SF Giants prospects rundown 5/13: NO-HITTER! NO-HITTER!

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/13: High-A

Hillsboro Hops 2 at Eugene Emeralds 8
Performance of the Game: Travis Perry (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)

Seth Corry (8th-ranked prospect) was on the hill for the second time this season, and much like in his first outing, showed why he has a long way to go before fitting into a big-league rotation. The southpaw’s repertoire was strong, with his fastball sitting around 93 mph, alongside his changeup and curveball, which each showed flashes as above-average pitches. However, he still spent a lot of time outside of the zone, throwing just 37 of his 64 pitches for strikes. Still, he struck out eight batters, walked three, and surrendered his only run on a solo homer. Corry remains wild but effective against High-A hitters, but he could reach another level if he can find just a little more consistent command.

Yet, while Corry is one of the top pitching prospects in the system, it was arguably Travis Perry who had the most impressive outing for the Emeralds on the mound Thursday. Perry struck out four in three perfect innings. The Giants signed Perry for a $125,000 signing bonus out of Junior College in 2018.

Offensively, the Emeralds were dominated early by Ryne Nelson, who looked unhittable early before fading and surrendering a run in the fifth.

Tyler Fitzgerald has played all over the diamond this season in Eugene. Drafted as a shortstop, the Giants are clearly challenging his positional versatility, moving him between short, second, and third base. He’s had some struggles at third but looks very comfortable at second. He was the Emeralds’ only hitter to record multiple hits on Thursday, scoring and driving in a run on a 2-3 day with a double and strikeout.  However, after he was hit on the back of the head with a fastball in the bottom of the eighth, he was removed from the game. He was vying with the team trainer to stay in the game, but manager Dennis Pelfrey properly made the cautious decision. Hopefully, Fitzgerald is back in action soon, but he could have to miss some time.

The game was tied at two entering the bottom of the eighth before Eugene exploded for a six-run inning. With one out, Diego Rincones singled, and Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Franklin Labour, who walked to load the bases. A wild pitch put the Emeralds up one, followed by an Ismael Munguia sacrifice fly that was dropped in left field. Hops reliever Blake Workman hit Javeyan Williams by a pitch to reload the bases and was replaced by Kai-Wei Lin.

Then with the bases loaded and two outs, Will Wilson (15th-ranked prospect) came to the plate and put the game out of reach.

Solomon Bates took over for Perry in the eighth, struck out a pair, but allowed the tying run to score. Then, after the lead was well out of reach, last year’s fourth-round selection R.J. Dabovich struck out the side in a dominant ninth inning, sitting in the upper-90s and touching 98 mph on his fastball.

Catcher Patrick Bailey (7th-ranked prospect) had a tough day in the squat, short-hopping a pair of throws on stolen base attempts and letting a pitch from Corry past him for his third passed ball of the season. Then, in the top of the seventh, Bailey was hit on the back of his catching helmet on a Hops hitter’s backswing. He did remain in the game and later recorded a single, finishing 1-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

*Note: The MiLB gameday box score mistakenly has Perry pitching four innings and omits Dabovich from the game. An earlier version of this article made the same mistake.*