 4 strikeouts.
Harber currently has a 12-game hitting streak, which includes all 9 games since getting promoted to AAA. In all, he’s 17-41 with 3 extra-base hits, 3 walks, and 11 strikeouts with Sacramento, and looks more and more like the real deal with every passing day. That Camilo Doval trade could sure end up looking fantastic!
For a variety of unsurprising reasons, the transition to AAA has been less smooth for outfielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), who had a fine, if not thrilling weekend. The just-turned 24-year old lefty went 4-13 over the weekend, with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, a stolen base, and 4 strikeouts. He’s 11-41 with 2 walks and 13 strikeouts since getting promoted, with Saturday’s double being his 1st extra-base hit at the level. He played right field twice over the weekend (and DH’d the other day), as he continues to mostly just play the corners since getting promoted. Still unclear if that’s about where the Giants think he should be playing, or just prepping him to be able to play anywhere on the grass if he’s called up for a debut this year.
Another solid weekend for center fielder/left fielder Scott Bandura, who hit 5-14 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and 4 strikeouts. Bandura has fully found his groove in AAA: he was promoted at the start of June, and had a .702 OPS that month. This month? 1.020! That’s brought him up to an .811 OPS and a 116 wRC+ in Sacramento, with 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts. With every passing day, him being rostered before the Rule 5 Draft (perhaps at some point this season) feels more and more likely.
The star pitching performance came from a surprising place: RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL). At the same time as LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) is surprisingly being moved to the bullpen, Harris is even more surprisingly being moved to the rotation. And so far it’s been a revelation. After pitching 3 scoreless, 1-hit innings in his last outing — the 1st start of his professional career — Harris one-upped himself on Saturday, throwing 4 no-hit frames, while striking out 8 Comets. What a performance!
Harris, who issued 1 walk and hit a batter, needed just 51 pitches to get through the 4 innings, despite that high strikeout total, and he threw 35 of them for strikes. It certainly seems like the Giants are poking around moving him to a starter’s role full-time, and who can blame them? He has the pitch mix that has always made that intriguing, and it’s something that the organization had flirted with in recent years. Most importantly, Harris has been lights out following a slow start to the season … since May 3, the 27-year old UDFA has pitched 30 innings and allowed just 21 hits, 11 walks, and 6 earned runs, while striking out 38. He sure is looking intriguing!
Whitman, on the other hand, continues to struggle since being moved into a relief role. He pitched twice over the weekend, giving up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs in 2 innings, with 2 strikeouts. It’s still been a very successful year for the 69th overall pick in the 2023 draft, as he was arguably the best pitcher in the Eastern League before his promotion, but since surprisingly getting moved to the bullpen, he’s allowed 10 hits, 6 walks, and 5 earned runs in 8.1 innings.
Other than Harris, the starters struggled, as LHP Cesar Perdomo gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs in 3.2 innings, while LHP Seth Lonsway allowed 4 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs in 3 innings. But really nice relief performances from a pair of southpaws, Reiver Sanmartin and Nick Zwack. Sanmartin tossed 3 shutout innings with 1 hit, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.55 and his FIP to 4.11; he’s still on the 40-man roster, so we could see him in the bullpen later this year. Zwack struck out the side in a scoreless frame, with a hit allowed, lowering his ERA to 6.66 and his FIP to 5.20. RHP Michael Fulmer also shined, with 2 perfect innings, lowering his ERA to 3.12 and his FIP to 3.32. He’s been absolutely lights out lately, and I’m curious to see if the Giants will be able to trade him at the deadline.
AA Richmond (57-37)
Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Hartford Yard Goats 7-0 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Hartford Yard Goats 5-3 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Hartford Yard Goats 5-2 [box score]
In the 1st half of the season, I thought one of the under-the-radar Minor League storylines was that shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) was having more of a mediocre season than you would hope from a 1st-round pick from the SEC. But right now, one of the biggest 2nd half storylines seems to be that Kilen is taking off.
Last year’s top pick ended his High-A Eugene run playing quite well, and he has been unstoppable since joining Richmond. He was stellar in his 2nd weekend with the Squirrels, hitting 5-10 with 2 doubles, 1 walk, 1 sacrifice fly, and 2 strikeouts. The 22-year old lefty has hit safely in 8 out of 9 games since the promotion, and overall is 11-32 with 6 extra-base hits, 4 walks, and just 3 strikeouts, good for a .957 OPS and a 146 wRC+. Admittedly, 9 games is a fairly small sample size, but if he keeps up this level of performance it’s going to lead to quite a discussion as to both Kilen’s prospect pedigree and the future of the middle infield for the organization. How great it is to see him hit the ground running.
Kilen playing like a superstar upon promotion has taken some attention away from how good center fielder/right fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) has been. Were it not for Kilen, Jordan would be getting a lot more press for how well he’s adapted, and this weekend was no exception: he hit 3-11 with 2 doubles, 1 walk, 2 stolen bases, and 2 strikeouts. The team’s 4th-round pick is 10-35 since getting promoted, with 4 doubles, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts, for a .742 OPS and a 101 wRC+. Average numbers are impressive when adapting to a new level! Excitedly, Jordan has bumped up his baserunning since getting promoted: through 9 games he already has 5 stolen bases, without yet getting caught.
The transition to a higher level remains a little slow for right fielder/center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) and catcher Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL). Cohen hit 2-11 over the weekend, with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, giving him a .606 OPS and a 63 wRC+ through 9 games; Villarroel went 0-7, and is now 1-13 to open up his AA campaign.
Another dinger for third baseman/second baseman Jean Carlos Sio (No. 44 CPL), who hit 2-11 with a 3-run blast, 2 strikeouts, and a caught stealing. Sio has really shown off his defensive versatility and surprising power this year, though the 22-year old lefty is still trying to find his footing in AA, as he has a .732 OPS and an 86 wRC+ through 40 games with Richmond.
LHP Charlie McDaniel had his best start at the level on Friday, when he pitched 6.2 shutout innings. That’s impressive at any level! McDaniel got in a little trouble, as he walked 3 batters, but he worked through everything smoothly, and all 5 hits he ceded were singles. The recently-turned 25-year old, who went undrafted in 2024 and is in his 2nd season, also struck out 5 batters, though that will never be a big part of his game (he has 6.6 Ks per 9 innings through 9 starts in AA). It’s a 4.44 ERA and a 4.10 FIP for McDaniel who, if I had to guess, will probably transition to long relief if and when he makes his way to AAA.
Sunday also featured an excellent start, albeit a truncated one, as RHP Logan Martin opened the game and retired all 7 batters he faced, with 5 strikeouts. What an outing! Martin is still ramping back up following a lengthy stint on the IL (this was just his 2nd appearance since returning), which is why he had such a small workload. He’s sneakily had a decent season, as the just-turned 25-year old has a 3.44 ERA and 9.8 strikeouts per 9 in AA … though high walk and home run rates have given him a 4.69 FIP.
Saturday’s start was not as successful, as LHP Tyler Switalski allowed 7 baserunners (including 2 home runs) and 6 runs in 6 innings, raising his ERA to 9.95 and his FIP to 7.25 through 3 starts since getting promoted. Sometimes it takes time to get settled at a level!
Some really nice relief appearances, especially from RHP Marques Johnson, who struck out 3 batters in 2 perfect innings, and RHP Christian Alvarado, who struck out the side in a no-hit inning of work, while issuing a walk. Alvarado’s dominant run continues: through 9.2 innings he has a staggering 21 strikeouts, with 6 hits and 3 walks. He’s simply overpowering AA hitters, and it might be time to see what he can do in AAA.
High-A Eugene (58-38)
Friday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox 5-3 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox 6-2 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox 17-3 [box score]
During Friday’s roundup, I noted that shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) was in a little bit of a slump, but that new levels take adjustment periods and he’d be just fine. I had no idea just how fine he would be, or how quickly he would get there. At the time, Level had gone 0-12 over his past 3 games.
So how did he respond? By hitting 3-4 with a pair of solo home runs on Friday. And on Saturday? 0-2 with a pair of walks drawn. And on Sunday? 2-4 with 2 walks and, yes, another home run.
The total damage for the weekend: 5-10 with 3 home runs, 4 walks, and 0 strikeouts. My goodness, Jhonny!
The only stain on an otherwise blissful weekend was that Level was caught stealing twice, but otherwise it was borderline perfection, and it brought him up to an .820 OPS and a 116 wRC+ in High-A … where he is, as a reminder, not just a switch-hitter playing a premium defensive position, but a 19-year old who is 3.5 years younger than his average peer in the Northwest League. I’m running out of descriptors for this guy! He’s just that good!
All that really matters right now is letting Level continue developing (and dominating) in High-A, but …. with Eugene’s season ending a week before Richmond’s, would the Giants consider giving Level a taste of AA ball before the season ends if he continues hitting like this?
The weekend was full of other good hitting performances, though no one stood out like Level. First baseman/third baseman Zander Darby continued his homer surge, hitting 4-12 with a 3-run blast, a double, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts.
Strikeouts remain a huge issue for the 23-year old, as he has a 32.7% K rate, but he’s up to a .788 OPS and a 108 wRC+ on the year, with 11 home runs. There’s some pop in the bat, that’s for sure.
Designated hitter/first baseman Robert Hipwell, who just returned after a brief demotion to Low-A, had some strong games sandwiched around an awful one … on Friday he hit 1-2 with a double and a strikeout, and on Sunday 2-3 with a 3-run blast, 3 walks, a stolen base, and a strikeout … but on Saturday struck out in all 4 of his plate appearances. The clock is ticking for the 2024 6th-rounder, who has a .667 OPS, an 89 wRC+, and a 41.6% strikeout rate at the level.
First baseman Hayden Jatczak, an undrafted free agent from last year’s class, made his High-A debut, and it went swimmingly, as he smashed a home run in his very first at-bat. That’s how to do it! Jatczak ended the weekend 3-8 with 2 walks and 0 strikeouts. Welcome to the Northwest League, Hayden!
2 other notes on the position player front. On the unfortunate front, left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) appeared to suffer an injury … he went 1-2 on Friday and then left the game, and didn’t play again over the weekend. On the interesting front, Walker Martin, who went 1-8 with 5 strikeouts, played left field on Saturday. Martin was drafted as a shortstop and converted to third base last year. This was the first dose of outfield grass for the 2023 2nd-rounder.
The pitching wasn’t very good, but LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) showed off the strikeout stuff on Friday, K’ing 8 batters in 5 innings, though he allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs. That ended a 5-start stretch for Bresnahan of not allowing multiple runs, but even so, the 6-start stretch is impressive: 34.1 innings, 19 hits, 9 walks, 6 runs, and 43 strikeouts. He’s figuring it out, folks!
Bresnahan, who only turned 21 a month ago, is down to a 3.10 ERA on the year, a mark that ranks 1st out of the 35 Northwest League pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown this year. His FIP is lagging a bit behind (4.01), which is partially due to giving up a fair amount of home runs … despite only allowing 47 hits in 69.2 innings, he’s ceded 7 homers, after just 2 last year (in 93 innings). A really encouraging year for Bresnahan, who has a very strong case for the best pitching prospect outside of Jackson Flora. That will be a fun debate for next year’s CPL, with RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) and draftees Carson Bolemon and Kaden Waechter also having strong arguments (as does LHP Carson Whisenhunt [No. 8 CPL], though he’ll certainly have graduated by then).
RHPs Niko Mazza and Cade Vernon had difficult starts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. RHP Mauricio Estrella continued to look strong since getting promoted, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings with 3 hits and 1 strikeout. Through 5 games with the Emeralds, Estrella has pitched 11.1 innings and allowed just 9 hits, 3 walks, and 1 earned run, while striking out 15 batters. The 22-year old has adapted to the level very nicely!
LHP Esmerlin Vinicio struck out a pair of batters in 2 shutout innings, with a hit and a hit batter. He’s recovered from a midseason slump, and is down to a 2.98 ERA and a 3.70 FIP, with 10.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. This is definitely the most successful season for the 23-year old, who was signed in 2019 out of the Dominican Republic.
Low-A San Jose (55-41)
Friday: San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers 9-8 (10 innings) [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Ontario Tower Buzzers 8-3 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers 8-4 [box score]
The big news in San Jose was the arrival of arguably the 2 top prospects in the entire organization. Shortstops Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) joined the Baby Giants on Saturday, after wildly successful stints in Papago.
That big news led to good news and bad news. The good news was that those players played quite well, and absolutely looked the part of A-ballers … at the very least. The bad news was that González suffered his 3rd injury setback of the season, and didn’t make it through his 1st game. González singled in his 1st at-bat of his debut, with a sharply-hit ball that left the bat at 109 mph. He then promptly stole 2nd base. In his next at-bat, he drew a walk, though he was thrown out trying to steal again. But in his 3rd at-bat, he called for the trainers after a few pitches, showing discomfort in his groin. He was quickly removed from the game. Hopefully it’s good news that it was a groin issue, rather than the hamstring that delayed his season the 1st 2 times. But who knows.
As for Hernández, he stayed healthy and played well for a 17-year old in A-ball, hitting 1-6 with a double, 3 walks, a sacrifice fly, and the type of defensive wizardry at third base that makes you think it won’t be so bad if González pushes him off the position.
That’s a 17-year old shortstop, folks! Just ridiculous!
But the offensive star of the weekend was catcher Junior Barajas. The Baby Giants had just 3 extra-base hits combined on Friday and Saturday. The 1st one? A Barajas home run. The 2nd one? A Barajas home run. The 3rd one? A Barajas home run.
Not only that, but 2 of those home runs were grand slams! What a weekend for Barajas, who finished it 3-8 with a walk and a strikeout, and saw his OPS rise to .751 and his wRC+ to 87, as he seeks to rebound his numbers following a serious slump. It’s nice to see a display of power for Barajas, who hit 4 homers in his 1st 8 games … then only had 1 over his next 44 contests.
Not much else on offense. Or on the mound, really. The best starting performance belonged to Saturday’s starter, LHP Jordan Gottesman, who gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 5 innings, while striking out 4 batters. Gottesman, a 6th-round pick last year, has had a so-so debut season, with a 4.12 ERA and a 5.13 FIP. He’s been too hittable, with nearly a hit per inning, and 1.2 home runs per 9 …. but he’s only walked 3.0 batters per 9, while striking out 9.9. It’s not really an overpowering profile, but Gottesman does a lot of things well.
On Sunday it was a debut from LHP Leandro Rodriguez, a 20-year old who made his 1st Low-A appearance after getting promoted from the ACL. Rodriguez, who has a mid-90s fastball and a very nice slider, only had a 4.18 ERA and a 4.35 FIP in Arizona, but had a blissful 11.0 strikeouts vs. 2.1 walks per 9 innings. He showed off some of that in his San Jose debut, with 5 strikeouts in 4 innings, while giving up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs. Welcome to A-ball, Leandro!
RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) didn’t have a great start on Friday, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 runs, and 4 earned runs in 5 innings, with only 3 strikeouts. He also allowed 2 home runs, as his ERA rose to 4.57 and his FIP to 5.03. Martinez remains one of the best strikeout pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball, though right now he has perhaps more questions than answers.
RHPs Samir Chires and Chen-Hsun Lee continue to look very comfortable since getting promoted. Chires, a 22-year old from Venezuela, threw 3 shutout innings with 2 hits, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts, and now has a 1.04 ERA and a 4.13 FIP, with 8 strikeouts and 0 walks in 8.2 innings. Lee, a 24-year old from Taiwan, gave up 1 hit and 1 unearned run in 1 inning of work, with 2 strikeouts. He has a 0.00 ERA and a 3.68 FIP, with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 5 innings.
Finally, RHP Melvin Pineda had a very Melvin Pineda outing, with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks in just 1 inning (he also had 2 hits, a hit batter, and 2 runs). Across the ACL and Low-A, Pineda has pitched 36.1 innings and struck out 71 batters … while walking 34 and hitting 8. What a funny profile!
Dominican Summer League Black (24-15)
Friday makeup game: DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Angels 7-3 (7 innings) [box score]
Friday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Angels 18-3 [box score]
Saturday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Giants Orange 9-0 (7 innings) [box score]
Not often that you see a team score 18 runs without a home run! But strangeness always abounds in the DSL.
Corner outfielder Franco Willias had an excellent set of games, hitting 8-12 with 3 doubles, 2 walks, 2 hit by pitches, and 2 stolen bases. It’s just been a delightful season for the 21-year old, who is up to a 1.053 OPS and a 157 wRC+, with 23 stolen bases and just a 14.9% strikeout rate. He’s obviously old for the level, but still great to see.
Catcher/first baseman Alessandro Duran was dominant, hitting 6-9 with a home run, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts, bringing him to a .902 OPS and a 129 wRC+ in the 21-year old’s 4th season. Like Willias, he’s old for the level but showing a lot.
Someone who is not old for the level is catcher Luis Padros, a 16-year old who was playing in his 7th career game on Saturday. He only hit 1-4 with 2 strikeouts, but hit his 1st career home run. Congrats, Luis!
LHP Moises Soto, a 17-year old, debuted on Friday and struck out 3 batters in 2 no-hit innings, with a walk. Love to see that!
Dominican Summer League Orange (22-17)
Friday: DSL Giants Orange beat DSL Arizona Red 7-5 (7 innings) [box score]
Saturday: DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL Giants Black 9-0 (7 innings) [box score]
Only 2 performances to highlight: center fielder Jose Valdez hit 2-6 with a triple, 2 walks, and a strikeout. The 17-year old has an .844 OPS and a 107 wRC+ in his debut season. No too shabby!
And speaking of debuts, RHP Alexis Gallegos bounced back from a brutal 2nd career showing to have a very nice game, giving up 0 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs in 1.2 innings, with 3 strikeouts. The 17-year old has an exciting arm.
Home run tracker
15 — Jean Carlos Sio — [10 in AA; 4 in High-A; 1 in ACL]
15 — Jhonny Level x3 — [5 in High-A; 10 in Low-A]
13 — Eddys Leonard — [AAA]
11 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
10 — Hayden Jatczak — [1 in High-A; 9 in Low-A]
9 — Junior Barajas x3 — [Low-A]
7 — Nate Furman [AAA]
4 — Robert Hipwell — [High-A]
2 — Alessandro Duran — [DSL]
1 — Luis Padron — [DSL]
