As the ACL started up again, the big news in the farm system was a lot of promotions across the system, including a former first round pick and a red hot pitching prospect.  Meanwhile, Anthony DeSclafani made a rehab appearance in the ACL, and a player the Giants signed in April 2022 finally made his debut!

Roster Moves

There was a bevy of roster moves announced today, as the various A-Ball teams shuffle to go into the “second halves” (although most officially have been in their second halves in terms of playoff positioning for a few weeks).  And there were a few surprises in the mix.

First up:

Former 1st round pick and two-way player Reggie Crawford got promoted to High-A Eugene from San Jose.  Or maybe “two-way player” should be in quotes.

Crawford made his season debut on May 24th in a game where he was hitting.  He has a 4.09 ERA over seven pitching appearances, with 18 strikeouts to four walks in 11.0 innings, none over 2.0 innings long.  As a hitter, he’s made only four appearances, going 4-for-16 (.250) with two doubles one home run, with no walks to four strikeouts.  Crawford hasn’t appeared as a hitter since June 14th.  Crawford has been overpowering at times on the mound, and gets a lot of strikeouts, but he’s also given up runs, when he has, in bunches, allowing five runs (on three home runs).  I admit, I’m surprised he is getting this promotion with so few appearances, and his status as a two-way player may be very much in question, despite the connections with 2023 first rounder Bryce Eldridge.

Mason Black got the call up to Triple-A after a hot run in Double-A Richmond.  Overall, he has a 3.57 ERA in 16 starts, with 83 strikeouts to 21 walks in 63.0 innings.  Recently, Black went through five straight start without allowing a run, with 29 strikeouts to five walks in 22.1 innings, and although he gave up two runs, one earned, in his last start, he also got a season-high nine strikeouts and one walk.  With this performance since the middle of the season, he’s rocketing up prospect charts.

John Bertrand will make his third level after starting the season in San Jose.  In 11 games at Eugene, Bertrand had a 2.92 ERA with 41 strikeouts to 12 walks in 49.1 innings.  Previously, he had a 2.65 ERA in five games at San Jose, with 12 strikeouts to two walks in 17.0 innings.  The 25-year old 2022 10th round pick isn’t getting a lot of strikeouts, but he’s beating everyone he’s put on a mound in front of.  On to Double-A!

Hayden Wynja is getting the call from San Jose to head up to Eugene.  Wynja started the season in relief, and got moved to mostly into the rotation as the season went on, although he sometimes piggybacked on Reggie Crawford’s short starts.  Wynja has a 3.98 ERA with 68 strikeouts to 18 walks in 54.1 innings, but has a 2.40 ERA in eight starts, and a 5.92 ERA in 11 relief appearances.

Daniel Blair has been working as a reliever/piggyback starter in San Jose in his first pro season.  The 24-year old undrafted free agent has a 2.05 ERA in 18 games at San Jose, with 45 strikeouts to 18 walks in 52.2 innings.  While many of the starters in the Giants system have been slow to be able to be allowed to throw 5.0 innings, but Blair has now done that in his last two appearances without any starts at all.

Matt Higgins has been one of San Jose’s remaining offensive leaders, with a batting line of .309/.400/.492 with 18 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs, and has 33 walks to 63 strikeouts.  Higgins has been getting better as the season has gone on, as he’s hitting .375/.444/.469, although he hasn’t hit any home runs since June 24th.

Thomas Gavello has been an interesting prospect at San Jose so far this season.  The 22-year old has hit double-digit home runs, with 10 home runs in 59 games, with 11 doubles and two triples, with 30 walks to 70 strikeouts.  His batting line is .249/.408/.468.  But what’s interesting is that he was listed officially as a catcher on the San Jose roster (and he’s announced as a IF/C in this move).  Gavello has played only 10 games at catcher this season (along with 14 at second base and 30 at third base).  He’s struggled, with 7 passed balls in 91.0 innings, and having allowed 11 steals on 15 attempts.  We’ll see where he’s used more at Eugene.

One additional move has been reported: a Giants international signing from January 2023 was activated in the Arizona Complex League.  Taiwanese pitcher Chen-Hsun Lee was activated for the ACL Giants Orange team.  Lee was a notable signing in the International period, reportedly getting more than $600,000 for his signing bonus.  The 20-year old has a lot of international experience, who has hit as high as 96 MPH with his fastball before Tommy John surgery two years ago.

AAA, AA, High-A, Low-A: Scheduled day off

Notes:

  • The break ends for the A-Ball teams on Friday.

ACL: ACL Giants Black 3, ACL D-backs Red 2 (7 Innings)

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ACL Giants Black Notes:

  • Third baseman Elian Rayo went 1-for-3 with a 3-run home run.  Rayo has a batting line of .257/.367/.486 with five doubles and four home runs, with 11 walks to 31 strikeouts.
  • Center fielder Cesar Quintas was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, and a HBP.  Quintas’ spectacular summer continues, as through 23 games, he has a batting line of .439/.570/.606 with eight doubles and one home run.
  • DH Damon Dues was 1-for-3 with a strikeout in his first rehab game.  It’s his first game since May 30th, when he last played at Eugene.  He had a .288/.402/.351 batting line with seven doubles, and 20 walks to 29 strikeouts in 35 games at High-A.
  • Trevor McDonald took the start, going 2.0 shutout innings, striking out four while allowing just one hit.  That’s his second game in the ACL, although on the other team.  He gave up two runs in an inning in his first rehab appearance.  

ACL: ACL Giants Orange 9, ACL Dodgers 1

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ACL Giants Orange Notes:

  • The biggest name here is rehabbing Anthony DeSclafani, who allowed one run in 4.0 innings, giving up five hits and no walks while striking out four.  It’s his first game since July 1st, when he went just 3.0 innings and gave up three runs.  He has a 4.44 ERA in 17 games, with 72 strikeouts to 18 walks in 93.1 innings.
  • First baseman Derwin Laya was 4-for-5 with a home run and a strikeout.  It’s Laya’s second 4-hit game this summer, and it bumped his batting average up from .256 to .287.  He now has three home runs, which is exactly how many home runs he had in each of his previous two pro seasons (in 40 games int he DSL in 2021, and 51 games in the ACL in 2022).
  • Rehabbing Ismael Munguia went 3-for-4 with a walk and all singles.  It’s his first game in a week (though there’s been four days off), with a rehabbing batting line of .333/.393/.458. through six games.
  • Left fielder Estanlin Cassiani was 2-for-5 with a double, his sixth of the season.  He has a .247/.333/.346 batting line with six doubles and a triple.
  • Shortstop Ramon Peralta was 1-for-3 with his own double, and got two HBPs.  Peralta has a batting line of .273/.391/.403 with seven doubles and a home run, with 13 walks to 25 strikeouts.
  • Rehabbing Luke Jackson also made his first rehab appearance, striking out the side without allowing a baserunner.  Jackson hasn’t been seen since June 24th, when he faced just one batter.  Jackson has a 2.16 ERA in nine relief appearances in the big leagues this season, with 10 strikeouts to two walks in 8.1 innings.
  • Making his season debut was Darien Núñez, who was claimed in April 2022 when he had Tommy John surgery, and is only now making his return.  In his last full season (2021) he had a 2.42 ERA in 31 Triple-A games at Oklahoma City, but also a 8.22 ERA in six games in the big leagues with the Dodgers.
  • Alix Hernandez went 2.0 shutout innings, striking out five, while allowing one hit, one walk, and one HBP.  Hernandez has a 4.26 ERA over eight appearances, with 42 strikeouts to 11 walks in 25.1 innings.

DSL: DSL Brewers 1 4, DSL Giants Black 3

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DSL Giants Black Notes:

  • Catcher Diego Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a double, the only team extra-base hit on the game, and also stole his fifth base of the season.  In his third DSL season, Gonzalez has a .293/.365/.427 batting line, with four doubles and three triples, and five steals in as many attempts.
  • Center fielder Carlos Gutierrez was 0-for-1 but with two walks and his first steal of the summer.  Gutierrez started his season late, on July 6th.  In just four games, he’s 4-for-10 (.400) with three walks and one strikeout.
  • Starting pitcher Brayan Cabello gave up two runs on five hits and no walks, with six strikeouts.  Over seven games, he had a 3.12 ERA, with 17 strikeouts to four walks in 17.1 innings.
  • Reliever Carlos Gomez struck out four in 2.0 innings, allowing only one hit.  Gomez has a 1.29 ERA with 14 strikeouts to eight walks in 14.0 innings over nine games.

DSL: DSL Giants Orange 7, DSL Red Sox Blue 5

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DSL Giants Orange Notes:

  • The only Orange team home run was off the bat of second baseman Dario Reynoso, who was 1-for-3 with the home run and a walk.  Reynoso has three home runs to go with six doubles and a triple in 24 games, while hitting .284/.463/.494.
  • Left fielder Erick Arosmena went 2-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly.  Arosmena is 9-for-50 (.180) in 15 games, with three doubles, a triple, and three home runs.
  • Shortstop Anthony Tandron was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, adding a walk and a strikeout.  That bumps his line of 24-for-87 (.276) with a .379 on-base percentage, with a .310 slugging percentage.
  • Starting pitcher Alfonso Perez went 5.0 shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk, with a strikeout.  After six starts, he has a 1.96 ERA, though with just 15 strikeouts to 11 walks in 23.0 innings.