SF Giants prospects rundown 5/14: Will Wilson’s hot bat

Will Wilson added a couple of extra-base hits to his already impressive total this season. Who else stood out?

Make sure to revisit our daily SF Giants prospect rundowns to keep up with each of their minor-league affiliates. 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 5/14: Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats 5 at Oklahoma City Dodgers 2
Performance of the Game: Jason Krizan (2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI)

Southpaw Conner Menez reached the major leagues as a starting pitcher but was moved to the bullpen last season. He’s been getting a more extended look at Sacramento, but he is not getting stretched nearly as long as other starters. Menez struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings before handing it off to the bullpen for seven innings of work. They answered the call. Kervin Castro, Daniel Alvarez, Tyler Cyr, Sam Wolff, and Silvino Bracho combined to strike out 12 and allow just two runs.

Every starting Sacramento position player recorded a walk or hit before the game was over, but they struggled to get anything going early. Mitchell Tolman and Bryce Johnson each doubled in the fifth inning to put the River Cats on the board. Joe McCarthy doubled in another run in the sixth. Then Jason Krizan recorded an RBI-double of his own in the seventh before scoring on a single by Joey Bart (3rd-ranked prospect). Krizan drove in the final run of the game in the top of the ninth and was one of just two River Cats players to generate multiple hits (Thairo Estrada was the other).

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/14: Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 at Harrisburg Senators 4
Performance of the Game: David Villar (2-3, BB, K, R, RBI)

Coming off a historic Thursday night, when the Flying Squirrels completed the first nine-inning no-hitter and eight-game win streak in franchise history, Richmond dropped their first game in more than a week. Starting pitcher Gerson Garabito allowed three runs to score on three hits and a walk in the first inning but kept the game close by righting the ship from there. Garabito allowed just three more baserunners and no runs over the next four innings.

Garabito helped get the offense rolling, working a 3-2 count before singling through the left side of the infield to lead off the top of the third. A few batters later, David Villar drove Garabito in on a single that put the Flying Squirrels on the board. Villar finished the day with two of Richmond’s six hits and worked the team’s only walk following an Andy Sugilio single in the sixth to put two runners on with nobody out for Vince Fernandez. Fernandez singled in Sugilio, putting runners on the corners for Frankie Tostado, who tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

Mac Marshall entered out of the bullpen in the 3-3 game and had his best feel for the strike zone of the season. However, Harrisburg’s hitters seemed to have Marshall’s pitches well-timed, lining a pair of one-out singles to spark a small rally. Soft-hitting shortstop Osvaldo Duarte laid down a bunt hit that should have loaded the bases, but a throwing error by Marshall allowed the deciding run to score. While Marshall ultimately took the loss, his outing was a clear step forward for the southpaw. He struck out the side in his second (and final) inning of work and did not walk a batter in an appearance for the first time on the season.

Frank Rubio recorded a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but the Flying Squirrels offense was smothered by the Senators’ bullpen, failing to reach base in the seventh, eighth, or ninth inning.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/14: Low-A

San Jose Giants 14 at Stockton Ports 3
Performance of the Game: Abdiel Layer (4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)

The Giants continued thriving in Stockton’s hitter-friendly environment and put up the kind of offensive performance fans expected when they first looked at the roster before Opening Day. San Jose worked five walks, added 17 hits, blasted four homers, and struck out just four times en route to a 14-3 blowout victory.

Yet while the Giants were pouring it on, their pitching staff tied the Ports up all day, striking out 18 batters in 31 total at-bats. Stockton was consistently on the bases due to erratic control from San Jose’s staff, issuing ten walks, but was unable to convert on those opportunities.

Back-to-back singles by Jimmy Glowenke and Luis Matos (second-ranked prospect) to start the game helped the Giants jump out to a 1-0 lead, and young Kyle Harrison (fifth-ranked prospect) answered with a contactless bottom of the first (walking three and striking out three).

In the top of the second, Abdiel Layer, who started at shortstop in place of Marco Luciano (top-ranked prospect), who received a day off, blasted a long solo home run to double the team’s lead and start a fantastic day for the Puerto Rican infielder. In place of one of the biggest prospects in the Giants’ system, Layer took advantage of his opportunity, adding another towering solo homer in the fourth inning to set off an impressive four-hit day.

Layer was the Giants 40th-round pick in the 2018 draft and received a $125,000 signing bonus out Miami Dade Junior College. The Brewers had selected him in the 13th round the year prior but could not reach an agreement with him. While the Giants have been very slow to promote him through their minor-league ranks, he is still only 22 with solid speed and some intriguing power potential.

Several other hitters had noteworthy days as well. Ricardo Genoves (20th-ranked prospect) matched Layer’s four hits, albeit with singles. Harrison Freed drove in four on a pair of hits, including his first homer of the season. Matos had another multi-hit day as well, adding his second homer of the season in the ninth to cap off a 3-5 day with a walk. Matos has been on fire recently, going 13-26 with four doubles and two home runs on a six-game hitting streak.

Harrison’s erratic control forced him out of the game in the third. He threw 70 pitches in 2.1 innings but recorded all of his outs via the strikeout, but a well-timed double drove in one of the runners that reached base on his five walks. Still, the 19-year-old is showing an impressive ability to miss professional bats early in his career.

We’ll be back with looks at the SF Giants farm system throughout the minor-league season with daily rundowns on the entire organization’s minor-league affiliates.