With the minor league baseball season’s coming to a close, we’ll look at how each San Francisco Giants affiliate did in 2017.
We know the San Francisco Giants aren’t going to make much noise in 2017, but hopefully the minor league system gives us something to cheer for.
That’s not the case for Triple-A affiliate Sacramento. The River Cats finished the regular season 64-77. That put them dead last in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division.
Things weren’t much better at Double-A where the Richmond Flying Squirrels finished 63-77. That put them 11 games back of first place in the Eastern League Western Division.
The theme continues as the San Jose Giants had the worst record in the California League. They finished the year 62-78, but only finished three games back of a playoff spot in the second half.
Another last place finish in Single-A where the Augusta GreenJackets went 55-80. They also had a much better second half going 32-38.
I know it’s getting ridiculous, but the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes also finished in last place. They had a 29-47 record in the Northwest League South division in Class-A Short Season.
More from Around the Foghorn
- SF Giants: The closer of the present and future has arrived
- BOGO 50% off on San Francisco Giants shirts at BreakingT
- SF Giants: Brandon Belt hits IL with fractured thumb
- SF Giants: 2021 team is approaching franchise milestone
- SF Giants: Brandon Belt is a qualifying offer candidate
We have to go all the way to Rookie League ball to find a San Francisco Giants affiliate who made the playoffs. The AZL Giants went 20-8 in the first half to clinch a playoff berth. They finished the regular season 34-22, which was the best record in the Arizona League East division.
The AZL Giants earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs by having the second best overall record. They beat the AZL Rangers in the Semi-Finals and now face the AZL Cubs in the championship. The championship will be a best of three series, and it starts today (September 5).
The AZL Giants are led by Jacob Gonzalez, who was just drafted in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
The DSL (Domincan) Giants had a good year finishing second in the Dominican Summer League Baseball City division. They had a record of 41-30, but there apparently aren’t any playoffs in the DSL.
Next: Bobby Evans and the Very Bad San Francisco Giants
So there you have it — eight teams in the San Francisco Giants organization, and one made the playoffs. Four of those teams (possibly five with the big league club) finished last in their division.
It’s safe to say that the San Francisco Giants fans and organization are ready to move on to 2018.