SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (6/12-6/18)

Make sure to revisit our weekly 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 Weekly Rundown: Triple-A

Notable Performers

Thairo Estrada: 4 G, 18 AB, .389 AVG, 1.061 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
Joey Bart: 5 G, 22 AB, .364 AVG, 1.073 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
Joe McCarthy: 5 G, 18 AB, .278 AVG, .965 OPS, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K
Braden Bishop: 5 G, 23 AB, .261 AVG, .596 OPS, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
Bryce Johnson: 5 G, 21 AB, .238 AVG, .558 OPS, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 10 K, 1 SB

After getting called up to the bigs for three games, Thairo Estrada got sent down to Sacramento a week ago and has continued his hot hitting. It would take an injury or two for Estrada to have another crack at the MLB club, but he continues performing well at Triple-A, showing a good combination of contact ability, power, and defensive versatility.

Another week, another strong Joey Bart performance. He showed off his abilities defensively as well, throwing out two base stealers in two separate games. He’s definitely worthy of a big-league promotion even if he probably will not be getting one anytime soon.

Joe McCarthy had his 18-game hitting streak snapped in last night’s game. In June, the outfielder is hitting .380 with an OPS of 1.183 and has also tied his season-mark in home runs with his eighth bomb a couple of nights ago. He’s more than deserving to have another crack at the big leagues this year. However, without a spot on the 40-man roster, he’ll probably have to wait for a few other moves to shake out.

On the other end of the spectrum, Braden Bishop and Bryce Johnson cooled off this week. For Bishop, he is coming off a really hot first couple of weeks with the Giants organization. For Johnson, he continued to cool off after a scorching May. Johnson is batting .203 with an OPS of .542 in the month of June. The big worry is the spike in strikeouts with 23 already in just 13 games compared to 26 in 23 games in the previous month. There is still plenty of time for Johnson to bounce back as the temperature heats up though.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Diego Rincones: 5 G, 17 AB, .294 AVG, .988 OPS, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Franklin Labour: 4 G, 11 AB, .455 AVG, 1.571 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
Tyler Fitzgerald: 5 G, 16 AB, .313 AVG, .921 OPS, 3 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB
Will Wilson: 5 G, 18 AB, .167 AVG, .485 OPS, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K
Ismael Munguia: 5 G, 23 AB, .130 AVG, .391 OPS, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Diego Rincones cooled off a bit, batting 2-15 over a five-game stretch before last night’s seven-RBI performance against the Hops, which included a grand slam. Rincones is now batting .308 with .979 OPS. The 22-year old has proven himself to be an effective hitter with one of the strongest arms by a position player in the farm system. He may not share the high ceiling of several other outfield prospects in the system, but he’s showing the potential to be a solid everyday player.

The hottest hitter this week for the Emeralds is Franklin Labour, as he flashed his power with his home run as well as his speed with his two extra-base hits and a couple of stolen bases. Even though Labour’s batting average is only .232, his offensive production is above average with a wRC+ of 127. It is fueled with a high ISO of .202 but this season, Labour is showing three-true-outcome tendencies with high walk and strikeout rates.

With a couple of big bashing outfielders leading the way at the plate this week, it would come as a surprise that Tyler Fitzgerald is actually leading the team in RBI this season with 24. Fitzgerald’s primarily played second base for the Emeralds, where his size might have been an awkward fit but he’s doing a great job defensively with no errors to his credit. There’s a chance that he moves up a level if he continues to hit this well with a batting average of .304 in June.

Both Will Wilson and Ismael Munguia have been swinging a cold bat this week. However, Munguia has hit more than one home run in a season for the first time in his pro career. His swing has evolved a lot during the quarantine, hitting for more loft and power without sacrificing his signature high-contact ability.

https://twitter.com/EugeneEmeralds/status/1405752831852695552

A final couple of notes: Logan Wyatt drew six walks in three games this week, and Patrick Bailey has missed the entire series against the Hillsboro Hops due to back stiffness, according to the broadcast.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Brett Auerbach: 4 G, 14 AB, .571 AVG, 1.744 OPS, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Ricardo Genoves: 5 G, 17 AB, .353 AVG, 1.300 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K
Luis Toribio: 5 G, 20 AB, .350 AVG, 1.085 OPS, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K
Luis Matos: 5 G, 21 AB, .333 AVG, .798 OPS, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 4 SB
Casey Schmitt: 5 G, 21 AB, .333 AVG, 1.058 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Alexander Canario: 5 G, 19 AB, .316 AVG, .988 OPS, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
Garrett Frechette: 4 G, 14 AB, .143 AVG, .464 OPS, 1 2B, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K

It was another great week for the San Jose bats, as the recent usual suspects (Ricardo Genoves, Luis Toribio, Alex Canario, and Casey Schmitt) continued their barrage against Low-A pitching. Also, Luis Matos was hot this week, as he is all season long. However, it was his wheels that were the highlight of this week. With four more stolen bags, he’s now swiped 13 bases on 15 attempts this season. Even though Matos does not have elite speed (grading out around 55), he is savvy on the base paths.

It is time to talk about Brett Auerbach. With a strong performance this week, he is batting .326 with a .969 OPS and nine stolen bases for the season while playing all over the field be it behind the plate, in the infield, and even the outfield. Even though he is a year older than average in Low-A, his performance should be more than enough to warrant him a promotion to High-A in the coming weeks.

Jairo Pomares was finally added to the San Jose roster this week. As a result, the three big names of the 2018 international FA class (Pomares, Matos, and Marco Luciano) are now playing for the lil’ Gigantes. Pomares missed the start of the season but now should see consistent playing time with San Jose. He hit his first home run in last night’s game, a towering shot to right field.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Garrett Frechette has swung a cold bat all season long, as he’s batting .211 in 24 games this season. His biggest issue so far is his 30% strikeout rate as he’s overmatched by breaking balls. It’s a lot of growing pains for the first baseman, but there are a couple of silver linings for the 2019 prep selection, who does have some positive batted-ball data, even if it has yet to translate into production.

We’ll have our rundown of SF Giants pitching prospects over the past week tomorrow and another set of rundowns next week.