It’s hard to believe that the final two weeks of the regular season would be critical for a team that sits 24 games under .500 in the last days of July, but that’s exactly how the last half of September is shaping up for the San Francisco Giants.
Earlier this month, two of the Giants’ top hitting prospects, Christian Arroyo and Austin Slater, both suffered serious injuries that could sideline them for the remainder of the year. If Arroyo and Slater are able to recover in time to play, all indications point to the Giants giving both players starts during the final weeks of the year.
On Saturday, Giants’ skipper Bruce Bochy said the franchise is holding out hope that its top pitching prospect, Tyler Beede, will also be able to join San Francisco at the big league level in September.
Earlier this week, Beede was scratched from his scheduled start with AAA Sacramento after straining his groin in his pregame bullpen session, and on Saturday, Bochy said that he doesn’t expect Beede to return to the River Cats’ rotation soon.
“He’s got a groin strain,” Bochy said. “We got an MRI and that’s what it showed, so he’ll be out for awhile.”
Because the River Cats’ season ends at the beginning of September, it’s highly unlikely Beede will make another appearance with AAA this season, but Bochy said the Giants won’t close the door on a potential stint in San Francisco later on this year.
“Can’t say for the season, but he may be able to join us in September, we’ll see how that goes,” Bochy said.
Beede, the Giants’ first round draft choice in 2014, has battled through an up and down year with the River Cats, but was enjoying more success of late despite posting a 4.79 earned run average for the season. In Beede’s last outing prior to his injury, he threw seven innings of five-hit ball without allowing an earned run.
If Beede isn’t healthy enough to pitch for the Giants in September, then Bochy said it’s possible the Giants’ will send their top Minor League arm to the Arizona Fall League, or find him a spot on a winter ball team. Because so many Giants prospects have lost significant time due to injury this season, it’s likely Beede won’t be the only player that San Francisco is looking to find a home for this winter.
“If not there (the Arizona Fall League), then winter ball,” Bochy said. “We’ve got a few guys that I think need to go to winter ball.”
Giants’ fans were hopeful that Beede would have had an opportunity to pitch for the club in August had he not suffered an injury, but on Saturday, Bochy said that wasn’t likely. Bochy said Beede hadn’t entered conversations regarding potential call-ups, but that San Francisco was targeting a September opportunity for Beede when rosters expand from 25 to 40 players.
“I can’t say he was real close, no,” Bochy said. “We wanted him to continue to develop down there, he wasn’t quite as consistent as he needed to be with his command and we were probably looking at September, that area.”
