Minor League roundup, April 15: The homers just keep coming

After having their Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday games rained out (with an off-day on Monday), the River Cats finally got back into action on Wednesday. It didn’t last long, though, as rain shortened the game. But at least it was a game!

The big news for this game was that the Giants were using it to rehab a pair of relievers, LHP Sam Hentges and RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL). For Hentges, it was his 1st appearance with Sacramento, after making a single rehab start with Low-A San Jose. And this one went just like the other one: perfectly. Hentges started the game and pitched a perfect 1st inning, needing just 13 pitches and striking out 1 batter.

Things went much more poorly for Peguero, who was unable to get out of the 2nd inning, after giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while recording just 2 outs, which tagged him for 4 earned runs. Hentges, who is on a Major League contract, will certainly join San Francisco’s roster as soon as he’s ready, and that will probably spell the end of things for LHP Ryan Borucki. Peguero, on the other hand, has 3 Minor League options remaining, so he’ll have to earn his way back into the MLB bullpen.

Prioritizing the rehab assignments meant that the scheduled starter, LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) had to come into the game later. He took over to start the 3rd inning, and it was another outing just like the other ones for Whiz this year: not altogether bad, but not very encouraging, either.

Whisenhunt made it through 3.2 innings, while giving up 5 hits (all singles), 2 walks, and 2 earned runs, with 4 strikeouts. It was another game with so-so strike-throwing, as Whisenhunt needed 83 pitches to get his 11 outs, and threw just 50 of them for strikes. Then again, the not-ideal weather could play a role there.

It’s hard to know what to make of Whisenhunt’s season, in his 3rd pass through the level. Back in 2024, he showed off fantastic strikeout stuff (11.6 Ks per 9) but really struggled with walks (4.6 BBs per 9). Last year, in an odd season, he almost entirely lost the strikeouts (7.9), but did a tremendous job limiting the walks (2.9). This year he’s brought back the strikeouts (11.7) … but the walks are worse than ever (6.5).

The overall package is solid, as Whisenhunt has a 4.11 ERA and a 3.08 FIP, but it’s hard to envision the Giants being comfortable giving him starts when the walks are so high. Then again, I’m not sure what alternatives they have if something happens to the Major League rotation.

On offense, the star was exactly who you want it to be: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) who once again had a sensational day, hitting 1-3 with a 3-run blast (off a lefty!), a walk, and a strikeout.

With that gorgeous swing of the bat, Eldridge is up to a 1.059 OPS and a 190 wRC+ on the year, and the calls for him to join the Major League roster are only going to intensify with every swing of his bat, and every feckless offensive performance by the Giants. The pink flags are still there, albeit improving — he has a 15th percentile whiff rate, a 24th percentile strikeout rate, a 24th percentile in-zone contact rate, and a 36th percentile swinging strike rate — but it’s been an awesome season for him. After watching Sal Stewart in this series, fans are justified in clamoring for Eldridge, even if the responsible thing is probably to leave him in the Pacific Coast League for another month or two.

Third baseman Buddy Kennedy had the only multi-hit game for the River Cats, as he went 2-3 with a hit by pitch, though he also struck out and committed his 2nd error of the year. He remains a nice depth piece to have in AAA.

With half of Sacramento’s 4 outfielders getting called up to join San Francisco before the game, Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) was called into action in left field where he hit 1-3 with a walk, running his hitting streak to 9 games. Rodríguez, who has a .936 OPS and a 150 wRC+, is mostly a catcher and second baseman these days, but he’s spent a good amount of time in the outfield, too.

AA Richmond (10-1)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) 13-11
Box score

The magical season continues! The Squirrels trailed 11-8 entering the 9th inning, but rattled off 5 runs in the final frame to win their 10th straight game. You don’t see many 10-game winning streaks at any level!

It was an especially dramatic rally, because Richmond was down to their final out before any of the runs had scored … and with just 1 runner on base.

But then they rattled off quite a rally: shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) doubled, catcher Adrián Sugastey and right fielder Jonah Cox walked, left fielder Scott Bandura doubled to score 3 runs and take the lead, and second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) doubled home the insurance run. What an inning!

Bandura was, for the 2nd game in a row, an absolute stud and an absolute star, as he finished the game 2-5 with a home run, a double, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout.

Setting aside a game where he entered as a pinch-hitter and only had 1 plate appearance, the left-handed hitting Bandura now has 4 consecutive multi-hit games … and also has 3 consecutive games with multiple extra-base hits! The dude is on fire, and he’s up to a 1.003 OPS and a 154 wRC+, with a 15.1% strikeout rate that is fully cut in half from what it was during his brief stint with Richmond last season. He really should be getting a little more shine.

But the biggest day belonged to first baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL), who had a much-needed fantastic outing, hitting 3-4 with a pair of 2-run home runs, while also drawing a walk.

Ceballos, a 23-year old 3rd-rounder from 2023 who came to the Giants in the Jorge Soler trade, really saw his power dry up last year as he posted mediocre numbers in AA. He’s repeating the level this year, and it didn’t start great. He entered this game hitting just 6-30 on the year, with 0 home runs and 2 doubles, but at this point in the season, it only takes 1 good game to fix your numbers. After his dynamic showing, the righty (who plays a strong third base) is up to an .833 OPS and a 109 wRC+.

Ahuna also had a much-needed nice game, going 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 strikeouts. We never have to worry about Ahuna’s glove at shortstop, but an opening assignment in AA was always a big challenge to ask him to overcome, given that the 2023 4th-rounder entered the year with just 97 career games in the Minor Leagues. The adjustment period has, indeed, proved difficult for Ahuna, who has just a .613 OPS and a 63 wRC+, with a 29.5% strikeout rate. Prior to his pair of doubles, he had just 1 extra-base hit on the year. Hopefully this is a sign of things turning around for him!

One final hitter to talk about: third baseman Charlie Szykowny had an awesome, awesome day, hitting 3-5 and finishing a home run shy of the cycle, while also having a walk and a strikeout. The 2023 9th-round pick has consistently put up good numbers in the Minors, but his prospect shine dimmed a little bit last year, not because of his performance, but because the Giants left him in High-A for the entirety of his age-25 season. He sure looks ready for AA now, though, as the left-hander has posted an .876 OPS and a 129 wRC+ through 10 games, while having just a 12.2% strikeout rate. What a great year he’s having.

On the negative side, second baseman Dayson Croes left the game early with an injury. Per Roger Munter, Croes was involved in a collision on the basepaths while playing defense, and hurt his ankle. Munter notes that Croes was able to eventually walk off under his own power, thankfully.

That’s a lot of words on the hitters, and it’s easy to see why: the Squirrels had 15 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. And, yes, because the pitching really isn’t worth dignifying with many words.

LHP Greg Farone made his 3rd AA appearance and got rocked, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs, while failing to make it through 3 innings, and striking out just 2 batters in 2.2 innings. RHP Manuel Mercedes followed and somehow was significantly worse, pitching just 1.1 innings while allowing 6 hits (which included a home run and 2 doubles), walking 1 batter, hitting 2 batters, striking out 0 batters, and allowing 5 runs. Those are some ERA busters!

RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) made his 1st Richmond appearance of the year, after getting moved down from AAA to help facilitate roster logistics for the River Cats with LHP Sam Hentges moving up for his rehab assignment. Unfortunately, Bednar didn’t exactly make a strong statement that he’s supposed to be in AAA, as he gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and a hit batter in 1.2 innings, while allowing 1 run on a home run, and striking out 2.

The lone pitching bright spot was RHP Tyler Vogel, who continued his excellent season with a scoreless inning, with 1 hit allowed. Vogel, who was a 12th-round pick in 2022, has allowed just 4 hits and 1 unearned run in 5 innings this year, though he has walked 4 batters.

High-A Eugene (9-2)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 6-5 (10 innings)
Box score

More drama in the system, as the Emeralds needed extra innings before walking off the AquaSox. And the walk-off was accomplished by a pair of hitters who had really nice days, but who we haven’t talked about much this year.

The bottom of the 10th began with left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) on second base as the Manfred Man. Knowing the Emeralds needed just 1 run to send everyone home happy, Gutierrez immediately took off and stole third base. And then, right after that, in a 1-2 count, right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) hit a sacrifice fly, ending the game.

Those youngsters both had awesome games. Gutierrez, a 21-year old lefty who had a serious breakout season last year, hit 2-5 with a triple and stole 2 bases. Funnily enough, Gutierrez is accomplishing his success in a very different way this season. Last year, the contact maven was an absolute hit machine, but mostly just hit singles … his .351 batting average would have led the Cal League had he qualified for the batting title (injuries ended his season early), but he had just a .101 isolated slugging. This year, the average has dipped to .226, while the isolated slugging has risen to .226. Hopefully the power can continue a little — he does look noticeably bigger this year — and hopefully the average can recover. The latter seems likely, as Gutierrez is rocking a nearly identical strikeout rate (13.5%) as last year, while having an uncharacteristically-low .240 BABIP.

As for Diaz, the 20-year old right-hander hit 2-4 with a sacrifice fly, and stole not 1, not 2, but 3 bases on the day, leading the charge as the Emeralds swiped 7 bags (and weren’t caught any times). Diaz has played sparingly, as he missed about a week and a half and this was just his 2nd game back. I’m assuming there was a small ailment there. After having a fairly average campaign with Low-A San Jose last year, he’s hoping to make some gains in his 2nd full season.

Center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and his 5th stolen base of the year. Last year’s 3rd-round pick had gone 0-12 over his prior 3 games, so nice to see him play well. Designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) went 2-5 with a stolen base and 2 strikeouts, and currently has an .802 OPS and a 111 wRC+, though he has a 34.8% strikeout rate.

As was the case with Richmond, Eugene lost a player early, as catcher Diego Cartaya exited before having an at-bat. According to Roger Munter, Cartaya was hit in the helmet on an opposing player’s backswing. Hopefully he’s OK.

The pitching performance was a sandwich, with good bread and bad meat. Perhaps I should find a better analogy, but what I mean to say is that the pitchers that started and ended the game were great, and the pitchers in between were not. LHP Tyler Switalski got the start and had a funny game, tossing 4 no-hit innings with 5 strikeouts … but issuing 4 walks.

You can probably guess from those stats, but the southpaw had a hard time finding the strike zone, throwing just 43 of 74 pitches for strikes. Thankfully that’s not the norm for the 2024 16th-rounder, who had just 1 walk in his 1st 2 appearances of the year.

We’re still a few outings away from being able to draw meaningful trend lines, but so far the 22-year old has shown marked improvement with his strikeouts. Last year, following a late-season promotion to Eugene (which came after striking out just 7.9 batters per 9 innings in Low-A), he struck out 17 batters in 23 innings. This year? He already has 22 strikeouts in just 12 innings, and he’s also only allowed 4 hits. That’s how you get a 0.00 ERA and a 2.12 FIP through 3 games! Let’s hope it continues.

Finishing things off was RHP Ryan Vanderhei, who likely was not scheduled to pitch but popped in for the 10th inning and stranded the Manfred Man with a no-hit inning, which featured 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Like Switalski, Vanderhei — a 10th-round pick in 2023 — has really pumped up the strikeouts this year, with 9 in 5.2 innings, after K’ing just 7.7 batters per 9 innings last year at the same level.

In between Switalksi and Vanderhei, RHPs Brayan Palencia and Austin Strickland really struggled, while RHP Ben Peterson gave up 3 hits in 1.1 innings, but didn’t give up any runs.

Low-A San Jose (8-3)

San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels) 16-3
Box score

It’s still far too early to making any conclusions about the Giants 2025 draft class. But if you were to make some conclusions? Well, you’d have to conclude that they absolutely nailed their 11th-round pick.

They used the 326th overall pick in the draft — and a $247,500 signing bonus — on JUCO catcher Junior Barajas, son of Major Leaguer Rod Barajas (the younger is technically Rod Barajas Jr., hence the “Junior” moniker). And to this point, it looks like a fairly brilliant selection.

Barajas was back at it again on Wednesday, hitting 2-5 with both a double and his organization-leading 4th home run of the year, despite only playing in 8 games. He also drew a walk and struck out once.

With that day, Barajas is now repping a 1.206 OPS and a 180 wRC+, despite a sustainable .320 BABIP. It’s safe to say his .472 isolated slugging will regress at some point — he won’t average more than an extra-base hit per game for the rest of the year — but it’s not like he’s selling out for power, either, as his strikeout rate is a very nice 17.5%.

Barajas, who is a 21-year old lefty, is a bat-first catcher, but he’s not a bat-only catcher, and that’s an important distinction. He’s a quality defensive player behind the dish, which makes his offense that much more exciting.

So far this year the stars of San Jose have been Barajas and shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), so we might as well update you on him as well. It speaks to the season that Level is having that the 19-year old switch-hitter had one of his worst games of the season … in which he hit 2-6 with a double and a stolen base, while knocking in 4 runs and striking out once.

Like Barajas, Level will probably not continue having 1+ extra-base hits per game, which is what he currently has, with 3 homers and 6 doubles through 8 contests. And at some point, the 1.377 OPS and the 231 wRC+ will likely settle into something merely great, rather than the A-ball equivalent of Barry Bonds on … umm … on … uhh …

Moving on.

Level has 4 stolen bases in as many attempts, and a sub-20% strikeout rate, all while looking like he’s grown as an athlete, but not at the expense of his shortstop abilities. I’m not sure how much longer we can look at Level as a really good prospect as opposed to one of the best prospects in baseball, but we just might find out.

While that 2-hit game may have been sub-par for Level’s lofty expectations, a pair of other hitters had 2-hit games that exceeded expectations: right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and left fielder Damian Bravo. We haven’t talked about Maldonado much this year, as last year’s 7th-round pick has had a slow start to his 1st full season. But that slow start did not include Wednesday’s performance, as he hit 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout, while bashing the 1st home run of his professional career.

Maldonado isn’t a huge power guy, but he’s not a stranger to power, either. Not to have a beloved former prospect catch a stray, but he’s no Wade Meckler. You can expect him to hit a few homers here and there. But his real calling card is his all-around game, which features strong outfield defense, good speed, a large amount of stolen bases, and the ability to avoid strikeouts (he has more walks than strikeouts this year).

As for Bravo, a 15th-round pick a year ago, he hit 2-6 with a 2-run blast and a pair of strikeouts. It’s been a tough year for him, who’s hitting just .200 with a .591 OPS and a 37 wRC+ in his 1st taste of Low-A (he played 24 games in High-A last year), but you’re only ever a few homers away from making a bad slash line look really good!

RHP Cody Delvecchio made the 3rd start of his young career, and it went quite well, as the UCLA product allowed just 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 4.2 innings, while striking out 3 batters. He did give up a home run, but otherwise kept the Quakes’ batters in control inning in and inning out.

A 12th-round pick a year ago, Delvecchio has done a really nice job so far in the start to his career, with just 9 hits and 3 walks allowed in 11.2 innings, with 13 strikeouts. That’s given him a 2.31 ERA though, despite the nice strikeout and walk numbers, his FIP sits at 5.16. The Giants will want him to improve his strike throwing, however, as he’s a little too outside of the zone right now, even with the low BB numbers.

RHP Dylan Carter, an undrafted free agent in his 2nd season, ended the game with 2 scoreless innings, giving up just 1 hit while striking out 3 batters. Opposing hitters are batting .280 against him this year, but when they don’t put the ball in play, good things happen: Carter has 8 strikeouts and just 1 walk in just 6.1 innings.

Home run tracker

4 — Junior Barajas — [Low-A]
2 — Bryce Eldridge — [AAA]
2 — Sabin Ceballos x2 — [AA]
2 — Damian Bravo — [Low-A]
1 — Scott Bandura — [AA]
1 — Cam Maldonado — [Low-A]

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: 5:30 p.m. PT doubleheader at Tacoma (SP: Carson Seymour)
Richmond: 4:10 p.m. PT at Hartford (SP: Joe Whitman)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Everett (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT at Rancho Cucamonga (SP: Jordan Gottesman)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV