Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Thursday, as AA Richmond had their game postponed due to weather. They have a doubleheader scheduled for today to make up for it.
Here’s what happened in those other games!
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
A few assignments were announced since yesterday’s roundup. Most notably, RHP Eric Nachtsheim, July’s 6th-round pick, was assigned to Low-A San Jose. We should get to see him make his pro debut this weekend, when San Jose plays their final 3 games of the regular season.
AAA Sacramento added some talent, as the Giants claimed infielder Brett Harris off of waivers from the Red Sox, and optioned him.
Very oddly, San Jose RHP Trey Seeley was activated off the 7-Day IL on Friday. Seeley was removed from Tuesday’s start in the 1st inning, and looked distraught while walking off with the trainers, suggesting a serious injury. He then was placed on the IL on Wednesday. So it was very odd seeing him come off the IL this morning (you don’t really need to served the 7 days on the IL in the Minor Leagues, as it’s really just an injury designation more than an actual enforced time). That said, bookkeeping in the Minors is shoddy enough that this could just be a clerical error, or perhaps the Giants doing it for some reason I’m not aware of, beyond Seeley actually being healthy. It’s worth keeping an eye on whether or not he gets into a game.
AAA Sacramento (75-57)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 4-3 (10 innings)
Box score
The Pacific Coast League might be where offense goes to flourish and pitching goes to die, but apparently the River Cats and Bees didn’t get the memo. The scores so far in this series? 4-1, 3-1, and 4-3. You won’t see many 3-game stretches in the PCL featuring a grand total of 16 runs between the teams!
Needless to say, the pitching was strong in this one. And it was strong in a way that Sacramento’s older brothers in San Francisco can’t relate to: because of a dominant bullpen. The start went to LHP Seth Lonsway, who made his 1st appearance since getting optioned following his fairly surprising MLB debut.
Lonsway was pretty solid which, if we’re being frank, is better than he’s been most of the year. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 8 baserunners (6 hits and 2 walks), while allowing 3 runs and striking out 3. He did a decent job avoiding hard contact, though he did give up a home run to MLB veteran Jeimer Candelario.
It seems a certainty that Lonsway will be designated for assignment in the coming months, as the Giants are going to have to clear about 20 spots on their 40-man roster over the fall and winter. But it also seems a near-certainty that he’ll clear waivers and be outrighted back to Sacramento, so he can continue serving as emergency depth in 2027.
While Lonsway was merely decent, the bullpen was spectacular. It began with another stellar showing from RHP R.J. Dabovich, who gave up no hits in 1.1 innings, while walking 1 and striking out 3. Dabovich has been excellent since finishing his rehab assignment and returning to Sacramento: in 4 outings with the River Cats, he’s pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, while allowing just 3 baserunners and striking out 5. Dabovich is up to 10.1 total innings on the year, which may not sound like a lot, but it’s more than he had in any of the past 3 years. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants send him to the AFL to get him some more reps … if he can stay healthy, he could work his way into the bullpen plans next year, as there’s a ton of talent in his arm.
LHP Philip Abner and RHP Eric Cerantola both had strong games, as each struck out 2 batters in a no-hit inning, with the former facing the minimum of 3 batters, and the latter allowing both a walk and a hit batter. LHP Nick Zwack pitched the 10th and “allowed” a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly, which scored the Manfred Man, meaning Zwack was handed the unlucky distinction of getting the loss despite not allowing a single baserunner.
A few strong performances on offense, despite the low score. Most notable was that second baseman Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, made his organizational debut. He hit 1-3 with a strikeout and a stolen base before leaving the game early. Baker, who was recently signed to a Minor League deal, hadn’t played in a game since mid-July, so the Giants will probably give him a handful of partial games before letting him play all 9 innings.
First baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 3-4 with a double and a walk. The Giants certainly made Velasquez, a switch-hitter who turns 23 next month, earn his AAA stripes, as he spent 255 games in AA before getting the call to the highest level of the Minors. That approach seems to have worked, as he’s looked extremely comfortable with the River Cats, posting an .861 OPS and a 133 wRC+ through 24 games.
The Giants have a ton of backup infielders (Christian Koss, Osleivis Basabe, Shay Whitcomb, Nate Furman, and Brett Harris) on the 40-man roster, and plenty of those names will be employed elsewhere come 2027. That could open the door for Velasquez to play a role next season, if he can keep hitting like this.
If you’ve been reading these articles lately, you know that the exciting trio at the top of Sacramento’s lineup — Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), and Scott Bandura — has been struggling something fierce lately, after dominating the summer. Thankfully, that cold streak ended for one of the players, as Bandura, playing in center field, had a lovely game, hitting 2-5 with a pair of doubles, a walk, and a strikeout.
The mini slump was not enough to notably bring down Bandura’s numbers in AAA this year, as the 2023 7th-round selection still has a .317 batting average with just a 14.6% strikeout rate, leading to an .875 OPS and a 130 wRC+. What a season he’s had, and it’s certainly put him in position to make the MLB roster, either in the final weeks of the season or as a Rule 5 protection.
Davidson, playing in right field, did not break out of his slump, but he didn’t necessarily add to it either, as he had a day with some good and some bad, hitting 1-5 with a double and a walk, but striking out 3 times. After going scorched earth on the PCL for a while, Davidson has calmed down considerably, and in his last 10 games is hitting 7-39 with 3 extra-base hits, 6 walks, and 11 strikeouts. That’s brought him down to an .839 OPS and a 117 wRC+, though it’s still been a wildly successful AAA campaign for the lefty slugger.
Harber, unfortunately, did add to his slump, which has gotten extremely ugly. The right-hander, who turns 25 later this month, went 0-6 in this game with a strikeout hat trick, bringing his 8-game running tally to a truly unsightly line: 1-32, with 4 walks and 12 strikeouts. After rocking a wRC+ in the 130s and 140s for his 1st few weeks in AAA, the undrafted free agent acquired in the Camilo Doval trade is now down to a .751 OPS and a 99 wRC+. But these sorts of barriers are normal in development, which is why I find it so strange that the Giants keep bypassing AAA roadblocks with early promotions. But I digress…
High-A Eugene (77-51)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 7-6
Box score
A fairly dramatic one for the Emeralds, who scored all 7 of their runs in the 8th inning. That’s one way to win a baseball game!
Eugene kicked off that 7-run inning with a 3-run blast by the hottest hitter on the team, right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL).
Maldonado, who finished the game 2-5 with a strikeout, had an up-and-down season in Low-A, but has been other-worldly since heading to the Pacific Northwest. Last year’s 7th-round pick is only 20 games into his High-A tenure but has already smacked 8 home runs, leading to a 1.129 OPS and a 178 wRC+ for the 22-year old. What a way to end the year!
The other offensive stars were a pair of newcomers to the system, second baseman Dalton Wentz and shortstop Kaeden Kent. Wentz, a 21-year old switch-hitter taken in the 16th round in July, but given a 4th-round bonus, hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and a strikeout. Kent, a 23-year old switch-hitter acquired in the Heliot Ramos trade, went 2-4 and swiped a pair of bags.
Wentz has done an impressive job fitting in, considering that he jumped straight to High-A for his pro debut. He’s hit safely in 9 out of the 11 games he’s played in, and while he’s struck out too many times (16), he’s hitting 11-42 with 4 extra-base hits and 7 walks, good for a .772 OPS and a 109 wRC+. Pretty impressive for someone who skipped rookie ball and Low-A, and was on the young side for a college draftee (he turned 21 a few weeks after being drafted).
Kent, who was a 3rd-round pick by the Yankees a year ago, has been awesome in his short stint with the Emeralds, posting an .879 OPS and a 121 wRC+ through 7 games. He’s a remarkably well-rounded player, which I suppose isn’t too surprising given who his dad was!
While that pair of middle infielders excelled, the same can sadly not be said of the third baseman Walker Martin, who had a brutal game. Martin, a 2nd-round pick in 2023, hit 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and 3 errors, though he did reach base once via a walk. The Giants gave Martin a chance in High-A despite fairly middling results in Low-A, and so far the results have been tough: he has a .234 average, a 33.7% strikeout rate, a .728 OPS, a 91 wRC+, and has committed 30 errors.
Unlike in Sacramento, Eugene’s bullpen was unexciting and uninspiring in this one, but there was a strong — and exciting — start, thanks to LHP Jordan Gottesman.
Gottesman, who was a 6th-round pick last year out of Northeastern, was making his High-A debut following a late-season promotion, and it sure went well, as he tossed 4.2 innings, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, and striking out 2. The only real stain on Gottesman’s day was that, despite the low strikeout total and low baserunner total, he needed 91 pitches to get through 4.2 innings. Still and all, a wonderful debut in the Northwest League for someone who figures to be a key part of Eugene’s rotation in 2027.
Low-A San Jose (77-52)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 8-5
Box score
Down in San Jose we’re seeing a funny power surge from left fielder Oliver Tejada, who just can’t stop hitting the ball over the fence. The 19-year old from the Dominican Republic was back at it on Thursday, hitting 1-4 with a 2-run blast and a walk, though he struck out 3 times.
Tejada made his stateside debut last year in the Complex League, where he hit just 1 home run in 57 games. He began this season still in Arizona, where he hit 1 more home run in 26 games. When the season ended he joined San Jose where he has … wait for it … now hit 7 home runs in 42 games. Go figure.
Funnily enough, despite the power surge, Tejada’s isolated slugging has actually lowered since the promotion, due to how many doubles and triples he was hitting in the Complex League. And despite all the home runs, it hasn’t been a seamless transition to Low-A, as the righty has been taking an all-or-nothing approach: after having a .320 average and a 19.3% strikeout rate in rookie ball this year, he’s hitting just .218 with a 29.1% strikeout rate in San Jose.
But home runs can cure a lot of ailments, especially for players who are strong defensively. And given that Tejada will be busy wrapping Christmas presents when he turns 20, it’s fair to say that the contact issues in his introduction to full-season ball aren’t all that concerning. Give it time!
Designated hitter Angel Guzman is another player who came to San Jose when the ACL season wrapped up, and he has been in an absolute groove at his new level. The 20-year old Dominican hit 4-5 in this game, while bopping a double and driving in 2 runs, which pushed him up to an .884 OPS and a 128 wRC+ with San Jose. His numbers really haven’t fallen off at all since getting promoted, as the lefty took a few weeks to get acclimated and then positively made up for lost time, posting a .967 OPS in August.
Shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) bounced back following one of the only bad games of his career, as he hit 2-5 with a double and a strikeout. If he can keep this up for 3 more games, the 18-year old switch-hitter will end his debut A-ball stint with an OPS that starts with a 1 (it’s currently 1.013, with a 153 wRC+).
Undrafted free agent catcher Scott Gell made his professional debut and went 0-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Welcome to the pros, Scott!
A funny start from RHP Ben Bybee, last year’s 8th-round selection out of Arkansas. Bybee, pitching a day after celebrating his 23rd birthday, worked quickly and let the ball get put in play. He needed just 61 pitches to get through 5 innings, and all 20 batters that he faced put the ball in play, as he finished the game with neither a walk nor a strikeout. You don’t see that very often!
Despite the tiny pitch count, Bybee did give up 7 hits, which included a pair of home runs, tagging him for 4 runs on the day. That’s been an issue for Bybee in his debut season: he does a great job of avoiding free baserunners, but is simply far too hittable. He’s only issued 2.3 walks per 9 innings, with just 1 hit by pitch all year. But he’s also only struck out 6.9 batters per 9 innings, and in 78.1 frames has ceded 87 hits and 13 home runs, leading to a 5.06 ERA and a 5.85 FIP.
RHP Samir Chires returned to San Jose following a brief emergency depth stint in Sacramento and tossed 2 no-hit innings with 3 strikeouts, though he walked 2 batters. Chires, who turns 23 later this month, has been awesome in his A-ball debut, after starting the season in the ACL. In 14 outings with the Baby Giants, he has a 1.90 ERA and a 3.49 FIP, with 25 strikeouts against just 5 walks in 23.2 innings.
Home run tracker
22 — Cam Maldonado — [8 in High-A; 16 in Low-A]
8 — Oliver Tejada — [7 in Low-A; 1 in ACL]
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Salt Lake (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Richmond: 3:05 p.m PT doubleheader at Akron (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT at Hillsboro (SP: Cade Vernon)
San Jose: 7:05 p.m. PT at Fresno (SP: Jackson Flora)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be viewed on MLB TV
COVERS INTEL: The Athletics' bullpen ranks