A fun weekend for the San Francisco Giants, and a fun weekend for their Minor League Baseball affiliates as well. Let’s dive into the action!

Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.

AAA Sacramento (66-60)

Saturday: Sacramento River Cats beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 5-4 (11 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the El Paso Chihuahuas 16-5 [box score]

A very hot-and-cold weekend for the River Cats, with some exciting performances and some disappointing ones as well. Let’s start our Monday on a good foot and begin with the exciting performances. And let’s start with someone who could be making his MLB debut fairly soon: Jesus Rodriguez.

The Giants really sung the praises of Rodriguez, a 23-year old right-handed hitter, when they acquired him from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade. And now the contact skills that the team is enamored with are starting to show. Rodriguez was a hit machine over the weekend, going a stunning 6-8 with a double and a walk. Most importantly, however, was that Rodriguez made his organizational debut behind the dish on Saturday. After being limited to DH due to a minor injury, Rodriguez got to catch in the team’s extra-innings win, and did so for 7 innings before getting a breather (he was the DH again on Sunday, understandably).

Rodriguez is on the 40-man roster, and the Giants are going nowhere, so once he’s up to speed catching, I’m not sure there’s any reason for him to be in Sacramento rather than replacing Andrew Knizner in San Francisco. I think an MLB debut is fast approaching…

Speaking of MLB debuts, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser recently floated third baseman Thomas Gavello as an option for a late-season cup of coffee. Personally, I don’t think there’s any chance of that happening (Gavello made it to AAA as an emergency fill in, though he’s stuck, as Brett Auerbach did a year ago; he’s lacking in prospect pedigree; he’s not playing every day and hitting at the back of the order, which tells you a lot; his strikeout rate is in the 30s; and, while he is eligible, he’s not someone who will need Rule 5 protection) — but Gavello certainly stated a strong case over the weekend, hitting 3-8, homering in both games, drawing 2 walks, and striking out thrice.

Despite having well below average numbers in High-A Eugene to start the year, Gavello has been thriving in Sacramento, where his strong weekend brought his OPS up to .902 and his wRC+ to 116. He’s definitely been a fun story this year.

In happy news, left fielder Marco Luciano returned to the field on Sunday after missing about a week with an injury. And it was an emphatic return as well, as Luciano hit 1-3 with a home run and 2 walks. As has been the case all year for Luciano, it was a very well-struck dinger, as it left the bat at 105.4 mph and traveled 419 feet.

The .218 batting average and 28.8% strikeout rate have kept Luciano’s numbers down (.783 OPS, 105 wRC+), and contributed to him not seeing the Majors this year. But his 16.2% walk rate and organization-leading 21 home runs should at least have the team curious about getting him some time in the Majors this year, especially since he’ll be out of options after this season.

Before we say goodbye to the good hitters, we’ve got to shout out shortstop Osleivis Basabe. He hit 3-9 with a double, a walk, and 2 strikeouts, and had the walk-off RBI single on Saturday. Clutch!

On the mound, the lone bright spot came from an unlikely source, as MLB veteran RHP JT Brubaker tossed 4 shutout innings in a Saturday start, allowing 1 hit, 2 walks, and striking out 2. It was his 2nd appearance with Sacramento since the Giants signed him to a Minor League contract, and he’s allowed only 1 hit in 6 innings so far (though with just 3 strikeouts against 4 walks). Seems like someone they’ll likely re-sign to a Minor League contract in 2026.

Well, now we’ve got to discuss the bad, I suppose. Let’s start with a pair of lefty hitters: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) and right fielder Grant McCray. Eldridge had a pretty tough weekend, hitting just 1-10 with a double, a walk, and 3 strikeouts. He keeps doing things that remind you why he’s the top prospect in the system, and one of the best prospects in baseball — such as hitting 14 homers in just 208 plate appearances in a league where he’s nearly 7 years younger than the average player — but he also keeps reminding you that he’s a 20-year old in just his 2nd full pro season, who still needs some seasoning, as evidenced by the 31.7% strikeout rate, the .232 batting average, and the 96 wRC+ (albeit with an .800 OPS).

As for McCray, he had an awful weekend but who can blame him? He was just optioned after essentially not playing at all for a few weeks in the Majors, so he had to have all sorts of rust, which hopefully washed off with his 0-11, 3-strikeout performance. It would seem the Giants are preparing him to return at some point this year, though, as both of his starts came at right field rather than his natural spot in center.

Things were awful on the mound, as you could probably surmise from the 21 runs allowed. RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 15 CPL) started on Sunday and got blown up, ceding 6 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batter in just 4 innings, which tagged him for 8 runs (7 earned). There’s no way to sugarcoat McDonald’s season: it’s been awful. So much so that his ERA in August (5.32) is his lowest monthly ERA since April. He has such interesting pitches, and such a wide array of them, but the package just isn’t working, as evidenced by the 5.59 ERA and the 5.77 FIP. There’s some reason to think he might be better in the Majors, with a good defense and less Coors Fieldsy ballparks — after all, he has an excellent 52.9% groundball rate and a terrifying 23.1% home runs per fly ball rate. But it’s been a bad year.

Sacramento’s pair of recently-promoted relievers once again struggled, as RHPs Trent Harris (No. 20 CPL) and Braxton Roxby both pitched 2.1 innings, the former allowing 3 hits and 2 runs and the latter 4 hits and 3 runs. Those bumps in the road are expected, and don’t much dim the shine of their prospect status heading into 2026. But it has shut down any chance of either making the Majors this year, I’d think.

And a brutal Sunday for RHP Sean Hjelle, who gave up 6 baserunners and 4 runs while recording just 2 outs.

AA Richmond (46-71)

Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Chesapeake Baysox (Orioles) 4-2 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Chesapeake Baysox 5-1 [box score]

Hey, a pair of weekend wins for the organization’s worst team! You don’t see that every week!

A pair of hitters had electric weekends. It started with the name at the top of the order, and the biggest name on Richmond’s roster: center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL). Davidson, the undrafted free agent from 2023 who has turned into one of the best prospects in the system, has had his fair share of struggles since a recent promotion, which is very understanding. But he’s also showed glimpses of the player that dominated Single and High-A ball, and that was on display on Saturday, when he went 2-5 with 2 home runs (though he also had 2 strikeouts).

For good measure, the recently-turned 23-year old followed it up on Sunday by hitting 1-3, drawing 2 walks, and stealing a base. That put him at a .674 OPS and an even 100 wRC+ in his 28 games with Richmond. He’s holding his own, and often that’s all you want to see from a promoted player!

The other great weekend belonged to third baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 18 CPL), who went 4-7 with a home run, 2 doubles, a walk, and a strikeout.

Ceballos jumped onto everyone’s radar with his late-season performance last year after coming over in the Jorge Soler trade, and he followed it up with a dynamic Spring Training. But it’s been a brutal season for the 2023 3rd-round pick, though he’s turning it around in a hurry. Ceballos still has just a .216 batting average, but has raised his OPS to .635 and his wRC+ to 93. It’s going to go down as a disappointing year for Ceballos regardless, but he’s certainly ending it the right way. Just look at his OPS by month!

April: .610
May: .515
June: .415
July: .826
August: .865

That’s much better! Add in the tidy 18.6% strikeout rate and his superb defense at the hot corner, and Ceballos remains, despite his overall numbers, a very exciting prospect.

Speaking of players trying to end the year on a high note, it was a good weekend for first baseman Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL), who hit 3-9 with a home run, though he also struck out 3 times and was caught stealing.

It’s been a tough year for Bericoto. He was excellent to begin the year with Richmond, then was promoted to Sacramento. He had some struggles there, and then suffered an injury. By the time he returned from injury, Bryce Eldridge had arrived in Sac-Town, and Bericoto was returned to Richmond, where he’s really struggled, posting just a .598 OPS in June and a .609 OPS in July. But he’s at an .829 OPS for August so far, so hopefully he can end the year in the right direction.

Bad news for second baseman Dayson Croes: after going 0-3 with a walk on Saturday, he was having a delightful 3-4 day on Sunday when he was hit by a pitch and immediately left the game. Hopefully he’s OK.

No standout pitching performances, but some good ones. RHP Trystan Vrieling, part of the Camilo Doval trade, made his 4th start for Richmond on Saturday, with mixed results. He gave up 8 baserunners and 2 runs in just 3.1 innings, but also struck out 6 batters. He’s been so-so since the trade.

LHP Jack Choate (No. 29 CPL) was recently moved to the bullpen, and has been pretty good in that role. It was that way again on Sunday, when he technically started, but only pitched 3 innings, giving up 4 baserunners and 0 runs, with 3 strikeouts. Since giving up his starter role, Choate has made 6 appearances and pitched 9.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, 4 walks, and 2 runs, with 12 strikeouts. Since the start of July, Choate has allowed just 6 earned runs in 35.1 innings, with 47 strikeouts. I’d assume we’ll see him in AAA next year, perhaps as a long man.

Some really good relief outings, including from RHP Marques Johnson, who allowed a hit and a hit batter on Saturday, but struck out the side in both of his innings. Johnson has really been shining: since getting promoted he has a 3.68 ERA but a 2.13 FIP, with 32 strikeouts in just 22 innings. He really seems to be putting it all together this year.

RHP Tyler Vogel struck out 2 batters in a scoreless inning on Saturday, with 1 hit allowed. He’s now up to 7 appearances and 9 innings with Richmond and still has a 0.00 ERA. RHP Ian Villers has a much uglier ERA (5.47), but you wouldn’t notice based on his appearance on Saturday, when he retired all 8 batters he faced, and struck out 2 of them.

On Sunday, RHP Evan Gates struck out 2 batters in 2 perfect innings, lowering his ERA to 3.36 and his FIP to 3.69. Then RHP Will Bednar (No. 42 CPL) struck out 2 in a scoreless inning, though he walked a batter and hit another. That’s been the season for the former 1st-rounder, who has a 5.10 ERA and a 3.41 FIP: in 42.1 innings he’s issued 34 walks and hit 4 batters … but struck out 67. He’s been better in August though, allowing 7 hits, 5 walks, and 1 run in 10 innings, while striking out 17 batters. There’s definitely something there.

High-A Eugene (70-50)

Saturday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 6-2 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Hillsboro Bops 2-1 [box score]

Well, a fairly uninteresting weekend for the team in the PNW. Right fielder Jakob Christian (No. 30 CPL) had the biggest swing of the weekend when he smacked a game-tying home run in the 4th inning of Saturday’s loss. But that was his lone highlight, as he finished the weekend 1-5 with 3 strikeouts. Still, nice to see him back on the field after he missed a few weeks with an injury.

It’s been a successful stint in Eugene for last year’s 5th-round pick, as he has an .877 OPS and a 131 wRC+ in 14 games, though the 35.2% strikeout rate is certainly cause for concern, especially since it was very high in Low-A San Jose this year (28.3%).

Catcher Onil Perez (No. 37 CPL) started on Sunday and hit 2-4 with a double and a stolen base. Since getting “returned” to Eugene (it doesn’t really feel like a demotion since it seems to be about playing time), Perez has hit 4-14 with 3 walks and just 1 strikeout. He has an an .850 OPS and a 145 wRC+ with Eugene this year, so it will be exciting to see him get more of an extended chance in AA. I’d assume next year he’ll be the primary catcher in Richmond, with Adrián Sugastey (No. 38 CPL) moving up to AAA.

RHP Josh Bostick (No. 27) saw his run of dominance come to an end on Saturday, when he pitched just 4.2 innings and allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs, though he struck out 6. Prior to that game, Bostick had been completely dominant in August, making 3 starts and pitching 18 innings, while allowing just 9 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs, with 27 strikeouts. He’s really ending the year on an incredibly strong note, even if Saturday wasn’t a prime example.

Instead, the dominant start went to Sunday’s starter, LHP Charlie McDaniel. An undrafted 24-year old in his debut season, McDaniel took down 6 innings with ease, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs, with 6 strikeouts. McDaniel has been roughed up twice in his 5 starts since getting promoted, but has now had back-to-back strong outings.

Speaking of strong outings, RHP Ryan Vanderhei allowed just a hit batter in 2.1 innings on Saturday, with 2 strikeouts, while RHP Manuel Mercedes threw 2 perfect innings on Sunday, with a strikeout. Both players have had tough seasons, but Mercedes has been dynamic since getting demoted from AA: in 4 games since going back to Eugene, he’s allowed just 1 hit in 5.1 shutout innings, albeit with 3 walks and just 4 strikeouts.

Low-A San Jose (76-44)

Saturday: San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 1-0 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies 6-2 [box score]

A very bad weekend of offense for a usually hit-filled team. San Jose did manage 14 hits across the 2 games — not an awful number — but 13 of those 14 hits were singles, and so they got just 2 runs out of them.

More concerning than the numbers was the fact that shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL) exited Sunday’s game. According to Roger Munter, Level — who was having a tough weekend, as he went 0-7 with 3 strikeouts and an error — took a ground ball to the head after a runner went in front of him. Here’s hoping he was removed out of caution rather than due to an injury.

Not much happened on offense. Right fielder Cameron Maldonado had a good weekend, hitting 2-5 with a double, 3 walks, and a strikeout. Maldonado, who was the team’s 7th-round pick in July, has now played 5 professional games and is 4-16 with as many walks (5) as strikeouts. 3rd-round pick Trevor Cohen had a great Saturday, as he hit 3-4 while playing center field, though he also struck out and was caught stealing. Sunday was worse when Cohen, as the DH, went 1-5 with a strikeout. His bat-to-ball skills have been as advertised, as the lefty from Rutgers has a .324 average and just 9 strikeouts in 81 plate appearances.

Center fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) only played on Sunday, but hit 2-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. The recently-turned 20-year old is really ending the season on a strong note, and has turned his cold start into a .727 OPS and a 97 wRC+, with 23 steals.

The pitching provided more highlights. Saturday was a standout start from RHP Yunior Marte, who had his best game since coming over in the Mike Yastrzemski trade. Marte needed just 57 pitches to take down 5 shutout frames, allowing just 2 singles and a walk, while striking out 2. It hasn’t been the most dynamic stuff for Marte in his 3 games with the organization, as he has just 9 strikeouts against 5 walks in 12.1 innings, but he’s only allowed 2 runs.

He was followed by RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 36 CPL), who had a nice game. Maldonado has been struggling as the season wears on, which is understandable for someone recovering from Tommy John. But he was pretty strong in this one, pitching 3 innings and allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 1 run, while striking out 4. 2026 is going to be a very important year for Maldonado, who was worth being very excited about back in 2023 when he was racking up strikeouts in A-Ball as a 19-year old. But the injury and a struggle with command means he’ll end 2025 at that same level, and while I expect him to be in Eugene when next year opens, he certainly hasn’t made that decision for the organization with his performance.

On Sunday it was the dynamic 1-2 pinch of recently-graduated rookie-ballers, RHPs Keyner Martinez and Argenis Cayama (No. 28 CPL). Both pitchers showed how awesome they are, albeit in different ways. Martinez, a 21-year old from Venezuela who has looked extremely comfortable since the move from Papago to San Jose, had a few issues in this game, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs in 4 innings. But, as if to make sure you don’t fixate on the bad too much, he also struck out a tremendous 9 hitters. Martinez, who has a 1.84 ERA and a 3.34 FIP in 4 games with San Jose, has made it abundantly clear that his strikeout stuff translates up the ladder: he now has 22 in just 14.2 innings. As for Cayama, an 18-year old who is also from Venezuela, the transition has been a bit harder, as he struggled in his 1st few outings in San Jose. But you sure wouldn’t know that on Sunday, when he needed just 43 pitches to take down 3 shutout innings without a free pass. Cayama did allow 5 hits, though they were all singles, and he only struck out 2 batters, but still. A very awesome outing.

Dominican Summer League Black (eliminated)

DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Angels 16-14 (11 innings) [box score]

Despite winning — in a game that took 2 days to complete — the Giants Black team was eliminated from the postseason after failing to win their pool. The Giants Orange team’s season is also over, and so we say goodbye to another year of Dominican Summer League Baseball … when next we see it, Luis Hernandez will presumably be wearing a Giants jersey, and that’s about as exciting as … well, it’s about as exciting as Josuar González wearing a Giants jersey!

Postseason stats stupidly don’t count in season totals, so I can’t give any season stats for the players … or at least, stats that encompass what happened in this epic win, which featured both teams scoring twice in the 10th inning, before the Giants added 2 more runs in the 11th, which weren’t matched.

Designated hitter Albert Jimenez (18 years, 2024 IFA) had the biggest game, hitting 2-6 with a walk, a strikeout, and a game-tying home run in the 9th inning. That’s not something he’ll soon forget! Unfortunately, Jimenez looks ticketed for a 3rd-straight DSL campaign: despite dramatic year-over-year improvements to his walk rate (9.7% to 14.3%) and strikeout rate (22.0% to 14.3%), Jimenez had both his OPS and wRC+ slightly drop (.744 to .733, and 99 to 97). Unlikely to be good enough to book a plane to Phoenix.

Third baseman Dennys Riera (20 years, 2022 IFA) probably won’t get one of those flights either, and might be seeing his time in the system come to an end. Riera received a $700,000 signing bonus as part of the 2022 class that hasn’t held up well at all (Riera had the 3rd-highest bonus among the Giants class, behind Ryan Reckley and Juan Perez). He had a catastrophically bad debut season, and an awful follow-up campaign, but looked to be putting things together in 2024, when he posted a .732 OPS and a 113 wRC+. But it didn’t hold up this year, as he finished the season with just a .597 OPS and a 67 wRC+. But he ended it on a high note, hitting 3-6 with a triple, a walk, and a strikeout in the postseason finale.

Another player who has been stuck in the DSL for a while is center fielder Luis Frias (21 years, 2021 IFA), who hit a blistering 2-3 with 4 walks, a stolen base, and a strikeout in this game. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be forcing the issue, either: he ended the year with a .725 OPS and a 92 wRC+, his 3rd time in 4 seasons posting a sub-100 wRC+.

As for shortstop Josuar González (No. 5 CPL, 17 years, 2025 IFA), it wasn’t a memorable end to a very memorable season. He put up a donut, going 0-5 with 3 strikeouts in his final DSL game, though he drew 2 walks and stole a base. He ended his 1st and last DSL season with an .859 OPS, a 129 wRC+, and a spot on every top 100 list around.

You’re probably not surprised to learn that the pitching wasn’t good in a game where the Giants Black team allowed 14 runs. But one name stood out: RHP Rainiel Duran (21 years, 2024 IFA). Duran only faced 5 batters, but he retired all of them, and struck out 4 of them. Duran only just debuted, after missing all of 2024 and the bulk of 2025 due to injury. He appeared in just 5 regular season games, and then 2 postseason games. But my goodness did he impress in that time: after having a tough professional debut (understandable after so much time off), here’s how he did in his other 6 games: 6.2 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 0 runs, 9 strikeouts. Very impressive!

Home run tracker

21 — Marco Luciano — (AAA)
15 — Bo Davidson x2 — (5 in AA, 10 in High-A)
14 — Victor Bericoto — (1 in AAA, 11 in AA, 1 in ACL)
13 — Jakob Christian — (3 in High-A, 10 in Low-A)
11 — Thomas Gavello x2 — (6 in AAA, 3 in AA, 2 in High-A)
5 — Jakob Christian — (High-A)
5 — Albert Jimenez — (DSL)