SF Giants prospects: Midseason MVPs at each level

The middle of the 2021 minor league season has passed, and there have been plenty of memorable moments all across the SF Giants farm system over the past two and a half months. While some levels have had more standout performances than others, each team has had a Most Valuable Player on each side of the field.

This is not the highest-ranked prospect at each respective level, but the player that made the biggest impact for their team on the mound or in the lineup through the first half. There is a saying that “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” so expect plenty of prospects who struggled in the first half of the season to bounce back to finish their 2021 campaigns and vice versa.

It’s now time to name the hitting and pitching MVPs for each level for the first half of the 2021 season.

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
Triple-A hitting: SS Thairo Estrada

It is a pretty easy choice. The best hitter for the River Cats in the first half of the 2021 season is Thairo Estrada. He is not the most productive hitter for the River Cats this season, being only fifth in both home runs, runs batted in, and runs scored. However, among all River Cats hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, he leads the team in batting average, OBP, and wRC+.  He is also second in SLG and OPS. Even though Estrada’s defense leaves a bit to be desired, his offensive production deserves to be in the majors, especially with all the injuries currently in the infield.

Runner-up: OF Joe McCarthy

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
Triple-A pitching: RHP Kervin Castro

Even though Kevin Castro‘s present numbers look mediocre in the first half of the season, the right-hander really turned it on from June onwards while his other fellow relievers went in the other direction. It’s also worth noting how hitter-friendly the Triple-A West league has plated historically. Nevertheless, Castro’s 4.00 ERA is nothing to scoff at.

Since June, Castro has a 2.25 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched, throwing 65% of his pitches for strikes, and an 18% swinging-strike rate. He’s really trending up as he attacks hitters from north-to-south with his mid-90s fastball with a hard curveball. We could see Castro don the orange and black some time this season if he continues this strong form.

Runners-up: LHP Sammy Long & RHP Jay Jackson

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
Double-A hitting: 1B Frankie Tostado

There is no more worthy of a hitter to win the mid-season MVP for the Richmond Flying Squirrels than Frankie Tostado. The first baseman leads the team in hits, RBI, and batting average, and is second in doubles, and SLG. A team-leading .363 BABIP fuels Tostado’s performance but performing the way he has in a pitcher-friendly league speaks volumes to how much the 23-year old has improved. His well-rounded .288/.332/.486 triple-slash suggests he should be ready for Triple-A competition whenever he gets the call. His eight home runs may not stand out, but we have seen plenty of power hitters have a spike in home runs once they leave Double-A East and head for Triple-A West.

Runner-up: 3B David Villar

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
Double-A pitching: RHP Caleb Kilian

Matt Frisbee was unhittable at Double-A early in the season and would have run away with this award had he not been so quickly promoted to Triple-A, but needless to say, he only made four starts. After getting promoted to Double-A, Caleb Kilian‘s done nothing but dominate. His 2.21 ERA is second in all of Double-A Northeast with a complimentary 2.29 FIP. He also leads the team in innings pitched, and among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched, he allowed the least walks and is second in strikeouts, hits allowed, and runs allowed.

The 2019 8th rounder has seen his stock shoot up massively with the ability to consistently command his mid-90s fastball in and out of the zone. There has not a better performing pitcher in the Giants farm system than Kilian.

Runners-up: RHP Matt Frisbee & RHP Sean Hjelle

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
High-A hitting: OF Diego Rincones

It was hard to choose the offensive MVP award for the Emeralds. The Giants have had plenty of prospects have incredible bursts of production at High-A. However, most of the team’s hitters have also shown signs of streakiness, with plenty of cold spells. Yet, one player remained the most consistent hitter before he was promoted to Double-A, Diego Rincones.

Rincones had one of the best May’s of any hitter in the organization, and that helped earned him a spot in the Venezuelan Olympic team, where he was a key cog of their squad. Among all hitters with 100 plate appearances for the Emeralds, Rincones has the highest batting average, SLG, OPS, and wRC+. Even though Rincones’ counting stats are now buried due to his limited appearances, but he was certainly the Emeralds’ best hitter whenever he was in the lineup.

Runner-up: INF Tyler Fitzgerald

SF Giants midseason minor league MVPs
High-A pitching: RHP Caleb Kilian

Even though it’s just four starts, those four starts by Kilian in Eugene before getting promoted to Richmond still echo loudly compared to the rest of the Eugene pitching this year. Perhaps more importantly, no pitcher has stepped up in place of him since his promotion. Among all pitchers that started at least four games for Eugene this year, Kilian leads the team in ERA at 1.25. The pitcher with the second-lowest mark is Seth Corry, with a 5.40 ERA. Kilian also had the lowest FIP with 1.11, with Aaron Phillips having the second-lowest with 4.78. Kilian dominated, and no other starter has even approached league-average production to this point in the season, making Kilian the sole player who appears twice on this list.

Runner-up: RHP R.J. Dabovich