SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (6/19-6/25)

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Double-A

Notable Performers

David Villar: 6 G, 23 AB, .391 AVG, 1.239 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 8 K
Frankie Tostado: 6 G, 26 AB, .346 AVG, 1.024 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Simon Whiteman: 6 G, 24 AB, .375 AVG, .840 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K, 4 SB
Sandro Fabian: 4 G, 14 AB, .357 AVG, 1.000 OPS, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
Heliot Ramos: 6 G, 25 RBI, .120 AVG, .361 OPS, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K, 2 SB

Both David Villar and Frankie Tostado had very strong performances this week, with the latter the best week as a Flying Squirrel. With a couple more home runs this week, Villar has taken the team lead in home runs with eight.

On the other hand, Tostado is having himself a more well-rounded season with the Flying Squirrels than Villar. He’s hitting .276 with an OPS of .755 and four home runs even though he skipped High-A ball. The corner infield duo can both hit for power with their average game power but whoever can limit their strikeouts better will have a better chance of reaching the majors.

Simon Whiteman finally found his footing in the Double-A level after a cold start to his Flying Squirrels career. He is already doing what he does best, which is being a menace as a base runner, with four more steals this week bringing his total to 23 stolen bases with only two caught stealing. He is one of the best base stealers, if not the best, that I have ever watched in the Giants organization over the past five years.

Even though his bat cooled down last week, Sandro Fabian is back at it again with another hot week, including key knocks in many of this week’s games against Hartford. With another hot week, Fabian is now batting .357 in the month of June with a .940 OPS. His walk rate this season is only 2% but he has kept his strikeouts in check and is performing well in every other offensive category.

Heliot Ramos is officially struggling. With another quiet week offensively, his batting average this month is .167 with an OPS of .552. He’s still doing his part to contribute for the squad even though he’s struggling mightily at the plate, with 11 walks and three stolen bases. A hitter as good as Ramos is bound to bounce back at some point in the near future. Nonetheless, a promotion to Triple-A is probably not in play for some time.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Armani Smith: 6 G, 24 AB, .417 AVG, 1.065 OPS, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
Logan Wyatt: 5 G, 14 AB, .357 AVG, 1.050 OPS, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K
Ismael Munguia: 4 G, 17 AB, .353 AVG, 1.186 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Franklin Labour: 6 G, 18 AB, .222 AVG, 1.097 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K
Patrick Bailey: 3 G, 12 AB, .167 AVG, .481 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K

It only took a week for Armani Smith to settle in the High-A level, as he’s posted the best AVG among all Low-A West hitters this week. One of those many hits is an absolute missile to left field. Smith is playing like a top-30 prospect this season with a well-rounded, right fielder profile that is able to hit not only mid-110 MPH lasers but also have a sound approach at the plate while playing strong defense in the corners.

June is faring much better for Logan Wyatt, as he is now batting .308 this month after a strong week. Strike zone discipline has been Wyatt’s calling card, and he now has more walks than strikeouts this season with 25 walks this month. There’s still minimal power in his game with him ranking 13th on the team in SLG this season, but he’s back using a two-handed finish this week, something that he did in his short stint with the GreenJackets a couple of years ago, presumably with the hopes of tapping more into his raw power.

Among qualified hitters this week, it was Ismael Munguia that posted the best slugging percentage with his power-hitting ways. With two more bombs this week, he’s raised his season total to a career-best four. His batting average dipped a bit in June with .255 but has raised his SLG to .451 compared to May. He’s making every single prospect junkie re-write their reports of him after returning with a completely different hitting approach this season.

Even though Will Wilson has had a mediocre week in terms of batting average, he’s hit a baseball out of the park in three straight games. This month, Wilson’s actually swinging a cold bat to the tune of a .197 batting average, but has hit four home runs and has kept his peripherals at a strong rate. He’s bound to get hot once again soon.

Last week’s High-A West player of the week Franklin Labour only had four hits this week, but all of them went for extra bases. With two more home runs, he is now second on the team in home runs with six.

After missing a handful of games over the past two weeks with back stiffness, Patrick Bailey is back in the lineup and has already flashed his defensive prowess by throwing out a runner at third base. He’s not lived up to expectations this season but with him ramping back up to shape, he’s looking to finish the first half of his first full professional season on a high note.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Low-A

Notable Performers

Ricardo Genoves: 5 G, 19 AB, .421 AVG, 1.192 OPS, 4 2B, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K
Casey Schmitt: 2 G, 6 AB, .500 AVG, 1.238 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Jairo Pomares: 6 G, 26 AB, .346 AVG, 1.085 OPS, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 10 K
Brett Auerbach: 5 G, 19 AB, .368 AVG, .954 OPS, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 SB
Luis Toribio: 5 G, 16 AB, .125 AVG, .675 OPS, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K

It’s the same cast of characters that are doing all the heavy lifting offensively for the San Jose squad as they continue to tear up the Low-A West League. Collectively as a team, the San Jose hitters have a good formula for success: make loud contact often to make up for drawing the second-least number of walks as a team this season. With that said, they are consistently making contact by recording the fewest strikeouts in the league.

After primarily playing in the squat this season, Ricardo Genoves has started playing first base to further expand his versatility. It has not stopped him from hitting extremely well, however, as he is now batting .379 with an OPS of 1.158 with more walks than strikeouts in June. He is playing like a top-10 prospect this season.

Casey Schmitt missed three games this week after an HBP in Sunday’s game. However, he continued his hot hitting when he came back. The third baseman is batting .352 in the month of June with five home runs and continued to keep his walk and strikeout rate at a healthy rate. He is playing like the prospect many expected him to be after a freezing cold start.

It is the first full week of Jairo Pomares, and the early returns tell that he’s hitting the ball with authority more often, with his .658 SLG being much higher than the .465 that he averaged across two levels in 2019. He is doing this while posting a solid strikeout and walk rate. There is still plenty of baseball left this season but Pomares’ performance so far is exciting.

Brett Auerbach continues to surprise people with his impressive performance as the super-utility man for the San Jose squad. The starting catcher when Genoves playing first base, he is batting .361 in the month of June with five stolen bases and 10 extra bases. He really deserves a mid-season call-up.

Luis Matos snapped his 16-game hitting streak, the longest for the team since Bryan Reynolds’ 17-game streak in 2017, in last night’s game, but uncorked a game-tying home run in their series against Rancho Cucamonga.

Not exactly a scorching week for both Alex Canario and Marco Luciano, but they still hit some impressive home runs to remind fans why they are so exciting. Luis Toribio is the only bigger name whose bat really cooled off this week. He redeemed himself a bit in last night’s game with a towering shot to right. He’s still having a nice June, with a .259 AVG and .915 OPS, and he is looking to slowly improve in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned every weekend for a full rundown of the SF Giants hitting prospects on Saturday and pitching prospects on Sunday.