Top Prospect Watch

#1: Kyle Harrison

This Week (AAA): 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO

Season (AAA): 3.42 ERA, 1,37 WHIP, .168 Avg – 14 G, 14 GS, 47.1 IP, 28 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 5 HR, 37 BB, 80 SO

It was just another solid week for the Giants top prospect, and though the control is still not the sharpest, Harrison has improved significantly from the start of the season.  And with injuries mounting up on the Giants pitching staff, Harrison’s time in Triple-A may be coming to an end, soon.

#2: Marco Luciano 

This Week (AA): .263/.333/.474 – 5-19, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 8 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .196/.313/.442 – 27-138, 7 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 25 BB, 50 SO, 4-4 SB-SBA

While the home runs were last week, Luciano’s numbers began to look more and more like they need to be.  That’s a great step forward for Luciano, and a long-needed one.

#3: Casey Schmitt

This Week (MLB): .188/.278/.188 – 3-16, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .313/.352/.410 – 42-134, 10 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 8 BB, 28 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (MLB): .277/.287/.411 – 31-112, 9 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 22 SO, 2-3 SB-SBA

There’s no sugar-coating it, it’s been a tough week for Casey Schmitt.  There is a hole in his swing, which is generally called “the outside half of the plate”, and opposing pitchers are taking advantage.  While he picked up a key hit in Friday’s comeback win against the Dodgers, Schmitt needs to make adjustments.  And they may need to come back in Triple-A.

#4: Grant McCray

This Week (High-A): .233/.281/.300 – 7-30, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 11 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .231/.334/.397 – 57-247, 9 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 35 BB, 88 SO, 27-32 SB-SBA

Grant McCray keeps teasing a breakout to get his season started, but as yet, it has avoided him.  This week was a bit of a down week, especially with a spate of strikeouts.  He did, however, get at least one hit in every one of the six games this week, so it wasn’t that bad?

#5: Carson Whisenhunt

This Week (AA): 9.82 ERA, 1.64 WHIP – 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 5 SO

Season (Low-A): 3.29 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .231 Avg – 4 G, 4 GS, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 20 SO

Season (High-A): 1.42 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, .107 Avg – 6 G, 6 GS, 25.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 36 SO

Season (AA): 4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .219 Avg – 2 G, 2 GS, 8.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 12 SO

Whisenhunt started the week with his most difficult start he’s had all season, and then, he was skipped on Sunday when his turn was due to come up.  This isn’t something to ring alarms about, because Whisenhunt has had reduced stuff in his first two games after arriving in Richmond, and with him in his first full season, giving him a break makes sense.

#6: Vaun Brown

This Week (AA): .100/.217/.150 – 2-20, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 BB, 9 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (Low-A): .412/.500/.529 – 7-17, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .300/.391/.550 – 6-20, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2-2 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .237/.326/.421 – 18-76, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 31 SO, 5-5 SB-SBA

Vaun Brown may be in the throes of his first real pro slump, and after a late start to the season and a reduced schedule for him, it’s a lot of challenges for him to deal with.  Making that Double-A jump is the most important in minor league development, so how Brown reacts and makes adjustments will be a big thing to watch.

#7: Luis Matos

This Week (AAA): .500/.500/2.000 – 1-2, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

This Week (MLB): .250/.429/.313 – 4-16, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 BB, 0 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .304/.398/.443 – 35-115, 7 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 12 SO, 9-13 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .398/.435/.685 – 43-108, 6 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 7 BB, 8 SO, 6-7 SB-SBA

Season (MLB): .250/.429/.313 – 4-16, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 BB, 0 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Yep, yep, Luis Matos had his Major League debut after nearly forcing the door down, and the very unfortunate injury to Mitch Haniger.  In the bigs, it hasn’t been that easy for Matos, but he’s brought his plate discipline to start with, which has been a big help.  Can Matos keep this up?  We shall see.

#8: Aeverson Arteaga

This Week (High-A): .240/.259/.320 – 6-25, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .212/.298/.368 – 49-231, 12 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 25 BB, 67 SO, 5-7 SB-SBA

If nothing else, Arteaga is one of the team’s most consistent players in terms of getting into games.  He hasn’t been the best hitter, but he had a solid week, and got hits in 5 straight games to end the 6-game week.

#9: Cole Waites

This Week (AAA): 6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 SO

Season (AAA): 6.08 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, .242 Avg – 25 G, 3 GS, 23.2 IP, 22 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 20 BB, 23 SO

Season (MLB): 15.43 ERA, 3.43 WHIP, .462 Avg – 3 G, 0 GS, 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO

The magic that Cole Waites had after coming back to Triple-A in May finally broke, with a game where he gave up two runs in one inning, the first since coming back.  Waites’ stuff has really been missing all season long, but at least he’s starting to be effective with less of the velocity.

#10: Mason Black

This Week (AA): 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 4 SO

Season (AA): 4.84 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .226 Avg – 12 G, 12 GS, 44.2 IP, 38 H, 26 R, 24 ER, 7 HR, 16 BB, 55 SO

Mason Black had one of his best starts of the season, and hopefully one of last season’s revelations is finally getting his feet under him for the 2023 season.

System Risers (To be chosen and replaced after each month)

Tyler Fitzgerald

This Week (AAA): .357/.400/.786 – 10-28, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 2 BB, 8 SO, 0-1 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .324/.410/.588 – 22-68, 6 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 9 BB, 22 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .304/.379/.489 – 41-135, 5 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 17 BB, 32 SO, 12-14 SB-SBA

As a lot of players have had breakouts, Tyler Fitzgerald continued a great run at Triple-A, particularly with home runs this week.  Could Fitzgerald be the next prospect breaking the door down for the Majors?  Well…it’s a crowded infield in the big leagues, but who knows.

Wade Meckler

This Week (AA): .364/.462/.455 – 4-11, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .456/.494/.633 – 36-79, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 9 SO, 2-3 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .326/.420/.372 – 14-43, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 7 BB, 6 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Meckler hasn’t been playing every day since returning from his oblique injury, but a 3-hit game helped his overall numbers for the week.  But Meckler just continues to get hits.

Patrick Bailey

This Week (MLB): .273/.292/.455 – 6-22, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .333/.400/.481 – 18-54, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 13 SO, 2-2 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .216/.317/.353 – 11-51, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 15 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Season (MLB): .305/.337/.524 – 25-82, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 25 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

As Patrick Bailey’s Major League journey continues, he’s proving himself capable, even if his fast start has fallen off in his second week.  Still, he’s forced out Joey Bart for the time being, and Bart is doing anything other than putting pressure on Bailey to get his job back right now.

Carter Howell

This Week (High-A): .320/.433/.560 – 8-25, 2 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 5 BB, 6 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (Low-A): .337/.398/.500 – 60-178, 9 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 17 BB, 39 SO, 8-11 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .260/.351/.400 – 13-50, 1 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 7 BB, 11 SO, 2-3 SB-SBA

After Howell’s breakout stint in San Jose, and a great first game in Eugene, he had gone on a bit of a slump.  But that slump was short-lived, as he came back to put up good numbers this week.  There’s still not a lot of power in his bat, but he’s getting a lot of hits.

Hayden Birdsong

This Week (High-A): 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO

Season (Low-A): 2.16 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .218 Avg – 12 G, 10 GS, 41.2 IP, 34 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 0 HR, 22 BB, 70 SO

Season (High-A): 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .167 Avg – 1 G, 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO

The latest name in the promotion train, Birdsong made his Eugene debut and it was good.  Not quite the strikeout dominance he’d had in San Jose, but it was just the first start.  Birdsong has a lot of promise going forward.