SF Giants pitching prospects week in review (7/4-7/10)

Make sure to revisit our weekly SF Giants prospect rundowns to keep up with each of the organization’s 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

Kervin Castro: 1 G, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Tyler Cyr: 1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
Jay Jackson: 2 G, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA

With another scoreless outing this week, Kervin Castro has now thrown 12.1 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and has only allowed six hits and two walks. He’s thrown 66% of his pitches for strikes and it lowered his ERA to an impressive 3.22 in a hitter-friendly environment. He’s clearly a top-30 prospect entering the midway point of the 2021 season.

Another reliever who was impressive this week was Tyler Cyr. The 28-year old right-hander has had his ups and downs this season, with his downs mainly fueled by his 16.8% walk rate. He’s pitched two scoreless outings this month and is looking to right the ship in the second half of the season. Interestingly, Cyr has reverse splits this season (.163 vs. lefties, .200 vs. righties).

Jay Jackson has continued his fine form this week as he continued to give himself a shot at a big-league comeback. The 33-year old right-hander has only allowed just four baserunners in 10 innings pitched this season with 16 strikeouts. He’s been a master of pounding the zone with a 67% strike percentage and his fastball-slider combination resulted in a 71% groundball rate. He’s definitely worth a call-up in case the bullpen runs thin in the later stages of the season.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Double-A

Notable Performers

Caleb Kilian: 1 G, 1 GS, 1 W, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
Sean Hjelle: 2 G, 2 GS, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 9 K, 1.08 ERA
Mac Marshall: 1 G, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA

Is it fair to say that Caleb Kilian is really good? He pitched his first completegame shutout of his professional career (albeit in a doubleheader) and he’s brought his ERA even lower to 2.09. If you want to nitpick on any negative is that he ended his four-game streak of inducing double-digit whiffs with just eight in seven innings of work. Still, he’s certainly playing like a top 10 prospect right now.

After missing a bit of time due to injury, Sean Hjelle‘s back on the bump for the Flying Squirrels this week and has continued to pitch well this season with an ERA of 3.00. He’s showing that he’s losing his effectiveness when pitching the second time through a batting order. A future move to the pen is more than likely to become an effective big leaguer where he can sit in the mid-90s and become a potential late-inning option for the big league club. Then again, he can hit too.

Mac Marshall has had a rough 2021 to say the least. The 25-year old has battled injuries throughout his minor league career and this year is no different as he missed a month of action due to injury. In his return this week, he pitched two scoreless innings where 24 of his 35 pitches were strikes. The left-hander has shown his grit and work ethic to continue to achieve his big league dreams and he has the stuff to do so (low to mid-90s fastball and a 55-grade curveball).

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Austin Reich: 1 G, 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA
Ryan Walker: 2 G, 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
Seth Corry: 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 HBP, 3 BB, 7 K, 3.60 ERA
Kai-Wei Teng: 1 G, 1 GS, 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R (5 ER), 1 HBP, 3 BB, 6 K, 15.00 ERA

Much of the games for the Emeralds this week have been blowouts, so inflated ERA are to be expected. However, two pitchers out of the bullpen have been excellent this week. First is Austin Reich. The 24-year old right-hander was called up to Eugene on July 6th and pitched a flawless outing the day after. An undrafted free agent signee a couple of years ago, Reich has a very lively fastball that can reach up to 96 MPH and has a decent changeup to pair it while having a good tempo on the mound. He is looking to be quite a find.

Ryan Walker has been one of the most dominant relievers in the Emeralds squad all season long and has continued his rampage this week. The 25-year old right-hander has an ERA of 2.28 but the best part is that his FIP is only 2.63 thanks to his 42:5 strikeout to walk ratio in 27.2 innings pitched. The side-winder is an uncomfortable at-bat with his extreme crossfire action and he pounds the strike zone with a low to mid-90s fastball and a sweeping slider. It would be a shame if Walker does not see time at the Double-A level at some point soon.

On the rotation’s side of things, Seth Corry pitched one of his best outings this year and certainly the most efficient, having thrown just under 11 pitches an inning. He threw 2/3 of his pitches for strikes but two hit batters still loom large as he’s hit 13 batters this season. He’s failed to generate double-digit whiffs in his last six starts, but it’s more because hitters are not swinging at his pitches more than the quality of his stuff. Let’s see if he can hone in his stuff in the second half of the season.

I am starting to worry about the recent form of Kai-Wei Teng. He’s given up five home runs in his last three starts that resulted in a 12.54 ERA. He’s also lost the feel for his often reliable slider in his last two starts and has failed to record double-digit whiffs in his last three. He got suspended for using foreign substances and it could be that the effects are being felt only now. The big right-hander is facing the toughest stretch of this season and he is becoming one of the most volatile pitching prospects in the system.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: ACL

Notable Performers

Esmerlin Vinicio: 2 G, 2 GS, 1 W, 9.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R (1 ER), 8 BB, 8 K, 0.96 ERA
Manuel Mercedes: 2 G, 2 GS, 8 IP, 10 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 HBP, 5 BB, 10 K, 4.50 ERA
Trevor McDonald: 1 G, 1 GS, 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R (5 ER), 2 HBP, 2 BB, 1 K, 11.25 ERA

With more than a week of action in the books, it is now time to look at the top pitching prospects in the Arizona backfields. The first one is left-hander Esmerlin Vinicio, the top pitcher in the 2019 IFA class based on a signing bonus. The southpaw was effectively wild in his two starts for the Giants Black squad, as his eight walks in just over nine innings stand out the most because he is more known as a pitchability lefty when he was still an amateur. It will be interesting to see his progress throughout the season.

The other two of the best pitching prospects are in the Giants Orange squad, and it is being led by Manuel Mercedes. The Dominican right-hander has the tools to dream on: prototypical frame, plus athleticism, present mid-90s velocity, and loose arm action. The teenager has been a bit wild early on but has the present stuff to overpower Rookie ball hitting. Mercedes has overtaken Vinicio in terms of potential in my opinion, and I’m excited for what the future brings for him.

The third and final top pitching prospect is the 2019 11th round selection Trevor McDonald. McDonald was a bit wilder than others in his professional pitching debut, but he’s flashed good control as an amateur and has the stuff (low-90s fastball with hard sink and a sweeping slider) from the unique arm slot (low 3/4 arm slot with a flat approach angle) to succeed. He should be fine.

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