Minor League roundup, July 17-19: Delightful debuts!

Just like in the Majors, Minor League Baseball had the All-Star break last week. But they got back in action on Friday and my word is there a lot to talk about. So let’s talk about it!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

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

News

There were so many promotions over the All-Star break. Some were covered in the last MiLB roundup and some were not, so let’s just list them all here.

Moving from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento are outfielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) and third baseman/outfielder Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL). Heading from High-A Eugene to Richmond are center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL), shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL), and outfielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL). Moving up from Low-A San Jose to Eugene are outfielder Jose Astudillo, and second baseman Isaiah Barkett.

A few demotions, as RHP Marques Johnson moves down from Sacramento to Richmond, while infielder Jose Ramos heads from Eugene to San Jose. Richmond RHP Logan Martin was activated off the Injured List.

AAA Sacramento (51-42)

Friday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 5-2 [box score]
Saturday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes 11-7 [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 5-1 [box score]

Needless to say, the story and excitement for Sacramento surrounded the pair of top prospects who were promoted: outfielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) and third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL). And they both began their AAA tenure in style, with Davidson collecting a 3-hit day in his debut, while Harber smacked a very long and very loud double.

In all, a very successful opening weekend with the River Cats for that duo, who will hopefully be anchoring San Francisco’s lineup by this time next year. Over the 3 games, Davidson hit 5-15 with 5 strikeouts and an outfield assist, while Harber went 4-12 with a double, 2 walks, a hit by pitch, and 3 strikeouts.

Interestingly, Davidson, who was used almost exclusively as a center field while rising the ranks (including playing center in AA while forcing Jonah Cox to a corner), didn’t play in the middle of the grass in this series, getting a pair of starts in right field and one in left. I’m not sure what the reason for that is, given that Cox and Harrison Bader are injured, while Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee are healthy … if the Giants are prepping Davidson for a short AAA stay and a quick MLB debut, it would seem like center field would be the place for it to happen. Something to monitor!

For most of his Minor League tenure, Davidson has shared an outfield with Scott Bandura, and now they’re reunited again after Davidson caught up to the left-handed Bandura, a left-handed hitter taken in the 7th round in 2023. Bandura has taken his time acclimating to AAA following an early-season promotion, but this was a dynamic weekend for the soon-to-turn 25-year old, who hit 7-12 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 0 strikeouts, while getting a start each at all 3 outfield spots. With that, Bandura saw his season numbers rise to a .772 OPS and a 106 wRC+ … add in the 16.8% strikeout rate and the strong defense, and Bandura’s first pass through AAA has been an unequivocal success.

Bandura could be headed for an MLB debut this year, especially since he will be Rule 5 eligible. If the Giants plan on protecting him, then why not get his feet wet at the level, too? Then again, they have a lot of outfielders, so whether or not to protect Bandura could be quite a discussion … unless he keeps hitting like this!

The best offensive weekend, however, belonged to catcher Zach Morgan, who hit 4-10 with a home run, a double, 2 walks, a sacrifice fly, and a strikeout. With the Giants currently running a trio of rookie catchers in the Majors — and having DFA’d Logan Porter and Eric Haase — the team’s depth behind the plate is hilariously thin. Currently Sacramento has just a pair of catchers: Morgan, a 2022 7th-round pick who is more of a logistical fill-in than a true AAA player (he had a 74 wRC+ in AA last year), and Thomas Gavello, a 2022 13th-rounder in the same boat, who is more of a utility player who occasionally catches than a full-time catcher. As such, Morgan caught all 3 games this series — you don’t see catchers catch 3 days in a row very often anymore, at any level — though he did commit a pair of errors.

The star on the mound was LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) who shined on Sunday in what could be one of his final AAA appearances. Whisenhunt pitched 5 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits (all singles) and 1 walk, and striking out 8. Sensational!

The strikeouts and walks were both great to see, as Whiz had been struggling in that category: over his prior 5 starts (4 in Sacramento and 1 in the Majors), Whisenhunt had 16 strikeouts against 17 walks in 24 innings. Very nice to see him right the ship, and just in time: with the trade deadline around the corner, Whisenhunt figures to enter San Francisco’s rotation soon, and he’ll likely stay there through the end of the year.

Things didn’t go so well for the other starters, as RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 9 CPL) was so-so, allowing 7 baserunners and 2 earned runs in 4 innings, with 5 strikeouts, while LHP Cesar Perdomo got rocked in his 2nd AAA appearance, ceding 10 hits, a walk, 10 runs, and 7 earned runs while making it through just 2 innings. Shake it off! That’s the PCL for you!

LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) had another appearance as a reliever, and threw a no-hit inning with a walk and a strikeout. His move to the bullpen continues to be a little confounding but, combined with his impending Rule 5 eligibility, certainly seems to be setting him up for an MLB debut someday soon.

AA Richmond (54-34)

Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves 5-2 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Erie SeaWolves 7-6 (10 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves 10-5 [box score]

Just as with Sacramento, the story of the weekend for Richmond was the debuting players, as the Squirrels welcomed a trio of top prospects from High-A: outfielders Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) and Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL), and shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL). That is a tremendously exciting group of players!

Jordan and Kilen really made quite a first impression. Jordan, the team’s 4th-round pick in 2024 who is flying up draft boards as his power starts to take off, collected hits in all 3 games, going 4-12 with a double, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and a stolen base. Unlike Davidson in AAA, Jordan kept his middle of the grass assignment with him, as he started twice in center field, though he was in right field in Sunday (dating back to the end of their Eugene tenure, it seems the Giants are giving Jordan starting center field reps, but making sure that Cohen gets some run there as well).

Kilen, who lost his status as the organization’s reigning 1st-round pick when Jackson Flora was selected last weekend, also collected hits in each game, with the lefty going 4-13 with a triple, a double, and a walk. No longer sharing an infield with Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), Kilen is able to play shortstop every day, though that’s now coming at the expense of Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL), who was limited to just 1 game this weekend, and at DH.

It was a little less smooth of a start for Cohen, last year’s 3rd-round selection, who played right field on Friday and Saturday and had an 0-5 in each game (albeit with just 1 strikeout). Sunday was much nicer for Cohen, who played center and hit 2-5 to give himself a AA batting average.

Outside of those exciting debuts, it was a mostly quiet weekend for Richmond on both sides of the ball. The only other notable hitting performances belonged to third baseman/first baseman Charlie Szykowny, who hit 5-13 with 2 doubles and 3 strikeouts, and second baseman/third baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL), who went 4-10 with 2 walks, a sacrifice bunt, and a strikeout. Among his quartet of hits was a 2-out walk-off knock in the 10th inning on Saturday. Clutch!

Szykowny now has a .737 OPS and a 93 wRC+, while Velasquez has a .799 OPS and a 119 wRC+.

There was really just one good pitching performance, and it belonged to RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) who was sensational on Friday, giving up just 3 baserunners (2 singles and a walk) in 5 innings, while allowing 1 run and striking out 6. It’s been an up-and-down start to AA for Marte, a soon-to-turn 23-year old who came over a year ago in the Mike Yastrzemski trade. He only has a 5.20 ERA and a 4.34 FIP since getting promoted, but his electricity is showing up as much, if not more, than ever. Marte has always had strikeout numbers that aren’t as impressive as his stuff would indicate, but so through 8 starts with Richmond he’s striking out 10.4 batters per 9 innings, which is a nice figure. Great to see.

Speaking of players who came over in trades with the Royals, RHP Logan Martin (who came over in the Mason Black deal) made his return to Richmond after nearly 2 months (and 6 rehab appearances). Martin’s still getting stretched out again, so he worked in relief in his return on Sunday, throwing 2.1 shutout innings with 1 hit, 2 walks, and a strikeout.

RHP Christian Alvarado, who had been nearly perfect in 6 games since the Giants signed him, finally had a tough day, ceding 3 hits and 2 runs in an inning of work. Pobody’s nerfect, I guess.

High-A Eugene (54-36)

Friday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 6-2 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 3-1 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds lost to the Hillsboro Hops 12-2 [box score]

The big-name prospect movers were in AA and AAA, but there were still some names that debuted in High-A as well, as second baseman Isaiah Barkett and right fielder Jose Astudillo both moved their prospect journeys from California to Oregon.

Neither had great debut weekends, but both players showed some things. Barkett, a 22-year old righty who was taken in the 10th round last year, and who had an .886 OPS and a 125 wRC+ with Low-A San Jose, hit 2-11 over the weekend, with 2 walks and 0 strikeouts. Astudillo, a 22-year old righty who signed out of Venezuela in 2021, and posted an .891 OPS and a 121 wRC+ with San Jose, went 2-12 with 2 doubles, a walk, a strikeout, and a caught stealing. Welcome to the Northwest League, both of you!

But it was the High-A veterans who performed the best. Left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) had a lovely weekend, hitting 4-10 with 3 doubles, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and an outfield assist. The 21-year old lefty has recovered brilliantly from a little midseason slump, and is back up to an .817 OPS and a 121 wRC+. The contact is still way down from previous seasons, but the power is way up, and his defense is quite nice (as is the 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts). In his last 11 games, Gutierrez is hitting 15-38 with 5 doubles, 10 walks, and 9 strikeouts.

Home runs for a trio of infielders: first baseman Jakob Christian (No. 40 CPL) hit 2-8 with an absurdly long homer, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts, bringing his OPS to .839 and his wRC+ to 124; shortstop/third baseman Walker Martin went 5-10 with a solo blast, a double, a hit by pitch, and 3 strikeouts, raising his OPS to .713 and his wRC+ to 88; and third baseman/first baseman Zander Darby hit 3-11 with a 3-run home run, a double, a walk, 4 strikeouts, and an error, bringing his OPS up to .753 and his wRC+ to 102. All 3 players are showing signs but striking out in a third of their plate appearances.

Yet another dominant pitching performance by LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL), who has put his slow start to the season way, way, way behind him. Bresnahan started Saturday’s game and gave up just 4 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run in 5 innings of work, while striking out 7 batters, which brought his ERA all the way down to 2.92, though his FIP still sits at 4.16, largely due to giving up nearly a home run per inning.

Bresnahan, who turned 21 less than a month ago, is on an absolute heater. Over his last 5 starts, the southpaw, who came to the Giants in the Alex Cobb trade, has pitched 29.1 innings, and allowed just 13 hits, 7 walks, and 3 runs, while striking out 35 batters. He has officially found his groove following an injury that delayed his season, and an adjustment to a new level. Only the drafting of Flora last week is standing in the way of Bresnahan having a pretty solid argument as the best pitching prospect in the system.

The other great pitching performance came from the bullpen, where LHP Esmerlin Vinicio dealt a masterpiece, throwing 3 no-hit innings with 4 strikeouts, and only allowing 1 runner via a hit batter. Hopefully this is the start of a 3rd act of the season for the 23-year old, who has a 3.12 ERA and a 3.52 FIP. In his first 11 games of the year, Vinicio allowed just 1 run, while pitching 25.2 innings. Then, shockingly, he allowed runs in 7 straight outings — 14 total earned runs in 14.2 innings. And then this outing, which hopefully is him getting back on track!

RHP Liam Simon is hoping for the same, as he tossed 2 shutout innings with no walks and just 1 hit allowed, though he didn’t strike anyone out. Simon, who has a 5.97 ERA and a 5.23 FIP, entered the game with more walks than innnigs pitched, so a very nice performance to see. RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 21 CPL) had an extremely Gerelmi Maldonado outing, with a no-hit inning that featured a walk and 2 strikeouts. That’s been the year for the 22-year old, who has 13.1 strikeouts per 9 innings … but 11.5 walks, en route to a 3.57 ERA and a 6.44 FIP.

RHP Mauricio Estrella struck out 4 batters in 2.1 scoreless frames, with 1 hit. It was only Estrella’s 3rd game at the level, and so far he’s been brilliant: in 6.1 innings he’s allowed 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run, with 11 strikeouts.

Low-A San Jose (54-36)

Friday: San Jose Giants lost to the Stockton Ports 7-6 [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 6-2 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 6-3 [box score]

There’s a clear top 3 on the organizational shortstop depth chart … a trio that was, until Flora’s arrival in the system, not just a clear top 3 shortstops, but a clear top 3 prospects, point blank. But just because Josuar González (No. 2 CPL), Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL), and Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) exist, doesn’t mean we should forget about the other shortstops in the system. And here to remind you is none other than last year’s 4th-round pick, Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL).

The Giants, you might recall, have had some prior success drafting shortstops in the 4th round. And while the odds of Meola replicating Brandon Crawford’s career are slim, he’s doing everything in his power to emerge as a top prospect right now. The right-handed hitter had a blissful weekend, hitting 6-14 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles, a stolen base, and a strikeout.

Meola’s overall numbers are still fairly run of the mill, as he has an .818 OPS and a 102 wRC+ on the year. That’s due mostly to an ice cold start … he’s been heating up throughout the season, and in July he’s been absurdly hot: he has an 11-game hitting streak, and in 14 games this month is 24-56 with 5 home runs, 13 total extra-base hits, 8 walks, and just 10 strikeouts. Add in some really fantastic defense at shortstop, and 12 stolen bases on the year (in 15 attempts), and Meola’s prospect status is threatening to take off.

Center fielder Andy Polanco had a nice offensive weekend as well, which sadly isn’t something we can say all that often. A tremendous defensive outfielder, Polanco has struggled at the plate this year, but hit 5-12 in this series, with a home run, 2 doubles, and 2 strikeouts. The 21-year old, taken in the 11th-round in 2024, combines his great defense with great speed (he has 25 stolen bases), but unfortunately he’s a bit of a 3 true outcomes bust … he has just a 3.6% walk rate and a 32.0% strikeout rate, and this was his first home run of the season (his ISO is just .101). As such, he has just a .669 OPS and a 66 wRC+ this year.

A painful weekend for left fielder/right fielder Oliver Tejada, who was recently promoted. He hit 2-10 with 2 doubles and was hit by a pitch on 3 separate occasions. Tejada, who also struck out twice, has a .793 OPS and a 95 wRC+ through 13 games at the level.

One of the top pitching prospects in the system had a nice start, as RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) struck out 5 batters in 4 strong innings, allowing just 3 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run. Martinez was fairly efficient despite only pitching 4 innings, as he threw just 59 pitches, 44 of which were strikes. It did not seem like Martinez was dealing with any ailments, so the lack of innings pitched is almost certainly just the case of starting to cool down given his workload this year.

It hasn’t always been smooth this season for Keyner, as he’s issued 5.1 walks per 9 innings and nearly a home run per 9, en route to a 4.36 ERA and a 4.69 FIP. But he has been nearly unhittable save for those dingers … his 14.2 strikeouts per 9 innings is one of the best marks in all of Minor League Baseball, and in 64 innings he’s allowed a mere 47 hits. There are certainly some pinkish flags, but it’s certainly a season that looks better the deeper you get under the hood. And, despite some hiccups, Martinez has done nothing to lose his spot as one of the best pitching prospects in the organization.

LHP Jordan Gottesman, last year’s 6th-round pick, also had a stellar start, striking out 7 batters in 5 innings on Saturday, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, and throwing just 64 pitches (including 41 strikes). Gottesman has had the opposite issue as Martinez lately … too many hits, despite doing a great job suppressing walks. In his prior 5 starts, the southpaw had 27 strikeouts against just 6 walks … but had allowed 32 hits in just 22.1 innings, resulting in 21 earned runs. Nice to see him bring the hits down (though 1 of his 2 hits cleared the fence).

that’s been the season for Gottesman, who has a 4.29 ERA and a 5.22 FIP in his debut season … he’s issued nearly a hit per inning, and 1.26 home runs per 9 … but has 10.1 strikeouts per 9 and just 2.9 walks. RHP Chen-Hsun Lee made his 2nd appearance for San Jose and pitched 1.2 no-hit innings, with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Mostly it’s just great seeing him healthy.

Arizona Complex League (33-24)

Friday: ACL Giants beat the ACL Athletics 3-0 (7 innings) [box score]
Saturday Game 1: ACL Giants lost to the ACL Angels 13-2 [box score]
Saturday Game 2: ACL Giants lost to the ACL Angels 10-6 (7 innings) [box score]

A funny one if you’re looking at the box scores, as the 1st game of the doubleheader on Saturday was a completion of a game that was postponed in the 2nd inning a week ago. So the stats get a little bit funny, since it technically counts as a game played then, instead of now. It also meant that rehabbing RHP Darien Smith started on Friday and Saturday, since he was the starter before the game got postponed!

The most exciting thing to come out of these games was that left fielder/right fielder Rayner Arias (No. 38 CPL) had a fantastic Saturday … after not playing on Friday, the righty hit 2-6 with 2 home runs and a walk on Saturday, albeit with 3 strikeouts.

It’s been yet another brutal year for Arias, who recently turned 20 … this is his 3rd straight year of really struggling following a truly dominant DSL debut in 2023. Since then it’s been swing issues and injury issues galore, and his contact problems remain … he has just a .196 average this year and a 31.6% strikeout rate. But the power and the eye are at least starting to make a comeback, as his .174 isolated slugging and 11.4% walk rate both stand as massive gains over recent years. There’s still so much talent in there … let’s hope he can harness it.

As for the top hitting prospects, shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) went 1-5 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout, while third baseman Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) hit 3-9 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout. González has a .965 OPS and a 140 wRC+, Hernández has a .915 OPS and a 115 wRC+, and the future is oh so very bright.

The pitching was highlighted by rehabs. The aforementioned Smith, who is AA, threw 4.2 innings across the 2 games, with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 unearned runs, while striking out 3. Low-A RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) made his 2nd rehab appearance and threw 2 scoreless frames, with 1 hit and 2 strikeouts. Hopefully he’s back in A-ball soon.

A really nice outing from LHP Leandro Rodriguez, a 20-year old in his stateside debut. He threw 4 scoreless innings on Friday, while allowing just 2 hits and 0 walks, and striking out 4 batters. Rodriguez has some really interesting pitches, and while he only has a 4.18 ERA and a 4.40 FIP, he has 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings and just 2.1 walks, which is tremendous command for a player at his age and level.

Dominican Summer League Black (19-14)

Friday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Nationals 7-6 [box score]

A nice day for the DSL Giants Black offense, which registered 11 hits and 7 stolen bases. A trio of great performances to highlight. Left fielder Franco Willias, a 21-year old in his 3rd season, hit 2-4 with a home run, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. The righty is up to a .997 OPS and a 141 wRC+, with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts, and just a 16.6% strikeout rate. A tremendous season!

Second baseman Alexander Camacaro, an 18-year old taking huge strides in his 2nd season, hit 2-4 with both his 1st home run of the year and a double, which pushed him up to a .797 OPS and a 106 wRC+. Plus, it was the 1st career homer for the righty!

And finally, center fielder Djean Macares, a recently-turned 18-year old in his 2nd season, hit 2-4 with a walk and 3 stolen bases, though he also had a strikeout and was caught stealing. The lefty has a .749 OPS and a 104 wRC+ on the season, with 16 stolen bases in 20 attempts and just an 11.7% strikeout rate.

An awesome pitching performance from, for lack of a more humane term, the “other” Luis Hernandez, a 20-year old RHP in his 3rd season. Hernandez tossed 5 scoreless frames with 6 hits, 0 walks, 1 hit batter, and 3 strikeouts. It’s been a rough season for Hernandez, who has more walks than strikeouts, but certainly this was a step in the right direction.

Dominican Summer League Orange (20-14)

Friday: DSL Giants lost to the DSL Angels 13-6 [box score]

RHP Alexis Gallego, a 17-year old, made his 2nd career appearance, and it was brutal in a hilarious way that you really only see in the DSL. Gallego’s final line? 0.2 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks, 4 hit batters, 7 earned runs. Oops!

It started a very bad day of pitching for the Giants Orange squad, though 21-year old RHP Jesus Lopez pitched 2.1 no-hit innings, with just a walk allowed. Lopez hasn’t had a good season, but he’s been very good as of late.

Center fielder Jose Valdez hit 1-3 with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch, and 2 strikeouts, as the 17-year raised his OPS to .845 and his wRC+ to 106 in his debut season; shortstop Yeison Oviedo hit 3-5 with a strikeout, boosting the 18-year old’s OPS to .834 and his wRC+ to 117; and first baseman second baseman Yoxander Benitez went 1-3 with a double and 2 walks, as the 19-year old now has a .767 OPS and a 99 wRC+.

Home run tracker

12 — Walker Martin — [High-A]
11 — Lorenzo Meola x2 — [Low-A]
9 — Jakob Christian — [High-A]
8 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
5 — Franco Willias — [DSL]
4 — Rayner Arias x2 — [ACL]
2 — Zach Morgan — [1 in AAA; 1 in AA]
1 — Andy Polanco — [Low-A]
1 — Alexander Camacaro — [DSL]

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