SF Giants minor league notes: Will Bednar promotion, Tanner Mally assignment

The Sacramento River Cats have received reinforcements, with Marcelo Mayer beginning a rehab assignment and Eddys Leonard being sent outright to Triple-A. However, SF Giants pitching prospect Will Bednar also recently made the move back up to that level.

SF Giants minor league notes: Will Bednar promotion, Tanner Mally assignment

1. Will Bednar moved up to Triple-A

The Giants made a handful of promotions following the trade deadline. They made several trades, most of which bolstered the Eugene Emeralds' roster. That affected the rest of the farm system, as players were moved around to make room for the new additions.

Bednar was one of several pitchers moved. He was promoted to Triple-A, along with Cristian Alvarado. Alvarado joined the Giants on a minor league deal earlier in the year.

Technically, this is Bednar's third stint with the Sacramento River Cats. He finished last season with the club and made two appearances for them at the start of this year before going back down to Double-A.

The former top pick threw the ball well in Double-A, posting a 3.67 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 27 walks in 41.2 frames. He has spent considerable time at that level, but this was his best stretch yet.

Since rejoining Sacramento, Bednar has allowed seven earned runs with five strikeouts and two walks in six innings of work. On the mound, he throws from a high, three-quarters arm slot. Bednar relies on a mid 90's cutter and a mid 80's slider, both of which are quality offerings. The slider has generated a healthy 27.6 percent whiff rate. He has no problem getting hitters to swing and miss, but the control still leaves a bit to be desired.

2. Tanner Mally assigned to the San Jose Giants

The Giants leaned on pitching in this year's draft, and by nature of that, there were not going to be many draft picks who made their official pro debut this summer. 17th-round pick Tanner Mally is the first, as he was assigned to Low-A last week.

Many of the picks from this year's draft class are competing in the Bridge League in Arizona, but that is more of a developmental league. Mally joins a young San Jose Giants roster that now features Josuar Gonzalez and Luis Hernández at the top of the lineup.

Mally has hit the ground running since joining San Jose. He has posted a 1.042 OPS with with one double, two triples, and seven RBI in 34 plate appearances.

The right-handed bat put up a .446/.554/.528 line with a 5.3 percent strikeout rate in 243 plate appearances at Western Michigan University this season. He has a swing designed for contact and using the entire field. Mally has extremely limited power, but he puts enough balls in play and has the speed to stretch singles into doubles.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow