19-year old righty swinging 1B Angel Villalona has been charged with murder in a shooting death in his hometown in the Dominican Republic. If he is found guilty his career is probably over and that would be sad for the Giants. Villalona was the Giants’ #3 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 74 games in A-ball this season and he was 78 for 292 (.267 avg, .703 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 9 homers and 42 RBIs. He was a hacker in the minors this season as he only walked 9 times while whiffing 73 times. What a waste of talent.

20-year old lefty starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was the Giants’ #1 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America and he has certainly showed why so far this year. Bumgarner pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A+AA ball this season and he was 12-2 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He only allowed 100 hits in 131 1/3 innings in the minors as he missed a lot of bats. When rosters expanded on September 1st the Giants promoted him to help out the pitching staff. He has pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Giants so far and he is 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only walked 1 batter while whiffing 9 of them in only 8 innings for the Giants. He could compete for a job in what could be a dominating starting rotation next spring.

36-year old righty starting pitcher Ramon Ortiz could be a wild card for the Giants later this season. He has pitched in 28 games (9 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has whiffed 78 batters in 81 2/3 innings which shows he still has something left. Ortiz last pitched in the major leagues during the 2007 season with the Twins and Rockies. He has now pitched in 258 games (210 starts) in his 9-year major league career and he is 84-80 with a 4.90 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. It’s possible that the Giants could recall Ortiz soon if he keeps pitching well.

The Giants have sent John Bowker and Steve Holm to the minors and they have recalled Travis Ishikawa, Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Rohlinger from the minors. Bowker played well early in the season for the Giants but his bat has gone cold lately. He played in 96 games for the Giants and he was 74 for 300 (.247 avg, .693 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 9 homers and 40 RBIs. Bowker will likely return in September when rosters expand. Catcher Steve Holm played allright as Bengie Molina’s backup before being sent down to the minors. Holm played in 45 games for the Giants this season and he was 21 for 82 (.256 avg, .741 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Holm also will likely get called back up on September 1st as long as he plays well in the minors.

24-year old lefty swinging 1B Travis Ishikawa will likely get a lot of playing time this time around for the Giants. He last played for them in 2006 when he played in 12 games in which he was 7 for 24 (.292 avg, .820 OPS) with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. He has played well in the minors this season appearing in 112 games between AA+AAA ball in which he is 121 for 405 (.299 avg, .955 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 24 homers, 94 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. 22-year old switch hitting C/1B Pablo Sandoval will likely get more time at 1B than catcher because of how well Bengie Molina has played this season. Sandoval has played in 112 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 157 for 448 (.350 avg, .972 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 20 homers, 96 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Shortstop Ryan Rohlinger made his major league debut last night at 24-years old and it was a good one as he was 1 for 4 with a double and a RBI. The righty swinging Rohlinger played in 117 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 126 for 436 (.289 avg, .811 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 13 homers, 65 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how the kids do the rest of the season and give the Giants credit for not just sitting still.

20-year old lefty swinging outfielder Wendell Fairley is off to a rough start to his professional career. Fairley was the #8 prospect in the Giants’ farm system coming into this season according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. He has played in only 16 games in Rookie Ball this season and he is 14 for 64 (.219 avg, .547 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers and 8 RBIs. The Giants took a big chance on Fairley and they will likely bring him along slowly.