The Richmond Flying Squirrels return to The Diamond on Tuesday to begin a six-game series with Southwest Division-leading Erie.
After taking four of six last week at Akron, the Squirrels (28-23) are two games out of first place.
We talked last week with Trey Wilson, the team’s play-by-play broadcaster, to get insight on the Squirrels’ roster.
LHP Kyle Harrison (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 1.71 WHIP)
“He’s the youngest pitcher the Giants have brought to Double-A since they’ve been in Richmond,” Wilson said. “Everybody keeps saying that he’s the biggest pitching prospect in the organization since Madison Bumgarner, which is big shoes to fill. But man, he looks good. We saw him make his debut (last) Friday. He’s, you know, mid-90s, left-handed fastball, can run it up a little bit harder than that when he needs to. And he’s got some good secondary stuff that that he missed him bats with on Friday. But even for him making his first Double-A start, he’s got some of the best stuff in all of baseball.
“He’s here with Richmond now. See him while you can, because it probably won’t be for long.”
1B Frankie Tostado (.322/.363/.511, 7 HR, 28 RBI)
“Anybody who’s been out to The Diamond knows who he is because the fans chant his name every time he comes up. He’s got a lot of swagger to him, a lot of personality. He’s got, you know, the hair, the beard, the tattoos, a great name, the walkup music that gets everybody moving in the ballpark. And he’s also a really good player, which is ultimately what matters to the fans and what matters to the Giants.
“He’s a really talented defensive first baseman, he can hit, a little bit of power, he had double-digit home runs in this league last year, and obviously, he’s showing this year that he can hit for average, which, again, the Giants aren’t necessarily looking at their players, they’re not looking for their players to hit .350, they’re looking for the players to do a few other things that contribute, but if you’re hitting .350, if you’re looking at some of the more traditional stats like you and I are looking at, usually those other stats are going to come along there, too.”
3B Sean Robey (.216/.273/.488, 13 HR, 30 RBI)
“I looked it up the other day, and at home at The Diamond, all but one of his home runs have gone at least 400 feet. And the one that didn’t was an opposite field home run, and it still came pretty close. So, he’s got very impressive power. I think that the Giants want to see him cut the strikeouts down a little bit (71 Ks in 172 ABs so far in 2022).
“I know that the Giants are one of the organizations that are really heavy on new generation analytics. So they’re not really worried about where his batting averages, they’re looking at things that my brain can’t fully comprehend. But hitting home runs helps all of that. Sean Robey has shown that he’s one of the best homerun hitters in this league, and he by the time this season is done, he may end up being the best home run hitter the Flying Squirrels have had.”
C/2B/3B Brett Auerbach (.213/.319/.383, 7 HR, 22 RBI)
“Auerbach’s one of a couple of guys here who I think they had great seasons last year, but they haven’t really settled all the way in yet to Double-A, which is massive jump in the minor leagues. Going from from High-A to Double-A is considered the biggest leap in the minors. As far as talent goes, it’s a make-or-break level. So, seeing guys struggle their first two months or so at hit sub-.200 is not really that uncommon, even for really good players who go on to have good major league careers. But the power has been there for him. He had a ton of homeruns last year, and we’ve seen it again the last couple of days.
“Giants fans got really excited about Brett Auerbach during spring training this year. Usually they bring a bunch of catchers up with Major League invitations to spring training because they need a bunch of catchers around for big league camp. And Auerbach was one of the guys who was there, and when you’re there, you end up playing a lot of Major League games in front of the Major League fans. He put on a show. People loved his kind of scrappy energy.
“He’s a fun player to watch, and the best part about him is, he can play any position on the field. He’s listed as a catcher. He played second base last night, and he can play third first short, all three outfield positions. There are very few players who have that kind of skill set.”
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
