San Francisco Giants: Down On The Farm Report
As the Major Leagues get ready for the All-Star break, let’s take a look at the hopefuls making their way through the minors.
The San Francisco Giants are winning games, and losing players. That much is pretty well-known by fans, as they definitely don’t have a healthy team.
Veteran players like Hunter Pence and Matt Cain have been missing a lot of time this year, and Matt Duffy, Joe Panik, Angel Pagan, and more have been to the disabled list at some point this season.
That’s why having depth is important for the success of the team, as any Giants fan can certainly attest to at this point. Being able to bring up young players like Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker that are able to contribute right away has been critical to keeping the Giants going strong, let alone treading water as the starters go down.
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With that being said, it seems like a good idea to take a look at what the Giants have brewing down in the minors so far this year.
We’ll start with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, located in the Pacific NorthWest. The NorthWest League just got started in mid-June so they don’t have nearly as many games played as that of the higher levels, but there’s still some good talent to note.
I personally was able to watch the Volcanoes take on the Eugene Emeralds this last weekend, as I work for the Ems. I am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to watch the majority of batting practice and all of the game, and I saw some Volcanoes that really impressed me this weekend.
The obvious players of note are the Giants 2016 second and third round picks, Bryan Reynolds and Heath Quinn. Reynolds had some good hacks in BP but definitely didn’t have a good weekend.
He was making his debut with Salem, and only recorded one hit in total. Heath Quinn, on the other hand, was very impressive. His swing looked crisp and he stroked two doubles on the weekend in addition to making some nice catches in the outfield.
The other notable hitters for Salem-Keizer, the San Francisco Giants Short-Season A affiliate, were 12th round pick Ryan Kirby and sixth round pick Gio Brusa. Kirby, a well-built first baseman, looked confident at the plate, and it paid off.
Kirby had at least one double in all three games, and two of the ten runs scored by Salem during the series. Brusa was impressive mostly in the eye test, but he did have three hits in five at-bats Sunday and like Kirby, looked comfortable at the plate and in the field.
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As for the pitching, it was less impressive. The Top-30 prospect Mac Marshall pitched Saturday night and had some control issues as he issued four walks in just three innings. Starter Hengerber Medina, who has an awesome name, pitched on Sunday and looked fantastic. His stats from his first two starts suggest that he’s had less successful starts, but Sunday he looked fantastic as he pitched a full six scoreless innings, walking none and only giving up four scattered hits.
At the next level, the Augusta GreenJackets have been buzzing with popular prospects. Their catcher, Miguel Gomez, is hitting for a scalding .362 average through 58 games, and big-name international signee Lucius Fox is displaying his speed with 19 stolen bases on the year. Pitcher Michael Santos has pitched 58 innings and has just four walks and no home runs, with walks being a dime a dozen for young pitchers struggling to develop control of their pitches.
Further up the MiLB chain, 2015 top draft pick Chris Shaw is absolutely raking. He started the year with the High-A San Jose Giants and tallied 16 homers and 77 hits to give him a .285 average in 72 games. He was called up to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels, who still have one of the best minor league baseball names ever, and in five games with them, he has ten hits and six RBIs. It’s officially time to put this prospect on your personal watch list.
Several other Richmond players are leading the charge, as another top draft pick Christian Arroyo, along with outfielder Hunter Cole and pitcher Adalberto Mejia. All are having great seasons and assuming they finish strong, should see time in AAA Sacramento by this time next year (Mejia is already spending time with the River Cats.
As for Sacramento, it’s a lot of names that fans have heard of by now, including Grant Green, Ramiro Peña, and Chris Stratton who have had solid years doing solid work for the River Cats and now are being called upon by the Giants to fill injury-related holes in the lineup.
The one name that is not as familiar, though, is journeyman Gorkys Hernandez. At 28 years old, it’s safe to assume that his MLB Transactions page is filled to the brim with trades and signings.
The Giants signed him last October to a minor-league deal, and he has been looking good for Sacramento all year. Don’t be surprised to see him come up when rosters expand to 40 near the end of the regular season.
Next: Giants Have Three All-Stars and Two Snubs
Now that you’re all caught up on the future San Francisco Giants, you can look smart in front of your friends when they ask who your favorite player is.
Buster Posey? Brandon Crawford? Madison Bumgarner?
Nope, Hengerber Medina.