Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats

The Sacramento River Cats embarks on another season in the Pacific Coast League in 2024. This year's roster, however, might be the most important for the SF Giants in recent memory due to the high number of talented young players that are in the roster that are knocking on the big league door. They are looking to make themselves potential cornerstone players for the Giants not just this season but most importantly, beyond.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats

Development should still be at the forefront and they will be led by the River Cats manager Dave Brundage with hitting coach Damon Minor and fundamentals coach Jolbert Rivera also returning. There are also new faces on the coaching staff with Alan Quijano joining the staff after serving as the Eugene Emeralds' pitching coach for the past three seasons and assistant hitting coach Robert Riggins who previously served as the hitting coach for the DSL Giants Black for the past two seasons. Alongside a plethora of strength and conditioning and video staff, the River Cats should have a better season this year compared to last year.

Players in the IL

Dariel Lopez (#33 prospect)
Thomas Szapucki
Cole Waites
Chris Wright

Pitchers

Tanner Andrews

Andrews returns to Sacramento after a slightly disappointing 2023 season where he pitched to the tune of 5.74 ERA and a strikeout rate that is the lowest since the Minor League reshuffle. He still throws hard with a fastball that can reach up to 98 mph but has struggled to maintain a consistent shape with it. His feature pitch, however, is an 83-87 mph splitter that induces plenty of swings and misses at its best. He also has an 82-86 mph slider but can tend to cross the line of generating some screwball action instead of breaking away from a righty hitter.

Nick Avila

The Giants deployed Avila all over last season, appearing across all nine innings where he went 14-0 as an opener, a middle reliever, or the closer. He started the year with the River Cats but has since been called up to the Giants. His fastball has good life where it sits in the 92-96 mph range and he pairs it with an 86-90 mph cutter/slider that he can take a bit off the velocity to generate more depth.

Spencer Bivens

The right-handed hurler performed well in a high-usage bullpen role last year, posting a 3.68 ERA in 33 outings, including a 3.69 ERA in 78 innings with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He is not a high-strikeout guy, instead relying on a low-90s bowling ball sinker that is hard to get under, especially when thrown down in the zone. He pairs it with a low-80s slider with good depth and an occasional changeup.

Mason Black (#10 prospect)

Black has a two-pitch combo that he relies on whether his ultimate role will be either in the rotation or in the bullpen. His 92-96 mph fastball has plenty of run and his low 3/4 arm slot gives the pitch a flat vertical plane. It could tick up once he throws in shorter stints. He experimented with his slider but still preferred the low-80s variety with big sweeping action though has a mid-80s variety with a tighter break. He's trotted out a new changeup this season with a splitter grip but it is still far from the third pitch that he needed. He is a strike-thrower with good stuff; two essential elements of a MLB pitcher.

R.J. Dabovich

Dabovich is returning from a hip surgery that he underwent last June. At his best, his fastball can hit up to 97 mph with great life up in the zone due to his over-the-top release point allowing him to backspin the ball very well. It's a vertical-oriented operation as he pairs the rising fastball with a mid-80s knuckle curveball with a sharp break and a 12-6 shape. Regaining his peak control is the key for Dabovich to earn a big-league gig.

Blayne Enlow

Across six minor league seasons, Enlow has posted a 4.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, and a 2.62 SO/W ratio. This includes a 7.94 ERA in 45.1 frames in Triple-A this past season. Once a former top prospect in the Twins system, he had his fair share of injuries that affected his career. He has two pitches in his arsenal: a fastball where he mainly employs a low-90s cutter while he can sometimes throw a sinker to get hitters thinking. His best pitch though is a low-80s slider that he can vary its depth by adding and subtracting velocity, reaching as high as 85 mph.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats

Pitchers (continued)

Justin Garza

The Giants have signed former Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians pitcher to a minor league deal. An eighth-round pick by the Guardians in the 2015 draft out of California State University - Fullerton, has a mid-90s four-seamer with good life up in the zone due to his drop and drive delivery giving him a lower release height than average. He pairs it with a low-80s sweeper with good depth and a mid-80s changeup to get lefties off-balanced.

Spencer Howard

In parts of four seasons in the majors, Howard has struggled to the tune of a 7.20 ERA in 38 appearances. But that does not mean that he should not be given one more shot at the big leagues. He has four pitches, a 92-96 mph fastball with good life, and an 84-87 mph slider that elicits swing and misses against both lefties and righties. He sparingly throws a low-80s changeup and a big high-70s curveball to keep hitters in check.

Daulton Jefferies

Jefferies is a Northern California native as he grew up in Merced County and played collegiately at Cal before being drafted in the first round of the 2016 draft by the A's. He's struggled with his health over the years, with him missing most of 2022 and the entire 2023 season following Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgeries.

He looked the Jefferies of old when he returned with a fastball that sits in the low-90s with good tailing movement that he can use to front-door lefties. His changeup is still a weapon with good fading action paired with convincing arm speed. His slider is still a solid third pitch for him, primarily used against righties.

Randy Rodriguez (#44 prospect)

No matter what you think about his control, Rodriguez still has some of the best pure stuff in the organization. His fastball wildly fluctuates in velocity but at best can hit the high-90s regularly but at times will top out at 95 mph. It still benefits from the low release point giving it more rise as well as plenty of run from his low 3/4 slot. The breaking ball is still plenty nasty with tons of sweep and good depth at a low to mid-80s range. The problem that has plagued Randy is the control which fluctates wildly. If the Giants can coach him up to remove some of his control and let the stuff play, he will be a big leaguer.

Tommy Romero

Romero had short big-league stints with the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals during the 2022 season but has otherwise been a career minor leaguer. He primarily has a north-south operation on the mound, with a fastball that sits around 89-91 mph but has good life and at times achieves a rare "cut rise" movement. He pairs up his heater with a low-80s slider that can dip to the high-70s at times if he wants to generate more depth. There is also a low-80 splitter that has a little less depth compared to his slider but has some tail.

Juan Sanchez

Sanchez is one of the most promising under-the-radar prospects in the Giants farm system. He has a deceptive delivery where he incorporates rotation and drop and drive elements a la Josh Hader with less explosion on the mound. He has plus secondaries in his mid-80s slider with bullet-like spin and a mid-80s changeup with great depth and tail that he uses the most out of his repertoire. His fastball has some sink but sits in the 93-97 mph range and has plenty of tailing movement.

Carson Seymour (#16 prospect)

Seymour has quite a lively arm. His fastball can touch up to 98 mph where he can sink and throw it with good life up in the zone. The velocity was a couple of ticks down earlier last season but was back to normalcy once he regained his strength. His best secondary pitch is an 84-89 mph slider that has varying depth where it can be mistaken for a cutter at times. There is still a low-80s curveball and a high-80s changeup in the bag but they are more of a get-me-over pitches now. Once he was back to normal, Seymour could easily fill the zone with his power fastball-slider combo.

Cody Stashak

Stashak was originally a 13th-round pick by the Twins in the 2015 draft out of St. John's University. St. John's University is the same school former Giant Joe Panik attended. His best pitch is a standout low-80s slider with good depth and not a lot of frisbee action. He pairs it with a low 90's four-seam fastball and an occasional changeup. Opposing hitters have struggled against the slider, posting just a .181 batting average against it.

Carson Whisenhunt (#5 prospect)

Whisenhunt showed significant improvements and could have reached the big leagues last season had he stayed healthy. His signature changeup is still the go-to pitch, a low-to-mid 80s offering with the ideal combination of fade, drop, velocity separation, and deception out of his hand. His fastball ticked up and has reached 97 mph, sitting 92-95 with solid movement while retaining his good feel of the zone for both pitches. His curveball has power thrown in the 78-81 mph range but needs more confidence in throwing it. The fastball-changeup combo gives him a strong floor as a back-end starter but a true third pitch, perhaps developing a cutter, could take his game to the next level.

Everything SF Giants fans need to know about the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats

Hitters (continued)

Chase Pinder

Pinder is the younger brother of Chad Pinder, who is a seven-year MLB veteran who played for the Oakland Athletics. Pinder had been a productive player throughout his career but lacked a standout and seemed to profile as a potential fourth outfielder at the next level capable of playing all three outfield positions. He has displayed a clear preference to hit against lefty pitchers so a path for him could be as a platoon bat.

Heliot Ramos (#19 prospect)

Ramos has been a prospect for far too long it seems. His power Is still a plus but his propensity to chase caps out his offensive potential. He's done a better job of getting the ball in the air last season and looks to improve his contact ability further. He's slowed down quite a bit over the years and is now only a fit in the corners defensively. He still has a strong arm, though, which should help him have value in the right field.

Jakson Reetz

Reetz to a minor-league contract last June and has spent his entire year in Triple-A. His bat will be fringy at the very best but he is a reliable backstop with good rapport towards the pitching staff. He's dabbled with playing in the corner outfield ever since being acquired by the Giants and was a surprisingly solid defender at the position. He is in a bit of a roster crunch though.

Blake Sabol

Last year's post-Rule 5 acquisition gets demoted after spending the 2023 season in the big leagues. Sabol held his own for a prospect who barely played above Double-A but needed more development. He displayed a solid feel for the zone, contact ability, and some power. His ultimate power ceiling might be more on fringy to average, however. His defense behind the dish still needs plenty of work to be passable as he needs to improve every facet of it. He looked solid in left field, though, so that is a decent fallback option.

Casey Schmitt

It was an interesting year for Schmitt as he started his rookie season hot but cooled down when pitchers finally figured out his tendencies. The big league competition exploited his over-aggressiveness at the plate, frequently chasing pitches out of the zone that limited his contact quality. He still flashed solid pop but his streakiness hampered his production. He's played all over the infield instead of focusing on his best position which is third base. He's still flashed Gold Glove potential but there were also the occasional unusual errors that he would commit.

David Villar

Villar struggled mightily in the big leagues last season where he was relegated to the Minors twice and his role getting smaller as time passed. He was still posting solid offensive numbers last season with Sacramento but far from the offensive boom that he had a couple of seasons ago. He patrolled both corner infield positions last year but now projects to play at first with Casey Schmitt manning the hot corner.

Donovan Walton

At least at the big-league level, Walton's tenure in San Francisco has been mired by injuries and poor performances. As a minor leaguer, he has been decent with a solid offensive line but with minimal pop to his swing. He can play a variety of positions but mainly focused in the middle infield last season. He might not be an everyday big leaguer but he should be a solid organizational piece.

Brett Wisely

Wisely bounced around a couple of times between Sacramento and San Francisco but spent the final two months of the season in the state capital. He's had a solid 2023 offensively where his understanding of the strike zone stands out. He has a sound swing from the left side and is a solid defender at second base. The only issue that he has is that he lacks the power to become a standout player but is a reliable utility guy.