SJ Giants Series Preview April 28-May 3 at Visalia
Published on April 28, 2026 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
San Jose Giants (14-7) at Visalia Rawhide (5-16)
Tuesday, April 28 - Sunday, May 3
Valley Strong Ballpark (Visalia, CA)
Video: MiLB.TV/Bally Live
Series Preview w/pitching probables & player bios attached (PDF)
GIANTS IN VISALIA THIS WEEK: The defending California League champion San Jose Giants are back on the road this week for a six-game series against the Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks affiliate) at Valley Strong Ballpark. The series begins with an 11:05 AM matinee on Tuesday before four straight evening contests Wednesday through Saturday (all at 6:35 PM) and then another day game on Sunday (2:05 PM). The Giants previously won five of six games against Visalia in San Jose from April 7- 12.
SETTLED FOR A SPLIT: The Giants settled for a split of their six-game series against the visiting Ontario Tower Buzzers last week at Excite Ballpark. In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, San Jose earned three straight victories to open the series outscoring the Tower Buzzers by a 25-10 margin. Ontario though bounced back to win the final three games scoring a combined 32 runs in the three contests to salvage the split. It marked the first time this season that the Giants have lost consecutive games. It was also the first time San Jose failed to win a series after opening the season with three straight series victories (2-1 at Stockton, 5-1 vs. Visalia, 4-2 at Rancho Cucamonga). Despite the three straight losses to end the series, the Giants still enter this week with the best record in the California League at 14-7.
HIGH-FLYING OFFENSE: The Giants are off to an excellent start at the plate averaging 7.6 runs per game entering the week.
Last year, San Jose averaged 6.1 runs per contest, which led the California League and set a team record. The Giants are currently leading the league in batting average (.301), on-base percentage (.392) and doubles (52) while ranking second in runs scored and home runs (25). San Jose has scored at least 10 runs in six of their first 21 games this season.
MALDONADO MASHING: Cam Maldonado is in the midst of an incredible power surge at the plate as the Giants outfielder has connected for seven home runs over his last eight games dating back to April 15. During the eight-game stretch, Maldonado is 16-for-32 (.500 AVG) with 14 RBI's. He had a pair of two-homer games during the last road trip in Rancho Cucamonga (April 16 and April 19) while his most recent round-tripper was a tiebreaking three-run blast in the eighth inning of the April 23 contest against Ontario (a 9-6 Giants win). Maldonado starts this week leading the California League in home runs (7) and OPS (1.120) while also ranking eighth in RBI's (18).
ON THE MOUND: Keyner Martinez is slated to make the start on the mound for the Giants in Tuesday's series opener against the Rawhide. Martinez twirled a gem in his most recent start (April 21 vs. Ontario) limiting the Tower Buzzers to one hit over five scoreless innings while collecting seven strikeouts to earn California League Pitcher of the Week honors.
Argenis Cayama, who gets the ball on Thursday, boasts a 22-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first four starts this season (17 2/3 IP) to go with a 3.06 ERA. Friday starter Braydon Risley has fanned 20 batters in 13 1/3 innings while holding the opposition to a .184 AVG (3.38 ERA). Out of the bullpen, Garrett Langrell owns three saves and has not given up a run over his last six appearances (8 2/3 IP). As a staff, the Giants are leading the Cal League in strikeouts (11.4 per game) while ranking second in ERA (5.34).
The San Jose bullpen did struggle though in last week's series against Ontario posting a 9.20 ERA (31 earned runs allowed in 30 1/3 innings pitched).
LEVELING UP: Jhonny Level has continued his sizzling start at the plate for the Giants. The 19-year old shortstop, currently rated the #4 prospect in the organization by MLB.com, starts this week third in the California League in batting average (.364) and first in hits (28). Level also ranks third in home runs (4) and RBI's (21) and fourth in OPS (1.066). He's hit safely in 15 of his 17 games played, including nine multi-hit contests. The youngest player on the Giants roster currently, Level was named the Top MLB Prospect in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League last season.
BY-THE-NUMBERS: The Giants have scored first in 16 of their 21 games this season ... They are 12-4 when scoring first and 2-3 when their opponent scores first ...
Damien Bravo begins the week riding a nine-game hitting streak ... He's batting .382 with 2 HR & 10 RBI's during the streak ... Giants starting pitchers own a combined 4.28 ERA - best in the Cal League and over a full run lower than the next closest team (Inland Empire 5.59) ...
Hayden Jatczak is second in the league with a .483 OBP and has reached base safely in 18 of his 19 games played this season ... The Giants have fashioned a winning record against Visalia in each of the last five seasons (12-6 in '25, 8-3 in '24, 7-2 in '23, 9-3 in '22, 4-2 in '21).
CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW: The 2025 season was a magical year in the South Bay as the Giants won the California League championship. San Jose posted a league-best 81-51 regular season record - the most wins by a Giants team in 12 years. The Giants earned a trip to the playoffs after winning the first half North Division title marking the sixth straight year that San Jose reached the postseason. The Giants then swept both the Fresno Grizzlies (2-0) in the North Division Series and Inland Empire 66ers (2-0) in the Championship Series on their way to the league title. San Jose set a team record by averaging 6.1 runs per game during the regular season. In addition to leading the Cal League in runs scored, the Giants boasted the top ERA at 3.50 - the lowest earned run average by a San Jose club in 10 years. The Giants also owned a league-best +251 run differential while their overall record was tops among all 30 Single-A teams.
ON DECK: Following the current series in Visalia, the Giants return to Excite Ballpark for a six-game set versus the Fresno Grizzlies beginning on Tuesday, May 5.
SERIES SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS Date Time Giants Pitcher Rawhide Pitcher Broadcast Tuesday, April 28 11:05 AM RHP Keyner Martinez (1-1, 5.40) RHP Jaitoine Kelly (0-0, 13.50) None Wednesday, April 29 6:35 PM LHP Jordan Gottesman (0-0, 3.52) RHP Daury Vasquez (0-1, 10.00) None Thursday, April 30 6:35 PM RHP Argenis Cayama (1-0, 3.06) RHP Chung-Hsiang Huang (0-1, 4.02) None Friday, May 1 6:35 PM LHP Braydon Risley (2-0, 3.38) RHP Junior Ciprian (0-1, 2.25) None Saturday, May 2 6:35 PM LHP Ricardo Estrada (1-0, 11.70) RHP Mervin Fell (0-3, 8.16) None Sunday, May 3 2:05 PM RHP Cody Delvecchio (0-0, 3.60) LHP Wilkin Paredes (0-2, 10.00) None
California League Stories from April 28, 2026
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- SJ Giants Series Preview April 28-May 3 at Visalia - San Jose Giants
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