Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels

Pitchers (continued)

Clay Helvey

Helvey regressed mightily last season in Sacramento which resulted in him getting demoted back to Richmond where he did not get much better. The situation was slightly akin to what happened with Matt Frisbee with him struggling to get hitters to whiff on his fastball that can reach up to 96 mph and a solid curveball. He's also struggled to throw strikes in the small ABS of the PCL.

Wil Jensen

Jensen was another one of the reliable arms that the Flying Squirrels relied upon last season be it in the rotation or the bullpen. He relied upon his pitch-to-contact skills with his low-90s fastball, curveball, and changeup. A bit of a vanilla operation but he's been effective as a reliable innings-eater in the places that he pitched.

Tanner Kiest

Kiest spent the last season with the Giants after signing a Minor League contract before the 2023 ACL season started and pitched in Eugene to finish his first Minor League season since 2018. His fastball plays up in the strike zone where it can reach 96 mph at its best due to his quite deceptive delivery with a good tempo and a lower-than-usual arm slot. His mid-80 slider features plenty of frisbee sweeping movement where he can be a menace against righties.

Ryan Murphy (#29 prospect)

When healthy, Murphy has as good of a chance at sticking in a rotation role out of any pitching prospect in the organization. His fastball tops out at 95 mph and has sat in the low 90s for most of the season. It's been a hittable pitch throughout his Double-A stint going back to last year so he has to spot it in the zone to succeed accurately. His slider evolved to a harder and better offering, now a mid-80s offering with a tighter break. He also has a high-80s cutter now that he throws with confidence. His changeup is still decent while his curveball has been sparingly thrown now. His control can be on and off but when healthy have shown good pitchability and good strike-throwing.

Tyler Myrick

Myrick was straight up one of the best relievers in baseball from a performance standpoint and is looking to build upon his dominant 2023 for a potential big-league shot this season. The fastball still touches 96 mph with a four-seam and two-seam variety where he generates plenty of backspin with the four-seamer that hitters struggle to catch up to it up in the zone. The high-80s slider is also a legitimate strikeout pitch for him as velocity is the biggest dictator of success with the pitch. He can also vary the tempo of his windup to even catch hitters off guard.

Mat Olsen

Olsen has a herky-jerky motion with a great tempo and was able to extend his body so forward from the rubber that it helped his fastball "look" faster. Even though in actuality, the fastball velocity is likely only in the 91-96 mph range. The hard, low-80s curveball also looked good for his other primary pitch. He improved his strike-throwing last season and will look to build upon what is a strong bounce-back 2023.

Carson Ragsdale

Ragsdale was the best pitcher in the Emeralds staff in the early months of last season once Whisenhunt was promoted. Unfortunately, he was shut down due to injury at the end of May. He still flashed the combination of great stuff thanks to his low-to-mid-90s fastball, a cutter that he recently added, and a knee-buckling curveball while also having a great feel for the zone. He could easily move through the system.

Eric Silva

Silva was poised to take the next step in his development but took several steps back, particularly with his control, which resulted in him pitching his final outings out of the bullpen. If what he has shown this spring is an indication though where he was constantly hitting 95 and up to 97 mph with his fastball which was in line with his 2022 self this spring, then a major bounceback year might be happening.

Nick Swiney

Swiney was pretty impressive when he was in Richmond last season but was roughed up pretty badly when he got promoted to Sacramento. He's a junkballer with high-80s velocity in his fastball but greatly favors throwing his changeup and curveball much more to hide his now below-average velocity. The control is also an issue with him throwing so many secondaries, or primaries in his case.