They Might Be SF Giants: Maldonado's Eugene Power Surge, Velasquez Heats Up in Sacramento
By Taylor Anderson ·
They Might Be SF Giants covers the last 7 days of action for the Giants farm system.
Maldonado's August at Eugene Is a Different Animal
Three home runs and six RBI in a single game on August 27. Then a three-run shot in a seven-run eighth-inning comeback on September 3. Cam Maldonado (A+, OF, Rank: 28) went 5-for-21 this week with a triple, a homer, four RBI, and three hit-by-pitches, and the results fit perfectly into what has been an absurd month at Eugene. Over his last 22 games at High-A, Maldonado is slashing .296/.372/.679 with eight home runs and 25 RBI across 94 plate appearances. For a player graded as a 50 power tool with a 60 speed grade, the power output right now is not subtle.
The full 2026 line across three levels sits at .271/.348/.526 with 22 home runs and 21 steals in 426 plate appearances. That is a combined season that would have looked ambitious even against the most optimistic pre-season read on his profile. The contact rate is the real conversation, though. At 68 percent for the season and 65.3 percent over the last 30 days, the swing-and-miss against breaking balls is not disappearing, and at 50 percent swing rate he is not backing off the aggressiveness that creates both the damage and the vulnerability. The 45 hit grade is visible in those numbers. What the hit grade does not account for is that the power has been running well past its 50 label all summer, and the 60 speed still plays immediately on the bases and in center field. A 22-year-old with 22 home runs, 21 steals, and a .526 slugging across the minors is producing a profile that earns a longer look at Double-A before evaluators put a hard ceiling on this.
Velasquez Finds His Stroke at Sacramento
An eight-game hitting streak, a 3-for-4 night on August 31, and 10 hits in 25 plate appearances this week: Diego Velasquez (AAA, 2B, Rank: 22) turned a rough Sacramento start into something worth tracking. The week pushed his Triple-A average from .226 all the way to .309, and the broader 30-day line at AAA reads .309/.417/.444 with nine doubles, a triple, and a 14.3 percent walk rate across 98 plate appearances. None of that is going to blow anyone away on the power side, but it perfectly matches the profile the 55 hit tool and patient approach were supposed to produce.
The full 2026 combined line across Double-A and Triple-A sits at .298/.392/.414 with 22 steals, 51 walks, and 43 RBI in 432 plate appearances. Last year at Double-A he hit .256/.362/.315 with just two home runs, so the slugging uptick and the steal total both represent real growth. The 35 power grade is still accurate; the four combined home runs make that plain. What has improved is the contact quality on non-power outcomes, with the 30-day contact rate jumping to 85 percent at Triple-A and the swing rate dipping to 41.8 percent, both of which suggest he is taking better pitches and making more consistent contact when he does swing. The realistic ceiling here is an up-down utility infielder who can cover second and spot at short, and this week was a clean argument that the bat is ready to support that role at the highest level whenever the opportunity arrives.
Quick Hits
Josuar Gonzalez (A, SS, Rank: 1) · went 10-for-29 with two doubles, a triple, and seven RBI this week, extending one of the more remarkable full-season debut lines in the system. The switch-hitting 18-year-old is now hitting .392/.469/.608 over his last 22 games at San Jose with six triples and 28 RBI in 113 plate appearances. The 15 percent walk rate and 55 hit grade with a 60 speed grade at 18 years old is a combination that makes the second-division regular projection look conservative. The 45 power grade is probably right for now, but the gap power is showing up in ways the loft projections have not yet caught up to.
Sabin Ceballos (AA, 3B, Rank: 16) · drove in five on seven hits, including a home run, across 19 plate appearances this week. His 17th homer of the season was part of a run that has seen him slash .278/.426/.443 with four home runs and just 14 strikeouts in 101 plate appearances over the last 30 days. The walk rate during that stretch has been 16.8 percent, which is well above the season mark, and the K rate has dropped from 18 percent on the year to 13.9 percent recently. The 50 power grade with a 40 hit tool profile always depended on the walks holding up, and right now Ceballos is working counts better than he has all season.
Keyner Martinez (A, RHP, Rank: 21) · turned in 5.2 innings, two hits, one earned run, one walk, and seven strikeouts this week, generating 12 swinging misses in the process. It was his strongest outing in over a month; the 30-day ERA sits at 6.28 over four starts, so the results have been inconsistent even as the strikeout rate (32.3 percent over that stretch) stays in line with the 34 percent season K rate. The 60-grade fastball and 60-grade slider give him the stuff to miss bats, and 129 strikeouts across 88.2 innings this season confirm it. The walk rate is the thing: 45 free passes on the season at 11.9 percent BB rate is too high for a profile that depends on the fastball-slider combination doing damage.
Joe Whitman (AAA, LHP, Rank: 23) · threw 7.2 innings, six hits, one earned run, zero walks, and five strikeouts, generating 15 swinging misses. It was his longest and cleanest outing since arriving at Sacramento, and the zero-walk line matters for a pitcher whose 50 command grade has been tested by a 4.23 ERA at Triple-A. The season combined line across Double-A and Triple-A shows a 3.79 ERA and a 6.8 percent walk rate, with the Double-A numbers (3.22 ERA, 33.2 percent K rate) a good deal cleaner than the Sacramento results. The 55-grade slider is the weapon, and when the fastball command holds, he looks every bit like a back-end starter candidate.
Jacob Bresnahan (AA, LHP, Rank: 13) · made his Double-A debut this week, striking out eight over five innings but walking five and allowing three earned runs in his Richmond debut. The 18 swinging misses are a reminder of why the 60 changeup and 55 fastball play; the five walks are an equally clear reminder of why the 45 command grade is the central developmental question. He posted a 2.92 ERA across 98.2 innings at High-A this year, and a bumpy first Double-A start is not a cause for alarm. The #3 starter projection is still intact, but the walk rate (10.2 percent for the season combined) will need to come down at this level.
Dakota Jordan (AA, OF, Rank: 11) · returned from a IL stint he had been on since late July and went 5-for-16 with a homer across four games at Richmond since activation. The 27.2 percent strikeout rate and 67.2 percent contact rate for the full season are real concerns against Double-A pitching, but the 19 combined home runs and 21 steals across High-A and Double-A show the 60 power grade and 55 speed are not projections anymore. Four games is too small a sample to draw conclusions about the return, but the underlying tools were not in question before the IL stint.
Henry Lalane (A+, LHP, Rank: 19) · went five innings, three hits, zero runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, adding 10 swinging misses to the ledger. The zeroes are good, but the four-strikeout line and a 19.7 percent whiff rate over the last 30 days both fall short of the season's 31 percent. The 55 fastball paired with a 55 changeup is a solid foundation for a back-end starter, and the combined 3.16 ERA across three levels this year backs the stuff. Whether he holds up as a starter long-term depends on durability more than repertoire at this point.
Hunter Dryden (A+, RHP, Rank: 38) · turned in 5.2 innings, two hits, one earned run, two walks, and seven strikeouts, adding 13 swinging misses. It was his best outing over the last 30 days, during which he carries a 2.18 ERA across four starts and a 5.7 percent walk rate. The full-season ERA of 4.37 over 103 innings at High-A reflects what a long-reliever or up-down arm profile looks like when the 40 command grade drifts, but the recent stretch suggests the location has tightened up considerably down the stretch.
Trevor Cohen (AA, OF, Rank: 29) · went 8-for-24 with a homer and four RBI this week, his most productive stretch since arriving at Richmond. The 84.4 percent contact rate for the season and 88.2 percent over the last 30 days are legitimate, and 43 steals combined across High-A and Double-A give the profile real value even without impact power. The 35 power grade is a ceiling, not a floor, and the three combined home runs at Double-A confirm it. But a left-handed outfielder who puts the ball in play at that clip and steals bases at will is a useful piece regardless of where the power settles.
Yunior Marte (MLB, RHP, Rank: 43) · had his contract selected from Double-A Richmond on August 29 and made his big-league debut, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing just one earned run with three strikeouts. He had posted a 3.92 ERA across 64.1 innings at Richmond this year after a 3.74 ERA in 43.1 innings at Eugene. The callup was well-earned.