We’re at the point in the Minor League Baseball season where there are neither Complex League games nor Dominican Summer League games. But there are still four A-ball affiliates cruising along for the San Francisco Giants. Here’s what they did on Thursday.
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
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All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
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A very exciting promotion! LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) has been moved up from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond. Very, very well deserved for Bresnahan, who won Pitcher of the Year in the Complex League in 2024 and in the Cal League a season ago. The southpaw, acquired in the Alex Cobb trade, missed the start of the season with an injury and then played through some rust, but has been absolutely dominant for the last few months.
Also getting promoted is corner infielder/outfielder Charlie Szykowny, who moves from Richmond to AAA Sacramento. Szykowny has an intriguing bat, but has just a 94 wRC+ on the year, so this is probably less of a merit promotion and more of an inventory move, which makes sense given that San Francisco’s roster is basically just Sacramento west right now.
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And finally, Richmond utility player Jack Payton was activated off the IL.
AAA Sacramento (73-53)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Reno Aces (D-Backs) 5-0
Box score
Well, not a very good game. It was a fairly encouraging start from LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL), though, as he is starting to look quite a bit more comfortable in AAA. Whitman was far from dominant, but the 2023 comp-round pick is starting to figure out how to eat innings in the Pacific Coast League, as he went 6 deep in this one. He was quite a bit too hittable, as he gave up 9 knocks on the day (though all of them stayed in the yard). Combined with 2 walks, that lead to 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. The 24-year old, who threw 65 of 94 pitches for strikes, also punched out 6 Reno batters on the day.
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Whitman has done some good things in AAA, but there have been some understandable struggles for the southpaw, who has a 4.66 ERA and a 5.04 FIP. He’s still doing a good job suppressing walks (3.1 per 9), though he’s, predictably, giving up more of them than he did in AA this year (2.3), while the strikeouts have come down with the promotion (11.6 per 9 to 8.5).
But the biggest issue he’s dealing with is the same problem he had in 2025: too many hittable pitches, resulting in too many hits. The Kent State product gave up well over a hit per inning in AA last year, but fixed that problem in a huge way this year: in 50.1 innings, he ceded just 36 hits, only 2 of which were home runs. But with Sacramento? He’s already given up 69 hits (including 8 homers) in just 58 innings.
There’s a lot to work on, but Whitman is pretty clearly moving in the right direction, and has strung together 3 strong starts in a row now. He’s still got things to prove and learn, but I don’t think it would be shocking if he becomes a back-end rotation piece in 2027.
After Whitman, it was a pair of relief outings from intriguing arms who had opposite results. First it was RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL), who gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in an inning of work, without a strikeout. That’s obviously not good, though it was nice to see Bednar, who has had his fair share of control issues, throw 11 of 15 pitches for strikes and not issue any walks.
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It’s been a disappointing season for the 2021 1st-round pick, who was an NRI at Spring Training but, after just 2 decent games with Sacramento, was sent back to AA for the bulk of the year. Bednar only just returned to AAA earlier this month, and so far it’s been a rocky re-introduction, as he’s given up multiple runs in all 5 of his outings.
Finishing off the game was RHP R.J. Dabovich, who pitched a perfect inning in his 1st taste of AAA ball this year, while striking out 1 batter. Dabovich, who was a 4th-round pick in 2020, has had horrible injury luck in his career: he pitched just 2.2 innings in 2023, 4.1 innings in 2024, and 9.1 innings a year ago. He’s at 7.1 innings this year, after missing the middle of the season, but it looks like he’s going to end the year on a high note, which is great to see. Still a ton of talent in that arm.
Very little on offense, hence the shutout. Second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL), left fielder Will Brennan, and first baseman Eddys Leonard all hit 2-4, with Velasquez striking out once and smacking a double, the only extra-base hit of the game for the River Cats. The 22-year old switch-hitter has been quite strong since a recent — and very well-deserved — promotion, as he has a .787 OPS and a 113 wRC+ through 18 games at the level. It’s still a small enough sample size that Velasquez’s numbers are a little funny, though: he’s drawing more walks and hitting for more power than we should expect, but also striking out more and sporting a lower batting average. I’d guess all of those things will regress to the mean over the final weeks of the season, but his overall performance should hold fairly steady.
Quiet days for the star prospects at the top of the order: center fielder Scott Bandura hit 0-4 with a strikeout, third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout, and right fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) hit 1-4.
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AA Richmond (71-50)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) 11-2
Box score
Well, not a good game for the Squirrels, either. The issues in this one started on the mound, where things got so out of hand for Richmond that they used a position player on the mound in 3 different innings.
It began with a rough — albeit not catastrophic — outing from RHP Miguel Mendez. It was Mendez’s 3rd appearance in the organization since coming over in the Robbie Ray trade, and his 2nd with Richmond (he made 1 rehab appearance with Low-A San Jose). He just didn’t really have control in this one, as he needed 44 pitches to get through 2 innings, and threw just 26 strikes, en route to allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 2 runs, with 2 strikeouts.
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From there, it was off to the races for Richmond, and not in the good way. RHP Dale Stanavich took over and was actually all right, striking out 4 batters in 2 innings but giving up a run and throwing 42 pitches. RHP Manuel Mercedes came next, and gave up 4 runs while recording just 3 outs. RHP Mitch White followed and threw 1.2 no-hit innings, but threw just half of his pitches for strikes while walking and hitting a batter.
Finally, in the 7th inning, the Squirrels turned to RHP Ben Peterson, which is when all hell broke loose. Peterson inherited a 1-on, 2-outs situation, and promptly gave up a single, before walking 3 straight batters. With just 3 of his 15 pitches going for strikes, Peterson was yanked without having recorded an out, and Richmond threw in the white towel, handing things over to second baseman Dayson Croes.
Croes, to his credit, gutted through the final 2.1 innings, giving up 3 baserunners and 2 runs, while throwing about the same percentage of strikes as his pitching teammates.
The offense, meanwhile, did very little. Only 2 players had notable days: right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) and first baseman Jack Payton. Diaz hit just 1-3 with a strikeout, but stole 2 bases, as the just-turned 21-year old has really turned on his base-running. After having just 9 stolen bases in 87 High-A games this year (while getting caught 7 times), Diaz is a perfect 5-for-5 through 9 AA games. Go figure! The bat hasn’t yet come around at the level — he has a .478 OPS and a 21 wRC+ — but it’s early days.
Unfortunately, the big downside for Diaz was that he left the game during the catastrophic 7th inning with an injury. Diaz went chasing full speed for a foul ball, and slid straight into the wall. Diaz immediately grabbed his knee in pain, and stayed on the ground for well over a minute. Thankfully, Diaz was able to walk off the field on his own power, though he was moving slowly and uncomfortably. Here’s hoping he’s just banged up, and didn’t suffer a serious injury.
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As for Payton, he hit 2-4 with a the team’s only extra-base hit, a double, and a strikeout, in his return after a short stint on the IL. Payton has really fluctuated between hot and cold over the last 4 months:
May: .530 OPS
June: .983 OPS
July: .648 OPS
August: .924 OPS
On the whole, it’s a .733 OPS and a 99 wRC+ for the just-turned 25-year old, who was taken in the 11th round of the 2023 draft.
High-A Eugene (73-49)
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 12-10
Box score
Well, now we’re getting somewhere good. Sacramento and Richmond may have been boring, but Eugene most certainly was not, even if they did lose.
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This game was all about 2 players. 2 players who positively carried the offense, accounting for 7 of their 12 hits, 6 of their 8 extra-base hits, and 9 of their 10 RBIs.
Those 2 players? Right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and shortstop Kaeden Kent. Superstar performances from a pair of 2025 draftees (Maldonado in the 7th round and Kent in the 3rd), who showed everything they’re capable of in this one.
Let’s start with Maldonado. The 22-year old from Northeastern had an average line with Low-A San Jose this season, but has positively obliterated pitching since getting promoted to the Northwest League. But nothing he had done compared to his nearly-perfect Thursday, in which he hit 3-4 with 3 home runs, while also bopping a sacrifice fly to give him a whopping 6 runs batted in on the day. Only a strikeout prevented him from having as good of a game is as possible.
Maldonado has been the embodiment of streaky this year, when it comes to home runs at least. He’s the very definition of “they come in bunches,” and that can mean in a game or in a week. His path to 21 home runs (3rd in the system, behind only Diaz and Davidson) has included 4 different multi-homer games.
After going homerless in his 1st 9 games of the season, Maldonado rattled off 6 big flies in the next 4 games. He had a stretch from late April to late May in which he went 18 straight games without a home run. From mid June to mid July, he ran a 23-game home run drought. He entered August having hit 1 home run in his last 27 games.
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He’s hit 9 home runs in August. 7 of those 9 have come during his 15-game run with Eugene, during which time he’s posted a 1.193 OPS and a 190 wRC+.
I suppose the fear is that the bursts of home runs disappear at some point … but what if, instead, the droughts disappear? Regardless, Maldonado has turned himself into one of the more intriguing power prospects in the system, and it’s a joy to witness.
I could go on and on and on, but at some point we need to talk about Kent. The son of the Giants’ newest Hall of Famer, Kent — who came over in the Heliot Ramos trade — made his organizational debut on Wednesday and was held hitless.
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He made up for it on Thursday. He more than made up for it. The left-hander, who turns 23 tomorrow, celebrated his birthday early by hitting 4-5 with not 1, but 2 home runs, while also throwing in a double and a stolen base, with 3 runs batted in. Like Maldonado, a lone strikeout was the only thing keeping Kent from perfection.
Unlike Maldonado, Kent hasn’t been a huge power guy this year: he has 8 home runs total, in 78 games. But that’s not an absence of power, just a game that isn’t built around it. Instead, it’s a profile that’s built around a whole lot of everything. The Texas A&M alum has shown tremendous contact abilities, with a .305 average and a just a 16.2% strikeout rate. He’s drawing a decent amount of walks (8.0%), and has stolen 21 bases in 25 attempts. Like his father, he’s a strong defender in the middle of the infield. It’s truly one of the most well-rounded toolsets in the entire system, and while you probably won’t see his name mentioned with Josuar González (No. 2 CPL), Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL), and Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL), he, along with fellow trade acquisition Joniel Hernandez, are huge parts of what is perhaps the best middle infield prospect group in the Minors.
It feels like no one else is worth talking about in this game, as everyone pales in comparison to Maldonado and Kent. But we shouldn’t just dismiss the other performances! Center fielder Damian Bravo continues to excel following a recent promotion, as he hit 2-4 with a double and a walk. Last year’s 15th-round pick, who turns 23 in just over a week, has obliterated the Northwest League in a short sample size, posting a 1.251 OPS and a 212 wRC+ through 9 games. Surely those numbers will come a little bit back to earth, but it sure seems like the righty from Texas Tech has made some critical adjustments and growth.
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Not a good pitching game. RHP Niko Mazza had a funny outing, as he struck out 5 batters in just 2.2 innings, but also allowed 5 hits (including a home run), with 1 walk and 2 runs. The 2024 8th-round pick has a 4.15 ERA and a 4.53 FIP, but certainly has some intriguing elements.
After a blowup outing from RHP Ubert Mejias, RHP Sam Bower made his High-A debut. Bower has been a feel-good story this year: he was an 11th-round pick in 2022 out of St. Mary’s, but didn’t make his pro debut until this season, due to a series of injuries. The 25-year old was solid if not overwhelming in Low-A, and on Thursday pitched in High-A for the 1st time, with mixed results. He gave up 3 hits and a run in just 1.1 innings, but did strike out 2 batters.
RHP Marty Gair, who came over in the Luis Arráez trade, had a dominant outing, though a little bad fortune saddled him with the loss. Gair, who throws absolute gas but often struggles with command, entered in the 8th inning and struck out the side. Gair stayed on for the 9th inning, and issued a leadoff walk, before getting a strikeout.
Gair then induced a tailor-made double play ball, which would have ended the game, as the Emeralds led 10-9. But third baseman Walker Martin, who had a tough game (he hit 1-5 with a double, but struck out 3 times), threw the very short throw into the outfield, allowing both runners to be safe. Gair was then replaced by RHP Ryan Slater, who gave up a walk-off, 3-run home run to the 1st batter he faced. Oops.
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While that rather brutally put an earned run (plus an unearned run) on Gair’s ledger, the power righty has a 2.57 ERA and a 2.28 FIP since the trade, with 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. He is very exciting.
Low-A San Jose (73-50)
San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide (D-Backs) 13-4
Box score
Sacramento, Richmond, and Eugene couldn’t win, but you can always count on San Jose: after all, this was their 13th consecutive W!
After a little bit of a cold stretch, third baseman Dario Reynoso has found his footing once again, and has caught fire. The righty was back at it again on Thursday, hitting 3-4 with both a triple and a 3-run home run, while also drawing a walk and striking out once. What a day!
Reynoso has been a little bit streaky this year, and this was his 3rd home run in the last 5 games. In his last 6 contests, Reynoso — who had been having a grim August — has hit 11-28 with 3 homers, a triple, 2 doubles, and 2 walks. Not bad at all.
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Still and all, Reynoso remains in the same place he’s been all year, which is probably why he hasn’t yet been promoted to High-A: he’s hitting for a ton of power (.216 ISO) and drawing a bunch of walks (15.1%), which leads to really strong overall numbers (.883 OPS, 122 wRC+). But my goodness is he swinging and missing, with a 32.6% strikeout rate and 15.3% swinging strike rate that rank 74th and 72nd, respectively, out of 86 Cal League hitters with at least 200 plate appearances this year.
Catcher Rod Barajas Jr. had an excellent game as well, hitting 3-5 with all 3 of his hits being doubles. Barajas, who also struck out once, has also been a very streaky hitter in his debut season, but last year’s 11th-round pick — who just turned 22 — is having a decent season when you pair his offense (.803 OPS, 99 wRC+) with his strong defense behind the dish.
Right fielder Broedy Poppell continued his red-hot streak, as he went 2-4 with a triple and a walk, though he struck out twice. A 13th-round selection in 2025, Poppell has just a .792 OPS and a 102 wRC+ in Low-A, with a 28.3% strikeout rate. But the switch-hitter is figuring things out at the end of his debut season: in his last 9 games, the Florida A&M alum has hit 14-30 with 8 extra-base hits and 9 walks, giving him a 1.094 OPS in the month. Not too shabby!
Nothing of note from the high-profile youngsters, as shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL), shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL), and outfielder Peyton Bonds (July’s 3rd-round pick) all sat this game out, while second baseman Luke Nixon (July’s 5th-round selection) went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and an error.
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RHP Ben Bybee had an awesome start, which was great to see. Last year’s 8th-round pick out of Arkansas went 5 brilliant innings in this one, and gave up just 1 baserunner, while striking out 5 batters. What a showing! Unfortunately, that 1 baserunner did a slow jog around all 4 bases, so Bybee did have a run scored against him, but whatever. A brilliant outing nonetheless.
It hasn’t been the smoothest introduction to pro ball for Bybee, who turns 23 next week. He has just a 4.91 ERA and a 5.58 FIP, and is striking out well under a batter per inning. He’s giving up too many hits and home runs, but he’s doing a good job of living in the strike zone: he threw 50 of 70 pitches for strikes in this game, and has walked just 20 batters in 73.1 innings on the year.
Home run tracker
21 — Cam Maldonado x3 — [7 in High-A; 14 in Low-A]
15 — Dario Reynoso — [Low-A]
8 — Kaeden Kent x2 — [High-A]
Friday schedule
Sacramento: 6:35 p.m. PT at Reno (SP: TBD)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Portland (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Cade Vernon)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Visalia (SP: TBD)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
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