It’s just the A-Ball affiliates playing Minor League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants this time of year, but all four were again in action on Wednesday. So let’s talk about what happened!

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 (68-60)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (D-Backs) 11-5
Box score

The River Cats are playing good baseball, and won for the 7th time in the last 9 games. But it sure didn’t look like they would do that when the game began, as it was a disastrous 1st inning for Sacramento. After a rally fell short of scoring in the top half of the inning, starting LHP Seth Lonsway failed to make it out of the bottom half of the inning.

Lonsway, the team’s 6th-round pick in 2021 who was recently promoted to the level, had been strong through his debut 4 outings with the River Cats, though he had really struggled with free passes … and that bit him in the butt on Wednesday. He walked 4 batters in the 1st inning, which he paired with 3 singles (including a dam-breaking, 2-run knock by former Giant Aramis Garcia). And after 40 pitches, only 18 of which were strikes, his night came to an end with just 2 outs recorded. Shake it off, Seth!

You don’t win many games when your non-opener starting pitcher fails to make it out of the 1st inning, but the River Cats dug deep. Excellent relief outings by RHPs Sean Hjelle, Braxton Roxby, and Trent Harris (No. 20 CPL) held Reno scoreless for innings on end, and when the Aces finally scored again off of RHP Ryan Watson, it was the 9th inning of a blowout.

Roxby’s performance was particularly strong, as he pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 3 batters. It’s been quite a learning curve for Roxby, who was acquired in the Taylor Rogers trade, since getting promoted, and he has just a 4.91 ERA and a 5.73 FIP in 16 games. But learning curves are expected, and performances like Wednesday’s are a reminder as to why he seems poised to make an MLB debut in 2026.

Meanwhile, the offense got to work and used a late surge to pull past the Aces, scoring 8 runs in the final 3 innings. The star was someone desperately trying to impress before his time with the organization comes to a close: left fielder Marco Luciano. It was a sensational day for the slugger, who went 3-4, finished a triple shy of the cycle, and also drew yet another walk (he has a very strong 16.1% walk rate this year, albeit with a 28.4% strikeout rate).

The 2-run home run was his 22nd of the year, which ties him with Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) for the organizational lead. There are still plenty of fairly large holes in Luciano’s game, including his .226 batting average. But he’s up to an .802 OPS and a 109 wRC+ on the year, and since returning from a mild injury has hit 6-12 with 2 homers, 1 double, 3 walks, just 1 strikeout, and 9 runs batted in. You’ve got to think the Giants will want to get a look at him at some point.

Speaking of getting a look at people, it seems only a matter of time before designated hitter Jesús Rodríguez is on the roster for his MLB debut. The Giants think Rodriíguez’s bat is special, though it wasn’t for most of Wednesday’s game. He entered the 9th inning sitting on an 0-4, with both a walk and a strikeout. But then, like Heliot Ramos in San Francisco, he was gifted a meatball from a position player in mop-up duty, and he didn’t miss it, crushing his 1st home run in a River Cats jersey, while poor second baseman Andy Weber had to eat a homer on the chin for the 2nd game in a row.

Rodríguez is the young bat-first catcher that the Giants are excited about as the season comes to an end, but it was also a good day for the young(ish) bat-first catcher that the Giants were excited about when the season began. Sam Huff was the player behind the dish on Wednesday, and he put up a very similar line in the box, going 1-4 with a 3-run home run (off an actual pitcher), a walk, and a strikeout.

Huff is up to a .903 OPS and a 133 wRC+ through 16 games with the River Cats, and while he didn’t live up to the hopes the team had when they put him on the Opening Day roster, he certainly looks like someone they’ll hope doesn’t get a Major League offer anywhere else this winter so that he can be in camp come February.

A decent game for Eldridge at first base, as he went 2-5 with a walk, though he also struck out twice. It really seems like he’s not going to be in the Majors this year, both from Buster Posey’s quotes and from the way Eldridge’s performance has come back to earth a bit — he has an .824 OPS, a 101 wRC+, and, most prohibitive to a debut, a 32.0% strikeout rate.

‘Tis the season for September call-ups and cups of coffee and whatnot, so here’s how the other 40-man hitters performed: center fielder Grant McCray hit 1-4 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and his 27th stolen base, and now has a .749 OPS and a 95 wRC+; and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald hit 0-4 with a walk and a strikeout, lowering his OPS to .668 and his wRC+ to 80. It was just Fitzgerald’s 2nd game since a recent optioning, which followed a very tough stretch in San Francisco.

AA Richmond (47-72)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 3-2
Box score

Pitching was the star in this one, and it began with one of the team’s top pitching prospects, LHP Joe Whitman (No. 9 CPL). It wasn’t the cleanest start for Whitman, but it sure was a good one, as he gave up just 1 run in 5.1 innings, while striking out 5 batters. He also allowed 6 hits and 2 walks, and needed 93 pitches (59 of which were strikes).

It was a much needed good game for the 2023 2C-round pick, as he had allowed at least 3 earned runs in each of his last 4 starts. It’s hard to know exactly what to make of his season, as he has a 5.11 ERA but a 3.65 FIP, and seems to fluctuate between being extremely hittable and extremely unhittable. A ton of talent, though some of the stuff seems a little down. Either away, after a full season in Richmond he should be ticketed for a 2026 spent in Sacramento, and it will be exciting to see how he does there.

The other run the Squirrels allowed came with RHP Ryan Murphy on the mound, and that’s exciting. Murphy made his 1st appearance with Richmond since June of 2024, after missing the 2nd half of last season and the 1st half of this one, and making 4 rehab appearances. There was some rust — understandable — as he allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 2.2 innings, with no strikeouts. But great to see him back on the mound he belongs on.

RHP Tyler Vogel only faced 1 batter — the final batter of the game — but retired him. That brought him up to 8 appearances with Richmond, and he still hasn’t allowed an earned run.

A quiet day in the batter’s box, with Richmond registering just 5 hits. First baseman Victor Bericoto (No. 24 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a double, though he also struck out twice. It’s definitely not the season Bericoto was hoping for, as he looks further away from the Majors than when the season began. Yet despite all that, he still has a .746 OPS and a 120 wRC+ in AA this year. Assuming he’s still in the organization — and assuming Eldridge is in San Francisco — I’d think that Bericoto opens up next year as Sacramento’s starting first baseman.

High-A Eugene (72-50)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 10-4
Box score

It was a dominant pitching performance for the Emeralds, save for one very short blip. LHP Greg Farone was at the center of it, with last year’s 7th-round pick taking down 6 shutout innings. Farone did a little bit of everything: he stayed in the strike zone, throwing 54 of 82 pitches for strikes, and allowing just 1 walk. He limited hard contact, giving up just 3 hits, 2 of which were singles. He got some misses, recording 5 strikeouts. And most importantly, he didn’t allow runs to score.

Farone has had a few ugly outings since a late-June promotion, but he’s also had some stellar ones. It’s a 4.22 ERA and a 4.41 FIP in 10 starts at the level, which certainly isn’t great, but when you account for the walk rate (3.1 per 9 innings) and the fact that this is his debut season, it sure looks like a nice introduction to the Northwest League.

RHP Josh Wolf had another nice outing, taking down 2 scoreless innings with just 1 hit allowed, while striking out a batter. Wolf, a 2nd-round pick in 2019 by the Mets, was really struggling earlier this year, and got moved to the bullpen. That move has paid huge dividends, as he’s been pitching well lately: since June 15 he’s appeared in 16 games and pitched 27.2 innings, allowing 14 hits, 16 walks, and 5 earned runs, with 28 strikeouts. Those aren’t great numbers, especially for someone who turns 25 this weekend and is in A-Ball, but certainly trending in the right direction.

The blip came from RHP Liam Simon, who once again could not find the strike zone. Like so many pitchers, Simon has not been able to find his control post-Tommy John surgery. He faced 5 batters in this game and walked 4 of them, with all 4 scoring. It was, remarkably, the 5th time this year that Simon has walked at least 3 batters without recording 3 outs, and in total he has 36 walks in just 25.1 innings with Eugene. There’s no way to put a good spin on that, other than to say he’s back on the mound, an excellent achievement for someone whose career has been defined by injuries (this is a career-high in innings pitched for the 2022 5th-rounder). Here’s to getting all the rust off this year, and hitting the ground running in 2026.

The 3 offensive standouts from Tuesday were also offensive standouts on Wednesday: second baseman Nate Furman, left fielder Parks Harber, and shortstop Jean Carlos Sio. Furman had the biggest day, hitting 2-4 with a grand slam and a walk. He’s not one to normally show a ton of power, but it was his 2nd straight day with a dinger. The left-handed hitter has been overwhelming High-A pitchers — he has a .963 OPS and a 167 wRC+ in 17 games — and it’s getting near time for him to end his rehab assignment and go to his rightful level in AA.

Harber hit 1-3 and drew 2 walks, while continuing to look very comfortable in the Giants system after coming over from the Yankees. And Sio, who was recently promoted, had another strong game, hitting 2-4 with a double, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout. The 21-year old lefty has now played 20 games with Eugene, and has a .722 OPS and a 105 wRC+. He’s really been a fantastic story this year.

Also having a great day was catcher Onil Perez (No. 37 CPL), who hit 1-2 with a double and 2 walks. Perez has made light work of Eugene this year, sporting an .843 OPS and a 143 wRC+, and I’m excited to see how he looks with some extended time in AA next year, after a short taste of it this season.

Low-A San Jose (77-45)

San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide (D-Backs) 2-0
Box score

The Baby Giants stopped the bleeding with a 2-0 win that ended a 3-game losing skid. But the best news wasn’t the win, it was that shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL) was back on the field. Level, who hit 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts, left Sunday’s game after taking a grounder to the face, and he didn’t play in Tuesday’s series opener. So it was great seeing him back on the field.

The game was won on the mound, and it began with RHP Niko Mazza, who was effectively wild, as he has been for much of the year. Mazza tossed 5.1 shutout innings with just 4 hits (all singles) and 6 strikeouts, though he largely lived outside of the zone and walked 3 batters. The walks will have to come down for the 2024 8th-round pick, who has issued 4.9 per 9 innings in his debut season. Those walks and a modest strikeout rate (9 per 9) have led to a 4.15 FIP, but Mazza’s ability to avoid hits and hard contact has his ERA all the way down at 2.04.

That contrast has been especially on display lately, as Mazza has gone all in on concerning walk rates with excellent results. Just look at his line from his last 7 starts: 33.1 innings, 25 hits, 21 walks, 5 runs, and 34 strikeouts. That’s excellent hit and run suppression, decent strikeout throwing, and terrifying walk-allowing.

RHPs Ryan Slater and Cade Vernon finished the shutout, with the former allowing a hit and a walk in 2.2 innings, with 2 strikeouts, and the latter giving up 2 walks in a scoreless frame. Slater, last year’s 18th-round pick, now has a 2.71 ERA and a 3.68 FIP, while Vernon, last year’s 10th-round pick, is sitting on a 1.52 ERA but a 4.31 FIP.

A trio of nice offensive games from players who came to San Jose in very different ways. Left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) has spent the whole year in the Cal League after a breakout 2024. He hit 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base, though he was also caught stealing. Diaz hasn’t really built on his prospect status after last year, but he’s held the line with a .726 OPS, a 98 wRC+, solid defense, 24 stolen bases, and a nice late-season push.

Right fielder Cameron Maldonado recently arrived in San Jose after being the team’s 7th-round pick in July. He quickly found his bat, and on Wednesday hit 1-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. It’s only been 7 games, but the righty has an .804 OPS and a 125 wRC+.

And second baseman Jose Astudillo — who began the year in the DSL — was brought up from the ACL to help fill in after the Giants suffered a rash of injuries. He’s not only filled in but also fit in, and recorded San Jose’s only multi-hit game on Wednesday, going 2-3 with a double. Astudillo, a 21-year old from Venezuela, is making the absolute most of his opportunity, hitting 14-38 with 6 doubles, 5 walks, and just 5 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great day for everyone. Third baseman Walker Martin (No. 14 CPL) had an outing he’ll hope to soon forget, striking out in all 4 of his at-bats while also committing an error. Martin had a very hot summer, but has been crashing back down to earth lately: in his last 11 games, the lefty has hit just 6-43 with no extra-base hits, 5 walks, and 23 strikeouts, which has seen his OPS and wRC+ drop to .754 and 111, respectively, while his strikeout rate has jumped to 28.7%.

Home run tracker

22 — Marco Luciano — [AAA]
6 — Jesus Rodriguez — [AAA]
4 — Sam Huff — [2 in MLB; 2 in AAA]
4 — Nate Furman — [3 in High-A; 1 in Low-A]

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: 6:35 p.m. PT at Reno (SP: J.T. Brubaker)
Richmond: 3:35 p.m. PT vs. Akron (SP: Nick Zwack)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Tyler Switalski)
San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT at Visalia (SP: Luis De La Torre)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV