SF Giants prospects rundown 5/6: Heliot Ramos swinging for call-up

Minor league baseball is finally back. After MLB canceled last year’s slate of affiliate games due to the COVID-19 pandemic and began an unprecedented consolidation of minor-league ball, fans finally have official box scores to track and highlights to watch on MILB TV. The SF Giants had all four of their affiliates on the field for the first time since 2019.

If you do not feel well acclimated to the prospects throughout the farm system, you might want to revisit our prospect week articles that detailed the system from the top prospect to lower-level fringes. If you’re just interested in the biggest names, then the preseason SF Giants top 31 prospects list is the one-stop-shop for you.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/6: Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats 8 at Las Vegas Aviators 1
Performance of the Game: Thairo Estrada (4-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, E)

Tyler Beede and LaMonte Wade Jr were both assigned to Sacramento on rehab assignments on Thursday. Beede got the start and made his first in-game appearance since he underwent Tommy John surgery last year. It will be interesting to see if the Giants will be patient enough to let him work back to starting or if the front office hopes to get him back into game shape to join the bullpen. On Thursday, Beede struck out a pair and walked one before he was pulled and handed the ball off to Kervin Castro, who struck out a batter to end the first.

Anthony Banda took over from there and completed a peculiar 4.1 innings with one unearned run allowed, two strikeouts, two hits, and six walks. Following him, Dominic Leone, Yunior Marte, and Gregory Santos threw 3.2 shutout innings, with Leone easily being the most dominant, recording three punchouts in 1.2 perfect innings.

A’s prospect James Kaprielan kept the River Cats offense relatively quiet early, scratching a run across on a Thairo Estrada RBI-single in the third inning before Chadwick Tromp doubled in a pair in the fifth. Then, late in the game, top prospect Joey Bart blasted a two-run homer in the seventh, and Estrada added a three-run big fly in the eighth.

A few other minor-league veterans, Mitchell Tolman, Jason Krizan, and Joe McCarthy, each had multi-hit games. Also of note, one of the most powerful stories of the offseason, Drew Robinson, an outfielder who lost his eye in a suicide attempt last year, started in right field, going 0-4.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/6: High-A

Eugene Emeralds 8 at Spokane 4
Performance of the Game: Logan Wyatt (2-2, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB)

Seth Corry was easily the most exciting pitching prospect in the Giants organization heading into 2020. In his lone season at Class-A Augusta, Corry struck out 172 batters in just 122.2 innings pitched, recording a 1.76 ERA as a 20-year-old. Kyle Harrison has taken a lot of Corry’s luster, but that could change quickly if Corry shows the improved command necessary to utilize his intriguing three-pitch mix.

In his first appearance at High-A, Corry was far from his sharpest self. While an Ismael Munguia throwing error only made things worse, the 2017 third-round selection walked five batters and surrendered five hits in just 2.1 innings of work. Naturally, with that much congestion on the basepaths, four runners crossed the plate (two earned). Corry did show off some of his swing-and-miss stuff, striking out three. Quickly behind, manager Dennis Pelfrey handed the ball over to five different relievers who kept the Emeralds within striking distance, allowing just three baserunners and striking out 14 in 7.2 shutout innings.

Diego Rincones and Hunter Bishop drove in the Emeralds’ first two runs with doubles, but the team trailed until Patrick Bailey tied the game in the top of the ninth inning. Then, in the tenth inning, the offense finally exploded, with Rincones and Munguia each going deep, rounding out another impressive all-around offensive performance. In each of Eugene’s first three games, every offensive starter has recorded a hit or walk.

2019 second-round pick Logan Wyatt has picked up exactly where he last left off in the minors. The unique first baseman had easily the best strike-zone awareness of any player throughout his college career at Louisville. Still, many wondered if he would ever consistently generate much power. Thus far in 2021, Wyatt has hilariously mimicked the extremes of his scouting report, walking six times in 15 plate appearances while knocking five hits, but none for extra bases.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/6: Class-A

Fresno Grizzlies 2 at San Jose Giants 1
Performance of the Game: Carson Ragsdale (5 IP, H, BB, 0 R, 7 K)

As the Giants big-league bullpen has struggled and Sam Coonrod has excelled in Philadelphia, some fans may be lamenting the righty’s departure. However, after Carson Ragsdale-the prospect acquired for Coonrod-made his professional debut with San Jose, he might have alleviated some of those longings for Coonrod.

A fourth-round pick out of the University of South Florida in last year’s draft, Ragsdale dominated Fresno hitters through five innings of work, becoming the first Giants prospect to complete five innings this year. Ragsdale allowed just one hit and walk while striking out seven and showcasing his 90-94 mph fastball, which has seemed to play beyond its velocity throughout his career, and intriguing breaking ball.

He also got a huge help from left fielder Armani Smith, who made an impressive defensive play against the wall.

At the plate, though, San Jose continued to show its youth. Luis Matos struck out three times and failed to reach base. It has been a tough start to the season for the Venezuelan, who has just one hit in 13 plate appearances. Alexander Canario, the lone SJ Giant off to a hot start at the plate, did go 1-3 with a walk. Brett Auerbach, a nondrafted free-agent signing last year out of Alabama with unique defensive versatility, was the lone hitter to record multiple hits, scoring the team’s lone run alongside a pair of singles and a walk.

Without any room for error, the bullpen had a tall task at hand. Austin Reich completed a pair of shutout innings, but Randy Rodriguez was unable to match that feat, blowing a save opportunity in the top of the ninth inning and ultimately took the loss.

All four of the organization’s full-season affiliates are once again scheduled to take the field tomorrow. We’ll be back with looks at the SF Giants farm system throughout the minor-league season.