After two straight perfect days, the San Francisco Giants finally saw one of their Minor League Baseball affiliates lose on Thursday\u2026.and then another one, too. But it was still a very nice day on the farm. So let\u2019s talk about it.<\/p>\n
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)<\/a><\/p>\n All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.<\/p>\n Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A\u2019s) 9-0 Winning is not the most important thing in the Minor Leagues, but it sure doesn\u2019t hurt to stack up some Ws. And that\u2019s doubly true in AAA, where you want to see the players you\u2019re likely to rely on during the year outclassing their competition. So it\u2019s gotta put a smile on the face of many in the organization that the River Cats are off to such a hot start, and have now won 5 straight games.<\/p>\n Despite the shutout \u2014 a very impressive thing in the Pacific Coast League \u2014 it wasn\u2019t a very notable starting pitching performance. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) took the bump, and had the same issue he\u2019s been having for a while: an inability to fool hitters in the zone, which leads to pitching them overly carefully, which leads to missing the zone entirely.<\/p>\n Whisenhunt threw 3 innings and struck out 4 (good) while allowing no runs (great), but he gave up 4 hits (not good) and walked 4 (quite bad). He needed 87 pitches to get through those 3+ innings (he started the 4th, but got no outs), and his ERA could have been a lot uglier, as he left the mound with 2 on and 0 out. That\u2019s been the season for Whisenhunt, who has a tidy 3.86 ERA through 3 starts, and a delightful 16 strikeouts in 11.2 innings \u2026. but with 9 walks.<\/p>\n In encouraging news, while Whisenhunt\u2019s velocity has not maintained the highs he showed early in Spring Training, it is still notably improved over last year. In 2025 his 4-seam fastball had an average velocity of 92.3 mph, while this year it\u2019s 94.0. Hopefully that can hold \u2014 or grow \u2014 throughout the year.<\/p>\n While Whisenhunt was so-so at best, the bullpen was nearly perfect. RHP Braxton Roxby had the unenviable task of taking over the mess that Whiz created in the 4th, and immediately worked a double play. Roxby would hit a batter, but otherwise wouldn\u2019t allow a baserunner in 2 innings, with a strikeout. Roxby earned a promotion to AAA at midseason last year, and it didn\u2019t go well. His start to the season didn\u2019t go well either, for that matter. So nice to see him have such a strong game.<\/p>\n The same can be said of funky LHP Nick Zwack, who needed 15 pitches for a scoreless 7th inning, with a walk and a strikeout. A 27-year old taken in the 17th-round of the 2021 draft by the Mets, Zwack \u2014 who lost all of 2024 to injury \u2014 had given up 10 earned runs in 3.1 innings coming into this game. So a good game was a great sight.<\/p>\n But the best relief appearances came from a pair of arms on the 40-man roster: RHP Joel Peguero made his 2nd rehab appearance and pitched a perfect frame with a strikeout, while RHP Dylan Smith made his 2nd appearance since being traded to the Giants, and struck out 1 batter while perfectly handling the 8th and 9th innings.<\/p>\n While the bullpen was majestic, the 2 biggest stars in this game were in the batter\u2019s box, with a pair of hitters who we all expect to see in San Francisco before terribly long. Catcher Jes\u00fas Rodr\u00edguez had the biggest day, as he hit a blistering 4-5 with a home run and a double, as he continues his absolute tear. Rodr\u00edguez, who has overcome a slow start to post a .941 OPS and a 153 wRC+, has an 8-game hitting streak, and over his last 4 games is 10-18 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 2 walks.<\/p>\n Have I mentioned that he\u2019s still a few weeks away from turning 24? Or that he plays catcher and second base, and can hold his own at every position other than center field and shortstop? Yeah, I think he\u2019s gonna wear a Giants jersey plenty of times this year.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not a very hot take, but it\u2019s an extremely not-hot take to say that about first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL), who factors into the team\u2019s plans in a big way this year. And Thursday was a reminder as to why, as the tall lefty hit 3-4 with a double and a walk, raising his OPS to .933 and his wRC+ to 164.<\/p>\n While the hits were awesome, the lack of strikeouts is arguably the best thing that Eldridge did on Thursday, as his 31.0% K rate is fairly concerning. But it sure is great seeing his hard hits returning: his double was 109.4 mph, and one of his singles left the bat at 102.2.<\/p>\n Right fielder Will Brennan had an awesome day, as he hit 4-5 and knocked 2 runs in, raising his OPS to .889 and his wRC+ to 136. He\u2019s certainly someone the Giants will be comfortable using if they have a hole on the roster that needs filling.<\/p>\n And shortstop Thomas Gavello, who has had to play out of position quite a bit given Osleivis Basabe\u2019s injury and Tyler Fitzgerald\u2019s departure, only hit 1-4 with a strikeout, but smashed his 2nd home run of the year.<\/p>\n Gavello, who is the perfect type of gritty utility player to have in AAA, has just a .614 OPS and a 42 wRC+, despite having a share of the team lead in home runs.<\/p>\n Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve (Pirates) 3-2 Not to be outdone by their big brothers on the opposite coast, the Flying Squirrels also ran their winning streak to 5 games. And they did it in mildly dramatic fashion, with a 2-run comeback rally in the 8th inning, thanks to a bases-loaded single by first baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL), who hit 1-4 with a strikeout.<\/p>\n A very nice pitching performance for Richmond, with began with a 2nd nice start for LHP Greg Farone. A 7th-round pick out of Alabama in 2024, Farone is fronting a fairly uninspiring Richmond rotation despite mediocre results in High-A Eugene last year.<\/p>\n So far he looks right at home. Farone wasn\u2019t quite as dynamic as on Opening Day, when he struck out 8 batters in 4.2 innings, but he was damn good. He tossed 4.1 frames, gave up just 3 hits (all singles) and 2 walks, struck out 5, and allowed just 1 run.<\/p>\n The strikeout stuff is definitely worth keeping an eye on for Farone, who turns 24 next month. He got a lot of Ks in the 1st half of last year, with 13 strikeouts per 9 innings with Low-A San Jose. But that number dropped to just 7.9 following his midseason promotion. Last year was his debut season, so the hope is always that he simply faded as he wore down following a big workload (he pitched 105.2 innings); but the fear, of course, is that his stuff just doesn\u2019t play at higher levels.<\/p>\n We need a larger sample before making any grand proclamations, but so far in the Eastern League he has 13 strikeouts in 9 innings, and that\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n Following Farone was a great story: RHP Mitch White. No, White is not the same Mitch White as previously played in the Giants system \u2026 this Mitch White is a 26-year old who was signed over the winter out of indy league ball, and is playing affiliated baseball for the 1st time in his life. I love those stories, and the Giants have a fair amount of them (including his Richmond teammate on the other side of the ball, Dayson Croes).<\/p>\n White made his pro debut in the season opener, and this was his 3rd game. It was also his best, as he threw 2.2 innings with 3 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run allowed, while striking out 4. Hopefully that\u2019s the start of him finding his rhythm, and showing what he\u2019s capable of in AA.<\/p>\n Rounding out the strong pitching day was RHP Cameron Pferrer, who was dynamic, pitching 2 no-hit innings with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Pferrer, a 27-year old who was an undrafted free agent in 2024, has yet to allow a hit through a pair of appearances this year.<\/p>\n The hitting was more mild-mannered, with no huge games. Right fielder Turner Hill had the best game, hitting 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout. It\u2019s been a great start to the year for Hill, who turned 27 a few days ago. The 2023 undrafted free agent isn\u2019t known for his bat, but he\u2019s up to an .870 OPS and a 123 wRC+ on the year. Hill has a profile very similar to Jared Oliva: strong defense across the outfield, some burners for the basepaths, and just enough hitting to survive. And speaking of those types of players, center fielder Jonah Cox stole his 6th base of the year in as many games. Gotta love that!<\/p>\n
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