2021 San Jose Giants Season Preview
By Joe Ritzo
The San Jose Giants have announced their opening day roster in anticipation of the 2021 season. After a 2020 minor league season that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Giants return to Excite Ballpark next week with a loaded roster of top San Francisco Giants prospects. Opening night is set for Tuesday, May 4 when San Jose hosts the Fresno Grizzlies at 6:30 PM.
Here is a preview of the 2021 San Jose season, including a position-by-position breakdown of the opening day roster, schedule notes, updates on some of the changes around minor league baseball, broadcast information and more:
Opening Day Roster
INFIELDERS
Tyler Flores
Garrett Frechette
Jimmy Glowenke
Abdiel Layer
Marco Luciano
Edison Mora
Casey Schmitt
Luis Toribio
San Jose’s opening day roster is highlighted by shortstop Marco Luciano, who is widely considered the #1 prospect in the San Francisco organization at the start of the 2021 minor league season. At 19 years old, Luciano is one of three teenagers on the roster. He enjoyed a standout debut professional season in 2019 earning Arizona Rookie League All-Star honors as a 17-year old. Luciano hit .322 over 38 games in the AZL two years ago while ranking in the top five in the league in home runs (10, 4th), on-base percentage (.438, 3rd), slugging (.616, 5th) and OPS (1.054, 4th). Luciano then spent last summer training at San Francisco’s alternate site in Sacramento before receiving an invitation to Giants major league spring training earlier this year. A player with outstanding raw power, elite bat speed, plus-hit tool and a high baseball IQ, Luciano is even receiving mention by multiple national publications as an overall top 20 prospect in all of minor league baseball as the season gets underway.
Luciano is far from the only top prospect among San Jose’s deep collection of infielders though. The top two third base prospects in the San Francisco farm system — Luis Toribio and Casey Schmitt — will also open the year in San Jose. Toribio embarks on his third professional season having earned All-Star honors in each of his first two campaigns. He spent the bulk of 2019 in the Arizona Rookie League where he batted .297 in 51 games with an .887 OPS, a team-leading 15 doubles and a league-leading 45 walks. Toribio is considered one of the best pure hitters in the system. Schmitt was a second round pick of the San Francisco Giants last June (49th overall selection) and will be making his professional debut this season. A product of San Diego State, Schmitt hit over .300 in each of his last two seasons with the Aztecs while he’s also regarded as a plus defender at the hot corner. Both Toribio (#10) and Schmitt (#16) are ranked among the top 20 overall prospects in the system by MLB.com.
The San Francisco Giants had multiple second round picks in last year’s draft and another — middle infielder Jimmy Glowenke — will also open the season in San Jose. The 68th overall selection last June, Glowenke was a standout performer at Dallas Baptist University where he earned All-American honors and hit .340 during his three-year collegiate career. Like Schmitt, Glowenke will be making his pro debut this season. With Luciano expected to garner the bulk of the playing time at shortstop, Glowenke may fit best as San Jose’s primary second baseman to open the year.
Garrett Frechette and Tyler Flores figure to handle the first base position for San Jose at the start of the season. Frechette, the #21 overall prospect in the system according to MLB.com (second-highest rated first baseman), was a fifth round pick out of high school in 2019. He hit .290 in the Arizona Rookie League two summers ago after signing and has intriguing power potential. Meanwhile, Flores set a Point Loma Nazarene school record with 20 home runs during the 2018 collegiate season before signing with San Francisco as a non-drafted free agent. Two years ago, he ranked third on the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Giants short-season affiliate) with seven home runs (in only 31 games) to go with a .261 batting average. Flores also has pro experience playing in the corner outfield.
Utility players Abdiel Layer and Edison Mora round out San Jose’s deep infield. Layer, who has seen significant time at second, short and third as a professional, was a top performer in the Arizona Rookie League during each of the last two minor league seasons (combined .291 AVG, 8 HR, 18 SB in 83 games). Mora was a seventh round pick out of Puerto Rico in 2018 and split time between shortstop and second in rookie-ball two years ago.
OUTFIELDERS
Alex Canario
Harrison Freed
Luis Matos
Armani Smith
The duo of Luis Matos and Alex Canario — a pair of consensus top 10 prospects in the Giants system — headline the group of outfielders on San Jose’s opening day roster. Matos is the youngest player on the team (turned 19 in January), but is poised to be one of the leaders of this year’s San Jose club. Baseball America ranks Matos the #4 prospect in the organization after an outstanding 2019 minor league season spent primarily in the Dominican Summer League. Matos led the DSL Giants squad two years ago in batting average (.362), RBI’s (47), stolen bases (20), doubles (24) and OPS (1.000). He connected for seven home runs in 55 games while also showing impressive plate discipline. Matos continued to excel in the Giants fall instructional league last year to earn the opportunity to open this season in San Jose, despite his youth. He was exclusively a center fielder two years ago.
Meanwhile, Canario is another elite prospect in the organization, but is known much more for his well above-average raw power. Ranked the #5 prospect in the system by Baseball America, Canario hit a whopping 16 home runs in only 59 games between the Arizona Rookie League and Salem-Keizer two years ago. Canario, who received Northwest League All-Star honors with Salem, led the Volcanoes in hits, doubles and RBI’s. Canario also features a plus arm in the outfield and has seen time in both center and right field throughout his career. He suffered a dislocated shoulder during fall instructional league last year and underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum, but progressed well during his rehab and is ready to go for the start of the 2021 season.
Armani Smith is a corner outfield who should also receive substantial playing time with San Jose. Two years ago in his debut pro season, Smith put together an excellent campaign with Salem-Keizer when he hit .307 in 43 games. Smith is a Bay Area native who attended De La Salle High School in Concord. He was a seventh round pick of the SF Giants out of UC Santa Barbara. Harrison Freed, a 13th round pick two years ago out of Butler, has big power and hit six home runs in 42 games with Salem-Keizer in 2019.
CATCHERS
Brett Auerbach
Rob Emery
Ricardo Genoves
Ricardo Geneves should anchor the catching position for San Jose at the start of the season. MLB.com rates Genoves a top 30 prospect in the system after an All-Star season with Salem-Keizer in 2019. Between Salem and Class-A Augusta two years ago, Genoves showed impressive power with nine home runs in 51 combined games to go with a .265 batting average. He also threw out an excellent 40% of would-be base stealers. Genoves was invited to big league spring training earlier this year and has performed well at the Giants alternate site in Sacramento against advanced pitching over the past several weeks.
Brett Auerbach and Rob Emery, two catchers who signed as non-drafted free agents last June, will also start the year in San Jose. Auerbach was an All-American last spring at the University of Alabama (.388 AVG). He’s a versatile player who also started games at second, third and center field last year while he was leading the SEC in stolen bases when the college season was cut short due to the pandemic. Emery is a local product from San Francisco who attended St. Ignatius Prep and USF. He was twice named to the Buster Posey Award watch list at USF (top collegiate catcher) and hit .381 during his final season with the Dons. Both Auerbach and Emery will be making their pro debuts this season.
STARTING PITCHERS
(rotation order TBD)
Prelander Berroa
Kyle Harrison
Will Jensen
Ryan Murphy
Carson Ragsdale
Nick Swiney
Left-handers Kyle Harrison and Nick Swiney headline San Jose’s six-man starting rotation to begin the 2021 season. Harrison was recently ranked as the #1 pitching prospect in the entire San Francisco Giants farm system by Baseball America while Swiney was the first pitcher selected by the organization in last year’s draft.
Harrison is a Bay Area native who starred at De La Salle High School in Concord before his selection by the Giants in the third round of last year’s draft. The 19-year old southpaw has reportedly seen a bump in his velocity already this year showcasing an explosive mid-90’s fastball. He also features a plus-slider, change-up and an advanced feel for pitching that could allow him to advance quickly through the system.
Meanwhile, Swiney checks in as the fifth-highest rated pitching prospect in the organization according to MLB.com. While Harrison was drafted last year out of the high school ranks, Swiney was enjoying a spectacular season at NC State last spring before the college season was halted due to the pandemic. Swiney fashioned a 1.29 ERA in four starts for the Wolfpack in 2020 with a whopping 42 strikeouts to just six walks over 28 innings. Throughout his entire career at NC State, Swiney limited the opposition to a paltry .191 batting average. The Giants selected Swiney in the second round of last year’s draft (67th overall pick) and he, like Harrison, is now poised to make his highly-anticipated professional debut.
Carson Ragsdale is another exciting prospect who will open the year in San Jose’s starting rotation. Ragsdale was a fourth round pick last June by the Philadelphia Phillies after registering 37 strikeouts in only 19 innings in his final season at the University of South Florida. The SF Giants then acquired Ragsdale via a trade last January in a deal that sent former San Jose pitcher Sam Coonrod to the Phillies. The 6'8" Ragsdale will also be making his pro debut this season.
Prelander Berroa is another arm that was picked-up by the San Francisco Giants in a recent trade and will start this season in the San Jose rotation. Berroa, a former Twins farmhand, came over to the Giants organization along with Jaylin Davis in the Sam Dyson trade back in July 2019. He struck out 55 batters in only 50 2/3 innings across rookie-ball and the short-season level in 2019. Ryan Murphy, a fifth round pick of the Giants last June, will also be in the San Jose rotation. Murphy threw 11 complete games over 29 career starts at Le Moyne College and ranks among the school’s all-time leaders in strikeouts. Finally, Wil Jensen, a product of Pepperdine University, rounds out the San Jose rotation. Jensen was leading all of D1 college baseball with a 0.74 ERA (in seven starts) for the Waves in 2018 when he suffered a season-ending injury that required Tommy John surgery. He returned to Pepperdine’s rotation during the shortened 2020 campaign and continued to impress (2.19 ERA) before signing a free agent deal with the SF Giants over the summer.
RELIEF PITCHERS
Ivan Armstrong
Justin Crump
Clay Helvey
Jorge Labrador
Luis Moreno
Kanoa Pagan
Austin Reich
Randy Rodriguez
Ty Weber
Chris Wright
Notables out of the Giants bullpen to open the season include San Jose native Kanoa Pagan. Pagan attended Leigh High School and Mission College before San Francisco selected the right-hander in the 19th round. He spent the 2019 season pitching at the rookie level. Clay Helvey is the only member of the opening day roster with any prior experience in San Jose. He appeared in two games out of the SJ Giants bullpen back in 2019, but spent most of the year as one of Salem-Keizer’s top relievers (41 SO in 35 IP, four saves).
Jorge Labrador amassed an impressive 46 strikeouts over 35 innings to go with four saves (3.09 ERA) between the Arizona Rookie League and Salem-Keizer in 2019. Chris Wright, the only left-hander in the bullpen, was an All-American at Bryant University in 2019 where he set the school record for saves in a single season. Ivan Armstrong is a power arm who has worked mainly as a starter early in his pro career while Luis Moreno was one of the top Giants starters in rookie-ball back in 2018. Justin Crump and Ty Weber will both be making their pro debuts this season while Austin Reich and Randy Rodriguez spent the 2019 season pitching out of the bullpen in the Arizona Rookie League.
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LOW-A WEST LEAGUE
Since the San Jose Giants last played a game over 600 days ago, Major League Baseball implemented several changes to the minors. One notable change is the Giants shifting from the High Class-A level (High-A) to the Low Class-A level (Low-A). San Jose is now a member of the “Low-A West” league, which includes seven teams from the former California League — Stockton Ports, Modesto Nuts, Visalia Rawhide, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Inland Empire 66ers, Lake Elsinore Storm and the Giants — plus one team, the Fresno Grizzlies, formerly of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
The Giants, Ports (A’s affiliate), Nuts (Mariners) and Grizzlies (Rockies) make up the four-team North Division in the Low-A West League while the Rawhide (Diamondbacks), Quakes (Dodgers), 66ers (Angels) and Storm (Padres) comprise the four-team South Division.
Of note, San Francisco’s four full-season minor league affiliates are now the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A), Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A), Eugene Emeralds (High-A) and San Jose Giants (Low-A). All four affiliates are scheduled to begin their 2021 seasons next week. The SF Giants will also continue to field two minor league teams in the Arizona Rookie League (starting later this summer) and two teams in the Dominican Summer League.
SCHEDULE
The San Jose Giants will play a 120-game schedule in 2021. When the start of minor league spring training was delayed to early-April (instead of beginning at its usual time of early-March) due to COVID-19 concerns, the result was the start of the regular season pushed back to the first week of May.
The unusual scheduling for this season, in an effort to cut down on travel, will see the Giants (and all Low-A West teams) play one six-game series each week from Tuesday through Sunday. Every Monday will be an off day this year.
San Jose opens the regular season with a six-game home series against the Fresno Grizzlies from May 4–9 before back-to-back road series’ at Stockton (May 11–16) and Fresno (May 18–23). The Giants’ second homestand features a stretch of 12 straight games at Excite Ballpark against the Lake Elsinore Storm (May 25–30) and Modesto Nuts (June 1–6).
The full 2021 schedule can be found here.
San Jose’s slate against their North Division rivals includes 30 games against Fresno this season, 30 games versus Stockton and 24 games against Modesto. Versus the South Division, the Giants will match-up against Lake Elsinore and Rancho Cucamonga 12 times each while they play only one six-game series this year versus Inland Empire and Visalia.
Home game times at Excite Ballpark are 6:30 PM Tuesday through Friday, 6:00 PM on Saturday and 5:00 PM on Sunday. Exceptions are 1:00 PM Wednesday day games in July, August and September.
Due to the delayed start of the season, the decision was made by Major League Baseball to forego the postseason across all of Minor League Baseball this year. The absence of the 2021 playoffs will allow all teams to host the most amount of home games possible.
The season concludes on Sunday, September 19.
COACHING STAFF
A familiar face has returned to manage San Jose as Lenn Sakata will serve as the skipper of the Giants this season. 2021 marks Sakata’s eighth season overall as San Jose’s manager. He previously served as the Giants’ manager during the 1999, 2001, 2004–07 and 2014 seasons. His 539 career victories are the most by any manager in franchise history. Sakata led San Jose to California League championships in 2001, 2005 and 2007.
Former San Jose players Paul Oseguera (pitching coach) and Eliezer Zambrano (fundamentals coach) have also returned to the South Bay. Oseguera pitched for San Jose on both the 2007 and 2009 league championship teams. He’s now in his second year as a coach in the San Francisco organization. Zambrano, a former catcher, spent parts of the 2009 and 2013 seasons as a player in San Jose. He’s also in his second year as a coach in the organization. Danny Santin (hitting coach), a newcomer to the Giants organization, rounds out the coaching staff.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All San Jose Giants games will be broadcast live on the team’s official website (sjgiants.com). Home game broadcasts are also available on 92.9 FM inside the main seating bowl at Excite Ballpark. Radio broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch with The Giants Pregame Show.
Additionally, every broadcast is streamed live on your mobile phone through the San Jose Giants “First Pitch” Mobile App. A live video feed of all San Jose Giants home games through MiLB.TV is also available.
Joe Ritzo is in his 14th season as the “Voice of the San Jose Giants” while Justin Allegri also returns for his sixth year in the Giants broadcast booth.
San Jose Giants Broadcast Page
PLAY-IT-SAFE POLICIES
Fans looking to attend a game at Excite Ballpark are encouraged to review the team’s “Play-it-Safe Policies” prior to arriving. Some of the policies that will safely allow the gates to reopen include: face coverings required at all times unless actively eating or drinking, pod seating in socially distanced groups of two or four, digital and print at home tickets will only be accepted, cashless sales once in the ballpark and increased sanitizing stations. For the full list of opening policies, please visit the San Jose Giants Play-it-Safe page.
For more information on ticket packages and group reservations for the 2021 season, call (408) 297–1435 or visit sjgiants.com.
