SF Giants prospects rundown 5/20: Bullpens shine throughout system

SF Giants starting pitchers and hitters struggled throughout the farm system, but strong relief pitching kept minor-league affiliates in games.

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 prospects 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 5/20: Triple-A

Reno Aces 3 at Sacramento River Cats 2
Performance of the Game: Jason Vosler (1-3, HR, R, RBI)

Tyler Beede seemed to put some things together towards the end of his last rehab appearance, but his command woes returned once again on Thursday. With Logan Webb on the injured list, Beede seemed primed to rejoin the Giants big-league rotation soon, but the front office probably wanted to see him be more economical with his 53 pitches (28 strikes). Beede allowed no runs to score over 2.2 innings of work but allowed two hits and four walks and was removed with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning for Kervin Castro (26th-ranked prospect), who struck out former Giants minor-leaguer Matt Lipka to end the inning.

An early solo home run by Jason Vosler, his first of the season, gave the River Cats a slim lead, but the Reno Aces kept Sacramento’s offense quiet until the ninth inning. In the interim, five of the six River Cats relievers allowed no runs to score, but an unlucky fifth inning for Gregory Santos, who allowed three runs on three relatively soft hits and a hit batter, gave the Aces a lead that would not be overcome. Sacramento managed just three hits and three walks on the day.

The most interesting tidbit from the game had little to do with the outcome. Top Giants catching prospect Joey Bart (third-ranked prospect) was removed from the game in the fifth inning and did not appear injured. After big-league backup Curt Casali was hit on the elbow in Thursday’s 19-4 victory against the Reds, there’s reason to speculate that Bart is heading for a callup. Bart has struck out in more than 30% of his plate appearances in the short season but has been undeniably productive, hitting .351/.400/.676.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/20: Double-A

Bowie Baysox 6 at Richmond Flying Squirrels 1
Performance of the Game: Jacob Heyward (2-4, 2B, BB, K, R)

Minor-league veteran Gerson Garabito took the start for Richmond and failed to make it through three innings. The former prospect in the Royals system surrendered seven hits, two walks, and five runs and quickly put the Flying Squirrels in a hole.

Luis Amaya, Trenton Toplikar, and Frank Rubio did nearly everything they could to give Richmond a chance to make a comeback out of the bullpen. Still, much like Sacramento, the offense was unable to get going. Amaya and Rubio combined to strike out five over 2.1 perfect innings, while Toplikar allowed one run on three hits and a walk over four innings with five strikeouts. The 25-year-old Toplikar has quietly been a valuable swiss-army knife out of the bullpen for manager Jose Alguacil thus far in the season. He had yet to allow a run prior to Thursday’s game and has now struck out 12 over 9.1 innings pitched.

Heliot Ramos (fourth-ranked prospect) went hitless across four plate appearances but did work two walks. Otherwise, Jacob Heyward was the lone Flying Squirrels hitter to record multiple hits. Heyward scored Richmond’s only run on an Andres Angulo single in the eighth inning after walking and reaching second base on a David Villar walk.

The Giants Double-A affiliate did not go most of the game without base runners, recording four hits and two walks against Baysox starter Kevin Smith, but failed to find hits at the right time. The Flying Squirrels finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 different players on base.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/20: High-A

Eugene Emeralds 6 at Tri-City Dust Devils 7 (11 innings)
Performance of the Game: Diego Rincones (1-3, HR, BB, R, RBI)

The first Giants minor leaguer to hit four home runs was not a name that would be familiar to most fans but could become a quick riser in the system if he builds off an impressive last six months. Diego Rincones was quietly one of the best players in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason and has carried over that hot start to Eugene. Rincones finished the game on Thursday 1-for-3 with a walk and his fourth home run of the season. His average on the season dropped to .375, and his OPS remained an impressive 1.145.

Rincones will not turn 22 until June and is roughly the age of a draft-eligible junior in this summer’s upcoming draft class. Since signing with the Giants out of Venezuela in 2015, he steadily made his way through the lower minor leagues. Rincones has consistently shown an ability to hit for average (career .293 hitter) and avoid strikeouts (12.4% strikeout rate) but has never shown more than average power (career .424 slugging percentage). However, this season, the corner outfielder is flashing above-average power and has seen a slight spike in his strikeouts that one would expect to accompany some swing changes. Rincones is flashing the potential to play his way from intriguing depth piece to legitimate big-league prospect.

Aside from Rincones, Eugene managed to scrape five runs across on just four hits and seven walks. However, two of those runs came in the eleventh inning, which started with a runner on second base.

Emeralds’ starting pitcher Nick Morreale struck out six over 3.2 innings but was unable to work around an error by Simon Whiteman, five hits, and three walks. In an early 3-0 hole, Eugene’s bullpen stepped up and gave the offense time to even up the score. Jasier Herrera, Ryan Walker, John Russell, and R.J. Dabovich combined to allow just one run over 5.1 innings of work while striking out ten, walking one, and surrendering three hits. However, the bullpen’s run came to an end in the eleventh, when Nick Avila could not replicate his shutout tenth inning performance, allowing three runs to score.