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

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: 6 G, 25 AB, .360 AVG, .968 OPS, 1 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Joey Bart: 4 G, 18 AB, .333 AVG, .813 OPS, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
Jaylin Davis: 5 G, 19 AB, .263 AVG, 1.023 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K

Another week, another stellar performance from Thairo Estrada. It seems like it is now to be expected from him to perform well every single week, especially this week where there are a bunch of veteran Giants that are in their rehab assignments. Even though his defense in the dirt has been average at best, his bat definitely warrants some time in the big leagues.

Joey Bart is continuing to pound the drum towards a call back to the big league club with another strong week on both sides of the ball. He nabbed Jo Adell at second base as part of a double play alongside hitting .333 at the plate. His .248 ISO this season is the highest of his career since Rookie Ball and his wRC+ this season is at 133, proving that even in a hitter-friendly league, Bart’s bat is still well above-average.

Many fans remember Jaylin Davis‘ stellar stint in Sacramento a couple of years ago that led to a short stint in the big leagues. His prospect stock has fallen sharply since. However, his return to the team a couple of weeks ago and the subsequent hot week has proven that he’s taking small steps to regaining his lost stock. With the big league squad having an immense depth at the outfield position, Davis should have plenty of time in Sacramento to regain his confidence.

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.