In minor league news, the San Francisco Giants have released left-handed pitcher from their Single-A affiliate, the San Jose Giants. The move was first highlighted by social media user @ImNotHuman123 on July 5 after it appeared on the club’s transaction log.
According to the San Jose Giants’ transaction log, left-handed pitcher Braydon Risley was released on July 5. The organization has not announced a reason for the move, making the decision somewhat surprising given the flashes of potential he displayed during the 2026 season.
The Giants selected the 21-year-old in the 19th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Grayson College in Texas. Before beginning his professional career, Risley’s most notable collegiate statistics came during the 2024 season at Tarleton State, where he posted a 2-5 record with a 4.89 ERA across 57 innings.
Prior to his release, Risley had been a regular member of the Single-A San Jose pitching staff in 2026. He compiled a 6-3 record with a 4.80 ERA over 60 innings, recording 64 strikeouts while issuing just 17 walks. Despite the respectable strikeout-to-walk ratio and signs of development, the Giants opted to part ways with the young left-hander, with no official explanation provided.
He was named the Cal League Pitcher of the Month in May as he recorded a 1.48 ERA that month in 24 and 1/3 innings pitched.
June actually turned out to be a very bad month for him as he pitched to a an ERA of 10.00 in 18 innings of work. His last outing with the San Jose Giants came on July 3 and he gave up three earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings of work.
We’ll have to see if any word or reporting comes out about why Risley was let go. It’s odd for a move like this to seemingly come out of nowhere so one figures there must be something more going on here.
San Jose Giants have had a great year so far in 2026
The San Jose Giants as a whole have had a very strong year though thanks in part to their promising young pitchers. The team is 12-3 in the second half thus far and that comes after the team was 37-29 in the first half and secured a playoff spot.
At least the minor league affiliates have given some hope for the future of the franchise this year. Positive results in the minors don’t always lead to positive results in the big leagues but Giants fans have to take any win they can get at this point with how bad the team has been at the big league level.
Risley’s departure shouldn’t hurt the team too much especially since it should have some reinforcements fairly soon with the MLB Draft coming up but it’s still a curious development.
