Brad Martens. SF Giants
The Giants said they would place their prospects conservatively this season but promote aggressively. It only took five starts from Matt Frisbee for the organization to hold true to that pledge.
The big righty starting pitcher is heading up from Double-A Richmond to Triple-A Sacramento, KNBR has learned. His last start with the Flying Squirrels came Sunday, when he struck out eight and allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings. That is one more hit than he allowed in a May 13 outing, when he went the first six innings of a combined no-hitter.
In all, the 24-year-old posted a 1.24 ERA in 29 innings, in which he struck out 32 and allowed one walk and 11 hits. He earned the call-up.
The North Carolina native, who was a 15th-round pick in 2018, has a low-to-mid 90s fastball with a plus slider and a changeup, plus a splitter that he recently has added to his arsenal. Like every pitching prospect in the Giants’ system, he was not invited to the alternate site last year and had to train from home, where he built himself a gym so he could ensure he could stay in shape during the pandemic.
He will be joining a pitching staff in Sacramento that just added lefty Sammy Long from Richmond, too, an electric arm from Fair Oaks who dominated Double-A, then struck out the first eight batters he faced in Triple-A.
Tyler Beede is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in Sacramento and getting closer to being an option. In a season in which depth will be especially critical, the Giants are preparing their high-octane prospect arms to be ready to help soon, and both Long and Frisbee are one step away.