SF Giants catching prospect earns a promotion to Double-A Richmond

In his brief pro career, catching prospect Drew Cavanaugh has played everywhere for the SF Giants organization. He can now add the Richmond Flying Squirrels to his list, as he earned a promotion to Double-A, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants catching prospect earns a promotion to Double-A Richmond

In a corresponding move, Onil Perez was moved down to High-A. Perez saw sporadic playing time behind the plate, with Adrián Sugastey handling the everyday duties.

Perez posted a .536 OPS in 62 plate appearances with Richmmond. He will return to familiar territory, as he began the year with Eugene. During that stint, he slashed .314/.449/.412 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 127 plate appearances. This includes more walks (22) than strikeouts (19).

Drew Cavanaugh has played everywhere for the Giants organization. The organization ran thin on catching depth in early June. This led to Cavanaugh appearing with San Jose, Eugene, and Sacramento all in the same week.

The Giants originally drafted the 23-year-old backstop in the 17th round of the 2023 draft out of Florida Southern College. Despite being a late-round pick, that is looking like a nice win by the Giants' amateur scouting department.

The left-handed bat spent the bulk of the 2024 season in the California League, where he posted a .697 OPS with two home runs, 17 runs, and 19 RBI in 154 plate appearances. He also had a nine-game stint with Sacramento, and received an invite to the Arizona Fall League.

The Giants assigned Cavanaugh back to San Jose to start this season, and that felt like a conservative assignment. He proved to be well above that competition level and in the Northwest League. Cavanaugh has quietly been one of the best Giants minor leaguers this year, hitting .276/.399/.477 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI in 346 plate appearances split across three levels.

Cavanaugh has seen a considerable improvement in his power without an increase in his strikeout rate. In fact, his 27.5 percent strikeout rate this year is right in line with his 27.3 percent strikeout rate as a pro. He will now share catching duties with Adrián Sugastey in Richmond.

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