Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the High-A Eugene Emeralds

We have been reviewing each of the SF Giants minor leagues affiliates just as the 2024 season is getting underway. We started with the Sacramento River Cats on Monday and moved to the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Tuesday. Next up: The Eugene Emeralds.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the High-A Eugene Emeralds

Players in the IL

Will Bednar
Brett Standlee
Aeverson Arteaga
Jared Dupere
Jairo Pomares

Pitchers

Daniel Blair

Blair was highly effective in San Jose last season as a piggyback reliever but his fringy strikeout tendencies got exposed when he was exposed in Eugene where he was mainly used as a starter. His fastball has a great life above the strike zone that tops out at 96 mph. He is a very good athlete who has a great tempo on the mound. His main secondary pitch is a low-80s slider with good sweeping movement at best and also has sparingly thrown a changeup.

Jack Choate (#35 prospect)

Choate should have plenty of intrigue as a deceptive lefty arm. His fastball only sits in the low-90s but generates plenty of deception with his crossfire, low 3/4 slinging delivery. Pair it with his very tall presence on the mound gives his heater a unique look to hitters. His changeup and slider both flash promise with the slider having plenty of sweep and his changeup flashing great fading action. His control looked solid for the most part as he's shown that he can control the tempo of his mechanics. An uptick in velocity might be unlikely, but he has the ingredients to become a big-league arm.

Seth Corry

Injuries and strike-throwing troubles continued to plague Corry in 2023. The stuff though still looks like the Corry of old, and that's something that keeps him as a prospect. His low-90s fastball has plenty of sink and his low-80s changeup and high-70s curveball are still above-average to plus pitches at their best.

Luckily, the Giants were able to bring back Corry after he reached free agency in the winter.

Cameron Cotter

Cotter was a reliable arm whenever he got the call for San Jose last season in relief. He has a complete arsenal of pitches with a fastball that can touch in the mid-90s with a slider, curveball, and changeup. He throws from a downhill plane with a slight tilt in his pitching motion. He throws plenty of strikes and knows how to make hitters chase with his breaking balls.

Dylan Cumming

Cumming pitched in a variety of roles for the Giants this season and was a reliable option whenever he got the call. The low-80s frisbee was Cumming's best pitch that he used to make a lot of Low-A hitters look silly while also having decent control of his low-90s sinker from a sidearm slot as well as a fringy changeup. The effectiveness of his slider from a lower-than-usual arm slot should help him develop into a reliable reliever and could potentially reach the big leagues in his late 20s. 

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the High-A Eugene Emeralds

Pitchers (continued)

Hunter Dula

Dula had a strong season in Eugene that resulted in him getting promoted to Richmond where he struggled as hitters made much more contact against him. His fastball sits in the low-90s and he can get up to 95 mph with good life up in the zone. He compliments it with a high-70s curveball with good depth. He threw strikes in Eugene but struggled in Richmond.

Seth Lonsway

Lonsway had a very interesting season where his numbers did not look great but was heavily beaten up by balls in play and his extremely high walk rate. Despite that, however, the stuff is still there. The low-90s sinker still generates plenty of groundballs but not as high as it did in 2022. The big curveball is still the best pitch in his arsenal which is an extremely volatile pitch as it regressed in terms of control. His slider/cutter-like pitch is still there but its control also took a hit and the changeup still looked solid at best.

Ben Madison

Like several pitchers that got promoted to the high-Minors, Madison has seen his control regress considerably after showing off wipeout stuff in Eugene last season. He still has the mid-90s fastball with good life up in the zone that elicits plenty of swings and misses that he pairs up with a mid-80s slider that has great depth, but he's struggled to throw the fastball for strikes in Richmond, unlike in Eugene.

Manuel Mercedes

Mercedes logged the most innings in the San Jose pitched staff last season as he honed in his control with a much better walk rate. He dedicated himself to becoming a full-time sinkerballer where his 92-96 mph bowling ball managed to generate a high groundball rate but at the expense of his ability to generate whiffs. He still has a mid-80s slider to rely upon as his secondary pitch but the changeup moves similarly to his sinker so it is not a true swing-and-miss pitch.

Matt Mikulski

Mikulski continued to flounder as a pro with an over-inflated ERA while flashing stuff and control that looked nowhere near his college self which earned him a second-round selection a couple of years ago. The fastball was in the high-80s with decent life but can still get hitters to swing and miss at the top of the zone due to his herky-jerky delivery. That same delivery is the reason for his massive control issues. He can spin a good slider at times, but he is projected to be a one-inning lefty reliever.

Nick Morreale

Morreale has been stuck in Eugene for the past few seasons now and yet has continued to prove his worth to the team, providing great peripherals. His fastball touches 95 mph with decent life and is thrown from a downhill plane where he also cuts it quite well. The slider is his biggest strikeout pitch with good depth but he lacks a good pitch that moves inside righties to expand the strike zone.

Julio Rodriguez

Rodriguez did not have a good ERA and is a bit of an elder statesman already but he's continued to show development in terms of his stuff. He is now up to 97 mph with his fastball and he generates good life up in the zone due to the lower-than-usual release height brought upon by his low 3/4 arm slot. His best secondary pitch is his slider which has good depth and has shown to vary the depth to generate more though it is not exactly by design.

Nick Sinacola

Sinacola's high ERA last season was a result of some clunkers, but he is as nasty as anyone in the Giants system when he’s on, capable of generating upwards of 20 whiffs in a start. His fastball topped out at 96 mph last season with a slider that flashed plus and a splitter that flashed above average. The biggest issue for Sinacola is the widely varying fastball velocity as he's been in the high-80s in one start and up to 95 in the other.

Tyler Vogel

Vogel struck out the most batters as a San Jose Giant last season and while he had some occasional flare-ups, he pitched better than what his ERA would suggest. He is a great athlete with a smooth delivery that helped him generate good control of his arsenal when he’s on. His fastball topped out at 97 mph last season with good life up in the zone, a curveball that flashed plus with good power and depth while also having a decent changeup.

Hayden Wynja

The extra-tall Wynja towers at around 6'9", giving him the intimidation factor on the mound. His fastball sits in the low-90s but can look a tick or two harder due to his height and a smooth delivery that has a true 3/4 arm slot. His best pitch is his slider that flashes plus with a late break. He also has a changeup but is fringy at best. He can throw strikes but does struggle to find a consistent run of success.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the High-A Eugene Emeralds

Position Players

Scott Bandura (#38 prospect)

Bandura is an intriguing athlete with a very projectable frame and already decent raw power. He has good speed but projects to slow down as he fills up his frame. His swing is somewhat reminiscent of Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager in terms of the lower half flexibility while having a solid uphill bat path. His plate discipline also looks good against low-A competition. This is the kind of small-school project that could break out with improvements in his frame and swing.

Justin Bench

Bench had an abbreviated 2023 season with the Giants where he played for the squad in the second half of the season but did not finish it through. His swing is more geared towards line-to-line contact with an easy swing path but not a lot of explosion. He has below-average power and will likely be a doubles than a homers guy. He has good speed and he takes advantage of it in the base paths as a solid baserunner and base stealer while also providing him versatility on defense where he can play both in the infield and outfield.

Garrett Frechette

Frechette has not performed up to par throughout his pro career but gets a shot with Eugene as their first baseman this season. Frechette has an easy-looking swing where he just flips his hips and turns his bat to generate easy pull power but has struggled to make below-average contact at best. His eye at the plate did not change much throughout the years and has struggled with chase pitches. His defense at first base is average.

Thomas Gavello

Gavello served as San Jose's utility man playing third base, second base, and behind the dish last season while leading the team in home runs. He has legitimate contact issues but his uphill swing path allows him to hit double-digit homers every season. His peak power potential might be fringy at best though. He is an average runner with a strong arm but has to work more on his craft if he wants to become a legitimate catcher.

Matt Higgins

Higgins showed why he was one of the underrated power-hitting prospects in the Giants farm system last season. His frame is already fully baked but it is a compact ball of energy. He is capable of turning on one with high exit velocities and has enough uphill in his swing path to hit long homers and plenty of doubles the other way. He does struggle with breaking balls and general contact but the power is there. Outside of the power, no one tool stands out as average with well below-average speed and below-average defense at first base.

Turner Hill

Hill got the job done last season after getting trusted to the center field role that Carter Howell vacated after he got promoted to Eugene. He's shown the ability to steal bases at a high rate and also has plus range in the outfield where he's been at least a solid defender. His bat is light but he's shown the ability to control the strike zone and take advantage of his speed by hitting the gaps.