Since an off-day is at hand, let’s take a day off from reading anything about the Giants! Pitching can wait to some other off-day. Figures were taken from team web sites on Wednesday afternoon, and so do not include Thursday’s games. Some hitters to keep an eye on, in the system, based largely on their RBI totals:
AAA: outfielder Victor Bericoto has 162 ABs in 42 games. He has 29 RBI including 6 HR, hitting at a 0.302 clip. As you know, he was a great hitter in camp, but had never played at AAA, so experience with the River Cats will do him good. Keep an eye on recently promoted SS Aeverson Arteaga, who now has 6 RBI in 4 games, and an average of 0.353. Honorable mentions go to three guys who are unlikely to see the Giants unless the “veteran blockage” is broken: 1B Jake Helton with 25 RBI, SS Osleivis Basabe with 27, and 3B Buddy Kennedy with 27. The River Cats are 26-18, in first place by 2 games.
AA: outfielder Jonah Cox, who has 124 AB in 34 games. Thus, his stellar 0.419 BA and 33 RBI are not a small sample size. Honorable mentions go to outfielder Scott Bandura’s 32, outfielder Bo Davidson’s 23, and 1B Charlie Szykowny’s 20. Parks Harber would also be a 20+ RBI batter, except for missing some time with injuries: hitting 0.326 in 20 games, for 16 RBI. Arteaga had hit 0.318 here in 23 games before his promotion. And on Wednesday afternoon, LouSealFan64 found news that Bandura is joining the R’Cats. The Flying Squirrels are at 28-11, in first place by 5½ games.
A+: SS Gaven Kilen has 33 RBI, from 139 AB in 35 games, with a BA of 0.309. An honorable mention should go to outfielder Dakota Jordan, who has 31 RBI, 6 homers, and a BA of 0.284. Lots of guys in Eugene with 20+ RBI, as you might guess from the Emeralds being 31-9, and 10 games clear of their closest competitor. A+ baseball, for sure.
A: SS Jhonny Level has 37 RBI in 147 AB in 33 games. And 7 homers to share the team lead with outfielder Cam Maldanodo. HM’s to Maldonado’s 28 RBI and 1B Hayden Jatczak’s 29. You’d have to believe that sometime around July 1, Level will be breathing the much cooler air in Eugene, although they will not want to take playing time from Kilen. The SJ Giants are 22-18, trailing the Grizzlies by a single game.
ACL: this is just to give us another chance to gloat about the 26-2 victory over the Arizona Complex League dodgers a few days ago. ha, ha, ha! The ball flies out in Arizona. Team RBI leader is SS Jacob Gonzalez, with 49 from 15 homers. Outfielder Spencer Jones has 41 RBI and 3B Pedro Ramirez has 40. The standings for that league read a 5-7 record, 4th place – maybe they’ve already played a “first half” that I can’t discover, because could you get 49 RBI in 12 games without being the second coming of Willie Mays?
Jonah Cox gets the Picture of the Post, based on that fantastic 0.419 batting average. Many of his on-line pix have a strong Hunter Pence feel to them, and he’s wearing #8! You may remember when Farhan Zaidi unloaded his mistaken signing of Ross Stripling onto the Athletics in 2/2024? Jonah Cox was the return prospect they always thrown in on a trade like that. He hit 0.257 at Eugene last year, and is really soaring as a Ardilla Voladora.
