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: Double-A

Hartford Yard Goats 6 at Richmond Flying Squirrels 12
Performance of the Game: Heliot Ramos (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB, K)

2018 Giants second-round pick Sean Hjelle made his 2021 debut and got off to a strong start, striking out four and surrendering just a hit and a walk over his first two innings. Then, in the bottom of the second, Hjelle came to the plate with the bases loaded, worked an impressive seven-pitch plate appearance that culminated in a two-RBI single. Heliot Ramos followed Hjelle with a three-run home run, and the Flying Squirrels never looked back.

However, Hjelle was far from the same pitcher when he retook the mound, allowing a pair of home runs in the next half-inning before falling apart in the fourth. Ultimately, he finished his start with seven strikeouts over 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, six runs (four earned), three walks, and three home runs.

Back to Ramos’ home run, though. Not only did he showcase impressive opposite-field power for his second homer in as many days, but the Flying Squirrels also showed off a hilarious celebration. When Ramos returned to the dugout, someone was waiting with a University of Massachusetts football helmet that he donned in the dugout (Flying Squirrels hitting coach Doug Clark attended UMass).

Ramos finished the day a triple short of the cycle alongside a walk. Three games into the Double-A season, the 2017 first-round pick has struck out in five of his 14 plate appearances, but he’s already blasted two home runs and has posted a .462/.500/1.000 triple-slash. Given how well Ramos excelled at big-league camp and the alternate site, it was already a bit surprising to see him begin the year a level below Triple-A. So far, Ramos is continuing to make a case for an express ticket to Sacramento.

Aside from Ramos, David Villar blasted his first home run of the young season. Andy Sugilio, an intriguing minor-league free agent signing away from the Cincinnati Reds organization, scored a pair of runs and drove in one on a pair of singles. Minor-league Rule 5 selection Vince Fernandez also went 3-4 with an RBI, walk, and a strikeout.

Out of the bullpen, Matt Seelinger, Frank Rubio, and Joey Marciano through a dominant 4.1 innings with seven strikeouts. Marciano’s stuff took a step back in his second inning of work and was pulled with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth for Pat Ruotolo, who struck out the only batter he faced to shut things down.

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.