There R Giants

Kerry and I dive into the manager search, and talk approaches to interviewing, potential favorites, and more wide-ranging organizational changes that could be on the horizon in the latest KROG podcast.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rogermunter.substack.comThough the dugouts are all empty at this time of year, let’s drop another “In the Dugout” episode, this one featuring Drew Cavanaugh, who made it up to Double-A Richmond for the final month of the season. I caught up with Drew during the final weeks of his whirlwind season, in which he played for all four full-season affiliates in the Giants’ system — and hit a home run for all four of them, too! Drew talks through his baseball journey from freezing-cold Michigan to sunny Florida to making a name for himself in the Giants organization.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

My guest this week is Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes, who digs into the data to look at some of the best pitching breakouts of the season on the Giants’ farm. We also play a little game of “Prospect Showdowns,” stacking up Keyner Martinez vs Argenis Cayama, and Luis de la Torre vs Jacob Bresnahan in a ranking game. Geoff does incredible work at Baseball America, especially digging into the metrics, and he’s always a fun guy to talk ball with.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Kerry Crowley and I talk Giants’ 2025 season in the end game.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

It’s something of a theme pod today: Rehab Stories. I talk with three different pitchers who spent most of the last couple of years going through rehab together in the Giants’ Papago Park facility in Scottsdale. Ryan Murphy, R.J. Dabovich, and Chris Wright all give their own variations on the theme of life in rehab, and talk about the support and comfort that these players give each other while trying to work their way back to normal.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

The Northwest League Championship series begins tonight in Eugene, OR. And to help you get prepared for it — and recapture the feel of the amazing second half run that the Eugene Emeralds have been on — Eugene’s road announcer (and man of many behind-the-scenes talents) Jacob Archer rejoins the pod. We talk about the turnaround in pitching, the guys who really took forward strides along the way this year, the leadership that Charlie Szykowny and Jonah Cox have give the team all year long, and some of the recent additions to the team that have really supplemented the core. We also look at the Everett squad that they’ll be facing and give you a rundown of the important players in the other dugout as this Best of Five gets started.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

This week I have a matched pair to last week’s group of player interviews from my west coast swing. Where we had hitters in last week’s group, this week it’s the arms. I speak with one of the true break out stars of this season, left-hander Luis de la Torre, one of the hardest throwers in the Giants’ organization, right-hander Liam Simon, and the team’s 7th round pick in 2024, lefty Greg Farone, who is putting the finishing touches on a very strong first season of pro ball.All of my travel and player interviews are possible because of the support of There R Giants’ subscribers. If you want to support my work — and get a lot more of it — just click right here to start your subscription.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Kerry Crowley and I discuss the Giants’ recent power surge, whether this current incarnation of the team is what we should have expected all along or just a September chimera, and what to hope for in this final month. We also indulge in a little bit of looking forward to the off-season to come, because we just can’t help ourselves!Enjoy!There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

I put quite a number of player interviews in the can on my trip to the west coast affiliates last week, and I’ll roll them out over the next couple of weeks. First up, I have a trio of hitters — two trade acquisitions who have just gotten their first taste of action in the Giants’ organization this month, and a high school draftee in his second season. Nate Furman and Parks Harber talk about the unique situation of being traded while rehabbing injuries, as well as their approach to hitting. Furman is one of best contact hitters in the minors, and Harber owns some of the most intriguing hit data in the minors, including a howling 90th percentile Exit Velocity above 108 mph. Lastly, I spoke to Walker Martin about how he used his difficult first season as a learning opportunity, leading to a much improved second year in the system. All three of these guys were thoughtful and articulate, and gave some great insights into their personal growth process.If you want to get more of this kind of content, why not consider becoming a There R Giants’ subscriber so you, too, can support my work covering the Giants’ farm system.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

For this week’s podcast, I’m joined by a couple of members of the Richmond Flying Squirrels who have traveled some long roads to get to where they are now. First we have Aruban native, Dayson Croes, who has hit ball everywhere he’s every played, but had to go through tiny colleges, Indy ball north or the border, and international competition to get the chance to play pro ball. And once again, he’s hitting the ball all over the field. Marques Johnson hasn’t had that long or circuitous a road, but from a SoCal JuCO to college to draft to trade to injury, he’s kept working at his craft and is making a name for himself in the upper minors.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Kerry Crowley and I sift through the aftermath of the trade deadline, talk about our hopes for the rest of the year, and maybe starter to side-eye the coming winter.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Finishing up my tour of the affiliate broadcasters, I get to talk ball with Trey Wilson with the tape recorder going for once! Trey and I talk about trade deadlines in the minor leagues, the challenge and quality of the Eastern League, and the Squirrels’ hopes for making a spirited run in the second half to try to grab a playoff spot. And along the way, we talk a few players as well! It’s always great to chat Eastern League baseball with Trey!There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

After many scheduling conflicts that precluded us talking at happier times, Kerry Crowley and I come together to pick over the sorry spectacle that this Giants’ team has become, hazard a few guesses at trade deadline behavior, and respond live on air to a deal being made! What more could you ask for?There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

We had a little reunion of former Eugene outfielders last week in Richmond, when the Portland Sea Dogs came to town. I was able to talk to Scott Bandura, who was just settling in from his recent promotion to Double-A, and Portland outfielder, James Tibbs III about the crazy month he’s had adjusting to a new organization, a new league, new teammates, and a new time zone! Bandura talks about the impact that COVID had on his baseball journey, and why he thinks the best is still to come for him, while Tibbs gives some real insight into the human side of the game, and how difficult these transitions can be for players.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

The great Jim Callis joins me to talk about the Giants most recent draft class, and how it fits in with a farm system that has really turned over a surprising amount the past two years. Come for the draft talk….stay for a whole lot of conversation about what a dude Jhonny Level is!There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Alex Pavlovic, the long-time Giants’ beat reporter for CSN Sports Bay Area, and now the author of The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black, which you can find at your local (or non-local) bookstore as of today. Go get it! Alex and I talk about the Giants’ checkered history of player development before delving into the current state of affairs with the Giants’ farm system that Buster Posey inherited. Alex talks about how he thinks Posey and Randy Winn are assessing the state of the farm and what changes they are likely to institute going forward, before we get into the current Giants roster and the trials that young players like Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp are encountering as they navigate their first full MLB seasons.As I head out to the Dominican Republic for a week of DSL action, I’m celebrating by offering 25% off There R Giants’ subscriptions for one year (annual or monthly). It’s a great time to become a There R Giants’ subscriber, and check out my first-hand observations of the DSL squads and hopefully plenty of video footage of young Josuar Gonzalez.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Time to head back to the field with a trio of player interviews — and a themed trio, as all three of my guys for this episode are East Bay kids. In this episode we cover all sorts of player development hardships from injury to game just plain ol’ being hard. Villers, the former Cal closer, had hardly joined pro ball when he went down for multiple years with injury. Gavello struggled with his performance over some difficult seasons in Eugene. And Hecht gave up on his dreams of playing pro ball forever — he thought — before a twist of fate gave him one last opportunity.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

Continuing my tour of the provinces, my guest in today’s edition of the pod is the well-traveled Joe Ritzo, who digs into a San Jose Giants team that just completed a historically good first half. As Joe notes, one of the keys to this club’s success has been tremendous depth throughout the roster — which makes it tough to cover everybody in one session. We do our best, though, to race through all the major players on the First Half Champs.There R Giants podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of my subscribers, and if you’d like to get more of my Giants’ prospect-related work, you can subscribe to get daily posts delivered, ad-free straight to your Inbox. Now’s a great time to become a subscriber, because in two weeks from today I’ll be fulfilling a life-long dream and taking in some DSL action live — and I’ll be bringing you plenty of video and first-hand info.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Sacramento play-by-play announcer, Zack Bayrouty, who regales me with tales from the club’s 18-game road trip. Zack and I talk about the River Cats’ unique situation, sharing facilities with the A’s, the grind of coming back down to Triple-A from the majors, and the rapid progress of Bryce Eldridge. Pardon the periodic drop outs and freeze ups in Zack’s part of the conversation — the internet wasn’t always our friend today! But it’s still a great conversation.There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been too long since Kerry Crowley and I diced up the Giants’ surprisingly strong 2025 season. But we’re back to talk big trades, a bold new front office, and where the club might look to upgrade next.It’s a great new KROG episode to start your week out right!There R Giants is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rogermunter.substack.com/subscribe