Hindsight in 20/20 and hindsight analysis is 20 times as annoying as my Uncle Perv trying to play the bagpipes. What is the art of sitting back as a fan and judging the difficult decisions a manager, a base coach, or a player have to make long before the metrics tell you what his odds were?

Process vs. Outcome

Judging process, rather than just leaning on outcomes, can be extremely counter-intuitive. To drive this point home let me offer a scenario in which presumably all fans will agree on the proper strategy.

In a tie game, 9th inning, the Yankees have runners at 2B and 3B with 2 outs and Trent Grisham due up against your RH reliever. Looming on deck is the legendary Aaron Judge. Do you pitch to Grisham or do you walk him intentionally to load the bases and face Judge instead?

I will go out on a limb and say you would do what 30 out of 30 managers would do and that is to go after Grisham. Here’s the catch. If you IBB Grisham and foolishly choose to pitch to Judge instead, with nowhere to put him, odds are you will wind up looking good. Because if you run that 100 times Judge, whose career OBP is an elite .412, will bail out your terrible idea about 59 times.

Never mind that Grisham gets out 2/3 of the time if you just go after him, with another 12 of those 100 outcomes being just the walk you were considering anyway. Or that if he doesn’t get out he’s far less likely to HR or double.

Despite making an absurdly poor choice, a manager will get bailed out nearly 60% of the time even pitching to Judge with the bases loaded. So it’s not fair to wait for Judge to make an out and then decry, “See? Smart manager!”

Base running – Jacob Wilson

In Sunday’s game Wilson made a gamble on Lawrence Butler’s slicing drive to left-center field. He took off from 1B, rounded 2B, and was easily doubled off when Joey Loperfido made a sliding catch in the alley. I thought Wilson made an excellent decision that just didn’t work out.

Keep in mind that when a ball is hit, the runner does not have access to the “expected batting average” or any other data designed to put odds to the outcome. When Butler hit that drive, all Wilson could see is that he smoked it and he had historical info of how many times Butler’s drives to LF and left-center carried to the wall when they were hit that hard — especially in Sacramento where balls tend to carry well.

Off the bat it looked a lot like a tweener, but Wilson had 3 choices. He could have stayed close to 1B as if it was going to be caught, which could have resulted in a disastrous result where a one-hopper off the wall was relayed quickly forcing Wilson to hold at 2B, which would have stalled Butler at 1B. He could have gone to 2B and waited, an “in between” move that might still have risked a DP but also would not have allowed him to score had the ball one hopped the wall. Or he could gamble, as he did, ensuring either a run scored or a DP.

He gambled and lost, but given the info he had off the crack of the bat I would argue it was the right gamble and Loperfido just made a great play.

Base coaching – Bobby Crosby

Similarly, if Bobby Crosby had influence in Jeff McNeil’s decision to try to score from second on Shea Langeliers’ big for a game winning hit, it’s important to recognize when decisions had to be made. As Jose Altuve sprawled to his right, McNeil was hitting 3B and the only way he maximizes his ability to score is if he never stops.

At that point it was unclear whether Altuve could field it cleanly or just smother it, whether the ball would stay firmly in the glove or roll away. Only a clean pickup gave Altuve any shot at the play at home. And then he had to bounce up immediately and make a throw good enough to get McNeil.

Granted, he made a poorish throw and still got McNeil easily, which is probably the best argument against the decision, but consider how easy it is, under that pressure, to sail it 40 feet up the line or to airmail the catcher or to give the catcher a short-hop he can’t handle cleanly.

Part of it is “making them make the play” and Altuve is, at this stage of his career, a poor defensive 2Bman with very limited range and a weak arm. Whether McNeil ran on his own — which you almost have to do in that situation rather than waiting to hear from your base coach — or whether Crosby was screaming, “Keep going! Go!” whoever made that in-the-moment call did what I want the A’s to do: don’t sit around waiting for a clutch hit with 2 outs, make the other team’s shaky defenders come up big executing several parts of a tough play well.

Pitcher decisions – Mark Kotsay

Mark Kotsay also had some key choices to make this weekend and in this writer’s view he botched them at least twice — once with poor results and once with great results.

Where Kotsay paid a price was his puzzling choice of JT Ginn to enter a game the A’s were leading by 9 runs. Ginn has had his problems but he was coming off a sterling relief appearance and looked like one of the A’s better candidates for high leverage innings over the weekend.

Keep in mind the A’s lead was so secure that had Scott Barlow (who would have been my choice) gotten the call instead, and had Barlow started the inning giving up a HR, two 4-pitch walks, and a double, the A’s would have still led 9-4 and could have bailed Barlow out with a win still nearly assured.

Meanwhile, after throwing 32 garbage time pitches Friday Ginn was called upon again Sunday and predictably, after getting out of the 6th he started the 7th without his best stuff going, hung a slider to Christian Walker and gave up a two-run HR.

Later on Sunday Kotsay was rewarded for what I thought was an inexcusably bad decision. With Hogan Harris in the game, Houston leading 10-9 in the 10th with runners at 2B and 3B with one out, Walker was due, Cam Smith on deck.

If you want to go after Walker on your terms, corner and chase pitching, you can choose from Harris or Elvis Alvarado, who was warming up. Or if you feel the need to IBB Walker to load the bases, you stick with Harris who, on a career basis, still fares better against RH batters than LH batters regardless of the hand he throws with.

The one thing you don’t do is to load the bases and then summon your wild reliever, Alvarado, giving him no margin for error. Even though everything worked out in the end, the reasoning was hammered home when Alvarado fell behind Smith 3-1 with pitches that were all over the place. Luckily he settled down just at the right time and fired two quality strikes, the last of which Smith swung through, and then to his credit Alvarado retired Yainer Diaz to escape the jam.

Going to back to the Grisham/Judge example, in any showdown the pitcher is going to succeed more than half the time. So you can make the wrong move and be handsomely rewarded. But I wouldn’t suggest making a habit of it.

Anyway, the weekend offered many chances for fans, armchair, real-timers, and everything in between, to weigh in on several difficult decisions that had to be made in the heat of the moment. How do you think these guys did?

The Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays are back at it on Tuesday night for the middle game of their series at Rogers Centre.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts on the mound on Tuesday, looking for his fourth win in as many career games in Toronto. The other three just happened to be in the 2025 World Series, winning starts in Games 2 and 6 last October and, famously, getting the final eight outs of Game 7 to close out the championship.

Right-hander Kevin Gausman is off to a fantastic start to his season for the Blue Jays, with 21 strikeouts and zero walks in his 12 innings, with just one run allowed in his first two starts.

In addition to the SportsNet LA broadcast, TBS will also televise Tuesday’s game, but only for folks outside the local markets.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Blue Jays
• Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto
• Time: 4:07 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, TBS
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

It’s that time of year, folks. The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, baseball is back, and so are our meters, which provide the community with a nice little snapshot of how each player is performing. To be transparent right from the jump, this year I am doing something new with the meters: instead of weekly, they will be posted biweekly (as in, every other week, not twice a week). This cadence is much more manageable with my schedule and I also think a two-week sample size is more meaningful to look at than a one-week sample. In the case of this first set of meters, because the first week of the season was not a complete one, these numbers cover the first ten games of the season. Hereafter, meters will appear on the site every other week on Mondays—maybe occasionally on Tuesday if your imperfect Mets Meter Maid (that’s me) is having a bad week.

As is tradition, we will start with the position player group first and the pitchers will go up later. On Opening Day, the Mets erupted for 11 runs right out of the gate en route to their usual Opening Day victory. But the bats went silent for a little while after that, prompting some agita about the offense. However, the Mets have bounced back to win their last three straight and the offense was looking pretty potent again, particularly on Friday and Saturday. This weekend’s games saved a couple of players from the dreaded “poop emoji in your very first meter” fate; Bo Bichette, Tyrone Taylor, and Marcus Semien in particular have turned things around of late. The first ten games have proven a bit of a renaissance for Mark Vientos, who has been the Mets’ hottest hitter in 2026 despite a dismal 2025 season. Juan Soto has been Juan Soto, but he has just hit the injured list and the lineup will definitely lack a certain je ne sais quoi without him in it.

Player	This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
Francisco Lindor, SS
Jorge Polanco, 1B/DH
Luis Robert Jr., OF
Marcus Semien, 2B
Juan Soto, OF
Tyrone Taylor, OF
Luis Torrens, C
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B
Jared Young, 1B/OF

We’ll start with Mark Vientos since he has been the Mets’ best hitter so far this season. Over the first ten games of the season, Vientos has put up a blistering 254 wRC+ in 23 plate appearances, which leads the team. He didn’t see a lot of playing time in the early going, but has gotten more starts lately—and why not? He has earned them. Vientos’ ten hits are tied for the second-most on the team thus far. “I feel like myself,” Vientos said after Saturday’s game. Something closer to the 2024 version of Mark Vientos over the course of a full season would be massive for the 2026 Mets.

The team leader in hits over the first ten games is Juan Soto, whose emoji I had to change to a red cross in the middle of writing this, as he was just officially placed on the IL with a mild calf strain. It is a huge bummer to lose the lineup’s most potent threat so early in the season, especially when Soto has been so durable over the course of his career, but hopefully this will be a relatively brief absence. Over 34 plate appearances before the injury, Soto scored three runs, drove in five runs, went deep once, and walked three times, posting a 164 wRC+.

Somehow, even with the new ABS challenge system, Soto does not lead the team in walks. That would be Francisco Lindor batting in front of him with ten walks, which is a good recipe for success to do in front of Soto. However, the walk is just about the only way Lindor is getting on base right now. Lindor had a couple of triples early in the season, which is already more than he had all of last year and an encouraging sign for those concerned that his hamate surgery may have zapped his power, but he has just five hits overall in 48 plate appearances, which is not good. However, he has seven runs scored to lead the team, so he is often being driven in when he does get on base. His 86 wRC+ over these first ten games should improve with time.

Speaking of improvement, one of the most prominent new faces on the position player side Bo Bichette was barreling toward poop emoji territory before he saved himself at the 11th hour with a strong performance over the weekend. He had a multi-hit game on both Friday and Saturday, raising his hit total to nine—a much more respectable number—with six RBIs, which is tied for the team lead. Still, Bichette holds an ugly 38 wRC+ over his first 48 plate appearances with a team-leading 12 strikeouts.

The story with fellow new Met Marcus Semien is quite similar. Outside of an RBI knock on Opening Day that was aided by the sun in Oneil Cruz’s eyes, Semien didn’t hit a lick in the early going until the past few games saw him raise his wRC+ from the doldrums all the way up to 117 in 41 plate appearances. Semien matches Bichette’s six RBIs for the season and has scored two runs—one of those coming on his first home run in a Mets uniform. Semien has also played strong defense at second base, as expected.

The new Met that has made the greatest impact so far has been Luis Robert Jr., who has been excellent with the bat to the tune of a 173 wRC+ in his first 38 Mets plate appearances. He matches Mark Vientos ten hits for the second-most on the team. One of those ten hits was a home run—his only extra-base hit so far. He is the third Met along with Bichette and Semien with a team-leading six RBIs. He has also scored six runs—second only to Lindor for the team lead. Perhaps the biggest pleasant surprise about Robert’s performance so far is that his eight walks are also second only to Lindor for the team lead. Robert is not particularly known for being patient at the plate, but he has exhibited uncharacteristic patience so far this season and it has paid off. Even when they were struggling to score runs, the Mets have demonstrated early on that they are capable of seeing a lot of pitches and and working deep counts as a collective.

Rounding out the new look Mets is Jorge Polanco, whose first couple of weeks as a Met have been okay-not-great. He’s struck the ball well on many occasions and not had much to show for it; the ball that was caught on the warning track that would have been the Mets’ second walk-off homer in as many days comes to mind. Polanco has amassed six hits—three singles and three doubles—and five walks in 37 plate appearances, good for a 76 wRC+. Polanco is still adjusting to first base and sharing time there with both Vientos and at times Brett Baty and Jared Young. Baty has been a jack of all trades, getting at-bats in both the infield and outfield. Baty posted a 71 wRC+ over his first 33 plate appearances, but his six runs scored match Robert for the second-most on the team. Baty has racked up eight hits, but unlike a lot of his teammates, he isn’t walking much. In fact, he hasn’t drawn a single walk this year and has struck out ten times—a troubling ratio to perhaps keep an eye on. Meanwhile, Young has made the most of his playing time, which will probably increase in Juan Soto’s absence. In addition to drawing two walks, Young has five hits in his first 15 plate appearances this season. He has scored two runs and driven in one run.

I didn’t have the heart to give Carson Benge a poop emoji in his very first meter in his rookie year, but his 27 wRC+ is the worst on the team in these first ten games, despite his thrilling Opening Day home run that represented his first hit in the big leagues. Overall, Benge has three hits and four walks in his first 34 major league plate appearances. He has also struck out eleven times, which is certainly a higher rate than you want. It is clear that Benge struggles against same-sided pitching—an expected growing pain for a young player. Carlos Mendoza has opted to keep him in there against lefties at times, while pinch hitting for him at other times, clearly wanting to strike the right balance between showing confidence in his young player and giving the team the best chance to win. Benge has scored three runs and driven in three runs so far in his rookie campaign.

Tyrone Taylor was another player in the “potential poop emoji” club who saved himself. His pinch hit three-run homer broke Saturday’s game open and represents one of only two hits from him in 15 plate appearances, three of his four RBIs for the season, and one of his two runs scored. Taylor is another player who will likely see more playing time during Soto’s IL stint with the Mets down an outfielder, especially with Mets brass wanting to give Robert regular rest to keep him healthy.

Francisco Alvarez was a big part of the weekend’s offensive breakout with a two home run game on Friday. Overall, he has three home runs and is the only player on the team with multiple long balls to his name. His 203 wRC+ is second only to Vientos for the team lead. Alvarez’s power surge in these first ten games earns him a fireball emoji to open 2026.

Luis Torrens provided the key hit in yesterday’s game—a go-ahead pinch hit RBI double in the eighth inning. It was Torrens’ fourth hit in 12 plate appearances and his first extra-base hit of the season. Torrens has scored two runs and driven in four runs in total.

SAN FRANCISCO — When Christian Koss took the mound to record the final three outs of the Giants’ blowout loss to the Mets on Saturday, it was hardly out of the ordinary.

The utility infielder has been the Giants’ go-to guy when a game has gotten out of hand the past two seasons. The twist is that his first pitching appearance came before he logged an at-bat.

After years of utilizing every spot on the 26-man roster and maximizing platoon advantages by mixing and matching with in-game moves, the Giants haven’t made much use of Koss or the rest of the five reserves on their bench in the early days of Tony Vitello’s managerial tenure.

“I think currently with the set-up we have, those guys are going to have to get used to not getting consistent at-bats,” Vitello said.

Not just consistent at-bats: any at all. 

Entering their 11th game of the season Monday, the Giants still had two position players yet to step to the plate in Koss and backup outfielder Jared Oliva. Jerar Encarnacion, their biggest bench bat, has been called on to pinch-hit just once.

In fact, Encarnacion’s groundout for Patrick Bailey in the seventh inning of their loss to the Padres on Wednesday was the Giants’ only pinch-hit plate appearance of the season. Just one other team, the Angels, has utilized its bench less than Vitello in the early going.

“I’m ready at any point,” Koss said. “You would like to be in the lineup more often, but that doesn’t dictate whether I’m ready for when my name is called.”

When asked if he has found it difficult to find opportunities to get Koss and the rest of his reserves into games so far, Vitello said, “Yeah, I think so.”

As he transitions from the University of Tennessee to Major League Baseball, every move the rookie skipper makes — or doesn’t make — will be under the microscope as fans and rival teams alike attempt to determine his managerial tendencies.

“There’s no agenda with the lineup other than trying to win the game,” he said.

It’s not like the regulars have made it hard to take them out of the lineup. Entering Monday, the Giants owned the worst record in the National League, at 3-7. They have scored the fewest runs in the majors — 2.6 per game — and played sloppy defense resulting in the fifth-most errors in MLB.

But Vitello has shown a proclivity to stick with his guys.

When the Yankees brought in tough lefty Tim Hill to face Jung Hoo Lee in a leverage moment in the first series of the year, Vitello didn’t bring in any of the five right-handed hitters on his bench.

Lee was called out on strikes to end the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss. 

Vitello had his full complement of reserves available, and Lee possesses a .601 career OPS against lefties, but when asked if there was any discussion about subbing in a pinch-hitter, he said, “Not at all. I mean, he’s our guy.”

When hiring the Giants’ next manager, Buster Posey said he wanted someone to “obsess over the details,” but Vitello has gone about showing that in a different way than with every little in-game decision. Gone are the days of winning at the margins by prioritizing platoon matchups.

Giants batters have owned the left-right advantage in only 47.5% of their plate appearances this season, tied for the fourth-lowest mark in the majors. The Guardians lead the league at 78.1%, and San Francisco ranked among the top 10 as recently as 2023 with a rate of 62.4%.

That same season the Giants used 179 pinch-hitters, tied for the most in MLB. Through 10 games this year, they’re on pace for fewer than 20 pinch-hit at-bats over the course of 162.

That is due, at least in part, to roster construction. Whether it be through trade or free agency, the Giants have built their most stable starting lineup in years, and Vitello has mostly rolled with the same group of nine players to start the season.

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Oliva has proven to be an asset on the base paths, with Vitello using the speedy 30-year-old to pinch-run three times. Daniel Susac looks like a capable backup to Bailey. But the remaining combination of Encarnacion, Koss and Casey Schmitt has so far been of little utility. 

“We’ll find ways to utilize JO’s speed, and he’s also got other things he can do well,” Vitello said. But, he added, “I think with Jerar and with Koss, we’ve got to get creative.”

All five reserves bat right-handed, but the highest career OPS against left-handed pitching among them belongs to Schmitt, with a mark of .685. 

If the hope is for at least eight of their nine regulars to play everyday, and few situations would be suitable for any of their reserves to pinch-hit, then what value are the Giants getting out of the end of their roster? At the end of the day, Vitello can only manage the players he has.

“Jerar has probably been the first guy to show up about everyday since the season has started,” Vitello said. “Koss, he could put on a couple pounds, he doesn’t look like the toughest guy in the world, I can tell you internally, he’s probably as tough as anybody we got. …

“On a personal level, I’d like to see those guys get rewarded for their hard work as much as anything. But also, this isn’t a situation where it’s a ‘Rudy’ deal. These guys can do some things on the field.”

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages had five multi-hit games and reached base far more often than not against the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Nationals, and on Monday was rewarded with National League player of the week honors.

Pages last week started with a pair of two-hit games, then three three-hit games in a row, before reaching base twice on Sunday afternoon against the Nationals. In all, he had 14 hits in 24 at-bats, hitting .583/.615/.917 with two home runs, two doubles, two walks, seven runs batted in, and five runs scored.

He led or tied the majors last week in hits, times on base (16), total bases (22), batting average, and on-base percentage, and led the National League in slugging percentage, OPS (1.532), and wRC+ (334).

Through nine games this season, the 25-year-old Pages is hitting .471/.500/.794 and leads the Dodgers in home runs (three) and RBI (10).

“He’s controlling the zone, he’s fighting when he gets two strikes, he is hitting to all fields,” manager Dave Roberts said of Pages over the weekend in Washington D.C. “Right now, he’s showing he’s a complete hitter.”

It’s the second career player of the week honor for Pages, who shared NL weekly honors with Eugenio Suárez for the week ending in April 27, 2025.

Fair warning: this is going to be a very long roundup. It was the first weekend of Minor League Baseball, and for the first time in many, many months, the San Francisco Giants had four affiliates in action. There’s a lot to get to. So let’s get to it!

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

While a lot happened on the field, not a lot happened off it. AAA Sacramento RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL) was placed on the Development List after a slow start to the season. Sacramento shortstop Osleivis Basabe, who started the year injured, was activated off the 7-Day IL.

AAA Sacramento (5-4)

Friday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees 6-5 [box score]
Saturday Game 1: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees 5-4 (7 innings) [box score]
Saturday Game 2: Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees 7-1 (7 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees 9-5 [box score]

As if these Friday-Sunday weekend roundups didn’t have enough baseball in them, Sacramento went and had their Thursday game against the Angels’ affiliate postponed, resulting in a Saturday doubleheader. Yeesh!

That said, it was a fairly mild-mannered quartet of games. The biggest boom came from right fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) who, I’m pleased to say, is finding the success in AAA that eluded him a year ago.

In case you forgot about 2025, I’ll get you up to speed: Bericoto, a Venezuelan who was in the same international signing class as Marco Luciano and Luis Matos, started the year in AA, but was quickly promoted to AAA. He hit poorly in 11 games there, with just a .478 OPS and a 16 wRC+ while mostly playing first base due to Sacramento’s bloated outfield, before suffering an injury. By the time he returned from injury, Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) had been promoted, and was the everyday first baseman, which meant Bericoto headed back to Richmond to play out the year.

Bericoto reached Minor League free agency this past winter, but re-signed, was an NRI, and won the Barney Nugent Award after an exceptional Spring Training. And so far he’s carrying it into 2026. Bericoto ended the weekend with serious momentum, with 2 extra-base hits in each of the final 2 games. Over the course of the 4 games, he hit 6-15 with a home run, a triple, 2 doubles, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

Gorgeous swing, but even more gorgeous backdrop!

His home run, a 3-run shot in the 1st inning on Sunday, was his first of the year, and a reminder as to the extreme power potential he has.

And with that, Bericoto is up to a 1.031 OPS and a 174 wRC+. A much better start this year, and it’s safe to say that if his performance continues and San Francisco’s offensive putridity continues, we’re going to see him in the Majors at some point…

In order to get there, though, Bericoto will need to be added to the 40-man roster. That’s not an issue for left fielder Will Brennan, a rostered outfielder who has MLB experience. Brennan had a fine, if not exciting Spring Training, and a slow start to the AAA season. But he started to find his rhythm over the weekend, hitting 5-12 with a home run, a triple, a double, a walk, and a sacrifice fly.

Brennan’s up to an .874 OPS and a 126 wRC+ on the season, but the Giants are probably as interested — if not more — in his tiny 11.4% strikeout rate (he didn’t strike out over the weekend!) and his solid (or at least passable) defense at all 3 outfield spots.

Speaking of strikeouts, the Giants struggling offense — not to mention their adventures at first base while Rafael Devers was semi-sidelined — have resulted in fans clamoring to see first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) get called up. That will obviously happen at some point this year, but Eldridge is going to need to show improvement in the swing-and-miss category before it does. Reading between the lines, it’s not hard to arrive at the conclusion that Eldridge missed out on the Opening Day roster due in large part to his 38.0% strikeout rate in Spring Training.

Unfortunately, Eldridge has been striking out quite a bit to start the year with Sacramento. He did some good things over the weekend, but that hole in his game is still being exposed: over the 4 games, he hit 4-14 with 2 doubles, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

Eldridge has 5 multi-strikeout showings in 9 games this year, and so far his rate (29.5%) is only a hair better than what it was in AAA last year (30.8%). He also is still searching for his first home run of the year.

But it ain’t all bad. Despite that high strikeout rate, Eldridge is still sporting a very high batting average, at .281. And he’s been an absolute on-base machine thanks to a 20.5% walk rate. All of that has resulted in an .852 OPS and a 151 wRC+. That will come down when the .474 BABIP invariably drops … but hopefully it will rise with some more power, and fewer strikeouts.

Mild weekends for the other 3 hitters on the 40-man roster: catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) only played in 2 games, and hit 3-9 with a strikeout, and now has a .534 OPS and a 42 wRC+ as his season starts slowly; outfielder Grant McCray slowed a little over the weekend while playing all 3 outfield spots, as he went 0-9 with 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, and a sacrifice fly, lowering his OPS to .680 and his wRC+ to 99; and left fielder/center fielder Drew Gilbert hit 5-14 with a double, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and a sac fly, moving his OPS to .788 and his wRC+ to 129.

Like the offense, the pitching was so-so. The highlight came at the start of the “weekend,” with Friday’s starter: LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL).

Whisenhunt is still having some issues with finding the strike zone (he threw 49 of 84 pitches for strikes), and his pitches are still getting hit too hard, but Friday was a reminder that he still can show off some significant strikeout stuff. Against a Salt Lake lineup that is heavy with players with MLB experience, Whisenhunt struck out 8 batters in just 4.2 innings, while allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and just 1 run.

All signs point to Whisenhunt being the next man up if/when San Francisco needs an additional starter. He was given the Opening Day assignment, and has been allowed to pitch deeper into games that RHPs Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL) and Carson Seymour, as well as RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 9 CPL), who was recently called up to be in the Giants’ bullpen. So if the Giants need a fill-in starter, you can assume it will be the reigning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year, who has a 5.19 ERA but a 2.57 FIP through 2 starts, with 12 strikeouts in 8.2 innings.

Speaking of McDonald and Seymour, they started the Saturday doubleheaders, and Seymour in particular shined, with 4 no-hit innings, which required just 42 pitches out of him. He didn’t have tremendous command — he threw 24 of those 42 pitches for strikes, walked 2 batters, and only struck out 2 — but still. A quartet of no-hit innings is impressive, especially against a lineup with familiar names like Trey Mancini, Chris Taylor, and Vaughn Grissom (plus former Giants Wade Meckler and Donovan Walton).

It’s kind of unclear how Seymour fits into the team’s plans, as the team seems to have a foot in both doors when it comes to developing him as a starter vs. a reliever. He clearly has MLB-level stuff, though, so he’ll be back in the Majors at some point, after making his debut a year ago.

It wasn’t so smooth for McDonald, who pitched Game 1 of the doubleheader and gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in just 2.1 innings of work, with 1 strikeout. Like the others, McDonald struggled with the strike zone, with just 27 of 48 pitches going for strikes. He started the spring so well, but has been struggling for a while now, and like Seymour (and Tidwell), it’s not entirely apparent whether the Giants view him as a starter, a reliever, or an amorphous blob who will fill in depending on what the team needs. Probably that last one.

Some players do have more defined roles as relievers, and unfortunately a pair in Sacramento that are on the 40-man roster did not have good weekends. RHP Spencer Bivens, who was passed over for Tidwell when the Giants needed a José Buttó replacement last week, pitched on Friday and gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in just 1.1 innings, allowing a run in the process. It was the 2nd consecutive rough outing for Bivens, who was optioned to start the year after spending all of 2025 in the Majors. RHP Tristan Beck also pitched once over the weekend, and faced 5 batters. While he didn’t allow any runs (or hits, for that matter), he did walk 3 of those 5 batters.

Bivens and Beck are no longer the only Sacramento relievers on the 40-man, thanks to the recent trade for RHP Dylan Smith. The 2021 3rd-round pick made his organizational debut on Saturday and it went well, as he pitched a scoreless inning with a hit and a walk allowed, but 2 strikeouts. Welcome!

And finally, strong performances from a pair of relievers who I expect to work their way onto the roster this season: RHP Gregory Santos pitched twice, throwing 3 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts; and RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) threw a no-hit inning on Sunday, while walking one and striking out the side. That was his season debut, and it was a lovely one!

AA Richmond (2-1)

Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves 7-6 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Erie SeaWolves 13-6 [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Erie SeaWolves 11-9 [box score]

Richmond’s season got underway this weekend, and it came with a whole lot of offense, with 31 runs scored over the 3 games. That’s impressive as is considering the pitcher-friendly environment of the Eastern League, but it’s doubly impressive when you consider that the Squirrels are temporarily playing without their 2 highest-profile bats: outfielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) who missed opening weekend while on paternity leave (hope all has gone/is going well for him and his family), and third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), who is still nursing that hamstring injury he sustained in Spring Training.

Davidson and Harber gained their prospect status largely on the back of breakout 2025s, and there’s another player in Richmond (who is playing right now) who did the same: catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL). A 17th-round pick in 2023, you can make the case that Cavanaugh had the biggest breakout of any Giants prospect last year. He began the year with Low-A San Jose where he was viewed somewhat as organizational filler/necessary catcher depth. He proceeded to homer at all 4 levels of affiliated ball, and finished the year with a 136 wRC+ across those levels … a very high number for a defensively-solid catcher.

But there were still warning signs. He had a 27.4% strikeout rate, and there were questions as to his surge in power after not showing much early in his career. In his 2 weeks with Richmond last year, he hit below the Mendoza Line, but his numbers held up thanks to an unsustainably-high walk rate.

So, like with Davidson and Harber, we’re going to learn a lot about Cavanaugh this year based on how he handles this upper Minors assignment. And the first test? Passed with flying colors, honors, extra credit, and a few gold stars.

Cavanaugh didn’t play on Opening Day, but made up for it with what he did on Saturday and Sunday, when he hit 5-9 with a home run, 3 doubles, 3 walks, and no strikeouts. My goodness, what a re-introduction! Hopefully that’s a sign of what the rest of the season will look like. And if it is? Well, he probably will be headed back to the West Coast by the summer.

He wasn’t the only left-handed hitter to get off to a rollicking start, as corner infielder Charlie Szykowny hit very well also. Szykowny, a 25-year old who was a 9th-round pick in that same 2023 draft as Cavanaugh, had a strong 2025, but it was noteworthy that the Giants kept him in High-A for the entirety of the year. But he looks ready for a new challenge: after going 0-5 in the opener on Friday, Szykowny went 4-10 over the actual weekend, with a home run, a double, a walk, a stolen base, and 2 strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see how playing time shakes out at the corners when Harber returns. Right now, Szykowny is splitting first and third base with Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL), who hit 2-10 with a double, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. Dayson Croes also got some action at third base.

Shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) was given an aggressive assignment to open the year in AA, despite playing just 11 games in High-A thanks to a career that has been derailed on multiple occasions by injuries. Watching how Ahuna fares in Richmond is one of the biggest storylines of the year, as evaluators are a little split on him, and the organization is quite clearly very high on him. He has had a swing-and-miss issue for his career, but has the type of glove that will take him straight to the Majors if his offensive production can sustain. His debut weekend at the level showed both the good and the bad, as he hit 3-12 with a double, 3 walks, and stolen base, though he was also caught stealing once, and struck out 5 times.

Speaking of shortstops, Aeverson Arteaga made his season debut in the series finale, and hit 1-3 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. That’s a very tiny thing to hang a hat on, but after his utterly disastrous 2025 — he had a .508 OPS, a 49 wRC+, and a 26.2% strikeout rate — it was good to see him start the year on a positive note. His double play partner last year also began the year well, as second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) went 2-5 with 3 walks, a hit by pitch, a stolen base, and 2 strikeouts.

One fun note for the Squirrels: they are running! That shouldn’t be surprising given that the best base-stealer in the organization last year, outfielder Jonah Cox, is on the roster, but it’s fun to see. Richmond stole 9 bases over the weekend, with Cox leading the way with 3 swiped bags (they were also caught stealing 3 times).

It wasn’t a great weekend for the starting pitchers, but opening day went very well for LHP Greg Farone. Richmond is an exciting opening assignment for Farone, who was a 7th-round pick in 2024 out of Alabama. He didn’t debut during his draft year, and split his 2025 evenly between Low-A and High-A. Despite having just a 4.25 ERA and a 4.63 FIP with High-A in 12 starts, Farone — who turns 24 in a month — drew the opening assignment to AA, and the opening day assignment as well.

He rewarded both choices, tossing 4.2 dominant innings against the Tigers affiliate. Farone gave up just 3 hits (though that included a very-early solo home run for the only run he gave up), walked none, and struck out 8 Erie hitters. 8! In 4.2 innings! That was great to see, especially after watching his strikeout stuff really struggle following his midseason promotion last year (he had 13 strikeouts per 9 innings in Low-A, but just 7.9 in High-A). That’s a tremendous introduction to 2026 and to AA for Farone, who is a tall and well-built southpaw.

Richmond ran another southpaw to the mound to start on Saturday, LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL). Like Farone, Whitman showed off some delightful strikeout stuff, with 7 Ks in 3.2 innings. The rest of the stuff wasn’t as good, though, as he ceded 4 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs. That said, Whitman was done in by some unfortunate sequencing. He was perfect in the 1st and 2nd innings, and retired the only 2 batters he faced in the 4th. All of his baserunners came during a 4-run 3rd inning. So while the ERA may be bloated after 1 start, it was still an encouraging showing.

Less so for Sunday’s starter, RHP Trystan Vrieling who, like Whitman, is a reasonably high draft pick repeating the level. Vrieling was a 3rd-round pick in 2022 by the Yankees (he came over in the Camilo Doval trade), but AA has stymied the 25-year old. The lone bright spot of his Sunday start was that he didn’t give up any extra-base hits, but he only pitched 3 innings while allowing 4 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs, with 1 hit batter and 4 strikeouts. He threw just 34 of 62 pitches for strikes, and is surely eagerly awaiting his next start to course correct a little.

The bullpen was hit-and-miss. RHP Tyler Vogel pitched twice and pitched well, throwing 2 scoreless innings and allowing 2 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 5. The 2022 12th-round pick had a slow start to his career due to both performance and injuries, but really started to show nasty stuff last season, and is picking up where he left off. Given his performance with Richmond last year — a 1.13 ERA, a 2.42 FIP, and 18 strikeouts against 3 walks in 16 innings — I would expect that we see him in Sacramento sooner rather than later.

High-A Eugene (3-0)

Friday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 8-6 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 10-4 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 6-4 [box score]

If you’re a fan of tracking old friends so you can have confused emotions when they play well, then you’ve probably been keeping an eye on James Tibbs III. The Giants 1st-round pick in 2024 had middling results with the organization, and not much was thought of losing him when the Giants sent him to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers trade. The Red Sox immediately turned around and sent Tibbs to the Dodgers, and all he’s done to start 2026 with the evil empire is get assigned to AAA and hit 18-38 with 7 home runs, 12 extra-base hits, 5 walks, and a 336 wRC+.

So if that’s depressing you, then have I ever got the antidote: forget about the team’s 2024 1st-round pick, and instead think about their 2025 1st-round pick. Folks, I humbly present to you shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL). After playing just 10 games in his debut season, Kilen was given a High-A assignment to start the year. On the one hand that made perfect sense, as he’s a polished 1st-rounder hitter out of an SEC school (Tony Vitello’s Tennessee). On the other hand it was a little scary, given that he struggled mightily during his debut with Low-A a year ago (though, to be fair, he was playing through an injury).

So does he belong in High-A, or are the Giants moving him too quickly? Well, I think he answered that question during his debut on Friday, when he hit 2-5 with a 3-run home run in the 5th inning … and then a walk-off home run in the 9th. It’s hard to have a more memorable debut than that!

But Kilen wasn’t done. Friday wasn’t a one-off. He followed it up on Saturday by hitting a perfect 3-3 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. He finally came back to earth on Sunday, with just a normal good game, in which he went 1-3 and drew a walk.

The Giants aren’t going to be overly aggressive with Kilen — that’s not their style — but he sure spent his 1st week in the Northwest League trying to convince them that maybe he should be fast-tracked. That’s putting the cart well, well ahead of the horse, but it sure was great to see. With Ahuna in AA (and a pair of talented defensive shortstops in Low-A San Jose), Kilen should be getting everyday reps at shortstop in Eugene, which is part of the reason why he’s at that level. It will be interesting to see what the reports are of his time in the infield … he has a lot of skill, though many evaluators have already pegged him for an eventual move to the other side of second base.

Speaking of talented infielders, third baseman Walker Martin also drew a High-A assignment in what feels like a make-or-break season for the recently-turned 22-year old lefty. Martin was a 2nd-round pick in 2023 out of high school, but his highly-touted athleticism never really showed up. He struggled mightily in his 2024 debut between the Complex League and Low-A, where he had a 107 wRC+ but a 41.0% strikeout rate across the 2 levels. He spent all of 2025 in Low-A, where he was moved from shortstop to third base and dramatically cut back on strikeouts, but still sat at a concerning level (28.4%) while posting just a 106 wRC+.

So High-A is a big challenge for him, and so far one that looks good on him: in the 2 games he played, he hit 3-8 with a home run and 2 doubles. There’s the power we’ve been looking for! That said, he also struck out 3 times and committed an error in each game. Baby steps!

Also having a high-impact, high-strikeout weekend in his High-A debut was center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL). As most people know by now, the 2024 4th-round pick has more power than perhaps anyone in the system, but also a huge swing-and-miss issue. His Northwest League debut showcased both, as he hit 3-13 with a home run and 2 doubles, but also struck out 8 times. When he hits the ball he hits it hard and he hits it far … but he needs to hit the ball move.

He also continues to look the part of someone who could be an impact center fielder, which is a huge development.

Sunday was a fun day for a pair of lower-profile Eugene prospects who are trying to have the breakouts that make following the Minors so fun. First baseman Jack Payton and right fielder Ty Hanchey didn’t play at all in the 1st games of the series, but asked for more playing time on Sunday. Payton in particular shined, hitting 3-4 with a pair of solo home runs. Hanchey had a boom-or-bust showing, striking out in 3 of his 4 at-bats, but bashing a 2-run bomb in his other. Both players joined the system in 2023 (Payton as an 11th-round pick; Hanchey as an undrafted free agent) as catchers, and are now utility player depth pieces.

Speaking of catchers, Eugene is where the Giants assigned Diego Cartaya, the former top-10 prospect who was the star of the Dodgers system, but who has really fallen on hard times in recent years. His strikeout stuff is, unfortunately, still a severe issue, as he went 0-6 with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

The pitching wasn’t very good, but there was a standout performance thanks to Saturday’s starter, RHP Hunter Dryden. The 2024 17th-round pick out of tiny Whitworth University in the Pacific Northwest felt right back at home making his Eugene debut, and tossed 4 shutout innings. The soon-to-be 24-year old only allowed 2 hits (both singles) and 1 walk, and struck out 6 batters. Dryden is coming off a decent-but-not-great debut season with Low-A San Jose, which featured a 2.90 ERA but a 3.82 FIP with so-so strikeout and walk numbers (10 K/9 and 4 BB/9). Hopefully Saturday’s start is a sign of a big year ahead for him.

LHP Tyler Switalski was selected 1 round ahead of Dryden in 2024, and he made his season debut on Friday in long relief. It was utterly sensational, as the tall southpaw took down 3.2 shutout innings with a whopping 8 strikeouts, while allowing just 2 hits and a hit batter. Switalski really struggled with Low-A San Jose last year, but still drew a late-season promotion, and really shined in Eugene. Perhaps there’s something in the air, because it’s carrying over into this year!

Also nice scoreless relief appearances from RHPs Ben Peterson (1.1 innings, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts) and Austin Strickland (2 innings, 1 hit, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts).

Unfortunately, Eugene’s highest-profile pitcher, LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) did not see his 2026 get off to a great start. One of the breakout stars of 2025, De La Torre had a 2.78 ERA and a 2.93 FIP across 18 games in the Complex League and Low-A, with 13.2 strikeouts per 9 innings. But he has some work to do to find that success in High-A ball, as he allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in 2.1 innings on Sunday, with just 1 strikeout. Not exactly a concerning outing, but not a good one.

And finally, RHPs Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 21 CPL) and Liam Simon both continued their struggles with walks. Maldonado, who is perhaps the hardest-throwing pitcher in the organization but who walked 6.7 batters per 9 innings in Low-A last year, faced 4 batters and walked 2 of them, while striking out the other 2. Simon, who, like Maldonado, was recovering from Tommy John last year, walked 12.4 batters per 9 innings (yikes!). He gave up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 3 unearned runs in an inning of work, but, like Maldonado, got all his outs by way of strikes.

Low-A San Jose (2-1)

Friday: San Jose Giants lost to the Stockton Ports 6-2 [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 15-4 [box score]

Just 2 games for the Baby Giants, as their opening 3-game series went Thursday-Saturday instead of Friday-Sunday.

As I mentioned in the Eugene section, Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) is currently getting to be an everyday shortstop in High-A, because the other top shortstops are playing at other levels. But that could change before too terribly long if shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) keeps this up.

Level, who turned 19 last week, had a breakout in the Complex League last year, and then held his own in Low-A, where he’s back to start 2026. And if he keeps playing like this, he won’t stay long. The switch-hitter had a slow Friday, hitting 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, but drawing a walk and stealing a base. But on Saturday? He went 4-5, finished a triple shy of the cycle, and drew a walk for good measure.

To my eye, he looks even more athletic than last year, which is saying something. And while 3 games aren’t enough to make any grand proclamations, it sure feels like he’s headed for another great season.

He’ll likely hand off a fair number of days at short to Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) who played second base on Friday, and took over shortstop on Saturday when Level DH’d. Meola, the team’s 4th-round pick last year who recently turned 22, has a stellar glove and some intrigue with his bat as well. It was a good weekend for him, as he hit 3-8 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and a strikeout.

The other best hitting performances went to players who had sensational professional debuts on Thursday, as covered in Friday’s roundup: first baseman Hayden Jatczak and catcher Junior Barajas. Jatczak was an on-base machine, hitting just 1-4 with a double, but drawing a whopping 6 walks and stealing a base. The cold water here is that Jatczak is an undrafted free agent who will turn 25 this season, but still. A phenomenal professional debut! As for Barajas, the organization’s 11th-round pick in July’s draft, he sat on Friday but hit 3-6 on Saturday, with 2 doubles, 4 runs batted in, and 1 strikeout. He is sure giving the team a reason to be excited!

Left fielder/center fielder Damian Bravo, who was a 15th-round pick out of Texas Tech last year, only hit 2-10 with 4 strikeouts, but he did smash a home run. That was his 1st career home run, as he was held dingerless in 24 games with High-A last season.

Friday’s game began with a debut on the mound, as LHP Jordan Gottesman made his pro debut, and looked mighty fine doing it. Gottesman, who was the team’s 6th-round pick last year, gave up just 1 hit (a single) in 3 innings, though he also allowed 2 walks and an unearned run. He only threw 37 of 62 pitches for strikes, and subsequently struck out just 2 batters, but still: a debut as a starting pitcher that results in a 0.00 ERA is a delightful thing!

One of the top prospects in the organization (and another 2025 breakout star) also had a start, as RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) took the mound on Saturday. Cayama dominated the Complex League last year but struggled in his brief time with San Jose … understandable, given that he was just 18 at the time. He’s 19 now, though unfortunately the struggles carried over into his 1st start of 2026, as he gave up 8 hits in 3.2 innings, which tattooed him for 4 runs. But on the bright side, he didn’t walk any batters, and he struck out 4. Very excited to see what he does this year … I’m expecting big things.

There were a few dynamic bullpen performances, one of which came in a debut. LHP Braydon Risley, who was taken in the 19th-round last year and only just turned 21 last week, was perfect on Saturday. He retired all 7 batters he faced, including 3 by way of the strikeout. The Junior College southpaw also threw 20 of 32 pitches for strikes.

He was followed up by RHP Melvin Pineda, who is back in San Jose after a brief introduction to the league last year. Pineda, a Venezuelan who turns 22 next month, struck out 5 batters in 2 shutout innings, while giving up 2 hits.

RHP Mauricio Estrella is also a soon-to-turn 22-year-old who got a taste of Low-A last year, and shined in his season debut. On Friday he needed just 20 pitches to retire all 5 batters he faced, with 3 strikeouts.

And that’s your first mega roundup of the season, friends!

Home run tracker

2 — Gavin Kilen — [High-A]
2 — Jack Payton — [High-A
1 — Victor Bericoto — [AAA]
1 — Will Brennan — [AAA]
1 — Drew Cavanaugh — [AA]
1 — Charlie Szykowny — [AA]
1 — Dakota Jordan — [High-A]
1 — Walker Martin — [High-A]
1 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
1 — Ty Hanchey — [High-A]
1 — Jhonny Level — [Low-A]
1 — Damian Bravo — [Low-A]

Upcoming schedule

As is customary, all of the Giants Minor League affiliates are off today, and all kick off 6-game series on Tuesday. Sacramento will be hosting the Las Vegas Aviators at 6:45 p.m. PT; Richmond hosts the Altoona Curve at 4:05 p.m. PT; Eugene visits the aptly-named Vancouver Canadians at 7:05 p.m. PT; and San Jose hosts the Visalia Rawhide at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Texas Rangers lineup for April 6, 2026 against the Seattle Mariners: starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for the Rangers and Logan Gilbert for the M’s.

Texas looks to break a four game losing streak today. Texas also looks to get their first home win of 2026. Seattle is the opponent.

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Pederson — DH

Carter — CF

Jansen — C

Smith — 2B

Jung — 3B

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -118 favorites.

Blue Jays starting catcher will undergo surgery on his left thumb tomorrow, per John Schneider. Kirk’s thumb was broken and dislocated by a foul tip over the weekend. We had hope that it would be a relatively simple recovery, but the need for surgery would aeem to suggesr a more complex and severe injury and thus probably a longer timeline for rehabilitation.

In other injury news, Addison Barger has not been put on the IL yet, and the team seems hopeful that he can avoid the need. Reports from the clubhouse are that the ankle he jammed yesterday is swollen and causing him to limp, though, which doesn’t portend well. At least we haven’t heard anything about a break or significant sprain, so hopefully if and IL stint is required it’ll be for the minimum. Newly acquired infielder Tyler Fitzgerald is with thr major league club as a taxi squad player, presumably to taoe Bargers roster spot if necessary, but no move has been made.

On the pitching side, Austin Voth has been DFA’d and Josh Fleming called up.. Voth provided 2.2 innings of adequate relief work in yesterday’s game, but they need a fresh arm for tonight and so he becomes a casualty of roster churn. Fleming is an experienced long reliever who’s played in parts of five MLB seasons, mostly with the Rays. He’s an excellent ground ball pitcher but doesn’t record many strikeouts and is too prone to the long ball. Still, he should be able to provide an appearance or two of tolerable relief before some of theor actual pitchers are ready.