San Francisco Giants Minor League Update: What’s Happening on the Farm?

With the current play of the San Francisco Giants being so reliant on pieces that have come up from the farm, we’re going to take a look at each level of the farm that’s active right now, and what they’re doing, including the top prospects at each level.

Recently, the San Francisco Giants have had plenty of success at the big league level, thanks in large part to some quality young players that have made their transition from Sacramento to the Big leagues. Alen Hanson, Austin Slater, Mac Williamson Andrew Suarez, and Reyes Moronta are just a few of the names. They may not be big names, but they’ve played their role quite well.

We decided it would be good to look at what else the farm system has to offer, for both now and the future. We provided detailed statistics from any prospect that is active at that level, that appears on the Giants Top 30 Prospects list according to MLBPipeline.com. The numbers of their ranks are in accordance with their MLBPipeline ranking.

So first up, is the lowest active level of the Giants’ farm, the Augusta GreenJackets.

Augusta GreenJackets

Record: 23-14; 1st place in the SAL Southern Division

The GreenJackets have been propelled to first in their division, in a brand new ballpark thanks in large part to their pitching staff. The Augusta pitching staff ranks in the following in the Southern Atlantic League (SAL): ERA (1st), Hits (2nd), Runs (3rd), Strikeouts (1st), WHIP (2nd).

Four of their starters have ERA’s under 2.75, and three of those four are under 2.00. John Gavin has a 1.38 ERA, Jason Bahr has a 1.77 ERA, and Joey Marciano has a 1.86 ERA. Together, those three have struck out 134 over 107 innings. Thrown in a few relievers in Franklin VanGurp, C.J. Gettman, and John Russell, who all are under 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and have a combined K/BB ratio of 4.00, the staff has been incredible so far.

As for the hitting, it’s definitely improved as well. What’s intriguing is that the Giants top prospects aren’t exactly the top performers for the GreenJacket’s offense. Manuel Geraldo, Ryan Kirby, and Logan Baldwin each have accumulated more total bases the Giants top two prospects at the level. Albeit, Heliot Ramos and Jacob Gonzalez aren’t that far off. But it is intriguing. Kirby and Malique Ziegler are tied for the lead in homers for the GreenJackets, both at four a piece.

As for the Top 30 prospects, here are the lines for them so far:

• #1, Heliot Ramos: .215/.297/.354/.650; 5 2B, 2, 3B, 3 HR, 10RBI, SB; 0 Errors
• #11, Jacob Gonzalez: .252/.317/.374/.691; 7 2B, 3 HR, 20 RBI; 8 Errors
• #20, Garrett Cave: 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 26.2 IP, 28K, 23BB, 1.69 WHIP
• #29, Malique Ziegler: .275/.405/.522/.927; 3 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 5 SB

Ziegler is really intriguing as a late round draft pick in 2016. But he has appeared within the top 30 prospects now for the Giants, and was tearing up the SAL until he went on the DL. Ziegler’s numbers are in only 69 official at bats.

As for those who are performing well despite not being in the Top-30, you can just take a look at the entire Augusta pitching staff as mentioned above. All are not on the top 30, and are performing incredibly through the first part of the season.

Now let’s check on how things are also going good down in San Jose!

Richmond Flying Squirrels

Record 20-16, 2nd in Eastern League West Division

The Flying Squirrels are like most Giants’ minor league teams this year in terms of a winning record. Last year, all levels were pretty abysmal in their performance. This year, it seems to have turned itself around with an influx of good talent and proper coaching. The Flying Squirrels have reaped the benefit of the presence of a couple of stellar pitching prospects.

Three of the Giants top 10 prospects are doing their time in Richmond right now, and a few aren’t doing to well.  We’ll get to them in a minute. Let’s take a look at what else is going on in Richmond.

Spring Training cult hero, Jerry Sands, has clubbed five homers, tied for the team lead with Dylan Davis. Sadly, he’s hitting just .163. For other interesting performances, you should take a look at Luigi Rodriguez. The 25 year old minor league free agent signed with the Giants this offseason and has taken Richmond by storm. In 96 at bats he’s slashing .407/.490/.581/1.072. He has 13 walks to 22 strikeouts and has stolen 8 bases.

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Here is where the Top 30 are performing:

• #7, Aramis Garcia: .207/.257/.337/.594, 10 RBI, 2 HR
• #8, Shaun Anderson: 4-1, 2.31 ERA, 39 IP, 39K, 9BB, 1.15 WHIP
• #9, Garret Williams: 1-2, 5.27 ERA, 27.1 IP, 22K, 23 BB, 1.98 WHIP
• #22, Miguel Gomez: .297/.317/.416/.733, 9 RBI, 15K, 3BB
• #23, Ryan Howard: .285/.341/.390/.731, 10 2B, 10BB, 15K
• #28, Jordan Johnson: 4-3, 2.43 ERA, 40.2 IP, 36K, 14BB, 1.16 WHIP, .228 op AVG

Some concerning numbers from Garcia and Williams, but this is their longest exposure at the higher levels.

Shaun Anderson and Jordon Johnson might be locks to move up to Sacramento with their current performances, and Ryan Howard is quickly shooting up the “potential utility man” charts.

Last but not least, let’s take a look at the River Cats.

Sacramento River Cats

Record: 20-19, 2nd in PCL Northern Division

The River Cats are enjoying one of their better seasons since the Giants took over baseball operations with the team. Although, thanks to the taxi squad it’s been a revolving door for fringe 40 man guys and prospects.

One guy who Giants fans are familiar with, Orlando Calixte has been doing well, as he was last year. Along with someone like Chase D’Arnaud, the man who Calixte is splitting time with, the two have virtually matched each other’s production, as they both have accrued 51 total bases.

Along with those who are less talked about, Dereck Rodriguez has been phenomenal, going 3-0 with a 3.13 ERA over 37.1 Innings. He boasts 40 K to 10 walks, and has a WHIP of 1.18. Here is how the Top 30 are fairing in Triple-A:

• #2, Chris Shaw: .268/.320/.556/.877; 9 2B, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 58K, 10 BB
• #3, Steven Duggar: .246/.344/.351/.695; 8 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 24 R; 44K, 19BB, 5SB; 6 Errors
• #4, Tyler Beede: 1-3,  5.63 ERA, 24 IP, 26K, 18 BB, 1.92 WHIP, .301 opp AVG
• #26 D.J. Snelten: 1-1, 4.91 ERA, 11 IP, 8 K, 5BB, 1.27 WHIP

Others to take a look at in Sacramento are Ryder Jones, who has a nice average, but isn’t even cracking an .800 OPS. The best performing prospect for the Giants in Sacramento right now is obviously Chris Shaw. All the numbers there look quite nice, but those 58 K are a little concerning. I’m sure the Giants would like to see that K/BB ratio dip below 4.0 even, but that power is quite real.

Next: The Giants Offseason Expectations are Working out Well

We’re at the 40 game marker roughly everywhere within Baseball. We felt it was worth it to take a good look what was going on within the farm system. It seems like the coaching overhauls in the offseason have benefitted the farm system, as players seem to be performing really well. The success is good news for the future of the San Francisco Giants.