San Francisco Giants: Checking in on Prospects in the AFL

The Arizona Fall League rolls on, with seven San Francisco Giants farmhands taking part. Let’s check in on those seven and see how they’ve fared through the first couple weeks.

San Francisco Giants pitching prospects have been very impressive so far, led by right-hander Melvin Adon. A starter during the regular season, Adon has moved to the bullpen for the AFL, where he has excelled. Through six appearances, Adon has allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits across eight innings. He’s struck out 15 batters without allowing a walk.

Adon has garnered plenty of attention with his huge fastball, which routinely touches triple-digits with an extremely easy delivery. His slider has also been at its best this month, showing depth and sharpness that hasn’t always been there in his career. For his efforts, he’s been named to the Fall Stars Game, which takes place this Saturday.

Lefty Garrett Williams has also pitched extremely well in the Fall League. His most recent start came on Monday, and he threw five shutout innings for Scottsdale. He allowed two hits and struck out five, but most importantly for a pitcher who struggled so badly with his control in 2018, he didn’t issue a walk.

After giving up a run on two hits and three walks in his AFL debut, Williams has been stout in his last three outings. In 13 innings over those three starts, Williams has allowed just one run (unearned), giving up five hits and three walks while striking out 14 batters.

In his last outing before Monday, back on October 23rd, Williams held the Mesa Solar Sox hitless in his four-inning start as he struck out seven batters. Williams was the first in a line of five pitchers that took the no-hitter into the 10th inning, where the Scorpions eventually won 2-1.

Righty Sam Wolff, acquired last offseason from Texas in the Matt Moore trade, is also having a good Fall. He missed a large portion of the regular season as he recovered from forearm surgery, and is in Arizona to make up for that lost time. It’s working so far, as he’s allowed just one unearned run in 5.1 innings across six appearances. Batters have picked up just two hits against Wolff, and he’s struck out seven without giving up a walk.

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Chase Johnson, another right-hander, hasn’t quite found that same success. He’s made five relief appearances, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks across 4.2 innings. He has struck out five batters as well.

For all the good the pitchers have done, the Giants batters have struggled mightily. Catcher Matt Winn has had maybe the roughest time on Scottsdale’s roster. He wasn’t initially part of the Scorpions, but was a late replacement after Aramis Garcia was pulled off. Maybe that time off and unexpected return to the field hurt him, but he’s hitting just .074 (2-27) with 16 strikeouts and no extra-base hits. He has drawn seven walks, though, good for fourth on Scottsdale.

Outfielder Heath Quinn hasn’t been much better, either. He’s hitting just .154 (4-26), and hasn’t shown the power he did during the regular season. He’s also stuck on zero extra-base hits. In his most recent game on Monday, Quinn did drive in a run with an RBI single during a six-run sixth inning.

Infielder C.J. Hinojosa has struggled similarly, but has shown signs of coming out of the slump. Overall, Hinojosa is hitting just .192 (5-26), but has three hits in his last two games.

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Last Thursday, he was called on as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning with Scottsdale trailing 5-1. With the bases loaded and one out, Hinojosa cleared the bags with a double into left field. He would later score to tie the game and Scottsdale would add another run, winning 6-5. Hinojosa followed that up with a two-hit game on Saturday.

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