SF Giants pitching prospects week in review (7/25-7/31)

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

Camilo Doval: 1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Sam Wolff: 1 G, 1 GS, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Gerson Garabito: 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 1 K, 1.50 ERA

I chose Camilo Doval as one of the potential Giants prospects that could be moved at the trade deadline because he’s been struggling all season long and takes up a 40-man roster spot but is still really promising due to his sheer stuff. Well, that sheer stuff came to play this week where he recorded a pitch that clocked in at 104.5. The Giants brass likely thought that Doval’s stuff is too good to let go at the moment and it was evident in his most dominant outing as a River Cat this season.

Sam Wolff saw himself as an opener this week for the River Cats and he pitched a clean inning against an excellent Reno Aces lineup. Wolff is already 30 years old and has yet to pitch in the big leagues so there are limited expectations on him at the moment. However, we have seen Jay Jackson come back in the big leagues in his early-30s and I am not counting out the possibility of Wolff reaching the big leagues in the near future because his stuff is still really good with a mid-90s fastball and a solid slider.

Rounding out the River Cats review this week is Gerson Garabito pitching an effective start for the Sacramento squad with six innings of one-run ball. Strike-throwing was Garabito’s issue in his start with four walks and only threw 58% of his pitches for strikes. The Dominican has a 5.29 ERA across nine starts for the River Cats this season and it’s unlikely that he will see big league time this year.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Double-A

Notable Performers

Sean Hjelle: 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA
R.J. Dabovich: 3 G, 1 SV, 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA
Caleb Kilian: 1 G, 1 GS, 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 6.75 ERA
Jose Marte: 2 G, 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Sean Hjelle has posted his fourth straight start allowing runners to score with a 4.29 ERA over the stretch. A recurring theme for Hjelle all season long is him having a rather small gas tank, pitching excellently through the first three innings with a 1.49 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched but running out of gas when the lineup bats around with a 6.85 ERA and just 21 strikeouts in 22.1 innings from the fourth inning onwards. In his latest start, however, he gave up a two-run homer in the third inning but finished the game strong with three scoreless innings. Hjelle looks much more suited in the bullpen long-term as a back-end option due to his effectiveness in short bursts.

Out of the bullpen, R.J. Dabovich has been tough as nails this week with two dominant appearances reminiscent of his performances at High-A earlier this year. Excluding his five-run outing on July 2, Dabovich has been solid with a 2.08 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of work. Other relievers this week who were also effective were Patrick Ruotolo with three scoreless innings of work and newcomer Matt Seelinger with 1.2 scoreless innings.

I would end the Richmond review with a couple of words about Caleb Kilian and Jose Marte. I drafted both Kilian and Marte in our Giants Farm System Draft (Kilian falling to me in the third round and Marte as my final pick) and both were traded (Kilian to the Cubs, Marte to the Angels). I was a big fan of them and losing them in the farm system hurts.

Both Kilian and Marte have underlying flaws in their game (Kilian’s average whiff rate and questionable secondary quality, Marte’s inconsistent control). Nonetheless, both were awesome pitchers to follow all season long, especially Kilian who was a fixture of my weekly reviews because of his performance this season. Hopefully, he and Marte will have successful big-league careers.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Kai-Wei Teng: 1 G, 1 GS, 1 W, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA
Taylor Rashi: 2 G, 1 W, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA
Chris Wright: 2 G, 1 W, 1 SV, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA

After a little over a month, Kai-Wei Teng finally twirled in a scoreless start for the Emeralds this week, with five shutout innings of two-hit ball. His prospect stock took a massive nosedive after pitching to the tune of 10.80 ERA in five starts from June 27 to July 21 and has only thrown 56% of his pitches for strikes. He’s lost the feel to finish off hitters over the stretch even though he’s still inducing whiffs with a 31.1% whiff rate. Hopefully, this start is the beginning of the upswing for Teng towards a strong finish to the season.

Out of the bullpen, Taylor Rashi had a dominant week capped off by a dominant performance against the Aqua Sox where all six outs came via the strikeout. The right-hander has a 7.1 inning scoreless streak with 13 strikeouts and just three baserunners allowed. The 2019 23rd round selection out of UC-Irvine has plenty of deception with his funky mechanics where even though he does not hinge well in his back leg well, it results in a slight crossfire and an over-the-top release point which gives his low-to-mid 90s fastball and curveball extra effectiveness.

Speaking of scoreless streaks, Emeralds closer Chris Wright is currently on a 12.1 innings scoreless streak that has already spanned a month of action with 14 strikeouts. He is still generating a good whiff rate of 35.8% but it is below the absurd 52% that he posted in his first 14 appearances. The walks have also been an issue for the left-hander with a 16.4% walk rate in his scoreless streak. Wright is still an awesome reliever having a breakout season, but he needs a good finish to be considered a true top 30 prospects.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Low-A

Notable Performers

Ryan Murphy: 1 G, 1 GS, 1 W, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K, 0.00 ERA
Prelander Berroa: 1 G, 1 GS, 1 W, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 10 K, 1.80 ERA
Juan Sanchez: 2 G, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 9 K, 1.80 ERA

Two starting pitchers in the San Jose rotation put an exclamation mark on an eye-popping July. First, is Ryan Murphy who was absolutely brilliant this month with a 1.74 ERA and struck out an eye-popping 48.7% of hitters faced and posted a 38.65% whiff rate. I got a chance to talk to Ryan before his well-deserved promotion to Eugene where he detailed the adjustments that he made to unlock a new gear on the mound. With above-average secondaries to pair with his above-average control and 91-95 MPH tailing fastball on the mound, the 21-year old had the look of a second-round pitcher if he decided to enter the draft this year.

Another pitcher who had a fantastic July is Prelander Berroa. He was incredible this month with a 1.60 ERA and he’s struck out 44 batters in 33.2 innings of work while only allowing nine walks across six starts. The thing that put Berroa slightly behind Murphy in terms of overall dominance this month in my opinion is the strikeout rate, with Berroa only striking out 33.85% of batters faced and only had a 28.4% whiff rate. His high-90s tailing fastball that he was flashing command was more than enough against Low-A competition but the 21-year old definitely needs to improve the location and execution of his vertical slider that often hangs in the upper half of the zone as well as refining his changeup. If he can do that within the next 8 months, the sky is the limit for him.

Out of the bullpen, Venezuela lefty Juan Sanchez has flashed the swing and miss stuff in the San Jose bullpen all season long with a near 40% strikeout rate and 36.2% whiff rate. Since his last nine games, however, he took his game to another level with a 1.62 ERA and a 43.33% strikeout rate. The big left-hander generates a high number of swing and miss that results to strikeouts by sticking to a simple gameplan: utilize his fastball and curveball against lefties, and his fastball and changeup to righties. He has an interesting windup with good stuff across the board. He is an interesting prospect to follow.

Before I end the San Jose Giants review, I’m going to say a few words about Ivan Armstrong. The big fella has been interesting follow out of the pen this season and he’s met my expectations this season as a big reliever with the ability to touch 98 MPH with a near side-arm slot and a pretty nasty slider. The Angels got themselves a solid relief building block as the final piece in the Tony Watson trade.