SF Giants prospects: LHP Chris Wright starts in left field and gets a hit

The SF Giants had a minor-league roster emergency on Saturday, and that gave pitching prospect Chris Wright a chance to shine.

The SF Giants Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, had a strange situation on Saturday night. While the exact circumstances remain unclear, outfielders Bryce Johnson and Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) were unavailable. Without enough position players available on the roster, the organization tried to call up a pair of players from the nearby San Jose Giants. Outfielder Turner Hill made it to Sacramento in time for first pitch, but infielder Dilan Rosario did not. So, River Cats manager Dave Brundage asked left-handed relief pitcher Chris Wright to fill in. Wright received a start in left field and was given the top spot in the lineup. While Wright struck out swinging in his first at-bat, he laced a 1-2 breaking ball from four-year MLB veteran Logan Allen down the right-field line with a 98.5 mph exit velocity for a double.

CHRIS WRIGHT YOU STUD!!! Chris ropes his first professional hit for a double!!@MiLB pic.twitter.com/uLwDpjYUDL

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) August 20, 2023

Rosario arrived by the fifth inning, allowing Brundage to remove Wright from the game with a 1-for-2 line. Defensively, Wright did not record any outs in left field, but did field a pair of hits. Barring another emergency, Wright is now in a position to end his professional career as a .500 hitter. While Saturday's game was, unsurprisingly, Wright's first appearance as a professional position player, he actually was a two-way player at Bryant University. While the Giants drafted Wright as a left-handed reliever in the 12th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, he was Bryant's starting first baseman for his entire college career.

As a junior, Wright hit .297/.388/.441 with 14 doubles, a triple, six home runs, 29 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 276 plate appearances. In 742 career plate appearances at Bryant, Wright posted an impressive .815 OPS. Granted, his success in the Northeast Conference did not translate to the Cape Cod League, where he posted an abysmal .187/.265/.213 line with five walks and 18 strikeouts in 83 plate appearances.

Weirdly enough, this was not the first time this season Brundage has had to use a pitcher in the field. During an extra-inning contest earlier this year, left-handed reliever Joey Marciano had to enter the game in left field following an injury. Unlike Wright, however, Marciano (who has since been released by the organization) did not have to field or hit before the game concluded.

Wright has steadily ascended the minor league ranks since he was drafted despite losing the 2020 campaign to the canceled minor-league season. This year, Wright has struggled with walks (a theme among Giants pitchers at Triple-A), issuing 39 in 40 innings pitched. However, he has also racked up 56 strikeouts and allowed only four home runs. He has a 5.18 ERA.

Clearly something happened prior to Saturday night's game that forced the SF Giants organization to scramble. It's possible that Johnson and Matos dealt with some injuries during pregame activities, but it seems more likely that a big-league roster move could have precipitated the changes. Given Wade Meckler's struggles since his MLB call up, it's not out of the question that one of Johnson or Matos was put on a plane to Atlanta to take his spot on the roster. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. also left Saturday's game with a cramp. While that should not necessitate a stint on the IL, the Giants may have put an additional player on a plane in case they were concerned about a more serious diagnosis. Either way, fans will have an answer soon enough. And no matter what, no one will be able to take away Chris Wright's first professional hit.