SF Giants prospects rundown 5/30: Matt Frisbee keeps rolling

Multiple SF Giants pitching prospects put up some impressive performances on Sunday, but an injury to a young infielder could overshadow it all.

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 5/30: Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators 9 at Sacramento River Cats 5
Performance of the Game: Thairo Estrada (2-4, R, BB)

After some positive signs in his first rehab appearances, Tyler Beede has shown serious struggles in his most recent outings. On Sunday, Beede took the mound and easily had his least effective performance of the year. Beede allowed six runs (five earned) over three innings on a home run, two hits, and five walks. While struggles with command are often associated with UCL surgery, Beede also managed just one strikeout.

Beede reached his pitch limit in the fourth inning, 76 pitches (33 strikes), and was replaced by Gregory Santos. Santos struggled to stop the bleeding, surrendering two runs over just two-thirds of an inning before he was pulled for Sam Wolff. The River Cats bullpen allowed just one run over the rest of the game, but Sacramento was already in a deep hole by that point.

Joe McCarthy recorded the only extra-base hit for the River Cats in the sixth inning on a solo home run. Thairo Estrada and Jason Krizan each finished the day with a run and pair of hits, but five late runs were not enough to make a comeback.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/30: Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels 4 at Reading Fightin Phils 0
Performance of the Game: Matt Frisbee (7 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K)

Heliot Ramos got the game started with a single to kickoff the top of the first inning. He advanced to second on a pickoff attempt that sailed past Reading’s first baseman and scored on a single by Andy Sugilio. As it would turn out, that was all Richmond’s pitchers would need.

Starting pitcher Matt Frisbee continued looking unhittable against Double-A competition. After surrendering a leadoff single, Frisbee retired the next 21 batters he faced, striking out eight over seven nearly perfect innings. On the season, Frisbee has struck out 32 batters while issuing just one walk over 29 innings. Even though he’s been limited by tight pitch counts, Frisbee has still managed to average nearly six innings a start.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/30: High-A

Spokane 1 Eugene Emeralds 2
Performance of the Game: Solomon Bates (3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K)

Starting pitcher Seth Corry picked up right where he left off in his previous starts, allowing just one hit and striking out nine over 3.2 innings while issuing five walks. A throwing error by catcher Patrick Bailey did allow a run to score, but it was not charged to Corry’s line. The young southpaw is pushing the limits of effective stuff and inconsistent control. His ERA is an impeccable 2.37, and he’s struck out an incredible 38 hitters across 19 innings but walked 21 as well.

Solomon Bates has had some similar give and take with stuff and command, but stepped up admirably in the middle innings when he was forced to eat innings after Corry’s relatively short outing. Bates allowed one runner on a walk and struck out three over 3.1 shutout innings.

Eugene struggled to build rallies offensively, but a two-run homer by Tyler Fitzgerald was enough to pull out the victory. Infielder Will Wilson was the only player on either team to record multiple hits but was forced to leave the game in a scary scene after he was hit on the left leg by a hard-hit groundball by Logan Wyatt. He remained on the field for some time after the play and had to be helped off the field. He could very likely be heading for the injured list.

SF Giants Prospects Rundown 5/30: Low-A

Lake Elsinore Storm 1 at San Jose Giants 2
Performance of the Game: Wil Jensen (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K)

Matching some of the other exceptional outings throughout the farm system, Wil Jensen might have exceeded them all. The Pepperdine alum pounded the strike zone (43 strikes on 66 pitches) over five innings of work and struck out 10 hitters. The Giants signed Jensen as a nondrafted free agent last summer. While he had been a contact-first pitcher through much of his collegiate career, he struck out more batters than innings pitched in his final season before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the year short.

Brooks Crawford struck out three en route to his second save of the season. Crawford is not one of the bigger name relievers in the system, but the 24-year-old southpaw has been incredibly effective in his first taste of full-season ball. Through eight innings, Crawford has an ERA of 0.00 with 13 strikeouts and zero walks.

San Jose’s pitching staff made the offense’s job quite easy. The young Giants generated just two hits and three walks, but took advantage of some good timing and a Lake Elsinore error to scrape two runs across the plate and record a win.

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