SF Giants minor league notes: Luke Shliger released, Matt Wilkinson assignment

On Saturday, the SF Giants pulled off a surprise trade by sending Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians. This move will have an impact on the minors today and down the road.

SF Giants minor league notes: Luke Shliger released, Matt Wilkinson assignment

1. Luke Shliger released

The Eugene Emeralds activated Jancel Villarroel from the injured list. In a corresponding move, Luke Shliger was released from the organization. Villarroel was acquired in a deal that Kai-Wei Teng to the Houston Astros.

Shliger was a sixth-round pick by the club in 2023 out of the University of Maryland. This move marks another relatively high pick from that draft to be released this season. The other two were Cole Foster (third round) and Quinn McDaniel (fifth round). Both Foster and McDaniel have landed in the Atlantic League for this season.

Shliger had a quality hit tool with a good understanding of the strike zone, but very limited power upside. Across four minor league seasons, he posted a .253/.384/.348 line with a 15.2 percent walk rate, 21.1 percent strikeout rate, and .095 ISO.

On defense, Shliger was a quality receiver with a strong arm. Last season, he threw out 24 runners in 62 attempts. Overall, he had a 29 percent caught stealing rate. Shliger began the season with Eugene, and tallied just two hits in 10 at-bats.

2. Matt Wilkinson assigned to Richmond

The Giants acquired Matt Wilkinson in the trade that sent Patrick Bailey to the Guardians. Wilkinson did not have to go far for his next assignment. In fact, all he had to do was switch dugouts.

Wilkinson was assigned to the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He had pitched against them earlier this week as a member of the Akron RubberDucks. Trades where a player simply switches dugouts are rare. Mike Fontenot was a rare example of this when he was traded to the Giants from the Chicago Cubs in the middle of a series in 2010.

Wilkinson has a 2.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP 11.8 K/9, and a 3.63 SO/W across for minor league seasons. This includes a 1.59 ERA with 36 strikeouts and nine walks in 28.1 innings for the RubberDucks this season.

Despite what Wilkinson's strikeout numbers indicate, he relies more on deception than overpowering stuff. His fastball sits in the low 90's but that pitch plays up due to an low, three-quarters delivery and above-average extension. He delivers it from a low release point, but it rides up in the zone and gets in quickly on hitters.

The southpaw pitcher also throws a slider and a changeup. He has a good feel for the slider, but at times, it sweeps more than it gets two-plane movement. Wilkinson's changeup has good, fading action, but he does not throw it as regularly.

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