SF Giants 2022 10th-round pick earns Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors

Like how one person changes clothes, the SF Giants yet again have another pitching prospect garnering weekly awards in the Minor Leagues. In the first week of the season, both Mason Black and Dylan Carmouche won Pitchers of the Week. Dylan Cumming followed suit the week after. This week, it is John Michael Bertand's turn to win the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

SF Giants 2022 10th-round pick earns Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors

Wearing their good-looking River City jerseys, Bertrand was perfect for seven innings against a talented Bowie Baysox lineup last Saturday with four strikeouts along the way. Bertrand was not the most overpowering pitcher in the world but he was an extremely quick worker on the mound and was able to get Baysox hitters off-balance with his sinker-slider-changeup mix from a 3/4 arm slot.

All four of his strikeouts went swinging. He struck out TT Bowens twice, Anthony Servideo once, and most notably, top-50 prospect Samuel Basallo once. He threw a ton of strikes, 48 out of 68 total pitches to be exact, only got to a three-ball count once, and was ahead in the count in eight out of the 21 batters that he faced. It was the longest outing of Bertrand's professional career and for a guy who generates plenty of groundballs as a sinkerballer, only nine of the 17 batted balls went to the ground.

Wil Jensen eventually finished the two-hit shutout with five strikeouts along the way. Offensively, Adrian Sugastey's three-run shot was more than enough as the Flying Squirrels only needed to provide a crooked number for the win. A couple of batters later, Dilan Rosario provided more insurance with a solo shot of his own.

Bertrand's seven perfect innings brought his ERA down to a very respectable 2.03 mark with 16 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched. The groundball rate is a bit lower compared to last season but over half of the balls hit against him still went to the infield. His opponent's batting average is only at a measly .216 mark and his WHIP is at a very respectable 1.05 mark.

It was two straight great games pitching-wise for the Flying Squirrels as they had a no-hitter going in the ninth inning last Friday and they were flirting with perfection with one out in the eighth inning. Congratulations to Bertrand and here's to more Giants prospects winning weekly awards in the coming weeks!

Fun fact: John Michael threw his seven perfect innings on the same day that his brother JD Bertrand was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. A very exciting weekend for the Bertrand family.