SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (8/28-9/10)

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Double-A

Notable Performers

David Villar: 6 G, 22 AB, .364 AVG, 1.234 OPS, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 SB
Will Wilson: 6 G, 21 AB, .333 AVG, 1.131 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 SB
Diego Rincones: 6 G, 19 AB, .368 AVG, .979 OPS, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Jacob Heyward: 3 G, 7 AB, .571 AVG, 2.321 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K

There have been a lot of breakout prospects in the Giants farm system this season. David Villar is the first prospect that you might have never heard of. With 19 home runs this season, Villar has broken the single-season record in Flying Squirrels history. What was amazing is that as the season rolls on, Villar’s batting average and strikeout rate kept getting better. Villar’s August was the best in his professional career with a .341 batting average, 1.151 OPS, nine doubles, seven homers, and a 17:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 97 plate appearances. The 2018 11th round pick has big-league potential with his ability to hit for power and solid defense at third base.

Even though the Flying Squirrels did not play for a week due to COVID issues, Will Wilson has kept his hot streak slightly going, batting .267 with two doubles in his last four games. Over the past 14 games, Wilson has a .347 batting average with a 1.051 OPS, four doubles, three home runs, and just a 22.8% strikeout rate. The strikeouts crept back up over his last four games with seven in his last 18 plate appearances, but it looks like Wilson is back. Hopefully, the start of September was not an indication that Wilson is reverting back to his strikeout-happy ways earlier.

The week off did not stop Diego Rincones‘ bat as he has a base hit in his last four games back with a hit in seven out of his last 18 plate appearances with a double and a home run. Rincones has been incredible since the start of August with a .352 batting average, .983 OPS, seven doubles, six home runs, and just a 13.4% strikeout rate. I have recently seen his ability to take a high fastball out of the park, a pitch I thought that he would struggle with at the next level. Even though he might be limited to being a DH, he has a shot to play in the big leagues once the DH is implemented in the National League.

Jacob Heyward has a definite shot to pass former Giants prospect Ricky Oropesa for the most career walks in Flying Squirrels franchise history after Heyward worked his 113th base on balls in last night’s game. Heyward has a slim chance of making the Majors being a 26-year old who struggled to perform in his second stint in Richmond with a .196 batting average and a 30% strikeout rate though he has hit 11 home runs this season. However, we have seen plenty of players reaching the big leagues in their late-20s and there’s still a shot that he makes the show.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: High-A

Notable Performers

Ismael Munguia: 11 G, 47 AB, .447 AVG, 1.109 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SB
Jairo Pomares: 11 G, 44 AB, .250 AVG, .858 OPS, 3 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 14 K, 1 SB
Sean Roby: 12 G, 45 AB, .268 AVG, .772 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 14 K, 1 SB
Marco Luciano: 11 G, 38 AB, .158 AVG, .443 OPS, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, 1 SB

There have been a lot of breakout prospects in the Giants farm system this season. Ismael Munguia is the second prospect that you might have never heard of. Among those who follow Giants’ prospects closely, however, he is highly beloved for his energy, humor, and overall love for the game. Munguia is currently in a seven-game multi-hit streak and is batting .500 since the start of August. Among qualified hitters, Munguia’s .334 batting average leads the High-A West and his .862 OPS is second. After only posting three home runs in his first three years of pro baseball, Munguia has hit nine this year showing more pop than ever. He also has the lowest strikeout rate out of all qualified hitters in the minors at 7.3%. Oh, he also has 15 steals that is third in the team. He might have a utility-type future but his performance this year warranted a top 30 spot in both Marc and my top 30 rankings.

Jairo Pomares continued his power barrage in Eugene with four home runs this week. He has proven to be able to hit a ball out wherever a pitch is located as proven by his two-homer game on August 31st where he hit one up and in and also golfing one on a low and away pitch. His strikeout rate ballooned to over 30% in Eugene, something that he must work on in the off-season, but he has reminded me of former Giant Pablo Sandoval in terms of having the ability to make hard contact on pitches that are on the edge of the strike zone.

With two home runs in the past two weeks, Sean Roby is now tied for the High-A West lead in home runs with 19 for the season. What was incredible is that 10 of those 19 home runs came from the start of August. Since August 1st, Roby has had a .624 slugging percentage and a .316 batting average. The strikeouts are there to stay with a 29.7% rate over the stretch which is consistent with his 32.1% rate this season but there is big-league potential because he is able to tap to his raw power consistently in games.

On the other side of the spectrum, Marco Luciano went back to a slump. What was fascinating was that ever since hitting his first home run in his second game as an Emerald, he has not yet hit another home run in the 30 games since with only a double and two triples to show for. It is growing pains that Luciano was learning in High-A and I expect the just turned 20-year old to attack the level with a better game plan next season.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Low-A

Notable Performers

Patrick Bailey: 11 G, 44 AB, .432 AVG, 1.260 OPS, 5 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 7 K
Yorlis Rodriguez: 9 G, 34 AB, .294 AVG, .973 OPS, 1 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K
Ghordy Santos: 11 G, 47 AB, .298 AVG, .769 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Luis Matos: 10 G, 41 AB, .171 AVG, .521 OPS, 3 2B, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 SB

This is the Patrick Bailey that Giants fans have been waiting for. Bailey started popping off on August 12 and over the 20-game stretch up to Friday night’s game, Bailey is batting .427 with a 1.300 OPS, 10 doubles, six home runs, and just a 16.3% strikeout rate. Bailey’s recent performance is a far cry from what we have seen earlier this season where he only batted .224 with a .664 OPS and a 30.4% strikeout rate in his first 21 games in San Jose, and a .185 batting average with a .587 OPS and a 27.7% strikeout rate in Eugene. Bailey has that explosion in his bat that was lacking earlier this season and has looked to be much better physically. I compared Bailey’s wake-up call to 2021 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic where he improves his conditioning during the regular season. If Bailey stays on top of his conditioning in the off-season, it’s easy to see Bailey back inside the top 10 of any Giants prospect rankings.

Yorlis Rodriguez has hit three home runs in his last four games and has brought his season total to four as a San Jose Giant. The 22-year old would have played in Low-A last season had the pandemic not happened but he is making up for the lost time, batting .271 with an OPS of .835. Having taken over third base duties after Casey Schmitt‘s 2021 season looking to be done after getting hit in the hand by a pitch, the Cuban has looked solid at the hot corner while also providing solid pop with the aforementioned four home runs along with seven doubles while also having solid bat control with a 12.8% strikeout rate.

Like Rodriguez, Ghordy Santos would have played in Low-A last season under normal conditions. He is surely making up for the lost time after getting called up to San Jose in the middle of August. The 22-year old shortstop is batting .293 with a .752 OPS, seven extra-base hits, and three stolen bases. There are concerning issues to his game, most notably his 26% strikeout rate, but Santos has solid tools aside from his power. There is a possibility that Santos could enter the top 30 rankings in the middle of next season if he will post a strong start to his 2022 season.

After reaching as high as .330 in his batting average, Luis Matos has seen his batting average dip to exactly .300 after last night’s game because he has experienced the first true slump of his professional career. In his last 17 games, Matos has only batted .167 with a .445 OPS and only three doubles in 73 plate appearances. He still has strong contact skills with only eight strikeouts over the stretch but his BABIP has been closely tied to his batting average all season long. This is the only concern against Matos: because he has average-at-best raw power, he does not produce offensively if he does not hit.

SF Giants Prospects Weekly Rundown: Rookie

Notable Performers

Aeverson Arteaga: 8 G, 32 AB, .313 AVG, .934 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 12 K
Jacob Gonzalez: 9 G, 30 AB, .367 AVG, 1.041 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Vaun Brown: 7 G, 27 AB, .444 AVG, 1.368 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 9 K, 3 SB
Onil Perez: 8 G, 24 AB, .333 AVG, 1.109 OPS, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 2 K, 3 SB

Aeverson Arteaga went to a 25-game homerless streak where he batted .298 with a .719 OPS and a 28% strikeout rate. He then went on and hit two homers in a four-game stretch and is now tied for the home run lead with Reds prospect Yerlin Confidan with nine. It made Arteaga one of only two Giants prospects who lead the ACL in a major offensive category joining Adrian Sugastey who leads the league in batting average with .358. With both Marc and I ranking Arteaga exactly as the 10th best prospect in the organization in our updated list, the future certainly looks bright for the Venezuelan.

The road has certainly been rough for 2017 second-round draft choice Jacob Gonzalez. After batting .174 with a .502 OPS in Eugene in his first 27 games of the year, the Giants sent Gonzalez down to Arizona to regain his confidence. The results have been pleasant for Jacob, as he is batting .308 with a .890 OPS, seven home runs, and a modest 18% strikeout rate. However, it is pretty tough to trust his numbers in the level as a 23-year old who is three years older than the competition while also being his second extended time in the level. Nonetheless, Jacob looks ready to face full-season ball once again next season.

The Giants drafted Vaun Brown in the 10th round of this year’s draft after drafting nine straight pitchers. Brown looks strong in his first taste of professional baseball with a .333 batting average, 1.065 OPS, 10 extra-base hits, and five steals. His performance needs to be taken into context as he is three years older than the competition because he was drafted as a redshirt senior. However, Brown’s performance in Arizona this year could earn him a spot in Eugene next season.

One of the hottest hitters in the Giants’ Dominican complex is 19-year old Onil Perez. The Dominican catcher is more known for his defense behind the dish than his offense but Perez is showing some solid potential offensively. With a 9:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 88 plate appearances, Perez is flashing a promising approach at the box with some pop to his bat. He is still one of the best defensive teenage catchers that I have watched on film and he has the potential to be relevant once he comes Stateside.

Stay tuned to Around the Foghorn for a rundown of the SF Giants pitching prospects and all the latest news and rumors from throughout the organization over the final weeks of the season.