SF Giants minor league notes: Argenis Cayama, Scott Bandura, and Nick Herold

The SF Giants have had plenty of standout performances in the upper minors this week. We are going to take a look at the lower minors to highlight Argenus Cayama, Scott Bandura, and Nick Herold.

SF Giants minor league notes: Argenis Cayama, Scott Bandura, and Nick Herold

Argenis Cayama's impressive start in the ACL

Argenis Cayama might not be a prospect Giants are familiar with yet, but many will be by the end of the season. He received a $147,500 signing bonus out of Venezuela during the 2024 international free agency cycle.

Since then, Cayama has put together some impressive numbers. He posted a 2.59 ERA with 29 strikeouts and nine walks across 24.1 frames in the Dominican Summer League last year. The righty pitcher moved stateside this year and has not allowed a run with 17 strikeouts and only four walks in 11.1 innings for the ACL Giants. This includes another strong start on Saturday, where he collected 4.1 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against the ACL Diamondbacks.

On the mound, Cayama is a more mature pitcher than you typically see with an 18-year-old arm. He flashes a mid-90's sinker that can add a tick or two to the radar gun in shorter stints. The sinker gets some armside movement, and he can throw it effectively in the zone. He adds a tight gyro slider and a lightly used changeup. The slider has distinct, two-plane movement, and hitters in the lower minors just do not make much contact against it.

The changeup has some functionality, especially against right-handed hitters. Cayama tunnels the changeup well with his fastball, and the pitch has some late, fading action to it. The young pitching prospect has an easy, repeatable delivery and has not problem throwing strikes.

Scott Bandura excelling in second turn with Eugene

Outfield prospect Scott Bandura was a seventh-round pick out of Princeton University in 2023. He received a quick promotion to Eugene last year, but that proved to be a tough task as he posted a .706 OPS with six home runs and 38 RBI in 247 plate appearances with the Emeralds.

The left-handed bat has returned for a second season, and he has made some nice strides. He is slashing .311/.429/.420 (140 wRC+) with two home runs, 18 RBI, and 27 runs in 147 plate appearances. This includes a 15.6 percent walk rate, 21.1 percent strikeout rate, and .109 OPS. He has shown improvement in both his pitch recognition and swing decisions, as his contact rate is up to 81.3 percent this year.

Bandura's profile is very much hit-over-power, but he has a line-drive swing and does a nice job of using the entire field. He has good speed, with 12 steals in 13 opportunities. In the outfield, Bandura has spent the bulk of the time at the corners, but he has the speed for center field as well.

Nick Herold's strikeout numbers

The Giants signed pitcher Nick Herold as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He pitched at Winona State University, but he had been pitching in the American Association when he signed with San Francisco.

Oddly enough, that was the same summer that the Giants signed Trent Harris and Bo Davidson as undrafted free agents. Now, they are regarded as some of the better prospects in the Giants system.

Herold spent the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list. As is often the case, the injury was not made publicly available.

Herold began the season with the San Jose Giants. After collecting four hitless innings with nine strikeouts, the Giants bumped him up to Eugene. He has allowed two earned runs with 11 strikeouts and two walks across seven frames with the Emeralds. Overall, he has a 20 strikeouts in 10 innings during his brief pro career.

I have only seen one appearance from Herold, but he caught my attention with how he overpowered opposing hitters. He has a low-90's fastball that has some carry and ride movement. Herold mixes in an 11-to-5 curveball as well. He has a loose delivery, and it looks like his fastball gets in on opposing hitters quickly. Herold commands his fastball well, especially up in the zone, and that is often the recipe to success in the lower minors without premium velocity.

He is in his age-26 season, so the Giants can be a little more aggressive with his development path if he performs.