Minor League roundup, April 23: Cam Maldonado stays hot, Parks Harber readies a return

But Thursday was about the depth, and the biggest piece of that was second baseman Osleivis Basabe, who had himself a day. The 25-year old righty and cousin of Luis Matos is known for his glove, not his bat, but you wouldn’t know it based on this game, as he hit 2-4 with a grand slam and a double, while knocking in 6 of the team’s 10 runs, and also striking out twice.

This was Basabe’s 1st game of the year at a position other than shortstop, though he split time fairly evenly between second, third, and short a year ago. With Tyler Fitzgerald out of the organization (unfortunate update on Fitz, for his fans: he’s hitting 3-20 with 14 strikeouts for Toronto’s AAA affiliate), the Giants have no infielders on the 40-man roster that aren’t also on the active roster. Basabe is a strong defensively across the infield, though, so the Giants would surely be comfortable calling on him to fill the Christian Koss role should injuries ever mandate it. And while he does a good job limiting strikeouts, and will pop for a game like Thursday’s every once in a while, his value does come from his glove: he has just a .640 OPS and 69 wRC+ on the season.

Third baseman Buddy Kennedy doesn’t have as good — or as versatile — of a glove as Basabe, but he does have a better bat, and he also showed it off on Thursday, hitting 3-4 with a triple and a walk. The 27-year old Minor League free agent, who has played in 67 MLB games over 4 seasons, has been spectacular in Sacramento this year, with a .904 OPS and a 146 wRC+, while striking out just 17.1% of the time. It’s hard to envision how Kennedy could get on the Major League roster — it might require an injury to Matt Chapman or Luis Arráez, with Casey Schmitt filling in for them — but he’s another player who, should injuries and emergencies mandate it, the Giants would be quite comfortable temporarily plugging a leak on the roster.

Shortstop Thomas Gavello, Sacramento’s do-everything utility prospect, hit 2-3 with a double and a walk, while center fielder Turner Hill, playing in his 4th game since getting called up to fill the outfield hole left by the promotions of Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan went 3-4 with a stolen base. Neither player is a capital P Prospect, but they both do a lot of good things, are beloved by their coaches and teammates for a reason, and could get cups of coffee some day. Great players to have on any Minor League roster.

So those are the less heralded names in the lineup. The more heralded ones did far less interesting things: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) hit 1-5 with a strikeout hat trick, lowering his OPS to .835 and his wRC+ to 126; catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) had a 1-5 as well (though without the strikeouts), which dropped his OPS to .845 and his wRC+ to 125; left fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) hit 1-4 with a hit by pitch, but did knock in 3 runs, and now has a .773 OPS and a 106 wRC+; designated hitter Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) went 1-4 with a strikeout, dropping his OPS to a still-great .921 and his wRC+ to 157; and right fielder Grant McCray hit 1-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and an error, moving his OPS to .620 and his wRC+ to 86.

Eldridge in particularly is mired in a bit of a slump at the moment: while he’s having some loud outs, in his last 4 games the lefty has hit just 1-17 with 0 walks and 8 strikeouts.

On the mound, RHP Carson Seymour was unable to run with an opportunity. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) had another tough game on Wednesday, and has really kept the door open for Seymour to become the top depth option should San Francisco need a 6th starter at some point (and they will). But, while Seymour has had a solid season this year, his Thursday was a disaster.

He couldn’t find the strike zone, as he threw just 29 of 54 pitches for strikes, and also couldn’t find the third inning, as he was knocked out of the game after just 1.2 frames. Seymour issued 2 walks and a hit batter during that time, while allowing 4 hits — including a home run to former Major Leaguer Adael Amador. In all, he had 6 earned runs placed on his ledger, and all of them came while he was on the mound rather than the bullpen allowing inherited runners to score.

After 3 straight scoreless outings to open the year, Seymour has really regressed in his last 2 games, and it’s brought his ERA all the way up to 4.15, with a 4.95 FIP. He’s done some good things this year, but the lack of strikeouts is highly concerning: he has just 14 through 17.1 innings.

The bullpen wasn’t all that much better. RHP Spencer Bivens gave up 3 hits, including a home run and a double in 1.2 innings, with 1 strikeout and 3 earned runs. He has a 4.38 ERA and a 6.78 FIP and, unfortunately, has not been able to make the Giants regret leaving him off the Opening Day roster. RHP Gregory Santos gave up 2 hits and a run in 2 innings, while striking out 2, but still has just a 1.74 ERA, but a 3.76 FIP. He’s only walked 3 batters in 10.1 innings this year but, despite throwing triple-digit heat, only has 5 strikeouts.

RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL) pitched for the 1st time in over a week, and while he didn’t allow any runs, he gave up a hit and 3 walks in just 1.1 innings, with 2 strikeouts. RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL) retired the only batter he faced as he continues his rehab. RHP Wilkin Ramos tossed 2 no-hit innings with 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 1 strikeout, lowering his ERA to 2.77 but with a 4.63 FIP.

AA Richmond (14-3)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 5-2
Box score

The magical season continues for the Flying Squirrels, and the magical season continues for center fielder Jonah Cox. With Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) sidelined for a few games, Cox is getting to remind us all of his center field chops, and while his great defense in the middle of the grass isn’t surprising, what he’s doing in the batter’s box is.

Cox had yet another brilliant day with the bat, hitting 2-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base. A 6th-round pick in 2023 whom the Giants grabbed from the A’s in the Ross Stripling trade (thanks, Oakramentegas), Cox has all the makings of someone who could fill the Jared Oliva role in the Majors one day. The 24-year old plays really strong defense at all 3 outfield spots, and he’s probably the best non-Oliva basestealer in the organization (though both Trevor Cohen and Josuar González would like to state their case before that award is doled out).

But what happens when a back-of-the-bench, speed-and-defense prospect turns into a good hitter? Hopefully Cox helps us find out, because he is off to an absolute tear to start the season, hitting .420/.508/.640 for an 1.148 OPS and a 201 wRC+. It’s still early in the season but … 15 games isn’t as small of a sample size as he had earlier in the season, to state the obvious!

Those numbers are, frankly, a little shocking for someone who posted a .738 OPS and a 103 wRC+ at a lower level last year, and is making his AA debut this season. It seems that Cox has improved his approach this year, as he’s bettered both his walk and strikeout rates by about 6 percentage points, which is a very significant number. And of course, he’s up to his usual tricks on the bases, as he now has 11 thefts in 13 attempts.

Keep it up, Jonah. The sky’s the limit if you hit like this!

Left fielder Scott Bandura is also trying to keep hitting like this, because he is on a serious role. The lefty had another brilliant day, hitting 2-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. It was the 4th consecutive multi-hit game for Bandura, and the 2023 7th-round selection has been on a tear ever since a cold start to open the year. Since April 9, the 24-year old — who was born 2 days before Cox and taken 1 round after him — has hit 21-48 with 10 extra-base hits, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts, bringing him up to a .983 OPS and a 155 wRC+. In what has really been a theme for the farm this year, Bandura has done a fantastic job cutting back on strikeouts: he had a 24.1% rate in High-A a year ago, and a 30.6% rate during his AA stint to end the year; this year it’s an ultra-tidy 14.5% mark.

A little bit of an all-or-nothing day for designated hitter Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) who hit 2-4, smacked a double, and stole a base, but also struck out twice and was caught stealing once. Ahuna, who also knocked in 3 runs, has an .820 OPS and a 112 wRC+, but a 32.4% strikeout rate as he seeks to figure out AA after just 11 games in High-A.

On the mound, LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) had probably the best start of his season. Whitman hasn’t been living in the zone enough this year, and that was again the case in this game, as he only threw 43 of 74 pitches for strikes, while walking 3 batters in 5.1 innings. But he also only gave up 3 hits (2 singles and a double), while striking out 6 batters.

Earned runs have a way of impacting our perception of a pitching performance, of course. Whitman held the Patriots scoreless, with just 4 baserunners allowed, for 5 innings, but walked a pair of batters in the 6th. He departed and was replaced by LHP Dylan Carmouche, who allowed both inherited runners to score, tattooing a pair of earned runs on Whitman’s line, and moving his ERA to 5.68 (though his FIP is a much-nicer 3.62, but that seems to be a trend with him). Not that Carmouche is to blame for letting inherited runners score, but it’s certainly a reminder of why ERA can be a tricky number. With all else in the stat line being equal, people would look at a 5.1-inning, 0-run start much differently than a 5.1-inning, 2-run start, even though what Whitman did was the same regardless.

Either way, it was an encouraging start for Whitman, whose ERA and FIP are nearly identical to his 1st pass through the level last year, but his strikeouts and walks have greatly improved (the former moving from 9.5 per 9 to 11.8, and the latter dropping from 3.6 per 9 to 2.8).

We haven’t mentioned RHP Shade Rademacher much this year, but he had a really nice game, with 2 scoreless frames in which he allowed just 1 hit and 0 walks, while striking out 2. The 25-year old UDFA is doing the exact same thing that he did last year during his strong season with High-A, before struggling after a late-season promotion: he’s not striking anyone out (5.8 per 9), he’s not getting ground balls (19.4% rate), and his FIP is awful (5.17) and yet …. somehow he keeps runs from scoring (2.89 ERA). Go figure.

High-A Eugene (14-4)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 3-1
Box score

Thursday was all about being effectively wild for the Emeralds. They held the Hops to just 1 run, despite walking 7 batters and hitting 2 more. That’s what happens when you strike out 12, only allow 5 hits, and don’t give up any extra-base knocks.

RHP Niko Mazza had his best start of the season, as the 2024 8th-round pick took down 5 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit and striking out 6 batters. What a performance! Mazza did walk a trio of hitters, and he threw just 42 of his 74 pitches for strikes, but still. That’s a really nice game.

In his debut season last year, Mazza had a really nice ERA (2.22) but a rough FIP (4.36), the result of not having many strikeouts (8.7 per 9) and walking a lot of hitters (5.0 per 9). This year he’s turned up the strikeouts to 13.2 per 9 (awesome!) while also turning up the walks to 7.5 per 9 (terrifying!). But, once again, he’s proving incredibly difficult for Minor League batters to hit. Last year, Mazza ceded just 68 hits in 93.1 innings, and this year, the Southern Mississippi product has allowed only 9 hits in 14.1 innings. He’s also adjusting to the level quickly: in his 1st 2 starts, Mazza gave up 7 hits, 7 walks, and 7 runs in 5.1 innings; in 2 starts since, he’s allowed just 2 hits, 5 walks, and 0 runs in 9 innings.

RHP Austin Strickland was also effectively wild, with 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 hit batters, and 3 strikeouts in 2 shutout innings. RHP Ryan Vanderhei was a touch more traditional, throwing 8 of 13 pitches for strikes in a scoreless inning, though he walked 1 and had a pair of strikeouts. It’s been a nice season for the 2023 10th-round pick, who is walking too many batters but otherwise pitching very well.

There were no standout days on offense, but the trio of highest-profile hitters in Eugene’s lineup all had nice days while sitting at the top of the lineup: right fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) and shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) both hit 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, while center fielder Dakota Jordan went 2-4 with a double, but struck out twice. Cohen (.719 OPS, 109 wRC+) has had an up-and-down season; Kilen (.755 OPS, 105 wRC+) started as the hottest player in the system but has been slumping for a while; and Jordan (.948 OPS, 155 wRC+) is putting up gaudy numbers, but still swinging and missing about twice as much as the Giants would like.

Low-A San Jose (14-4)

San Jose Giants beat the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 9-6
Box score

It’s now a 4-game winning streak for the Baby Giants, who broke a tie with a 3-run 8th inning.

As for where those 3 runs in the 8th inning came from? Well, the world belongs to center fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and we just live in it. Yes, Maldonado did it again, blasting a 3-run bomb in the 8th inning to lift San Jose to victory. That alone makes for a great day, but it was far from all he did, as he reached base 4 times, hitting 2-3 with 2 walks, while also stealing his 8th base of the season (which is 3rd in the organization, and more than all of the San Francisco players combined this year).

Maldonado, a righty-swinging 22-year old taken in the 7th round last year, is on the tear of all tears. He spent his post-draft time and the start of this year adjusting to life in Low-A, and has now taken flight. Just look at these numbers:

2025, 17 games: 14-59, 0 home runs, 6 doubles, 11 walks, 18 strikeouts
2026, 1st 9 games: 6-34, 0 home runs, 0 doubles, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
2026, next 7 games: 16-28, 7 home runs, 3 doubles, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts

My goodness! What is going on?! Whatever it is, please don’t let it stop, because this is a delight.

Catcher Junior Barajas had yet another stellar game, hitting 2-2 with a double and drawing 3 walks. The 21-year old lefty, takin in the 11th round in July, has been an on-base machine, hitting .302 with an 11.3% walk rate (and just a 17.7% strikeout rate!). Thanks to a bunch of extra-base hits, the JUCO product has a 1.064 OPS and a 157 wRC+, despite a very modest .316 BABIP.

A few weeks into the debut season at Low-A is far too early to take any victory laps, but so far the Giants later rounds in the 2025 draft sure are looking nice.

We haven’t talked about third baseman Dario Reynoso much this year, but so far he’s been doing what he did last year: hitting well enough to excite you, but striking out enough to scare you. Thursday was another case of that, as he hit 2-3 with a double and 2 walks, while also striking out. The recently-turned 21-year old right has an .827 OPS and a 131 wRC+ on the year, but is striking out 35.7% of the time … that’s right in line with last year, when he had a .999 OPS and a 158 wRC+ in the ACL, but a 31.7% strikeout rate.

Usually when that happens, it’s because someone is swinging for the fences, but Reynoso is the rare player who has both a batting average and a strikeout rate that begin with a “3.” You don’t see that every day! But while the average (and walk rate, which was 17.6% last year and 19.6% this year) are great, Reynoso’s lack of power is a red flag when combined with his strikeouts. You can have one or the other, but not both. He’s not the biggest guy, and that’s showed in Low-A: after having 10 home runs and 12 doubles in 227 plate appearances in the Complex League last year, Reynoso has 0 home runs and 6 doubles in 113 Low-A plate appearances between the end of last year and the start of this one.

Nice games for second baseman Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL), designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins, and left fielder Damian Bravo. Meola, a 2025 4th-round pick, hit 2-4 with a walk and 2 stolen bases, while striking out twice and committing an error, boosting his OPS to .634 and his wRC+ to 67; Jenkins, a 14th-round pick in 2024, hit 3-5 with 2 strikeouts, and now has a 1.098 OPS and a 174 wRC+; and Bravo, last years 15th-round selection, with 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a sacrifice fly, putting his OPS at .821 and his wRC+ at 96.

In very exciting news, RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) put together another awesome start. While the Giants top hitting prospects are off to strong starts to the year, things have been a little bit slower on the pitching front. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL), RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL), and LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) have had wobbly starts to the year, while LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) has yet to make his season debut.

But Cayama is flowing, and on Thursday handled the Tower Buzzers with ease, needing just 72 pitches to cruise through 5 innings. Cayama did give up 6 hits, which included a solo home run (the only run he allowed), but only walked 1 batter and he struck out 6. The 19-year old from Venezuela looks significantly more physically developed this year than last, and that’s probably a large part of why he’s pitching well in the Cal League after getting rocked there in a few outings after the 2025 ACL season ended.

Cayama got rocked in his 1st outing of the year, but since then? He’s made 3 starts, pitched 14 innings, and allowed just 12 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while striking out 18 batters. That’s the guy we were all so excited to see!!

Things quickly went off the rails, though, as RHP Fernando Vasquez took the mound for the 6th and had one of the more bizarre outings you’ll see. The 24-year old faced 7 batters and none of them put the ball in play, as he struck out 2 and walked 5. RHP Garrett Langrell, a 16th-round pick in July, had a great game, giving up just 1 baserunner in 2.1 innings, with 4 strikeouts. Unfortunately, the baserunner he allowed was a bases-loaded double after inheriting Vasquez’s mess, so Vasquez was tagged with 5 earned runs on the day. Langrell, on the other hand, is down to a 2.08 ERA and a 3.09 FIP on the season, and has a delightful 12 strikeouts against just 1 walk in 8.2 innings.

Home run tracker

7 — Cam Maldonado — [Low-A]
2 — Jonah Cox — [AA]
1 — Osleivis Basabe — [AAA]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Albuquerque (SP: Trevor McDonald)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Somerset (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT at Hillsboro (SP: Hunter Dryden)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Ontario (SP: Braydon Risley)

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