Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Wednesday, as High-A Eugene and the Arizona Complex League Giants both had the day off. Let’s get into the action that did occur, though, as it was pretty nice!
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
Not much news. RHP Evan Gray, who hasn’t pitched yet this year, was moved from High-A Eugene to Low-A San Jose, as his season looks ready to commence. To make space in San Jose, RHP Melvin Pineda was moved from Low-A to the Arizona Complex League roster.
AAA Sacramento (18-15)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks) 9-5
Box score
The River Cats started the post-Eldridge/Rodríguez era with a whimper on Tuesday, but responded with a very nice win on Wednesday. The biggest hit belonged to third baseman Buddy Kennedy, who smacked a 2-run home run in a critical 6th inning, when Sacramento flipped a 5-2 deficit into a 7-5 lead.
Kennedy, who finished the day 2-5 with 3 runs batted in, is up to an .881 OPS and a 139 wRC+, while maintaining just a 14.2% strikeout rate. As a 27-year old signed as a Minor League free agent over the winter, he probably doesn’t have a way to play his way onto the roster, but he’s having the type of performance that will make the Giants more than comfortable adding him to the roster should an injury facilitate it. I’d assume his play was also part of what made them comfortable DFA’ing Tyler Fitzgerald, which left the Giants with no infielders on the 40-man roster in AAA.
Left fielder Turner Hill continues to look comfortable at the level, as he hit a perfect 3-3 with a double and a walk, though he was caught stealing. Hill, a recently-turned 27-year old UDFA who has a whole lot of Jared Oliva in his game, probably should have been in AAA on merit, but roster logistics sent him back to AA Richmond to start the season. When the Giants called up Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan (the latter was just returned to Sacramento), Hill was called to fill in at the top Minor League level. He’s more than held his own through 14 games, as he has an .809 OPS, a 121 wRC+, just a 7.8% strikeout rate, and 3 stolen bases. Hopefully he’s in Sacramento to stay.
Designated hitter Harrison Bader made his 2nd rehab appearance and went 0-3 with a strikeout, though he did draw a walk and was hit by a pitch. It seems like Bader will have a lengthy rehab stint, as he professed a desire to make up for some of the time he lost in Spring Training …. which hopefully explains his ice cold start to the season. Usually when position players rehab, they’re back in the Majors as soon as they’re back in game shape, but for Bader I’m guessing the Giants will wait until his results are looking good.
Not a very good pitching performance, which started with RHP Spencer Bivens serving as an opener. Bivens again struggled, giving up 3 hits (including a home run and a double) and 2 walks in just 2 innings, which tagged him for 4 runs (3 earned). Bivens, who struck out 2, has now given up at least 3 runs in 4 consecutive outings … during that time he’s thrown 6.2 innings and ceded 12 hits, 3 walks, 13 runs, and 11 earned runs. That’s tanked his ERA to 7.27 and his FIP to 6.67. In 6 weeks, Bivens has gone from looking like a likely Opening Day roster-maker to a potential roster casualty if the Giants need to open up a spot on the 40 (which currently isn’t an issue, since they only have 39 players).
After Bivens was LHP Seth Lonsway, who was not sharp. Lonsway threw just 36 of 68 pitches for strikes while giving up 3 hits, 3 walks, and a hit batter (plus an error) in 3.1 innings, though he managed to limit the damage to just 1 run, while striking out 4. A 27-year old whom the Giants took in the 6th round in 2021, Lonsway has really been having a tough go of it this year, as he has a 6.97 ERA and a 5.69 FIP. That underscores a bigger issue, which is that he is walking a lot of batters and having a very hard time striking people out. Among the 43 Pacific Coast League pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings this year, Lonsway is 39th in strikeouts per 9 innings (5.2), and 40th in walks per 9 (5.7).
RHPs Tristan Beck and Wilkin Ramos both had nice games though, with Beck allowing just 1 hit in 1.2 shutout innings, with 2 strikeouts, while Ramos had a hit and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. Ramos, who isn’t on the 40-man roster, has sneakily been having a very nice season, as he lowered his ERA to 2.04 (though his FIP is 4.58).
AA Richmond (22-6)
Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 5-4
Box score
Covering the Giants means I hear a lot of people say, “they should just call up all the prospects from AAA and AA, no way they would be worse than the current players.” The realistic answer to that is: yes they can be, and yes they would be. Shockingly so.
But.
But, but, but.
You kind of have to wonder what would happen if the Flying Squirrels could replace the Giants, because they just seem to have an overflowing cup of magic that San Francisco could greatly benefit from. Richmond keeps winning and winning and winning, and it’s starting to feel like every win is outrageous and full of fairy dust.
Wednesday was no exception. The Squirrels entered the bottom of the 9th inning trailing 4-2. Second baseman Aeverson Arteaga, who had a brilliant game, drew a leadoff walk to bring the tying run to the plate. That tying run just happened to be the hottest hitter in Richmond … and perhaps in the Eastern League who, like Arteaga, was having a brilliant game: right fielder Jonah Cox.
Cox got ahead in the count 2-0, then pounced on a get-it-in fastball, lifting it past the fences and tying the game.
But Richmond wasn’t content to just get the game to extra innings. They wanted to send the fans home happy before the Manfred Man shenanigans commenced. And so, with one out, third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) bopped a double to get the winning run in scoring position.
And then, with 2 outs (and 2 strikes!), catcher Drew Cavanaugh sent everyone home in a frenzy by cracking a walk-off double.
Pure magic!
Needless to say, Cox was the biggest star of the game, and for good reason. He finished the day 3-3 with a sacrifice fly, which gave him 3 runs batted in … and he stole his 17th base of the season.
What Cox has done is, in my opinion, the most incredible story on the farm this year. I’ve said it many times this year, but I’ll say it again: he entered the year as a Jared Oliva type, who could play great defense across the outfield and steal a million bases, with the hope that he could maybe hit juuuust well enough to survive. You can build a nice career in the Majors that way, as evidenced by the Giants seeing their 2017 6th-round pick, Bryce Johnson, on the Padres this past week.
But what happens when a glove-and-cleat player hits, hits, and hits some more, and is suddenly one of the best offensive players in the farm? I’ve been saying for a few weeks that hopefully we find out with Cox, and now we’re nearing the point where his sample size is big enough to put some serious stock into … the next time he steps into the batter’s box, it will be his 100th plate appearance of the year.
Just to show you how stark the difference is, look at his year-over-year increases, and how they stack up against the rest of the league. And as you look at these shocking figures, remember that he spent last year in High-A, not the AA level that he’s currently annihilating. His 2025 numbers are compared to 67 Northwest League hitters who had at least 200 plate appearances, while his 2026 figures are relative to the 91 Eastern League hitters with at least 80 plate appearances.
Batting average:
2025: .257(27th)
2026: .429 (1st)
On-base percentage:
2025: .333 (37th)
2026: .490 (1st)
Slugging percentage:
2025: .398 (32nd)
2026: .726 (1st)
Isolated slugging:
2025: .141 (40th)
2026: .298 (10th)
Walk rate:
2025: 9.0% (50th)
2026: 10.1% (58th)
Strikeout rate:
2025: 22.4% (33rd)
2026: 14.1% (3rd)
Swinging strike rate:
2025: 12.0% (35th)
2026: 10.7% (38th)
OPS:
2025: .731 (35th)
2026: 1.216 (1st)
wRC+:
2025: 103 (33rd)
2026: 209 (1st)
Fun fact: 2nd in OPS and wRC+ is Marco Luciano.
Anyway, the point here is clear: Cox has been the Eastern League’s best hitter, and he’s doing it in every way imaginable, while also being one of the best hitters in the league and avoiding strikeouts. That seems mighty sustainable … perhaps not the Bondsian numbers, but very good ones, at the very least. If you’re still not convinced, I recommend reading Roger Munter’s most recent mailbag, which really lays out a lot of reasons to believe in Cox’s renaissance. Maybe one day the Giants lineup will be anchored by Cox and Daniel Susac, and we can really thank the A’s.
As for Arteaga, he’s not quite having the season that Cox is having, but his improvement year-over-year is just as dramatic, given how bad he was last year. Arteaga went 2-2 in this game, while drawing a walk, laying down a sacrifice bunt, and smacking a double. A year after having a .508 OPS and a 49 wRC+ at the same level, Arteaga is up to an .891 OPS and a 134 wRC+ (though it’s worth noting his strikeout rate has gotten a little worse, at a not-good 27.3%).
Given how catastrophic his 2025 was (when he was returning from an injury that cost him virtually all of 2024, it’s worth noting), it’s easy to forget how young and promising Arteaga still is. He only turned 23 in March, and he still has some serious defensive chops. For now, he’s getting the chance to turn himself into a utility infielder, as shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) has surpassed him on the priority chart, so Arteaga is no longer just a shortstop, but also a second and third baseman as well (although, on cue, Ahuna had a rough game, hitting 1-4 with 2 strikeouts and 2 errors).
On the pitching front, RHP Trystan Vrieling had a really nice start, perhaps his best of the year. The forgotten player in the Camilo Doval trade, Vrieling got the start and ceded just 3 baserunners (2 doubles and a walk) in 5 shutout innings, while striking out 4 batters, and throwing 47 of 71 pitches for strikes.
Vrieling, a 25-year old taken in the 3rd round in 2022, hasn’t been very sharp in his 1st full season in the organization, as he has a 4.00 ERA and a 4.76 FIP in his 2nd pass through AA. Both his strikeout and walk numbers have moved in the wrong direction year-over-year though, interestingly, he’s dramatically increased his groundball rate, from 35.9% to 52.2%. You don’t see that kind of jump very often!
RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) didn’t have the type of game that will get him sent back to Sacramento, where he began the year before roster logistics pinched him down a level. He gave up 2 doubles and 1 walk in just 1 inning of work, getting tagged for 2 runs without a strikeout. You don’t see him have many outings without a strikeout!
Low-A San Jose (18-11)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 12-2
Box score
A lot of the Giants prospects came out of the gates with extremely hot seasons. But for a few others, they took a little bit of time getting settled in, and just now are starting to take off. One such player? Third baseman Dario Reynoso.
Wednesday was a spectacular day for the 21-year old righty, who reached base in all 5 of his plate appearances, hitting 3-3 with a home run, a triple, and 2 walks, while driving in 6 runs. Hard to do much better than that, though here’s a video reminder as to why Minor League stats need to be taken with a few grains of your preferred salt.
Reynoso, who was signed in 2023 out of the Dominican Republic, has started to find the power that he showed last year in the Complex League. After going homerless in his 1st 30 games with San Jose (spanning the end of last year and the start of this year), he’s now gone deep 3 times in his last 5 games, including on back-to-back days. Suddenly, after having an isolated slugging of just .064 with the Baby Giants in 2025, Reynoso is up to .206 this season, and that’s given him a .956 OPS and a 146 wRC+.
The strikeout rate is still scary high, but it’s also improved over last year’s mark, and not just last year’s Low-A mark … a year ago, Reynoso had a 38.6% strikeout rate in San Jose, and a 31.7% mark in the Complex League. This year, that number is 30.8%. That’s something to work on, but there’s certainly the foundation of a very exciting player in there.
Left fielder Damian Bravo continued his heater, as he went 2-4 with a double, a hit by pitch, a stolen base, and a strikeout. The 22-year old, taken in the 15th round out of Texas Tech in July, now has 3 straight multi-hit games, with 4 extra-base hits in that time. He started the year 7-39 with 1 home run and 2 doubles … since then, the righty is 22-62 with 4 home runs, 1 triple, and 8 doubles, which has brought his OPS up to .905 and his wRC+ to 115.
Undrafted first baseman Hayden Jatczak continued his stellar debut season, as he hit 2-4 with a pair of doubles and a walk, boosting his OPS to .973 and his wRC+ to 148. The righty has absolutely put on a show with the bat this year, though he will turn 25 later this season and is confined to first base (for now, at least). It will be fun to see how he performs at higher levels, and maybe we’ll get to see that soon.
Speaking of debuting players, RHP Jordan Gottesman had the best game of his young career, as he was dominant through 5 shutout innings, giving up just 2 singles and 2 walks, while striking out 5 batters. Gottesman threw 45 of 71 pitches for strikes, and has really started to find his groove. Check out the splits for last year’s 6th-round selection:
First 3 games: 10.2 innings, 7 hits (3 home runs), 5 walks, 6 earned runs, 13 strikeouts
Next 3 games: 14.1 innings, 11 hits (1 home run), 4 walks, 2 earned runs, 14 strikeouts
The home runs will certainly have to come down — they explain why he has a 5.97 FIP despite a 2.88 ERA — but it’s been an encouraging rookie season for the 23-year old from Northeastern.
RHP Ubert Mejias struck out 3 batters in 2.1 scoreless innings, with 2 hits and 0 walks. Mejias’ numbers have been dominant this year: in 21.2 innings, he’s allowed just 13 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 26 batters, en route to a 2.49 ERA (3 home runs have given him a 4.82 FIP, though). The cold water is that Mejias is 25, but he only signed in 2023 after defecting from Cuba. He’s starting to settle into his role as a reliever, after beginning his career as a starter.
Home run tracker
4 — Jonah Cox — [AA]
3 — Dario Reynoso — [Low-A]
2 — Buddy Kennedy — [AAA]
Thursday schedule
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Reno (SP: John Michael Bertrand)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs Akron (SP: Darien Smith)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Vancouver (SP: Tyler Switalski)
San Jose: 6:00 p.m. PT vs. Fresno (SP: Argenis Cayama)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
