SF Giants reportedly add Oakland Ballers pitching prospect on minors deal

The SF Giants added minor league depth earlier this week. The Oakland Ballers announced that Elijah Pleasants' contract had been purchased by San Francisco. The deal has not yet been finalized, so presumably, it is pending a physical.

SF Giants reportedly add Oakland Ballers pitching prospect on minors deal

For Pleasants, he does not have to move far after making five appearances for the Ballers in the Pioneer League. The Ballers are a new team to the league. However, the Pioneer League has been around for a long time.

Oakland has some Giants ties on the coaching staff. J.T. Snow is serving as the team's first base and bench coach. Snow had expressed interest in becoming a coach in the Giants organization, but a miscommunication led to that request not being heard. Veteran major league infielder Aaron Miles is also on the staff, working as the infield and third base coach.

With the Oakland A's leaving Oakland at the end of this season, it is a refreshing sight to see Oakland have a new baseball team move in on a much smaller level. The A's are temporarily moving to Sacramento until they are cleared to relocate to Las Vegas, Nevada.

For the Ballers, Pleasants is the third player who has latched in with a major league club since the season began. Pitcher Danny Kirwin's contract was sold to the Boston Red Sox, whereas Tyler Davis joined the Chicago White Sox.

Pleasants was originally a 36th-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 2018 draft out of Rossview High School in Clarksville, Tennessee. However, he did not sign and attended the University of Tennessee for three seasons before making one-year stops at Dallas Baptist University and Trevecca Nazarene University.

The righty pitcher posted a 4.57 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and a 1.83 SO/W ratio across five college seasons. He yielded eight earned runs with 23 strikeouts and four walks in 16.2 frames for the Ballers this season. On the mound, he flashes a low 90's fastball with some armside run, a slider that has a bit of a frisbee motion, and a changeup. For Pleasants, this will be his first action in affiliated baseball.