SF Giants prospects rundown 5/5: Sean Roby keeps rolling

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/5: High-A

Eugene Emeralds 8 at Spokane 6
Performance of the Game: Diego Rincones (2-4, 2B, R)

It should not shock anyone that Kai-Wei Teng (19th) was the Giants’ first minor-league pitcher to reach the fifth inning in 2021. Without a 2020 season to build off of, the Giants appear prepared to be extremely cautious with all of their young arms. No one has thrown 70 pitches in the system yet this year. Teng, to his credit, completed 4.1 innings on just 68 pitches. The pitchability starter worked quickly, but even he showed some rust, walking a pair while surrendering a solo home run to Colorado Rockies 2019 first-round pick Michael Toglia. Teng did manage five strikeouts, and that could be a positive sign that he can carry over his solid career strikeout numbers to High-A even though he lacks any clear plus pitch.

Offensively, Eugene once again spread the production around. Hunter Bishop (6th) and Franklin Labour were the only hitters in the starting lineup to not record a hit (and each of them walked twice). Diego Rincones drove his second double of the season and scored a run after a singling later. Last year’s first-round pick Patrick Bailey (7th), put together another multi-hit game, this time tallying his first professional double and an RBI single.

Sean Roby (24th) struck out twice and managed just one hit in his four plate appearances, but he connected for his second home run in as many days, becoming the first Giants prospect of the year to hit multiple homers. Roby has always had a great feel for the bat and elite power potential but has seen his strikeout rate soar when he sold out for power. The Giants have been confident that Roby could refine his approach to drive the ball more consistently. The early results at High-A suggest he might have found a strong balance.

Out of the bullpen, Taylor Rashi struck out four in 1.2 perfect innings before he was replaced by Solomon Bates in the seventh. Bates allowed a two-run homer that cut the Emeralds lead down to three. Then, in the eighth, Travis Perry allowed a run on one hit and two walks and was pulled with two outs and runners at the corners for Jose Marte. Marte was an exciting starting pitching prospect that struggled to maintain his velocity deep into starts and find consistent command. The 24-year-old looked quite comfortable in a closer role, inducing an inning-ending groundout in the eighth before retiring the side in order with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth.