SF Giants minor-league Opening Day rundown: Eugene excels, others falter

SF Giants Minor-League Opening Day: High-A

Eugene Emeralds 9 at Spokane 5
Performance of the Game: Caleb Kilian (4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K, 60 pitches)

Easily the highlight of the day for the SF Giants affiliates, the Eugene Emeralds earned manager Dennis Pelfrey a victory in his first official game as an affiliate manager. The Emeralds’ lineup is littered with talent, and all nine starters recorded a hit before the game was over. However, 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey was the offensive star in his first professional game. The NC State alum went 3-5 with a pair of singles and a solo home run, which marked the first home run by a Giants minor leaguer in 2021. Diego Rincones mimicked Bailey’s 3-5 line but added a double of his own. Not to be outdone, Sean Roby and Tyler Fitzgerald added homers of their own.

However, while this roster is stacked with offensive talent, the Opening Day starting pitcher warranted the most attention. Caleb Kilian was drafted in Giants amateur scouting director Michael Holmes‘ first year with the organization in the 8th round of the 2019 draft. An all-around solid starter throughout his collegiate career at Texas Tech, Kilian seemed likely a back-end starter prospect who would likely need to pick up velocity upon a move to the bullpen to be successful. In his first career full-season appearance, though, he made a statement.

Kilian needed just 60 pitches to complete four shutout innings, where he surrendered two hits and racked up nine strikeouts. Eugene was frustratingly the lone Giants affiliate without a video feed on Tuesday, but a quick look at the gameday shows he was racking up tons of swings and misses. Out of college, Kilian showed a mid-90s fastball (around 92-94 mph) with a curveball and changeup that flashed as average pitches. However, the Giants have clearly identified pitchers that they believe had unlocked potential with a change in mechanics or a tweak to their repertoire. With more than a year away from official games, plenty of players could have reinvented themselves. Kilian may have been the first one to announce it with an exclamation point.

2020 fourth-round selection R.J. Dabovich made his first professional appearance in the ninth inning and showed the erraticness that most prospect fans have come to expect from premium stuff, inconsistent command relievers. Dabovich struck out two of the five batters he faced but surrendered a solo home run and a walk in one inning of work.

SF Giants Minor-League Opening Day: Class-A

Fresno Grizzlies 5 at San Jose Giants 3
Performance of the Game: Alexander Canario (2-2, 2B, 3B, R, 2 BB, E)

The San Jose Giants roster may have even more premium prospect talent than Eugene. Although it’s a close competition, there is far more youth on the Class-A team. NBC Sports’ Dalton Johnson was at the SJ Giants game. He wrote about the tantalizing potential of so many players on the roster and the clear limitations many of them still have without much of any professional experience. It’s hard to put it better than he did.

Prelander Berroa received the Opening Day on the mound in San Jose, and while the farmhand showed flashes across two innings of work, recording three strikeouts, he also walked three and allowed a pair of hard-hit doubles. To his credit, Berroa limited the damage to just one run in the first inning and bounced back well with a hitless second that included a pair of punchouts. Most evaluators expect Berroa to one day make a move to the bullpen, and this outing mostly affirmed that analysis. However, his ability to recover from early struggles was one positive takeaway.

A pair of 2020 nondrafted free agents, Ty Weber and Wil Jensen made their pro debuts on Tuesday in San Jose. Weber surrendered three runs (two earned) across two innings of work, which ultimately prevented the Giants from tying the game. Jensen struck out a pair in two perfect innings.

The two big names at the top of the Giants lineup were kept relatively quiet. Marco Luciano went 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts, while Luis Matos went 0-5 with a strikeout. The stars at the plate were cleanup hitter Ricardo Genoves, who went 2-4 with a run and two strikeouts, and Alexander Canario. Canario underwent shoulder surgery late last fall and seemed guaranteed to miss the start of the season. Instead, he took the field on Opening Day, laced a pair of extra-base hits, and worked two walks in his first taste of full-season ball.

Fans are rightfully excited about Bishop at Eugene, but Canario has a similar package of tools, a longer track record of professional success, and will not turn 21 until this Friday. The injury took him out of most top organizational prospect conversations this offseason, but he could quickly blast his way back into that conversation.

The SF Giants minor-league affiliates have plenty of baseball left to be played. Make sure to stay tuned to Around the Foghorn for all the latest on the farm system’s top prospects.