The San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates are now three weeks into their respective seasons as some teams are staying hot while other teams are struggling mightily. Each team had some good wins and some tough losses over the past week which saw a number of possible future Giants have some nice performances. Here's a look at the San Jose Giants, Augusta Greenjackets, Richmond Flying Squirrels, and Fresno Grizzlies week in review:
San Jose Giants (A): The Giants have dropped a game behind Stockton and Bakersfield in the California League North standings at 10-7 after going 3-3 during their games last week, including a 10-3 victory over the Visalia Rawride on Saturday. Gary Brown went 3-5 with 4 RBI that included a go-ahead inside the park home run during Saturday's game, and now is hitting .361 for the season so far with a .890 OPS. The Giants will have a four game set on the road with the Modesto Nuts next week, then a 3 game set with the Lake Elsinore Storm.
Augusta Greenjackets (A): The Greenjackets continue to struggle in the Southern Atlantic League, sporting a 5-12 record that puts them second to last in the division. They went 2-4 last week, including a 1-6 loss against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Saturday. Rafael Rodriguez bumped his average up to a team leading .293 this week, not exactly something to rave about, but there isn't much for Augusta to be proud of right now. The Greenjackets will have a 5 game set with the Hickory Crawdads in Hickory next week.
Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA): Richmond went from a tie atop the Eastern League standings to last place after a 2-4 week, and now sit 1.5 games behind at 7-9 for the season. They did manage to get a win over the Altoona Curve on Saturday 3-2, in which starting pitcher Ryan Verdugo went a full 6 innings allowing only 3 hits and one earned run. Verdugo has only allowed 3 earned runs in his 16.1 innings of work so far this season, and current owns a 1.65 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. The Squirrels will have a four game series against the Trenton Thunder next week, followed by a 3 game set at the Bowie Baysox.
Fresno Grizzlies (AAA): With the return of Brandon Belt and Darren Ford this week, the Grizzlies are back to their potent selves again. They currently sit a game behind the Sacramento Rivercats at 9-9 in the Pacific Coast League South division, with a 3-3 week that included a 12-5 drubbing of the Reno Aces on Sunday. Brandon Belt hit a homer in his first AB back with the Grizz, and is sporting a .429 average with 4 RBI in just 7 plate apperances so far. I'm sure he'd rather be with the big boys by the Bay, but I don't think he'll mind crushing it down in AAA either. Fresno will finish up their set against the Reno Aces on Tuesday, then head to Sal Lake City to face the face the Bees.