Weekend Minor League roundup, April 17-19: Cam Maldonado can’t miss!

The biggest swing of the bat over the weekend came at the start, in the 1st inning of Friday’s game, when Eric Haase launched a 3-run home run, his 2nd big fly of the year.

While the home run was the best thing Haase did, it might not have been the most impressive. With Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan called up to San Francisco, the River Cats are shy on outfielders, and Haase — normally a catcher — was called into left field duty on Friday, which isn’t a position he’s entirely unfamiliar with (he even played a little there during Spring Training). And he showed off that catcher arm from the grass, recording an outfield assist!

Unfortunately, other than that home run, Haase did the same thing as his teammates: struggled, as he finished the weekend hitting 2-8 with 3 strikeouts.

Like Haase, Sacramento’s highest-profile hitters also had strong Fridays and rough weekends. First baseman/designated hitter Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) hit 2-5 with a double and 2 strikeouts in Friday’s loss, but went 0-8 with 4 strikeouts in the other games. Eldridge’s numbers have fallen from gaudy to still really good (.905 OPS, 147 wRC+), but I think it’s very safe to say he’s not forcing the issue right now given the swing-and-miss issues, and the holes in his zone. The update there: 21st percentile in strikeout rate, 19th percentile in whiff rate, 36th percentile in in-zone contact rate, and 34th percentile in swinging strike rate.

Catcher/left fielder Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) went 3-4 with a walk on Friday, but over the next pair of games hit just 0-6 with 2 walks and a strikeout. Rodríguez has a .900 OPS and a 142 wRC+, but what probably is really enticing to the Giants is his .344 batting average and his 8.5% strikeout rate. Among the 88 Pacific Coast League hitters with at least 50 plate appearances this season, those numbers rank 9th and 4th, respectively. It certainly feels like the soon-to-turn 24-year old is also soon-to-turn into a Major Leaguer.

A really tough weekend for first baseman/designated hitter Jake Holton, who hit 0-7 with 6 strikeouts. After 3 years of really good results in AA for the Tigers’ affiliate, Holton is getting his first taste of AAA and it’s been an up-and-down experience, as he has a .703 OPS but a 115 wRC+, with sky-high strikeout (31.9%) and walk (23.4%) rates.

It was an uninteresting weekend for starting pitchers, and a great weekend for relievers.

With all due respect to LHPs Seth Lonsway and John Michael Bertrand, the River Cats didn’t use any of their high-profile starters over the weekend. Lonsway pitched on Friday, and couldn’t really fool anyone: he only struck out 1 batter in 4 innings, while allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 5 runs. He has a 5.73 ERA and a 5.97 FIP through 3 starts and, if you can believe it, has only struck out 2 of the 49 batters he’s faced in 11 innings. Bertrand handled Saturday’s outing, and he was hit very hard, giving up 6 hits (which included 2 home runs and 2 doubles) in 4 innings, while walking 2, striking out 3, and ceding 4 earned runs. That pushed his ERA to 6.32 and his FIP to 7.55, as he’s really struggling with both his strikeout and walk rates but, more critically, has allowed 21 hits (and 4 dingers) in 15.2 innings.

The bullpen was a different story, and the exciting news is that all of the players who could figure into the Major League plans soon pitched well, as the only runs the ‘pen allowed came from prospects who are still a ways off (RHP Braxton Roxby and LHP Nick Zwack). Most notably, Major League LHP Sam Hengtes opened Sunday’s game and tossed a perfect inning with a strikeout. Hentges is now 3 games and 3 innings into his rehab assignment, which has spanned San Jose and Sacramento, and has yet to allow a baserunner. He’ll be a very welcome addition to the Major League club.

RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL) also had a nice rehab appearance, allowing just 1 walk in 1.1 shutout innings with a strikeout on Saturday, and needing just 13 pitches. Unlike Hentges, Peguero’s spot in the Majors isn’t guaranteed, as he has Minor League options, so he’ll need to pitch his way back onto the roster, and might stay in Sacramento after his rehab ends.

40-man RHPs Spencer Bivens, Tristan Beck, and Dylan Smith all pitched well, as did depth options LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL), RHP Gregory Santos, and RHP Wilkin Ramos. Sánchez pitched a perfect inning on 8 pitches, which maintained his 0.00 ERA through 6 appearances, though he has walked too many batters this year.

AA Richmond (12-2)

Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Hartford Yard Goats 7-4 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Hartford Yard Goats 6-4 [box score]

The Squirrels, it seems, are allergic to losing streaks. They started the year with a loss, and then rattled off 10 straight wins. After seeing that streak come to an end on Thursday, Richmond responded with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday, before a storm took out Sunday’s contest. For many years, the Flying Squirrels struggled to put together wins, but that is emphatically not the case this year!

There were a lot of good performers, but there were a standout trio on offense: shortstop/designated hitter Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL), third baseman/first baseman Charlie Szykowny, and right fielder Jonah Cox.

Ahuna left the yard for the 1st time in his AA career … and liked it so much he did it a 2nd time. The 24-year old lefty hit 3-7 over the weekend, with 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts, and bashed solo home runs in the 9th inning of both games.

The Giants gave Ahuna, their 4th-round pick in 2023, an aggressive assignment this year, half because they’re high on the defensive ace, and half because of roster logistics with reigning 1st-round selection Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) playing the six in High-A. Ahuna entered this year with limited experience — he played just 11 games in High-A, after just 60 in Low-A — and also a sizable swing-and-miss issue. But there’s life and potential in his bat, and that’s been on display in Richmond, where he’s posted an .822 OPS and a 116 wRC+ through 13 games.

Ahuna, who played for Tony Vitello at Tennessee, still has a big strikeout issue — his 29.1% K rate underscores the problem, if we’re being honest, given his 17.6% swinging strike rate — but he’s hitting for average, he’s hitting for power, and he’s drawing walks. Add some excellent shortstop defense, and it’s not hard to see why the Giants are so high on this kid!

As for Szykowny, he went 5-8 over the weekend while smashing a home run and a double, getting hit by a pitch twice, and striking out twice.

The sweet-swinging lefty was one of the hardest prospects in the system for me to evaluate entering the season. His 2025 statistics had no red, or even pink flags. He hit for average (.276) and power (21 home runs, .202 isolated slugging), while suppressing strikeouts (18.6%), en route to a strong season (.816 OPS, 122 wRC+) in High-A. But it was also his age-25 season, which carried a pair of warning signs for the 2023 9th-round pick: he should have been beating up players he was 2.5 years older than, and it felt telling that the Giants kept him at the level all year long, despite his age and numbers.

Ultimately, however, results matter most, and Szykowny is putting on a show with the Squirrels: through 13 games in AA, he has a 1.019 OPS and a 166 wRC+, and has improved — dramatically, in most cases — his average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, isolated slugging percentage, strikeout rate, and walk rate year-over-year. He’ll probably have to keep hitting like this given that he profiles mostly as a first baseman, but it’s pretty exciting seeing such gaudy numbers.

Speaking of gaudy numbers, that’s exactly what Cox has. The hair-on-fire outfielder hit a dazzling 6-8 over the weekend with both a home run and a double, while stealing 2 bases and striking out twice.

Like Szykowny, Cox spent the entirety of the 2025 season in High-A, though less because the Giants kept him there and more because his numbers mandated it, as he was distinctly average offensively (.731 OPS, 103 wRC+). But a new challenge has brought out the best in Cox, who has been beyond dynamic with the bat in his hands this year, posting a 1.119 OPS and a 195 wRC+, while stealing 9 bases in 10 attempts already. While the numbers will come down eventually — he won’t sport a .531 BABIP forever — the approach is very encouraging. Despite moving up a level, Cox has dropped his strikeout rate from 22.4% (already decent) to 18.0% (very good), the result of his swinging strike rate being cut from 12.0% to 9.9%. Those are very tangible improvements!

Just like Ahuna, Cox is a player who can make the Majors on the back of his defense, which is excellent at all 3 outfield positions (and it helps that he’s a menace on the base paths … a Jared Oliva-type role could very well be in his future). And it’s always exciting to see defense-first players hit well. It certainly allows you to dream!

The actual starting pitching was poor, as RHPs Trystan Vrieling and Cesar Perdomo both got rocked (Vrieling gave up 10 baserunners and 2 runs in 3.2 innings, while Perdomo allowed 8 baserunners and 4 runs in 3.1 frames), but the piggy-backing starter in Saturday’s game was an absolute stud, as RHP Darien Smith continued his stellar season. Smith replaced Perdomo and proceeded to throw 5.2 shutout innings, while allowing just 3 hits (all singles) and no walks, with 3 strikeouts.

Smith, a 26-year old undrafted free agent in his 2nd season in the pros, has been utterly sensational this season. He’s given up just 5 hits and 4 walks through 14 innings, with 4 strikeouts. He’s been especially great over the last 2 games, allowing just 4 baserunners in 10 innings, with 12 strikeouts. He’s done an excellent job suppressing walks at every step of his career, and if he keeps that up, he could find himself in AAA at some point this season.

A pair of nice relief efforts on Friday: RHP Brad Deppermann, a 29-year old who signed as a Minor League free agent, made his organizational debut and struck out 2 batters in a perfect inning, while RHP Tyler Vogel threw a perfect 9th inning with a strikeout. Vogel has a 0.00 ERA through 6 appearances this year, with 4 hits, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts in 6 innings.

High-A Eugene (11-4)

Friday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox 7-4 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox 9-3 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox 10-4 [box score]

The Emeralds lost the weekend, but they certainly showed you the varied attacks they can present. In Friday’s loss, for instance, Eugene hitters stole a tremendous 8 bases, without being caught. But in Saturday’s victory they stole no bases … but hit 4 home runs. Many ways to win (or fall short of winning, as the case may occasionally be).

There were a lot of stars, particularly on offense, as the Ems ended the weekend with 6 dingers. But the biggest weekend belonged to arguably the biggest prospect, both in status and size: center fielder/designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL). After a rough introduction to the level, Jordan has really settled into Northwest League life, and put on a show over the final 3 games of the series, hitting 6-12 with 2 home runs, 2 walks, 1 sacrifice fly, 2 stolen bases, and 3 strikeouts. And let me tell you: they are loud home runs that Jordan hits.

The 2024 4th-round selection had his strikeout issues firmly on display in the 1st week of the season, as he hit 3-17 with 1 home run, 2 doubles, 0 walks, and 11 strikeouts through 4 games. Since then? 15-40 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles, 6 walks, and just 8 strikeouts in 10 games. My goodness!

Those stellar games have brought Jordan’s season numbers to a .931 OPS and a 146 wRC+, and while the strikeout rate will take a while to recover (it’s at 29.2%), it is certainly headed in the correct direction. He also has 4 stolen bases now, without yet getting caught.

I’ve long felt that Jordan is arguably the most exciting prospect in the system. His combination of speed and power is intoxicating, and if he overcomes the swing-and-miss issues, it’s not unrealistic to think he could be a big time star in the Majors. But that’s a long way off. For now, let’s enjoy him catching fire in High-A.

Also catching fire over the weekend was right fielder/center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL), who has had an up-and-down start to his 1st full season. Last year’s 3rd-round pick was a menace in the box and on the bases this weekend, though, hitting 5-11 with a triple, a double, 4 walks, 4 stolen bases, and 2 strikeouts.

Cohen is such a fun player, with the bat-to-ball skills that we know the front office covets, the ability to play all 3 outfield spots well, and the disruption on the basepaths that we’ve all been wanting the Giants to have more of in recent years. His numbers aren’t great, given that this nice weekend ended a stretch where he’d gone 2-20 over 5 games, but still: a .725 OPS, a 110 wRC+, a higher walk rate (17.6%) than strikeout rate (14.7%), and 9 stolen bases, plus good defense, paint the picture of someone who is very adeptly handling an aggressive assignment.

He’s sharing that assignment with shortstop/designated hitter Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) who has really cooled off after a blistering introduction to the level. Kilen had a quiet weekend, hitting 2-14 with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts, which dropped his OPS to .822 and his wRC+ to 120. After hitting 10-20 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, 3 walks, and just 2 strikeouts in his 1st 5 games, Kilen has scuffled a bit in his next 9, hitting 7-40 with 0 homers, 3 doubles, 2 walks, and 10 strikeouts. Still an excellent 1st full season for last year’s 1st-round pick, but a reminder that red-hot starts usually don’t stay red hot!

Left fielder/designated hitter Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) continues his inverse production of last season. After breaking out as a high-contact, low-power player in Low-A in 2025, Gutierrez added a whole lot of muscle (perhaps to help combat the injuries that have plagued him in his career), and to this point in the season, his profile has reversed. He played twice over the weekend and hit 3-9 with a home run and 3 strikeouts. Last year, Gutierrez had a .351 average, a 13.7% strikeout rate, and a .101 isolated slugging. But this year? Just a .209 average with an 18.0% strikeout rate, but a .233 isolated slugging. I would expect those numbers (which this year result in a .762 OPS and a 109 wRC+) to find a happy home in the middle of last year and this year, and that could be a pretty nice package for Gutierrez, who is a strong baserunner and defender.

Third baseman Walker Martin had a pretty good weekend, as he hit 4-11 with a home run, 1 walk, 3 stolen bases, and 2 strikeouts.

Martin, a recently-turned 22-year old who was taken in the 2nd round in 2023, has really shown some notable improvements with his contact. The lefty posted a terrifying 41.0% strikeout rate in his debut season in 2024 (which included a 46.3% K rate during his Low-A stint), but lowered that number to a still-very-bad-but-not-as-bad 28.4% clip in Low-A a year ago. So far after moving up a level, Walker has slashed the number further, to just 24.0%, all while posting a career-best .178 isolated slugging, en route to a .784 OPS and a 117 wRC+. Those are really encouraging signs.

The flip side is that part of what made Martin a high draft pick was his athleticism and ability to play the middle infield, but it quickly became apparent that he could not play shortstop at the professional level. He got moved to third base last year, and so far the results haven’t been very good there, either. He committed 2 errors this weekend, which gives him 6 already on the young season.

Also homering: left fielder/right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) who went 2-13 with a solo shot and 3 strikeouts, and first baseman/second baseman Zander Darby, who hit 2-6 with a solo blast, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts, plus a stolen base. Diaz, a 20-year old righty, has a .525 OPS and a 39 wRC+ as he adjusts to a new level; Darby, a 23-year old lefty, has a .933 OPS and a 153 wRC+ as he is shining following a rough introduction to the level a year ago.

On the pitching front, it was another rough go of it for LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL), who continues to struggle to adapt to a new level following a breakout 2025. De La Torre took the mound on Sunday and simply could not find the strike zone, as he threw just 32 of 68 pitches for strikes, while walking 5 batters in only 3 innings of action, while only striking out 2. When he did find the zone, things were also bad, as LDLT ceded 4 hits — which included a home run — and got tagged for 4 earned runs, raising his ERA to 8.64 and his FIP to 7.49.

I’d stop well short of calling that worrisome, given that it’s only been 3 starts for someone who is not only getting their first taste of High-A, but who only had a very brief stay in Low-A, where he officially made just 8 appearances (though he also pitched twice in the playoffs). Still, while it’s far from entering concern territory, it is jarring to see: after having 13.2 strikeouts and 3.3 walks per 9 innings in the ACL and Low-A last season, De La Torre has just 7.6 strikeouts against 10.8 walks per 9 innings this year. Hopefully it’s just early season small sample shenanigans!

There were no such shenanigans for Friday’s starter, RHP Hunter Dryden, though he also struggled to find the zone a bit. The soon-to-turn 24-year old only threw 44 of 71 pitches for strikes, and walked 3 batters in 4 innings, but he also didn’t allow a single hit. We always like no-hit appearances here! And Dryden backed it up with 5 strikeouts, too. The 2024 17th-round pick has struggled with walks this year, as he has 7 of them in 10 innings through 3 starts, but he also allowed just 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 14 batters, which gives him a 0.90 ERA and a 3.61 FIP. A really nice start to his 2nd season in the pros, even though the Giants will certainly be keeping a close eye on the strike-throwing abilities.

It was mostly a bad weekend for the bullpen, with all 3 relievers on Friday — and 3 of 4 relievers on Sunday — giving up runs. Saturday was excellent, though, as the extremely contrasting duo of LHP Esmerlin Vinicio and RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 21 CPL) went back-to-back with excellent results. Vinicio, a recently-turned 23-year old who is built like a chopstick and has funk, gave up neither a hit nor a walk in 2.2 innings, with 1 strikeout, while throwing 21 of 31 pitches for strikes. That kept his ERA at 0.00 and brought his FIP to 2.92. Most importantly, after walking 7.8 batters per 9 innings in Eugene last year, the Dominican pitcher has walked just 1 batter in 7.1 innings. Maldonado who, on the other hand, is built like a tank and throws harder than anyone in the organization, struck out a pair of batters in a perfect inning, lowering his ERA to 4.50 and his FIP to 3.51. For better and for worse, only 4 of the 20 batters Maldonado has faced this year have put the ball in play: in 4 innings he’s issued 6 walks, but struck out 10 hitters.

Low-A San Jose (11-4)

Friday: San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6-2 [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants lost to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4-3 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8-6 [box score]

We’re still in the small sample size theater portion of the season. I’m not sure when it ends. But I’d like to know so we can start counting down to it, and see if right fielder/center fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) is still doing this when we get there.

No one had a better weekend than Maldonado, and no one was particularly close. He got Friday off, but on Saturday hit 1-3 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. What a good day!

But it was nothing compared to his Sunday, when the right-handed hitter, taken in the 7th round of July’s draft, went a mesmerizing 4-5 with not 1, but 2 home runs. Maldonado also threw in a double for good measure, knocked 5 runs home, and was caught stealing once.

You want to see the spitting image of a guy who has started to figure things out? Last year, after getting drafted, Maldonado played 17 games for San Jose and hit .237/.352/.339 with 0 home runs. Through 9 games this year, the 22-year old was hitting 6-34 with 0 extra-base hits.

And in the last 4 games? He’s 10-17 with 6 home runs and 2 doubles. And in case you missed the news portion of this article, he won Cal League Player of the Week. No duh.

With that absurd string of games, the Northeastern product is up to an 1.123 OPS and a 170 wRC+. It’s earlier than early, but the 2025 draft class is sure looking rosy for the Giants right now.

While Maldonado was the biggest star, shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) remains the top prospect on the team, and while he didn’t have his most dynamic pair of games (he sat on Sunday), that’s only because he’s set the bar impossibly high. Because my goodness did he still have a phenomenal weekend, hitting 2-8 with a grand slam and 2 strikeouts.

The just-turned 19-year old continues to look too good for a level that he is very young for. That doesn’t mean the Giants will be promoting him anytime soon, but if you’re a prospect the best thing you can do is dominate a level, and he is thoroughly and unquestionably doing exactly that. There are 68 Cal League hitters with at least 40 plate appearances, and Level is 1st in batting average (.412), 4th in on-base percentage (.455), 1st in slugging percentage (.804), 1st in isolated slugging (.392, tied with Maldonado), 1st in OPS (1.258), 1st in wRC+ (205, with the next-closest player being 179), and 19th in strikeout rate (20.0%). Just an absurd season thus far.

It was a star weekend for San Jose, as there weren’t a lot of notable performances, but there were a few absolute standout showings, namely from Maldonado, Level, and one pitcher: RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL).

Cayama, who had a breakout 2025 in the Complex League but ran into some standard troubles upon a late-season promotion to San Jose had a spectacular start on Friday, tossing 5 shutout innings with just 2 hits and 0 walks allowed, while striking out 4 batters. That’s the Cayama we’ve been waiting to see!

The 19-year old looks noticeably more physical this year, and the results are starting to reflect it. He got knocked around a bit in his season debut, but in the last 2 games has pitched 9 innings with 6 hits, 0 walks, 1 run, and 12 strikeouts. The 2025 breakout players on offense have done much better to start the year than the 2025 breakout players on the mound, so it’s nice to see Cayama holding it down for the arms. He could get a whole lot of attention this year if he keeps this up.

LHP Braydon Risley, last year’s 19th-round selection, started on Saturday and had some good and some bad. In the former category was the 6 strikeouts he had in 4 innings, against just 1 walk. In the latter category were the pair of home runs he allowed, though he only gave up 3 hits and 2 runs total. Risley has started his debut season with 13 strikeouts against just 3 walks in 9.1 innings.

One really nice relief appearance in each game: on Friday, RHP Alix Hernandez struck out a batter in a 9-pitch perfect inning, keeping his ERA at 0.00 with a 2.44 FIP, and giving him 9 strikeouts against 1 walk in 6.1 innings; on Saturday, RHP Mauricio Estrella tossed 3 perfect frames with 4 strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.38 and his FIP to 1.81, while giving him 12 strikeouts in 8 innings … and 0 walks; and on Sunday, RHP Garrett Langrell needed just 10 pitches to retire all 4 batters he faced, dipping his ERA to 2.84 and his FIP to 3.71, with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk in 6.1 innings.

Home run tracker

6 — Cam Maldonado x3 — [Low-A]
4 — Jhonny Level — [Low-A]
3 — Dakota Jordan x2 — [High-A]
2 — Eric Haase — [AAA]
2 — Maui Ahuna x2 — [AA]
2 — Charlie Szykowny — [AA]
2 — Carlos Gutierrez — [High-A]
2 — Walker Martin — [High-A]
2 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
1 — Jonah Cox — [AA]
1 — Lisbel Diaz — [High-A]