SF Giants prospects rundown 5/21: Heliot Ramos busts out of slump

SF Giants prospect Heliot Ramos broke out of a recent slump at Double-A with a big day while things went south quickly at San Jose.

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 5/21: Triple-A

Reno Aces 9 at Sacramento River Cats 6
Performance of the Game: Thairo Estrada (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB) and LaMonte Wade, Jr. (2-4, HR, 4 RBI) 

It was the Thairo Estrada and LaMonte Wade show in Sacramento as the River Cats managed to get within one run in the seventh inning, but the squad ran out of gas and lost. I could not pick between Estrada and Wade for my POG vote so I decided to give both the nod.

The first two innings were largely uneventful, as reliever Dominic Leone had to start in place of Scott Kazmir and struck out 5 in two innings of work. Leone’s start was noteworthy because he was the starting pitcher for the first time in his 10-year professional career. After his outing, the Aces put up a four-spot against southpaw Phil Pfeifer in the third inning.

The River Cats scored their first run in the bottom half of the third, as Wade drove in Estrada with a base knock. After the Aces scored three more runs before the seventh-inning stretch, the duo pulled Sacramento within one run. Estrada singled home two runs and Wade capped it off with a line-drive, three-run jack to right field.

After the Aces scored two more runs off Silvino Bracho in the eighth inning, the comeback opportunity arises once again in the bottom of the 9th with Estrada and Wade as the first two hitters to get a crack at Aces closer Ryan Buchter. However, neither were able to reach base.

Estrada and Wade showed off their offensive talent, as both are a couple of injuries away from playing at Oracle Park. Estrada particularly stood out to me, as he is now batting .364 with strong peripherals across the board with good defense in the infield.

To cap it off, short outings can really inflate the stat line and that is what’s happening with Kervin Castro (26th-ranked prospect) at the moment. After last night’s game, Castro lowered his ERA to 10.13. The most concerning thing about Castro is his 28% walk rate entering last night’s game. With two more bases on balls, he’s now allowed 9 walks in 5 1/3 innings of work this year. It is a stark indication that he is probably not yet ready for the Triple-A level.